Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel can now change common system settings straight from the taskbar search box, in many cases without opening the Settings app. The new Windows Search, which Microsoft first showed off in October, is gradually rolling out with Build 26320.9876. That build also moves the Beta Channel to Windows 11 26H2 through an enablement package, though Microsoft says the version bump alone doesn't change much. The headline feature is what Microsoft calls inline actions. Typing something like "turn on dark mode", "turn on Bluetooth", "mute", or "dim my screen" gives a result that carries out the task right there, and it can also arrange open windows, for example snapping two apps side by side.

The new interface is built on WinUI 3, and Microsoft says it is faster and more efficient than the old one, with a single list of results that's easier to scan. Search is also apparently getting better at handling typos and synonyms, and Microsoft plans to keep tuning that over the coming weeks. There are a few limits for now. English is the only supported language, and the new experience only shows up when searching from the taskbar, since searching from the Start menu still opens the old interface. Microsoft says bringing it to the Start menu is planned for next year, and actions for a connected phone, such as sending a text, are also on the way.

Kioxia Corporation, a world leader in memory solutions, today announced it has commenced sample shipments of 512 Gb Triple-Level Cell (TLC) memory devices incorporating its 9th generation BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory technology. It plans to commence mass production in fiscal year 2025. The devices are designed to support applications requiring high performance and exceptional power efficiency in the low- to mid-level storage capacities. They will also be integrated into Kioxia's enterprise SSDs, in particular those that aim to maximize GPU efficiency in AI systems.

Kioxia continues to pursue a dual-axis strategy to address the diverse needs of cutting-edge applications while delivering competitive products providing optimal investment efficiency. The two axes are:

• 9th generation BiCS FLASH products: these achieve high performance at reduced production cost by leveraging CBA (CMOS directly Bonded to Array) technology, which integrates existing memory cell technologies with the latest CMOS technology.
• 10th generation BiCS FLASH products: these incorporate an expansion in the number of memory layers to meet the expected future demand for larger-capacity, high-performance solutions.

On June 6, a new plane of Hell will open, giving way to endless hours of demon-slaying fun in Diablo IV. The team saw this as an opportunity to improve the accessibility offerings within the game, and they took careful steps to ensure that every new feature added would break down barriers that kept players from playing—a flame that guided them all through development.

OUR GUIDING FLAME
"The only limitation to adventuring in Sanctuary should be interest, not capability," said lead accessibility designer Drew McCrory when the team began ideating on the game's potential accessibility features. Starting with the bedrock laid forth in Diablo II: Resurrected, the team began to construct accessibility features that struck a balance between being useful for players with disabilities while being careful not to mar gameplay for others. From there, the team continued to smooth out the rough edges of the features in their incubation tank until they provided additional usability without altering the core gameplay loop. What they were left with were accessibility options that empower as many players as possible.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, as promised at Flash Memory Summit 2022 and Samsung Memory Tech Day 2022, announced today that it has begun mass producing a 1-terabit (Tb) triple-level cell (TLC) eighth-generation Vertical NAND (V-NAND) with the industry's highest bit density. At 1 Tb, the new V-NAND also features the highest storage capacity to date, enabling larger storage space in next-generation enterprise server systems worldwide.

"As market demand for denser, greater-capacity storage pushes for higher V-NAND layer counts, Samsung has adopted its advanced 3D scaling technology to reduce surface area and height, while avoiding the cell-to-cell interference that normally occurs with scaling down," said SungHoi Hur, Executive Vice President of Flash Product & Technology at Samsung Electronics. "Our eighth-generation V-NAND will help meet rapidly growing market demand and better position us to deliver more differentiated products and solutions, which will be at the very foundation of future storage innovations."

AMD's Vega Frontier Edition was a release that seemingly left most users either scratching their heads in bewilderment or - more specifically - disappointed. Some of this disappointment seemed to stem from a desire to see the long-awaited RX Vega consumer graphics card performance in the wild - or at least snagging a preview of it. Alas, the Frontier Edition's gaming performance was a disappointment when one considers the expected performance of AMD's underlying hardware - 4096 Stream processors and 16 GB of HBM2 memory - as well as the fact that this is AMD's first high-performance architecture since the Fury line of graphics cards. But to be fair to AMD, they did warn us - the Frontier Edition isn't the right graphics card for gamers.

One of the points of contention for this new release was that AMD delivered a graphics card that straddled the prosumer equation - offering both Pro drivers for professional workloads, and a Gaming Mode which should allow developers to seamlessly jump from development mode to testing mode through a driver toggle. However, when used at launch of the Frontier Edition - and even now - this toggle is little more than a dud. Mostly, what it does is remove the Wattman control panel.