Release Notes for IMatch 2025.6.2 (UNRELEASED)

[axel.hennig]

I was reading the realease notes for IMatch 2025.6.2 (currently unreleased) and was wondering about #02891 (Hide IMatch from Screen Recorders and Windows Recall).

What is the use-case for this?

And btw what is "Windows Recall"? Never heard about this functionality.

[Mario]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Recall

It's a highly controversial feature.

The ability to "hide" IMatch from Windows Recall recording it is a privacy feature. If your PC runs Recall or other screen recording software, you can protect the images of your friends and family shown by IMatch from being recorded if you want.

[mopperle]

IMatch becomes invisible for screen recording devices

Wondering how you will hide IMatch from my smartphone 

[axel.hennig]

Thank for clarifying. Wasn't aware of Recall.

[Mario]

It's not something that affects many people yet. Currently Microsoft limits this to computers with the "Copilot" logo - which means a NPU of at least 40 TOPS (AI coprocessor). Since even mid-range laptop graphic cards have 200 to 400 TOPs now, the Recall feature could soon become available on a wider range of Windows installations.

It's a feature probably no one ever called for. Not sure. Windows recording everything you do on your PC and analyzing it with AI for your "benefit"?

Many security issues have been found already and Microsoft had to recall Recall for several months to fix at least things like an unencrypted SQLite database with all the Recall info and AI results, accessible for all users! The fact that the even let this out of the lab with so little privacy and security tells me all I need to know. They still record payment data like credit card info, passwords ans other stuff you definitely don't want an AI to see. And who knows who else can see it?

Who needs Recall, except people with a job in the employee monitoring department or various 3 letter agencies.

After I've learned that it is (still) possible to disable recording for specific application windows, I've added this to IMatch. It was quick to do, just a new option and some resources.

The feature is there when people need it.
I've heard several web browser vendors have implemented this too. And other applications.

[Jingo]

Sigh... I've been a Windows user my whole life and have little desire to head into the murky waters of Linux, etc... but these type of "features" from Microsoft makes for compelling reasons to jump ship... 

[Mario]

I use Linux on servers and my laptop boots both Windows 11 and Ubuntu Linux. And I use both.
It's awesome for servers and it has made some progress on the desktop. But I use many applications which only exist for Windows (or Mac, for some), so there is no way for me to actually work on Linux.

A problem with Linux is, it goes way over the head of most "normal" people.
Yes it works, and there are neat distributions that look similar to Windows. And they work, in general, if the software you need exists. Or when you only need a web browser.

If something does not work, a bit of command line work and editing some configuration files usually gets things done.
Maybe you have to spend a couple of hours in various support boards, getting told RTFM occasionally 

Another problem is that there is not one Linux. There are many distributions, based on different versions of the Linux kernel, using different desktop environments in different versions, different display servers, different package distribution and update mechanisms etc.

This multiplies compatibility issues, makes it harder to find help or tips, to fix broken things with command lines or configuration file edits. You always have to consider the distribution you run, the version, the display manager and whatnot.

This works for IT folks who are used to this. It also works if you just use a Linux installation somebody else maintains for you. But would I recommend Linux to my family and friends who are not in IT? No. At least not yet. Because I know who they call when something does not work  

But since more and more users only need a web browser for work, the operating system becomes more and more irrelevant. Most users basically "boot" into their browser and that's that.

[mopperle]

Sigh... I've been a Windows user my whole life and have little desire to head into the murky waters of Linux, etc... but these type of "features" from Microsoft makes for compelling reasons to jump ship...

No need to do this. What Mario said is absolutely true and the reason why Linux as Dekstop OS never got a significant marketshare and stays with a 1 digit percentage (worldwide below 4%) and this since ages.

All my customers (enterprise business) used Linux as server OS, but nearly none of them seriously considered Linux as desktop OS. The few who did, did it for political reasons.