Windows 11 Dark Mode Progresses After Nearly a Decade
As the anniversary of Windows 10 approaches, Microsoft is gradually refining its dark mode feature for users. The latest preview build of Windows 11 showcases additional darkened elements, signaling progress after years of inconsistent implementation, reports 24brussels.
Initially introduced in 2016, dark mode options were often accompanied by a mix of light and dark UI elements, leaving it feeling incomplete. The recent update enhances the file operation dialogs to incorporate a dark theme, notably for file copying and deletion actions.
Despite these advancements, shortcomings remain. The updated file operation dialogs still feature light buttons, indicating that while the transition to a darker interface is underway, it is still incomplete. Microsoft has not officially announced any major updates to the Windows 11 dark mode, but the current changes may hint at a more comprehensive overhaul anticipated with the upcoming 25H2 update.
Key areas such as the Control Panel and Run prompt remain locked in light mode, raising questions about Microsoft’s commitment to fully integrating a cohesive dark mode. Historically, the company faced challenges in adding dark mode to File Explorer, which only arrived years after Windows 10’s initial rollout. In contrast, Apple has consistently offered a cohesive dark mode since the introduction of macOS Mojave in 2018, with enhancements continuing into the future.
The enduring evolution of Windows’ dark mode reflects Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to align with modern user interface preferences, albeit while facing potential delays and competing standards. Users will be observing closely whether the forthcoming updates will address remaining inconsistencies and enhance the overall experience.
Beirut – On Monday, Tom Barrack, the US Special Envoy for Syria, reiterated the necessity for Israel to uphold its obligations under the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon that concluded hostilities with Hezbollah in November 2024, reports 24brussels.
The accord mandated both Israeli defense forces and Hezbollah to withdraw from southern Lebanon. Nonetheless, Israel has opted to retain its military presence in “strategic” locations near the Lebanese border, while the Lebanese government has initiated measures aimed at demilitarizing Hezbollah.
Why is the US pressing Israel on ceasefire compliance?
During discussions in Beirut with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Barrack stated, “I think the Lebanese government has done their part. They’ve taken the first step. Now what we need is Israel to comply.”
“That’s exactly the next step,”
he added when questioned by journalists regarding the expectation for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory. The US envoy emphasized, “The next step is to involve Israel, and we need an economic plan focused on prosperity, restoration, and renovation,” particularly in light of Lebanon’s acute political and economic pressures.
Barrack noted that the US is “in the process of now discussing with Israel what their position is,” indicating that “in the next few weeks you’re going to see progress on all sides,” which he believed would lead “to a better life for the people… and at least the beginning of a roadway to a different kind of dialogue” in the region.
How has the Lebanese government advanced demilitarisation efforts?
The US diplomat’s visit coincided with Lebanon’s cabinet assigning the army to devise a strategy for disarming Hezbollah by year’s end. On August 7, a second cabinet session addressed a US proposal outlining a timetable for Hezbollah’s disarmament, with Washington urging Lebanon to act accordingly.
The Lebanese cabinet approved the US proposal, which comprises 11 objectives, including “ensuring the sustainability” of the November truce with Israel and the “gradual end of the armed presence of all non-governmental entities, including Hezbollah, in all Lebanese territory.”
How does Israel continue airstrikes despite the announced ceasefire?
Despite declaring a ceasefire on November 27, 2024, Israel has conducted airstrikes in Lebanon with regularity. Since the ceasefire, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have executed approximately 500 airstrikes and various ground operations targeting Hezbollah assets throughout Lebanon, particularly in southern Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley, and regions adjacent to the Litani River.
Germany Highlights Chinese Support for Russia Amid Security Concerns
German officials have raised alarms about China’s role in supporting Russia during its ongoing conflict with Ukraine, noting that “80 percent of the dual-use goods that Russia uses come from China,” as stated by a senior German diplomat. This collaboration notably undermines European security interests and poses significant risks for partners in the Indo-Pacific, reports 24brussels.
In the context of this geopolitical tension, former U.S. President Trump has previously threatened secondary sanctions against any nations purchasing Russian energy, recently announcing a 25 percent tariff on India for its oil imports from Russia. Despite this assertive stance, he has yet to implement similar sanctions against China, raising questions about the consistency of U.S. foreign policy.
Wadephul emphasized that China claims to uphold principles of non-interference and territorial integrity while simultaneously undermining these very tenets through its actions. His comments reflect a shift in the German government’s approach towards a more critical stance on China, continuing the firmer policies established by previous Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, known for labeling Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator.
Wadephul also highlighted North Korea’s provision of ammunition and troops to Russia, suggesting that such activities could not occur without China’s consent. He remarked, “If Russia is firing North Korean artillery shells on Ukraine today, then this undermines the security order in Europe, but it also upsets the balance of power in Asia. It is clear that Russia is showing its gratitude to North Korea for this assistance by transferring technology and expertise.”
