Performance tracking, Spotify integration, better volume management tools, and cross-platform chat are available to Windows Insiders starting now.
Aside from bringing its Xbox games over to the PC, Game Bar is arguably the best gesture Microsoft’s made to Windows 10 gamers. It adds a tiny bit of console-esque simplicity to the PC, letting you take screenshots, record video, or stream games with simple system-level shortcuts. But...I never use it. It’s my third tier preference for screenshots and video, after the tools built into Steam and Nvidia’s Shadowplay.
Microsoft’s looking to move up in the world though, and it’s doing so by adding a lot more functionality to Game Bar over the next few months—most of it unique to Game Bar, i.e., not duplicated by Steam or Shadowplay. In fact, Game Bar isn’t really a fitting name anymore. Game Overlay might be more appropriate, albeit less elegant.
SWISS ARMY KNIFE
Windows Xbox Insiders now have access to a new and expanded Game Bar. And the foundation of this new Game Bar? A fully customizable interface. As I said, it’s more an overlay than a bar at this point, a translucent window where you can add various widgets—or pin them, so they’re still visible while you play.
[UPDATE: Turns out it’s even easier to get access than I thought. This new Game Bar falls under the Xbox Insiders program and not Windows Insiders. You can get access right now by grabbing the Xbox Insider Hub from the Windows 10 Store, click on Insider Content, and look for Windows Gaming. That should get you set up with the new Game Bar. If you’re not seeing the Windows Gaming option, you might need to check and make sure you’re running the latest version of Windows.]
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Facebook wants to use your posts to train Al. Here's how to object
Facebook is changing its privacy policy and plans to use posts and images to train its Al. To prevent this, you need to object.
Windows 11's new AI feature could be a privacy nightmare
Your PC will be watching your every move by default.
The future of Windows: Copilot+ PCs unleash practical AI tools
Microsoft is aligning AI with its Copilot brand.
If you get a phone call from LastPass, it's a scam
A new breed of sophisticated phishing scammers are targetting LastPass users with phone calls and emails.
Sick of ads in Windows? This ingenious program eradicates them all
This clever free tool removes all the ads that Microsoft keeps stuffing into Windows 10 and 11.
Controversial Windows 11 Start menu ads begin rolling out
Microsoft has pushed “Promoted” apps from the Store to the Windows 11 wide build just a few weeks after they started appearing to Insiders.
Ring of bogus web shops steals 850K credit card numbers
Fake online storefronts, which show up in great numbers in Google and other search engines, are becoming a big problem.
This free, ancient Windows app will watch your laptop battery
BatteryInfoView gives you the laptop battery information you didn’t know you wanted.
How to use your smartphone as a Windows 11 PC webcam
Windows 11 now allows the wireless connection of Android smartphones for use as a webcam.
How to digitize VHS tapes the cheap way
Preserve your old video tapes with an inexpensive capture card and free software.