Featured content

Checking which Python is installed on a Windows PC shouldn’t be a chore — a couple of quick Command Prompt commands and you’ll know whether you’re running Python 3.11, 3.10, 2.7, or nothing at all. This practical guide expands on the quick tips from Windows Report and turns them into a comprehensive, step‑by‑step companion: how to check Python’s version in the Windows Command Prompt (CMD), how to interpret the output, how to troubleshoot common pitfalls, and how to manage multiple...

Microsoft’s latest Release Preview cumulative — KB5064080 (OS Build 22621.5840 / 22631.5837) — is a focused, non‑security preview update that patches a string of real‑world reliability issues across File Explorer, file sharing, and the ReFS file system while also surfacing a major enterprise capability, Windows Backup for Organizations. The release is optional (a “C” or preview release) and is intended for validation in Release Preview and pilot rings before broader distribution; Microsoft’s...

Microsoft’s glossy marketing often highlights the big, headline features of Windows 11, but a recent explainer that rounds up “13 features you probably didn’t know about” is a useful reminder: the OS is full of practical, time‑saving tools that rarely make the launch‑pad demo. The original list collects productivity, accessibility, and troubleshooting tricks — from copying text out of photos to using your phone as a webcam — that can shave minutes (or hours) off routine tasks. Many of those...

Microsoft is rolling one more control layer into Windows setup: starting with the September 2025 security update, eligible Windows 11 devices enrolled through modern management can automatically download and install Windows quality updates during the Out‑of‑Box Experience (OOBE), with the default behavior enabled for new Enrollment Status Page (ESP) profiles in Microsoft Intune. This change promises fresher, more secure devices at first sign‑in — but it also tightens the screws on who...

Microsoft PowerToys quietly transforms Windows 11 from a rigid, predictable environment into a highly malleable productivity powerhouse — and once you start using tools like Workspaces, PowerToys Run, FancyZones, Peek, and Keyboard Manager, the OS feels fundamentally different. Toys has evolved from a nostalgic set of experimental utilities in the Windows 95 era into a modern, open-source toolkit maintained with Microsoft support and an active community. The current incarnation, relaunched...

Microsoft has quietly moved Windows Backup for Organizations from preview into the Release Preview channel with the optional, non‑security cumulative update KB5064080 (Build 22631.5837 / OS Build 22621.5840), pairing a cluster of targeted reliability fixes with a strategically important enterprise feature intended to streamline device refreshes, upgrades and reimaging at scale. (blogs.windows.com, support.microsoft.com) Background / Overview Microsoft published the Release Preview...

Windows 11 promises a cleaner interface, deeper security and better performance — but not every PC qualifies. This guide gives a clear, practical pathway to find out whether your machine can run Windows 11, how to fix the common blockers (TPM and Secure Boot are the usual suspects), and what safe options you have if your PC fails the checks. The steps are simple, verifiable, and built around the official Microsoft tools many readers will already have at hand. Background / Overview Microsoft...

Windows 95’s retail debut rewired how ordinary people interacted with computers: a consumer-focused operating system that turned an arcane tool into an approachable appliance and made the Start menu a global user-interface metaphor almost overnight. ws 95 arrived at retail on August 24, 1995, following years of engineering aimed at unifying Microsoft’s DOS and Windows lines into a single consumer platform. The release combined a user-interface overhaul with pragmatic engineering compromises...

CIQ’s hardened variant of Rocky Linux has taken a decisive step into the hyperscaler world: Rocky Linux from CIQ – Hardened (RLC‑H) is now offered through the major cloud marketplaces, giving enterprises a pre‑configured, supply‑chain‑validated Enterprise Linux image designed to reduce manual hardening work and shrink exposure windows for critical vulnerabilities. (prnewswire.com, aws.amazon.com) Background Enterprise Linux remains the foundation of the cloud‑native datacenter, but the...

Microsoft's Windows Terminal has just received a major refresh — a Preview channel release that rewrites its windowing architecture, widens the Settings UI, and brings a handful of emulation, usability and accessibility improvements that together make this one of the heftiest updates in recent memory. Background Windows Terminal has matured from a niche, open-source command-line alternative into the default, modern CLI host for Windows power users and developers. Over the past few years the...

