Microsoft officially confirmed the name for the next release of Windows this week: Windows 11. After months of teases, hints of the number 11, and a giant Windows 11 leak, Microsoft’s new operating system is official. The big focus for Windows 11 is a simplification of the Windows user interface, a new Windows store, and improvements to performance and multitasking. Windows 11 will also include support for running Android apps for the first time.

The first thing you’ll notice about Windows 11 is that it includes a new Start menu and updated Start button that are both centered on the taskbar. This UI is very similar to what we first saw in Windows 10X, a project originally planned for dual-screen devices that Microsoft eventually canceled. A lot of the UI work that went into Windows 10X is appearing in Windows 11.

The new Start menu drops the Live Tiles that were originally introduced with Windows 8 and opts for more of the typical launcher you’d find in Chrome OS or Android. There are apps, recent documents, and a separate search interface. Much of the centered appearance is clearly influenced by macOS and Chrome OS, and Windows 11 also includes the rounded corners we’ve seen in both Android and iOS.

Windows chief Panos Panay says “the team has obsessed over every detail.” The new version of the OS will also include updated dark and light modes that look a lot better than what we’ve seen in Windows today.

Windows 11 Snap Layouts. There’s also something Microsoft is calling Snap Layouts, which allow you to quickly snap apps into the various modes that Windows 11 supports. This new version of Windows 11 will also remember where your apps are stored, thanks to something called Snap Groups.

It looks like a useful way to support multiple monitors and ensure that apps always open on the correct screen. That’s particularly helpful if you’re using a laptop hooked up to a monitor or a traditional desktop machine with multiple displays.

Performance is also a big focus for Windows 11. Windows updates are 40% smaller and more efficient as they now happen in the background. Hopefully that will mean Windows 11 doesn’t disturb you in the middle of your work.

Microsoft Teams in Windows 11. Microsoft is also integrating Microsoft Teams directly into Windows 11 for consumers. Teams is integrated directly into the taskbar, allowing Windows 11 users to call friends, family, or co-workers. It’s clear that this is a big shift away from Skype, which was bundled as part of Windows 10, and there’s even a universal mute button in the system tray so you can easily mute your microphone across all apps.

Windows Widgets. Windows Widgets and touch gestures are also a big part of Windows 11. Widgets is a personalized feed, powered by AI, and it builds on the widgets we’ve seen Microsoft introduce in Windows 10. It slides in from the left-hand side of Windows 11, and you can also make it full-screen. Built-in widgets include a news feed, weather, and maps.

Interestingly, these widgets also include one that lets you tip local creators directly from within Windows 11. 
Microsoft is also improving the gestures you can use on tablets and the touch targets. Instead of flipping into a tablet mode, Windows 11 simply adapts to allow you to touch the OS easily.

Coupled with this are improvements to inking and voice typing. With certain pens, Windows 11 will also support haptic feedback here. That could mean we’ll see a lot of new hardware that will support these stylus changes in Windows 11.

The New Windows 11 App Store With Android Apps. One of the biggest parts of Windows 11 is the new store and support for Android apps on Windows. The Microsoft Store is redesigned and will support many apps that haven’t typically been available in the Windows app store. That includes apps from Adobe Creative Suite, and Android apps including TikTok and Instagram. 

Developers can use their own “commerce engines,” and Microsoft won’t take a cut; developers can even use their own payment systems if they wish. “Windows has always stood for sovereignty for creators,” says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

The biggest news here is that Windows 11 will also run Android apps. Microsoft has partnered with Amazon and Intel to make this a reality, and Windows 11 will use Intel Bridge technology to bring this to life. Microsoft showed TikTok and other Android apps running alongside Windows apps on Windows 11, and the company plans to share more information on this “in the coming months.”
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There’s no release date for Windows 11 yet, but Microsoft has promised to make it available as a free upgrade to Windows 10 users this fall. We’re expecting Windows 11 to appear at some point in October, alongside new hardware running the operating system.

From faster charging batteries and tinier chips, graphene is sometimes called the 'wonder material'. And now researchers are looking at using it to revamp hard disk drives (HDDs). 

HDDs are cheaper than faster, more compact Solid-State Drives (SSDs), which have the advantage of no moving parts, and are now ubiquitous on smartphones and many of the latest laptops. 

But researchers at the University of Cambridge Graphene Centre hope to breathe new life into the old HDD by using graphene to create ultra-high density HDDs.  

In a new paper published in Nature, the Cambridge researchers detail how they've used graphene to make HDDs that can store 10 times more data than today's HDDs. 

