Author: Mobile Syrup

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Mobile Syrup

Microsoft testing split-screen tabs in Edge

Microsoft Edge users may soon have access to a new way to run tabs side-by-side thanks to an in-development split-screen feature.

First spotted by ‘Leopeva64-2’ on Reddit (via The Verge), the split-screen feature is hidden beneath an experimental flag available in the beta, dev, and canary versions of Microsoft Edge.

If you’re running one of those versions of Edge and want to try the feature out, type ‘edge://flags’ into the URL bar and then search for and enable the ‘Microsoft Edge Split Screen’ flag. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that experimental features like this may have issues or cause problems, so be prepared to do some troubleshooting.

Once the feature is enabled, a new button will appear next to the URL bar in Edge. Users can click it to split their screen in two and display two tabs side-by-side.

Splitting tabs in Edge | Credit: Leopeva64-2

Of course, you can already do split-screen views through window management software, whether the built-in software like Snap on Windows 11 or through other addons. However, the benefit of Edge’s built-in split-screen functionality is that it works within the browser window, so you don’t end up with two sets of title bars, address bars, and other stuff cluttering up your display.

Moreover, when you do split tabs in Edge, it combines both web pages into a single tab, which means you can open multiple split tabs and flip between them, pin them, add them to groups, and do whatever else you like to do with browser tabs.

Thankfully, Microsoft is working on the feature for Edge on macOS and Linux as well, which means better browser tab management for all, not just Windows users.

It’s worth noting that other browsers offer similar features. For example, Chromium-based Vivaldi has a ‘tab tiling’ feature that lets users stack up to four web pages into one tab with different layouts. Edge is limited to just two tabs for now.

Tab splitting is definitely tempting me back to Microsoft Edge, at least as the primary browser on my laptop. It’d be super helpful for my workflow to open certain websites side-by-side. There are add-ons out there that try to replicate this functionality, but I’ve yet to find one as seamless as what Edge has on offer.

Source: Reddit Via: The Verge

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Federal judge questions Competition Bureau’s argument blocking Rogers-Shaw merger

The Competition Bureau’s appeal to block Rogers’ merger with Shaw and Vidéotron’s takeover of Freedom Mobile started with questions on the bureau’s position.

The appeal originates from the Competition Tribunal’s decision to back the mergers.

Judges from the Federal Court of Appeal questioned the bureau’s argument that the tribunal made legal errors in supporting the deal. “According to the tribunal, this was not a particularly close case,” Justice David Stratas said.

But Alexander Gay, a lawyer representing the Competition Bureau, said one of the main issues is that the tribunal misapplied a legal test examining mergers. Gay further argued the tribunal’s focus on Vidéotron’s acquisition of Freedom Mobile from Shaw brought competition rules into question.

The tribunal should have examined the Rogers and Shaw deal first, representatives from the bureau argued, before moving on to the sale of Freedom Mobile. This way, the telecoms would be responsible for proving how the sale of Freedom would respond to competition concerns.

In its decision, the Competition Tribunal said it would have reached the same conclusion if it did consider the Rogers-Shaw merger first.

Vidéotron’s $2.85 billion acquisition is dependent on the Rogers-Shaw merger. Executives want the $26 billion deal to close by January 31st.

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Two of the Oscars Best Picture nominees were directed by Canadians

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the full list of nominees for this year’s Academy Awards, and Canada made quite a big appearance.

Notably, two of the ten Best Picture nominees were directed by Canadians: Avatar: The Way of Water (Kapuskasing, Ontario’s James Cameron) and Women Talking (Toronto’s Sarah Polley). As a producer on The Way of Water, this means Cameron himself is one of the people up for the award, while Polley — who isn’t a producer on Women Talking — scored a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. It’s also worth noting that Women Talking is based the eponymous 2018 novel by Steinbach, Manitoba’s Miriam Toews.

It should be noted that Avatar: The Way of Water and Women Talking were both released in theatres in December so they’re not yet available to stream at home.

The eight other Best Picture nominees are All Quiet on the Western Front (notably, a Netflix film), The Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Fabelmans, Tár, Top Gun: Maverick and Triangle of Sadness.

Meanwhile, Pixar’s Turning Red, which was co-written and directed by Toronto’s Domee Shi, is up for Best Animated Feature. Also nominated in that category is The Sea Beast, which was directed by Waterloo, Ontario-raised Chris Williams. Elsewhere in the field of animation, The Flying Sailor from Calgary’s Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis is nominated for Best Animated Short.