Microsoft’s latest Release Preview cumulative update, KB5064080 (Build 22631.5837), quietly bundles a string of targeted reliability fixes for Windows 11 while marking a strategic pivot for enterprise lifecycle tooling: Windows Backup for Organizations is listed as “New!” and described as generally available in the release notes, positioning Microsoft’s first‑party backup/restore capability as a core tool for device refreshes and mass reprovisioning. Background Windows servicing continues...

Microsoft has quietly confirmed that the new Windows 11 handheld-focused gaming enhancements — the Xbox full‑screen experience and associated handheld optimizations — will not be limited to the new ROG Xbox Ally family, and reporting now points to existing Windows handhelds, including the MSI Claw 8 AI+, as candidates for receiving the feature set in a phased rollout beginning next year. This is a significant software shift: Microsoft’s new approach strips back desktop overhead, surfaces a...

Microsoft has opened an investigation after multiple community test benches, independent outlets, and SSD vendors reported that the August 12, 2025 cumulative update for Windows 11 (commonly tracked as KB5063878, OS Build 26100.4946) can cause some solid‑state drives to disappear from the operating system during sustained, large write operations — a failure mode that in a subset of reports resulted in truncated or corrupted files and, in rare cases, drives that refused to re‑enumerate until...

Microsoft is testing a new Cross Device Resume feature for Windows 11 that promises true app continuity with Android phones—starting with Spotify and rolling out to Windows Insiders in staged previews—bringing one‑click, context‑aware handoff between phone and PC that aims to reduce the friction of switching devices. * has been the benchmark for moving an active task from phone to desktop and back. Windows’ attempts at parity have been piecemeal: Project Rome and Shared Experiences hinted at...

Microsoft’s terminal for Windows just took a major step forward: a sweeping update that rewrites the app’s windowing model, brings dozens of previously hidden settings into the UI, ships updated fonts and color schemes, and delivers a raft of stability, compatibility, and usability improvements that matter to developers, system administrators, and power users alike. Background Windows Terminal has matured from an enthusiast project into the primary command-line experience on modern Windows...

Microsoft’s formal end-of-support date for Windows 10—October 14, 2025—has pushed local managed‑IT providers into high gear, warning businesses that failure to prepare will increase security exposure, complicate compliance, and make future hardware purchases more expensive and time consuming. Background Microsoft has announced that after October 14, 2025 it will no longer provide technical assistance, feature updates or security updates for Windows 10, and it is recommending that devices...

Microsoft has published a non‑security preview update for Windows 11, version 23H2 — KB5064080 — delivered as an optional Release Preview package that bundles a set of targeted reliability fixes, a servicing‑stack refresh, and an enterprise‑facing capability that Microsoft calls Windows Backup for Organizations. ethe Release Preview Channel to stage near‑final cumulative updates before they go broadly to production. These preview releases are intended to surface last‑mile regressions and...

Microsoft has pushed a targeted Release Preview update identified as KB5064080 into the Windows 11 servicing stream, delivering incremental reliability fixes across File Explorer, storage (ReFS), networking (SMB over QUIC), input/IME handling, device‑management policy enforcement and more — and it surfaces Windows Backup for Organizations as a new enterprise‑facing capability to watch. Background / Overview Windows 11 servicing continues to use parallel build families — the 22621 family...

Microsoft has published KB5065813 — an out‑of‑box experience (OOBE) update for Windows 11, versions 22H2 and 23H2 — on August 26, 2025, delivering two tightly related outcomes: first, a platform change that enables Windows quality updates to be taken during OOBE for eligible managed devices; and second, an emergency servicing patchset that addresses reset/recovery failures introduced by the August 2025 cumulative rollups. The KB brings a combined Servicing Stack Update (SSU) + Latest...

Microsoft has quietly released a first‑party, agentless VM Conversion extension for Windows Admin Center that converts VMware vCenter/ESXi virtual machines into Hyper‑V VMs on Windows Server — a move that promises a low‑friction on‑premises path away from VMware while surfacing important operational, licensing, and security tradeoffs administrators must plan for now. Background: why this matters now Virtual machine conversion and migration has long been one of the more painful tasks in...