Latest news with #screenRecording
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Snipping Tool Is Getting a Big GIF Upgrade
GIFs remain one of the most popular image formats on the internet, despite their age. They're even natively integrated into most messaging apps. Now, Microsoft is testing the ability to create and export them using Windows's native screenshot and screen recording tool. In the current version of Snipping Tool, the only GIFs you can export are static, just like a JPG, PNG, or BMP file. However, a new version of the Snipping Tool currently in the Canary and Dev channels lets you save your screen recordings as an animated GIF instead of an MP4 file. Most common video formats (especially MP4s) are typically smaller for any given video length, but GIFs have a few advantages. They don't require anything special to work—even a device from 2000 could run one natively—and they loop automatically, which is often a plus if you're using a GIF reaction to express something over text. Actually using the new GIF export function is refreshingly straightforward. On PCs running the correct experimental versions of Windows, all you need to do is press Windows+Shift+R to launch the screen recorder, capture what you'd like, and then click the 'GIF' button in the top right corner. You're provided a few export options: the ability to name the file and a vague 'quality' setting, which only includes high or low. That is about as straightforward as it gets, and it certainly beats capturing a recording, then importing that recording into a third-party program to trim up and export as a GIF. The length of a GIF is limited to 30 seconds—any longer than that and Snipping Tool will prompt you to export it in a video file format instead, like MP4. Though the feature is in its infancy, it would be nice to see an 'Advanced' option that provides a little more granular control over the GIF, like the ability to set the quality a bit more specifically, or an option to set the framerate. It could be a while. The current GIF export feature is being tested in the Canary and Developer Channels. Generally speaking, features tested in those channels take longer to make it to the live version of Windows than features you see in the Beta channel. It is also much more common for features tested in those channels to never make it to Windows, though given how practical a native ability to handle GIFs would be, it seems likely that this one will survive. In the interim, there are a number of screen recording apps that support creating and exporting GIFs. If you like free and open source software (FOSS), ShareX is a pretty good option. It has a huge range of features above and beyond what Windows 11's Snipping Tool currently offers. ScreenPresso is another popular application that supports exporting GIFs, though it isn't FOSS and has a paid version.
Phone Arena
26-05-2025
- Phone Arena
T-Mobile customers are only now finding that T-Life records their screen
Many T-Mobile customers weren't particularly happy about being forced into using T-Life, which is the go-to app for almost everything. And now, customers may have discovered another reason to not like the app. If you are a T-Mobile user, it's pretty much mandatory to use T-Life. The app is required even for in-store transactions and you might be turned away from stores if you don't have the app on your phone. Some users also complain that the app is buggy and not easy to use. Another thing that annoys many customers is that the app displays ads. And now, customers have come across another red flag. The T-Life app features a screen recording tool that's toggled on by default. As the name implies, the tool records your screen while you are using the app. T-Mobile says it uses the recordings to analyze your information and improve how you use the app. T-Life's screen recording tool records your screen. | Image Credit - Reddit user Remarkable-Cancel862 It's not clear whether the toggle has always existed, but, in any case, it's only now that most people have become aware of it and as expected, there's a bit of a blowback. —Ok_Theory5606, Reddit user, May 2025 While T-Mobile does let you opt out of the setting, perhaps it might have been a better idea if it was the other way around. Since the feature doesn't record your activity outside of the app, some people may not mind it. Also, considering T-Mobile now wants customers to do everything on their own using the app, the tool makes sense, considering it will allow customer service representatives to help those who are struggling. The feature will let them see how you are using the app and assist you if you get stuck. Apparently, the feature will mostly only be used by store representatives to help you with the upgrade process. Some users also claim that the feature kicks in when you shake your phone while using the app when you encounter an error. Doing this sends a screenshot to T-Mobile so that it can fix the issue. —Comprehensive_Bat973, Reddit user, May 2025 The bottom line is that there isn't necessarily anything inherently wrong about the feature. T-Mobile seems to have deployed it to improve the app. However, it might have been a better idea to notify customers about the feature first and make it opt-in. We have contacted T-Mobile for clarification and will update the story when we have a response.