Acting-wise, American-Canadian Brendan Fraser snagged a nomination for Best Actor for The Whale. (Fraser was born in the U.S. to Canadian parents and spent some of his formative years in Toronto.)

The full list of this year’s nominees can be found here. The 95th Academy Awards will be held on March 12th, 2023.

Image credit: Disney

Via: The Canadian Press

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Where to stream leading Oscar nominee Everything Everywhere All At Once in Canada

The nominees for the 95th annual Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning, and Everything Everywhere All At Once led the pack with 11 nominations.

It was a surprisingly strong showing for the critically-acclaimed A24 movie, which some wondered might be too quirky or over-the-top for the Academy. After all, it’s a high-concept genre-bending multiverse action-drama featuring, among other things, Michelle Yeoh with literal hot dogs for fingers.

But here we are. On top of being up for Best Picture, EEAAO nabbed nominations for Best Director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Yeoh), Actor in a Supporting Role (Ke Huy Quan) and Actress in a Supporting Role (for both Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu), among other categories.

The movie follows a struggling Chinese-American business owner (Yeoh) who must connect with alternate universe versions of herself to thwart a threat to the entire multiverse.

If you haven’t seen the movie or are just looking to rewatch after its early 2022 theatrical release, you’re in luck. The movie is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Canada. You can also rent or purchase it on premium video on demand (PVOD) platforms like iTunes and Google Play (starting at $6.99 CAD).

The full list of 2023 Oscar nominees can be found here. This year’s ceremony will be held on March 12th.

Image credit: A24

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Google surveys users on revamped Home app experience

After revamping the way Home app’s look in October 2022, Google is pushing out a survey through the app, asking users to rate their experience of the redesigned application. The survey, which spans over 20 pages, appears as a card in the Activity tab of the app.

The application first confirms whether you’re using the Public Preview of the application. If yes, it prompts you to answer several short questions, like if you’re using an Android or iOS device, which country you reside in, and what types of devices you have in the Home app (including the likes of smart locks, smart doorbells, Wi-Fi routers and thermostats).

The survey then asks questions to gauge your “Technology Attitudes,” and figure out what kind of a user you are, followed by questions regarding whether you would “recommend the Public Preview version of the Google Home app to your friends and family,” and if you’re satisfied with the app.

Which smart home features and device types have you been using with the Public Preview version of the Google Home app? Select all that apply

  • Lighting
  • Home feed and history
  • Camera – live view
  • Camera – history
  • Media & entertainment
  • Thermostats
  • Wifi network
  • Routines / automation
  • Sensors (motion, temp, etc.)
  • Settings

In the ‘Cameras’ section of the app, you’re asked if you’ve used the Home app with current- or last-gen Nest, Arlo or Logitech cameras. The survey also asks about the level of video history you have and your overall satisfaction with the video experience. Other key topics in the survey include questions about Favourites & Controls, Lighting, Entertainment, and Automations Tab & Routines, as well as questions about the Home & Away switcher and the Settings tab.

To conclude, the survey asks users if they prefer the previous version of the Google Home app or the new revamped Public Preview, and if they have recently used the Nest app and how it compares.

You can take the survey here or through the Home app.

Via: 9to5Google

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Google defends layoffs as former employees outline lack of notice

Many former Google employees who were part of the company’s layoffs earlier this week appeared to be blindsided by the move.

Various former employees took to social media to share they only found out they were impacted because they could not log in to their emails or enter their workplace with their passes.

In a town hall earlier this week, Google executives defended their actions. “Cuts were made in a very structured, very prioritized way, nothing was random about it,” CEO Sundar Pichai said, according to reporting from Business Insider.

But this isn’t how employees saw it. Social media posts from former employees reveal they did receive an email notifying them of their layoffs, but it was last minute and came at odd hours, like one employee who received her email at 4:47am, hours before the start of her typical workday.

This TikTok from @nicolesdailyvlog outlined that experience in real-time, revealing her manager wasn’t even informed of her layoff.

@nicolesdailyvlog

The Google layoffs were not how I expected to start off 2023, but I know it’s only up from here 🥲 #techlayoffs #googlelayoffs #techgirl #corporatelife #techvlog #dayinmylife #techlayoffs2023

♬ Flowers – Miley Cyrus

Google laid off 12,000 employees in total. Fiona Cicconi, the company’s chief people officer, said 750 executives were involved in making the layoff decisions, Business Insider reports. The company’s strategic priorities and the performance and productivity of each employee were considered.