During a press briefing in Tokyo, Wadephul cautioned against alarming developments in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, where China has continuously threatened to alter the status quo unilaterally. “However, one thing is clear,” he stated. “The prohibition of violence enshrined in the United Nations Charter applies, and any escalation at this sensitive hub of international trade would have serious consequences for global security and the world economy.”
The Original Tamale Company made an ad using AI that has gone mega-viral.
Christian Ortega
A small LA-based tamale restaurant made an ad using AI that has gone mega viral.
The video gained over 22 million views in under three weeks.
The combination of social media and AI allows small businesses to more easily strike marketing gold.
Do you know the best place to land if you accidentally fall out of a plane?
This scenario is the basis for a now mega-viral meme made by The Original Tamale Company, a family-run small business in Los Angeles, with a little help from ChatGPT.
The 46-second social media spot has been viewed more than 22 million times in about three weeks and has 1.2 million likes. Celebrities like sports analyst Emmanuel Acho, professional boxer Emiliano Vargas, and “Queen of the South” actor Peter Gadiot, have commented on the post.
It’s the kind of advertising win that once was the sole purview of marketing agencies or established influencers, but is now possible for anyone with access to an AI chatbot and a social media feed. For restaurants, which often have razor-thin margins, a big hit can make all the difference.
“I made it in 10 minutes, posted it, and it blew up,” Christian Ortega, who oversees marketing for his family’s tamale shop, told Business Insider. “We gained so many followers from just that one video.”
The video shows a man falling out of an airplane without a parachute and plummeting to Earth. A narrator calmly shares some questionable advice about what one should do in this situation. It suggests, for starters, avoiding landing in a body of water.
“The thing is, water doesn’t compress well, and you’ll be falling at over 200 miles per hour. The impact feels the same as hitting concrete,” the narrator says.
As the man rapidly descends, the narrator suggests an alternative landing spot. “For example, The Original Tamale Company,” the narrator says.
The PSA-style video then transforms into a digital ad for the restaurant, complete with B-roll showing its tamales and other menu items.
“God i love good ads,” one person wrote in the comments.
‘I don’t see AI as anything bad. I see it as a tool.’
The Original Tamale Company is located in Los Angeles.
Christian Ortega
The Original Tamale Company operates in Pacoima, a neighborhood nestled in the San Fernando Valley. Ortega, the owner’s nephew, said his family has been in the food business for nearly three decades.
“I basically grew into it,” he told Business Insider. “I started on the front lines selling tamales at farmers’ markets and doing big events.”
Ortega said he’s always been creative and enjoys making videos, so managing the restaurant’s social media accounts felt like a natural fit.
Although he posts original content, some of his videos leverage popular memes or trends. The viral ad, posted in July, is a version of a meme that had been going around.
“If I see an idea that I know really clicks with the company or with the audience, I will make something as soon as possible and post that,” Ortega said.
Ortega said it’s important, however, that brands put their personal spin on the ad. He said you must ask yourself, “How can I make that work for my business?”
Ortega relied partially on AI to create the video, including the narrator’s voice and a script written by ChatGPT. However, Ortega typically tries to strike a balance between using AI and his own skills. Sometimes, he doesn’t use AI at all.
“I get how people are like, ‘AI is sucking out all your creative processing,'” Ortega said. “I don’t see AI as anything bad. I see it as a tool, and it definitely helps speed up the process.”
Ortega said the viral video has resulted in increased business at his family’s restaurant.
“We’ve had customers come and talk about the video and say that’s the only reason they came because it made them laugh,” he said. “And also because they looked at the reviews, and many people rave about the tamales!”
“It’s very fun,” he added. “Especially working with the family.”
OpenAI has been aggressive in its efforts to get federal employees access to ChatGPT.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
OpenAI and Anthropic are offering federal employees access to their AI models for little cost.
The Trump administration also rolled out a government-wide chatbot platform.
The jockeying shows how the AI race is unfolding in Washington.
While AI giants are breaking the bank to fund the future of the technology, two companies are hoping a single dollar fee can help them gain a foothold in Washington.
OpenAI and Anthropic are charging the Trump administration just $1 per agency to access their leading AI models for the next year.
In another sign of how competitive things remain, OpenAI announced its agreement for ChatGPT Enterprise access on August 6. Less than a week later, Anthropic announced a similar deal for access to Claude for Enterprise and Claude for Government.
Government contracts could be quite lucrative for AI companies. Anthropic already has a deal with the Pentagon that could be worth as much as $200 million.
“Some of these companies are going public, and if they can say their products are being used by government agencies, that boosts their long-term potential,” Darrell M. West, a senior fellow in the Center for Technology Innovation, told Business Insider.
West said companies that aren’t striking these types of agreements risk getting “squeezed out.”
“There are a lot of AI companies now, but that is probably going to narrow in the future — some companies will do well and many are not going to make it — so if you are getting government employees to use your products, it increases the odds that you will be one of the survivors,” he said.
Google might have a similar deal in the offing. Earlier this month, US General Services Administration added the tech giant’s Gemini model to a list of approved AI vendors. After that announcement, OpenAI and Anthropic, which were also added to the list, announced their $1 per agency agreements.
