Your Daily Tech Dose

Understanding ReFS Integrity Streams

ReFS (Resilient File System) offers an optional feature called integrity streams that validates and maintains data integrity using checksums. While ReFS always uses checksums for metadata, it doesn’t by default generate or validate checksums for file data. Enabling integrity streams allows users to leverage checksums for file data, providing a way to clearly determine if data is valid or corrupt.

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Microsoft has announced that all Windows Hardware Certification Program (WHCP) laptops must support USB-C features such as DisplayPort, Power Delivery, and Alternate Mode. This ensures that certified devices will be compatible with a wide range of USB-C peripherals and accessories. The move aims to standardize connectivity options across devices and enhance user experience by promoting the use of universal ports.

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Microsoft has added basic text formatting in the latest Insider builds of Notepad. It includes lightweight text formatting options and added markdown file support. This update comes after recently Microsoft added Copilot to bring AI writing assistance to Notepad.

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Sennheiser has announced the BTD 700, a compact high-performance Bluetooth® dongle designed to bring advanced wireless audio features to any device. The BTD 700 enables aptX Lossless, aptX Adaptive, Auracast, and low-latency gaming via a simple plug-and-play USB-C (with USB-A adapter included) connection. Weighing just 2.2 grams and measuring 24mm, it upgrades laptops, phones, tablets, and desktops with high-definition wireless audio up to 24-bit/96 kHz.

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Microsoft has released the Agility SDK Update 1.7 Preview, which introduces several new features and improvements for developers working with DirectX 12. Key highlights include:

• Shader Execution: Enhancements to shader execution capabilities, allowing for more efficient and flexible rendering by re-organizing the order in which shader threads execute.
• Co-Op Vectors: Introduction of cooperative vectors, which enable better AI based effects processing.
• Opacity Micromaps (OMMs): OMMs is a new feature in DirectX Raytracing that takes advantage of hardware accelerated alpha testing during raytracing workloads. This reduces AnyHit shader invocations, which boosts efficiency without sacrificing visual quality in heavily path traced games by 2.3x on average.
• Tiled Resource 4 Support: Enhanced support for tiled resources, allowing for more efficient memory usage and rendering performance.
• Compatibility: The update is compatible with NVIDIA, Intel, Qualcomm ARM and AMD hardware, ensuring broad support across different platforms.
• Direct3D Video Encoding Updates: Improvements to Direct3D video encoding capabilities, enhancing video processing performance.