May 18 Tech news roundup: VMware makes Workstation Pro and Fusion Pro free, iOS 17.5 and macOS Sonoma 14.5 update released, GTA 6 to release in 2025

iOS 17.5, iPadOS 17.5 update brings an anti-tracking feature

Apple released the iOS 17.5, iPadOS 17.5 and macOS Sonoma 14.5 updates. The Cupertino company has partnered with Google to add support for cross-platform Tracking Detection. Google had added the feature to Android devices last year.

The anti-stalking feature works with Apple’s Find My network, and helps detect unwanted trackers. Users will be alerted by their Android phone, iPad, or iPhone when an unknown Bluetooth location tracker is moving with them. The phone will allow users to play a sound to locate the tracker and disable it.

Firefox 126 brings AV1 hardware decode acceleration to M3 Macs

Mozilla Firefox 126 is now available for Windows, macOS and Linux. The new version of the open source browser, brings support for AV1 hardware decode acceleration on Apple M3 Macs. The update adds Catalan language in Firefox Translations.

Firefox 126 improves the privacy-friendly Copy Without Site Tracking feature. It now supports over 300 additional tracking parameters. The option to copy text and links without the site’s tracking parameters now lets you copy nested URLs too. The update also introduces a new telemetry to the browser, this is related to the development of the search feature. Users can opt out of it by modifying a setting in the about:config page.

VMware Workstation Pro 17 and Fusion Pro 13 are now free for personal use

Broadcom has announced that its popular virtual machine applications, VMware Workstation Pro 17 and Fusion Pro 13, are now free for personal use. Users will need to register for a free account on the company’s support portal, and provide their address to access the downloads. Linux and Windows users can use VMware Workstation Pro 17 to create virtual machines, while Mac users will need to use Fusion Pro 13 for running virtual operating systems. The applications allow users to create snapshots, and create/manage encrypted virtual machines.

Broadcom now has 2 license models for its desktop hypervisor products; a fully free license for personal usage, and a commercial license. VMware Workstation Player and Fusion Player are no longer supported by the company.

Winamp player source code released

The classic version of the popular Winamp music player has been made open source by its owner, Llama Group SA. The current version of Winamp, which was launched a year ago, is quite different. It is a web-based player that allows artists to host their music on the platform, and lets users follow artists and subscribe to their content. Naturally, fans of the old app were not pleased with the new design, but that is a different story.

The release of the source code of the old version of Winamp will likely lead to open source forks of the app, which is good news for fans. That said, there is already a community maintained version of the player called WACUP, which has a large fan base of its own.

Google One VPN to be discontinued next month

In April this year, Google had revealed that it would be discontinuing its VPN service by the end of the year. The Mountain View company had not revealed the service’s end-of-support date. But now, it has been confirmed that Google One VPN will be discontinued this Spring. More specifically, the service will be shut down on June 20, 2024. Pixel 7 and Pixel 8 owners will get access to a VPN as part of the Google Fi wireless subscription.

Interestingly, the search giant has decided not to slash the price of the Google One subscription, despite discontinuing the VPN service.

OpenAI releases ChatGPT app for macOS

OpenAI has officially announced the release of its ChatGPT app for Mac computers. The AI-powered chatbot has drawn millions of users on the web, as well as on its apps on iOS and Android. OpenAI is in talks with Apple to integrate its chatbot in iOS 18. It is not surprising that OpenAI wants its trendy AI to be the default option in the most popular mobile operating systems.

What may however seem surprising is the fact that the company chose to go with a macOS app first instead of Windows, especially if you consider that Microsoft has invested heavily in OpenAI. But, we must also remember that Microsoft has integrated its AI, Copilot, in Windows 11, Bing Search, its Office apps, and even in SwiftKey Keyboard. The technology is even powered by ChatGPT4. And since the powerful AI-bot is already available in Microsoft’s operating system, it makes sense for OpenAI to go for a Mac-first approach with its desktop app. The company has confirmed that it will release a ChatGPT app for Windows later this year.

Retroarch and PPSSPP emulators are now available on iOS

Shortly after the release of Delta emulator, two more popular retro console emulators are now available on the App Store. The multi-console emulator, Retroarch has been released for iOS, iPadOS and tvOS. You will need a device that supports iOS 14.2, iPadOS 14.2, tvOS 14.2 or later. The Sony PSP emulator, PPSSPP is out on the App Store for devices running on iOS 12.0, iPadOS 12.0 or later. Both apps are free, and have no ads. Players will need to use their own PSP games and convert them into a .ISO or .CSO files to be able to play them on the PPSSPP emulator.

Rockstar confirms GTA 6 is coming in 2025

Grand Theft Auto 6 is one of the most anticipated games of our time. Fans of the franchise have been waiting for a sequel to GTA V for 11 years. Rockstar had confirmed in February 2022, that it was working on GTA VI, before formally announcing it in December 2023.

Take-Two, the publisher of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, confirmed in its recent earnings call that the GTA 6 release date is scheduled for Fall 2025. The company also announced that it has sold 200 million copies of GTA V.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows to release on November 15, 2024

Ubisoft has announced the Assassin’s Creed Shadows release date. The highly anticipated open world game is set in 16th-century Japan, towards the end of the Sengoku period. A video trailer for Assassin’s Creed Shadows showcased the two protagonists in the game. The first protagonist is a female Shinobi called Naoe, and the second character is an African Samurai called Yasuke. The game’s map is reportedly about the same size as Assassin’s Creed Origins. That should offer several hours worth of exploration and gameplay. Assassin’s Creed Shadows will release on PC, Xbox Series, and PlayStation 5 on November 15, 2024.