Their application of graphene focuses on replacing the currently used carbon-based overcoat (COC) layers that are used to protect a HDD's spinning platters when data is being rapidly written to them from the HDD's read/write heads. To achieve higher HDD densities, manufacturers have decreased the space between the head and platter. 

As the researchers note, the COC thickness has shrunk from 12.5nm in the 1990s to about 3nm today, allowing for a current storage density of about one terabyte (1 TB) per square inch. 

The researchers have shown they can use graphene's thin, one-atom-thick strong and slippery properties to boost HDD density by 10 times. 

Graphene, a single layer of graphite, was only discovered by Professor Andre Geim and Dr. Kostya Novoselov, in 2004 at the University of Manchester. The pair won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for their work on graphene, so it's still early days for the wonder material. 

The Cambridge researchers replaced commercial COCs with one to four layers of graphene. Then they tested friction, wear, corrosion, thermal stability, and lubricant compatibility. 

The researchers report graphene enables a two-fold reduction in friction and provides better corrosion and wear resistance than state-of-the-art COCs. A single graphene layer reduces corrosion by 2.5 times, they said.

"Demonstrating that graphene can serve as protective coating for conventional hard disk drives and that it can withstand Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording conditions is a very important result," said Dr Anna Ott from the Cambridge Graphene Centre, a co-author of the study. 
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"Considering that in 2020, around 1 billion terabytes of fresh HDD storage was produced, these results show a route for mass application of graphene in cutting-edge technologies," said professor Andrea Ferrari, director of the Cambridge Graphene Centre. 

The group behind the massive SolarWinds hacks has also been running a sophisticated email-based spear-phishing campaign, according to Microsoft. In a blog post by company VP Tom Burt, he said the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) has detected a wave of cyberattacks by the group called Nobelium against government agencies, think tanks and non-governmental organizations. Nobelium apparently sent out 3,000 emails to 150 organizations after getting access to Constant Contact, the mass mailing service used by the United States Agency for International Development or USAID.

While most of the targets are in the United States, they're spread out in 24 countries overall. At least a quarter of the intended victims are involved in humanitarian and human rights work and, hence, may be the most vocal critics of Russian president Vladimir Putin. The SolarWinds attack is believed to be a Russian-backed campaign, and the United States government retaliated by expelling 10 Russian diplomats from Washington, DC. The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on six Russian technology companies that were allegedly involved in creating malicious tools for cyberattacks.

According to Microsoft, it first detected the campaign on January 25th, though Nobelium wasn't leveraging USAID's Constant Contact account to phish targets back then. The campaign has evolved several ways since, and it was only on May 25th that MSTIC determined an escalation on the group's part when it sent out 3,000 emails with legitimate-looking USAID addresses through the mailing service. 

Thankfully, automated threat detection systems blocked most of the emails because of the high volume of emails that were sent out. Further, the contents were anything but subtle. The New York Times says one email blasted out highlighted a message claiming that "Donald Trump has published new emails on election fraud." It then linked to a URL that downloads malware into the victim's computer when clicked. Microsoft says some of the earliest emails that went out may have been successfully delivered, though, and the company is advising potential targets to make sure they're sufficiently protected. 

Burt wrote in his post:
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"These attacks appear to be a continuation of multiple efforts by Nobelium to target government agencies involved in foreign policy as part of intelligence gathering efforts... when coupled with the attack on SolarWinds, it’s clear that part of Nobelium’s playbook is to gain access to trusted technology providers and infect their customers. By piggybacking on software updates and now mass email providers, Nobelium increases the chances of collateral damage in espionage operations and undermines trust in the technology ecosystem."

Microsoft is working on a version of Windows it plans to detail in the near future. "Soon we will share one of the most significant updates to Windows of the past decade to unlock greater economic opportunity for developers and creators," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told people watching the company's Build 2021 keynote last week. The executive said he's been personally testing the latest iteration of the OS for the past several months. "I’m incredibly excited about the next generation of Windows," he said. 

"We will create more opportunity for every Windows developer today and welcome every creator who is looking for the most innovative, new, open platform to build and distribute and monetize applications," Nadella stated. As The Verge points out, Nadella's comments appear to lend credence to a recent report that said Microsoft is working on an updated version of the Microsoft Store that will offer developers more flexibility for distributing their software. Among the changes the company reportedly has planned include allowing companies to use their own payments system to collect fees for in-app purchases. That's something that would enable developers to avoid sharing revenue.
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The teaser comes just one week after Microsoft confirmed it was ending development on Windows 10X, a slimmed-down version of its operating system designed for dual-screen devices. Microsoft said it would integrate elements of Windows 10X into Windows 10 proper. At least some of the interface changes Microsoft piloted with Windows 10X are expected to make their way to Windows 10 with its Sun Valley update later this year.