Source: Business Insider Via: 9to5Google

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Android 14 could block the installation of old apps

The next version of Android looks set to start blocking the installation of apps built for older versions of Android.

9to5Google spotted changes to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) that detail the incoming changes, which should go live in Android 14. It’s worth noting that at the time of writing, I wasn’t able to access the AOSP link because don’t have “enough privileges,” according to a pop-up when I tried to access the change. However, before we get into the details, there are a few things to understand.

First, developers can target their apps to Android versions, which have different API levels — application programming interfaces enable new features, security capabilities, and more. Targeting newer versions of Android is important for ensuring compatibility with new features and support for the latest security improvements. Still, developers can target older versions of Android because very few smartphones run the latest version of the OS.

Google has used Play Store guidelines to push developers to keep apps up-to-date and target new versions of the OS. For example, Google updated those guidelines earlier this month to require newly listed Play Store apps to target Android 12 or newer.

However, these guidelines only apply to apps available through the Google Play Store. That loophole is beneficial for developers who want to target older versions of Android, but it also opens a potential security vulnerability for people sideloading apps — for example, malware in a sideloaded app could target an older version of Android with less security. The AOSP change spotted by 9to5 seeks to fix that.

The Android 14 change would make API requirements more strict and block the installation of outdated apps, which would impact both the Play Store and sideloading apps from other sources. To start, Android 14 will block apps targeting very old versions of Android, but ramp up over time to Android 6.0 (Marshmallow). 9to5 notes that device manufacturers may be able to decide their own threshold or even disable the feature entirely.

Moreover, there will still be ways to install outdated apps, but it will require the use of a command shell — the additional steps should prevent regular users from accidentally installing outdated, risky apps.

Source: AOSP Via: 9to5Google

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Mobile Syrup

Apple’s MacBook Pro and Mac mini (2023) are now available

Following their reveal last week, Apple’s MacBook Pro and Mac mini (2023) are now available in-store in Canada.

Beyond the M2 Pro/Max chip included in the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro (2023), there are a few other changes under the hood, including Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 and HDMI 2.1. On the other hand, the Mac mini only gets the M2/M2 Pro and not the Max, though it does feature Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 and HDMI 2.1.

For more on Apple’s MacBook Pro and Mac mini (2023), check out my breakdown of how both devices’ M2 Pro chip benchmarks here.

Apple’s 14-inch M2 Pro MacBook Pro starts at $1,999 for the 10-core CPU/16-core GPU version, and the 16-inch MacBook Pro starts at $3,199.

Regarding the Mac mini, the desktop device starts at $799 for the M2 8-core/10-core GPU version. For this story, I benchmarked the 10-core/16-core GPU iteration with 16GB of RAM, which costs $1,299.

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Up to 30 percent off Amazon Fire TV Sticks in latest sale

Ready for another slew of deals from Amazon? Following up from last week, its popular streaming Fire TV sticks have once again been reduced with the glory of up to 30 percent off.

Check out the deals below:

MobileSyrup utilizes affiliate partnerships. These partnerships do not influence our editorial content, though we may earn a commission on purchases made via these links that helps fund the journalism provided free on our website.

Source: Amazon Canada

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Square Enix RPG Various Daylife launches on Android and iOS

Square Enix RPG Various Daylife is now available on Android and iOS.

As a settler in the newly-discovered continent of Antoecia, players will have to embark on expeditions to uncover secrets and lucrative rewards. The game features a streamlined turn-based battle system and over 20 unique jobs for party members to take on.

Unlike most mobile games, Various Daylife is actually as a premium title for $28.99 CAD. Until February 28th, Square Enix is also offering a bonus digital artbook (which includes over 180 pages of behind-the-scenes artwork) alongside the purchase of the game.

Notably, Various Daylife was an Apple Arcade launch title in 2019, meaning it’s one of the few games that has left the service’s normally mobile-exclusive catalogue to date. The game, which was developed by staff who worked on acclaimed Square Enix RPGs Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler, also came to Nintendo Switch and PS4 last year.

Meanwhile, Octopath Traveler II is set to launch on PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch and PC on February 23rd.

Image credit: Square Enix