Microsoft's Near Share to Bring AirDrop Like Experience to Windows 10

HIGHLIGHTS

• Latest Windows 10 Insider Build includes Near Share feature
• The feature uses Bluetooth to enable wireless file transfer functionality
• The new Insider Preview build also has "Mute-a-Tab" option on Edge
Attempting to counter Apple, Microsoft has built its own AirDrop alternative for Windows 10 which it calls "Near Share". The new feature has started been in testing in the latest Insider build (17035) of the latest Windows platform and is compatible with all the systems that have Bluetooth support.
As its name suggests, Windows 10's Near Share feature allows you to share your files and URLs to nearby Windows PCs via Bluetooth. You can start sharing content after turning on the Near Share option that comes as a quick action in the Action Centre. If a nearby PC user shares the content with you, you'll receive a notification that you need to accept to get initiate the sharing.
Your Windows 10 system needs to be based on RS4 Build 17035 or above to enable sharing through Near Share. Moreover, default apps such as Photos, Microsoft Edge, and File Explorer will have a Share icon that gives wireless transfer access with one click.
In case you don't see the Near Share quick action in your Action Center, you can add it by going to Settings > Notifications & Action > Add or remove quick actions.
Similar to Apple's AirDrop on macOS and iOS, Microsoft's Near Share is currently exclusive to Windows 10. But the scope of both the features is similar - revolving around wireless transfer. Earlier this week, Google even spotted with its own wireless transfer app for Android devices called Files Go. The lightweight app was seemed to be designed for emerging markets.
Alongside the Near Share feature, the Insider Preview Build 17035 of Windows 10 brings "Mute a Tab" functionality to Microsoft Edge. The new development allows you to mute a tab playing sound by clicking a dedicated audio icon. Google's Chrome browser has offered a similar feature for a long time.
The new Windows 10 Insider build also includes an option to save free EPUB books from Microsoft Edge, context menu options for books, and a bunch of improvements in terms of software updates, sound, ease of access and keyboard layouts. Besides, there are many bug fixes and performance enhancements as well as Surface hardware listing on Microsoft Store app.

Facebook takes on YouTube with Watch, its new episodic video service

Facebook has for years trying to take on its arch rival Google's video platform YouTube. The social media giant has pushed its live videos to more users in the past few months, in addition to introducing more video editing tools. Also, the company has been rumoured to launch TV-like shows for past many months. Finally, Mark Zuckerberg and his team have announced a new tab inside the main Facebook app, marking the company's full-fledged entry into video space. The new tab called 'Watch', as Facebook says, brings original video content onto the social media platform, which also makes it stand tall against the likes of YouTube, Amazon Prime and Netflix.

The new 'Watch' tab for now is limited in the US region on mobile, desktop and Facebook TV apps. "Shows are made up of episodes — live or recorded — and follow a theme or storyline. To help you keep up with the shows you follow, Watch has a Watchlist so you never miss out on the latest episodes," said Daniel Danker, director of product, Facebook in an official blog post. The tab will also tell users what their friends on Facebook are watching.

The tab will have section such as Most Talked About, What's Making People Laugh and What Friends Are Watching. Each video will also show user comments. To help users know more about the show before watching it, the social media giant has also introduced Show Pages. The Show Pages give more background information about the show,