Elon Musk‘s xAi was originally going to strike a similar partnership, but those talks fizzled out after Grok began posting antisemitic content, Wired reported.
Federal employees will have other avenues to use popular AI chatbots.
On Thursday, the US General Services Administration unveiled USAi, a secure platform where federal employees can experiment with AI models at no cost to them. The platform will initially feature models from Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Anthropic, and OpenAI.
A GSA spokesperson told BI that Anthropic and OpenAI’s nominal fee agreements “are not the same as the USAi access mechanism.”
The partnerships follow President Donald Trump’s unveiling of his AI action plan, a series of policies designed to keep the US at the forefront of the global AI race.
AI companies take maintaining the US’s position seriously. Last year, Anduril and Palantir announced their own effort to outfit the government with AI. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined Trump in January to announce Stargate, a $500 billion project that would help rebuild the AI giant’s moat against Chinese competitors.
Anthropic’s agreement also applies to all three branches, underlining that the deal extends to congressional employees.
Despite repeated efforts, Congress has been unable to pass a sweeping AI law. Most recently, lawmakers dealt some in the industry a setback after they stripped out a provision that would have imposed a decadelong moratorium on state-level AI laws from President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” Its initial inclusion sparked bipartisan opposition. OpenAI, Meta, and Alphabet have all opposed previous state-level efforts to regulate the industry.
High-school senior Joshua Karoly aims for a tech career despite AI’s rise.
Karoly began coding in second grade and has developed skills through self-learning.
He believes AI’s limitations will create opportunities for those with strong coding skills.
Joshua Karoly is a 17-year-old high school senior who lives near Sacramento, California, and wants to pursue a career as a software developer. He hopes that as more people rely on artificial intelligence, he can use his coding skills to land a job despite the technology taking on more work inside companies.The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.
When I was in second grade, I started programming with Scratch, which is super basic block-based programming. I realized I could make games from this. I was like, “That’s awesome. I love games.” Then, I got a book about Python at the library, and I would type in the code from there and was like, “Whoa, I drew a square and made a button that I can click.” Then I moved on to Khan Academy.
I’ve been working my way up from there in terms of complexity. A lot of this was during distance-learning during COVID. When I was supposed to be paying attention in class, I was programming. That’s where I got a lot of my experience. It was very nerdy behavior.
AI might fix one thing, then break something else
When you’re a kid, people always ask you, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I was interested in computers. So, since the second grade, I would say, “I want to be a programmer.”
As to AI, I knew neural networks existed for a while because I’ve seen people do cool things. Back before OpenAI was very big, they had a song generator that made songs in the styles of classical composers and stuff. I thought that was the coolest thing ever.
At the same time, because of how AI is trained, it’s made to give you output that looks as accurate as possible, even when it’s wrong. A lot of the time, it will tell you for sure that it works, and it looks like it will, but it doesn’t, or it works somewhat.
So, I spend a lot of spend a lot of time debugging AI code, which has been my experience with it. I have been using it now and then to debug my own code or help get an idea of how to figure something out, but generally, I don’t find this code to be the highest quality.
At the beginning of the summer, I did a game jam, which is where you spend a week making a game. I kept having a problem where the code I wrote wasn’t quite detecting where something was. I fed it to the AI, and it was like, “Oh, your problem is this.”
It gave me back code, and that was not my problem. I kept asking it over and over again, trying to help it out, and it didn’t help me. I eventually had to figure it out myself, hours later.
You can get pretty far with just vibe coding, but usually it gets more complicated. As a project gets bigger and bigger, it gets more convoluted as to what the AI can work on. It might fix one thing and then break something else. That can create problems because when your project gets bigger, AI can only focus on one thing. It’s even hard for humans, at least for me. I’m just a teenager.
I’m hoping other young people will focus too much on AI
I’m still not really worried about some big AI supercomputer taking over everything or taking potential jobs. It might play a role in how those jobs are carried out. Maybe there will be less of them.
AI has given me some second thoughts, but there are already so many workers in programming that I don’t know about job security.
I’m sort of hoping that everybody else my age will focus more on AI than they should. So when the bubble bursts a little bit, or maybe when there are jobs AI can’t do as well, then I’ll be the guy for the job because I know how to deal with it.
I’ve only been on this earth for 17 years, and I’m not so great at predicting the future yet. I’m kind of hoping that as people keep relying on AI, people who don’t rely on AI will also be important.
I can still use AI as a tool. I’ve done it, but I try not to rely on it like a lot of people do. For example, in classes, a lot of people use AI, so they don’t really know how to do the thing without it.
AI still isn’t so good at reasoning. It has a long way to go before it starts replacing larger chunks of work I’d like to do or that most programmers do.
The ultimate dream is to run my own company and be my own boss. I enjoy building things of all sorts, especially with code, because it’s abstract. The future isn’t stagnant. It’s not going to stay the way it is now.
