September 24 Tech news roundup: Kaspersky replaced by UltraAV in the U.S., YouTube Premium prices increased, HP Print AI is coming to printers

UltraAV was installed automatically on PCs that had Kaspersky antivirus in the U.S.

Kaspersky users were in for a shock in the U.S., when their PC’s security software was uninstalled automatically. And, it was replaced by UltraAV antivirus. The migration was a result of a ban issued by the U.S. Government, which accused Kaspersky of having political ties to Russian agencies. Kaspersky had originally wanted to appeal the ban, but closed down its operations in the U.S.

The company had been given a grace period of about 3 months, up until which it could continue providing security updates for users in the U.S. That ended on September 24. But, instead of advising users to use Microsoft Defender or a suitable antivirus of their choice, Kaspersky agreed to a deal with Boston-based UltraAV, to install the latter’s security software on user’s computers. Users were understandably furious about the change, claiming they were not notified about the migration, and that they had not granted permission to install the antivirus on their computer, not to mention they had never heard of the company before.

Winamp’s source code has been released, but it comes with a catch

LLAMA SA has released the source code of Winamp. Yay! Don’t celebrate yet, even though the classic music player is now open source, it is not. The company has chosen to release the source code under its own proprietary license, which is extremely restrictive.

In a nutshell, the Winamp Collaborative License forbids contributors from releasing modified versions of Winamp. So, third-party developers cannot fork Winamp, make changes or add features to it and distribute it. The license states that all contributions made to Winamp are the property of the company. The open source community has criticized the license, accusing the company of confining the freedom of contributors, and deemed it as unpaid labor.

Intel 13th and 14th gen CPUs get another microcode update for stability issues

Intel has released a microcode update for its 13th and 14th gen CPUs. The update addresses some stability issues that have affected the processors. The instability issue which was reported by users months ago could cause serious damage to the processors. After a long investigation into the matter, Intel has identified the problem. The issues are caused by a circuit that is incompatible well with high voltage and temperature levels. The latest patch from Intel will require a BIOS update to be released by manufacturers, and these could be available in October.

The chipset manufacturer claims that the microcode patch for 13th and 14th Generation Intel Core i5, i7 and i9 processors does not impact the performance in games or applications.

Microsoft restores Sign Out option under the Start Menu after criticism

Microsoft had made yet another unwelcome change to Windows 11, when it decided to remove the Sign Out button from the Start Menu’s Profile icon. The option was hid under 2 layers, first you need to click on the profile icon and then access a menu that appears when clicking on the three-dot button, and then choose the sign out option. Users were not happy with this change, and had requested Microsoft to restore the old option. Thankfully, the Redmond company listened to the feedback from users, and reverted to the old design that makes the sign out button appear when clicking on the profile icon.

The fix is available as part of the Windows 11 KB5043145 optional update. The patch also fixes a bug related to Outlook, which asked users to enter the Pin when they opened an encrypted email.

HP Print AI is coming to printers

HP Print AI has been announced for the company’s printers. The AI is available as a beta supports some HP printers, and focuses on optimizing print-outs. A feature, called Perfect Output, will remove unwanted elements from a page before printing it. This could help save ink and paper. The AI will also support automatic upscaling of images.

HP says that Print AI will support natural language input to help simplify the user experience and workflows. It will also let users interact with the AI via chat to create unique layouts, custom styles, fonts for greeting cards, and transform photos into creative projects. While the company has not revealed the price of HP Print AI, some users are worried whether this could be tricking them to pay more money.

YouTube Premium prices have increased

Streaming services are becoming more and more expensive. This time, YouTube Premium prices have been increased, and they have gone up by up to 50% in some Countries.  YouTube Premium price in Denmark now costs $22 for a month, while a Standard Netflix subscription costs $17.

Users are angry that the prices have been hiked.  These are the regions where YouTube Premium prices have increased: Ireland, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden Norway, Czech Republic, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Colombia and Thailand. Google has not increased the price of YouTube Premium in the U.S. or Spain, but says things could change in the future.

Netflix announces cheaper option to add extra members

On the other hand, Netflix made it slightly cheaper to add extra members to your subscription. But, there is a catch, you have two options, pay a little extra to have the extra member watch videos without ads. Or, pay less, but the extra member will get ads when they watch videos. The options are available for Netflix Standard and Netflix Premium subscribers.

Extra members have some restrictions, you can only create one profile for the account. Only one device can be used to watch Netflix at a time. You can download videos, but only to one phone or a tablet. This isn’t exactly the best of deals, but at least it can help you save a bit of money.

Qualcomm wanted to buy Intel

Qualcomm reportedly tried to buy Intel, but a takeover seems unlikely. It is an unreal deal for sure, some might call it unthinkable that ARM and x64 could fall under one banner. According to market analysts. Intel is valued at $98 billion, while Qualcomm has a market capitalization of $190 billion, and has $13 billion in cash. Even if Qualcomm were to acquire Intel, it would be forced to sell some of the company’s holdings.

Some reports say Qualcomm is yet to prepare a bid, while some allege that the companies are already discussing a potential acquisition. These are likely rumors spread around the fact that Intel has been facing issues related to its CPUs failing. Whether antitrust agencies like the FTC would approve the takeover is a mystery.