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A patch released in January 2026 is causing some Windows 11 PCs to restart when users try to shut them down or put them to sleep, and Microsoft has published an emergency workaround while it works on a permanent fix. Background / Overview Microsoft shipped its January cumulative updates on January 13, 2026. One of those updates—distributed to Windows 11, version 23H2 Enterprise and IoT editions as KB5073455—introduced a regression that can cause systems with System Guard Secure Launch...

Microsoft quietly rolled out a targeted servicing fix that finally makes the Start‑menu command “Update and shut down” behave as labeled for many Windows 11 machines — but the relief is mixed with follow‑on problems for other updates and a reminder that virtualizing Windows remains fiddly when TPM, drivers and UEFI are involved. Background / Overview For years a subset of Windows users saw an annoying mismatch: choosing Update and shut down would result in updates being applied, then the...

Microsoft Copilot briefly went offline for a subset of North American users earlier today before Microsoft confirmed the problem had been fixed after a rollback of a configuration change, a short-lived incident that highlights both how quickly modern cloud services can be recovered and why tightly coupled AI delivery chains remain fragile when configuration changes go wrong. Background Microsoft Copilot is no longer an experimental sidebar—it's a multi-surface, generative‑AI layer woven into...

Microsoft’s Copilot experienced a short-lived accessibility and performance disruption that affected North American users earlier today, but engineers restored service within hours; at the same time, Microsoft announced a sweeping internal change—closing employee libraries and cutting many long‑standing subscription services as it pivots learning toward AI‑driven platforms—an organization‑level move that raises cultural, vendor‑relationship, and governance questions for a company that is...

Microsoft’s new “Community‑First AI Infrastructure” pledge lands as a strategic pivot in the company’s datacenter strategy, a public-facing bid to reframe hyperscale AI buildouts as accountable, locally beneficial investments rather than hidden local burdens. Background Microsoft launched the Community‑First AI Infrastructure plan publicly on January 13, 2026, positioning it as a five‑point framework designed to address the acute local impacts of AI‑grade datacenters: electricity grid...

Microsoft’s new Community‑First AI Infrastructure Plan signals a deliberate shift: the company is attempting to convert the political and civic friction around hyperscale AI datacenters into a public, measurable set of commitments designed to protect local resources and communities. Background / Overview Microsoft unveiled a five‑point framework it calls the Community‑First AI Infrastructure plan in a public rollout in Washington, D.C., on January 13, 2026. The pledge, authored and promoted...

IObit’s Uninstaller 5 lands as a hard‑working entry in the crowded Windows cleanup category, packing new modules for startup control, residual cleanup, secure file shredding and deeper removal of stubborn software — and it arrives at a moment when weekly app roundups like BetaNews’ “Best Windows apps this week” are reminding users that the right combination of lightweight utilities often delivers more everyday value than one‑click optimization promises. Background Windows users have long...

Notepad’s quiet reinvention keeps getting louder: the decades‑old, near‑instant text editor now supports native tables and token‑by‑token AI streaming, and that small, steady creep from “tiny scratchpad” toward “lightweight writing surface” has a lot of users asking the same thing — has Microsoft done enough, or should it stop while Notepad still feels like Notepad? Background / Overview Notepad has never been glamorous, but it has been fundamental. For many Windows users it is the fastest...

Microsoft’s AI push has turned Windows 11 into a battleground between corporate vision and user control — and Winslop, a compact open‑source “de‑slop” utility, has emerged as the user-facing counterpunch that promises to strip back the very AI surfaces Microsoft is baking into the OS. Background / Overview Windows 11’s evolution from a user interface refresh into what Microsoft calls an “AI PC” has been aggressive and highly visible: Copilot, Recall, AI Actions and a growing set of...

Windows 11 can feel like a fresh start—sleeker visuals, improved snapping, and deeper integration with cloud and AI—but many users quickly discover that defaults matter. The modern default experience often nudges you toward Microsoft services, fills space with recommendations and feeds, and installs components that some people never asked for. The good news is Windows 11 is highly configurable: with a handful of targeted changes you can reclaim performance, battery life, privacy, and sanity...

Winslop’s arrival on the Windows scene is a symptom, not a solution: it promises surgical removal of AI surfaces and other “hidden” bloat in Windows 11, but it also reopens familiar trade‑offs between convenience, control, and long‑term system reliability. Background / Overview Windows 11’s transition from a “desktop OS” to an “AI PC” platform has delivered visible features such as Copilot, Recall, and agent‑style Actions, but it has also increased complexity in how features are packaged and...

Microsoft’s quiet week of product polish and corporate re‑tooling suddenly feels like a single story about what happens when software, AI and workplace culture accelerate at different paces: Notepad — the tiny text box millions of Windows users open without thinking — now supports Markdown‑backed tables and streaming AI; Microsoft has closed its employee libraries and trimmed expensive news and research subscriptions in favor of an “AI‑powered” Skilling Hub; independent reporting shows...

Microsoft has confirmed that its January 2026 cumulative updates introduced two separate, verified regressions: one that can block Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) and Cloud PC authentication for some enterprise clients, and a separate issue that prevents certain Windows 11 devices with System Guard Secure Launch enabled from shutting down or entering hibernation — instead those systems restart. Microsoft’s guidance for affected users is blunt and practical: use the emergency shutdown command...

Sony's headphone ecosystem remains tightly mobile-first — the official Sony | Headphones Connect (now Sony | Sound Connect) app is only available for iOS and Android, and Windows users must rely on the OS Bluetooth stack and built-in pairing tools to connect and manage most functions. For Windows 11, 10 and 8.1 the connection flow is straightforward, but there are important limitations: advanced features (EQ presets, firmware updates, spatial audio tuning and listening history) and some...

Microsoft has quietly finished what it started years ago: the Cortana standalone experience built into Windows has been deprecated and is being removed from mainstream Windows builds as Microsoft shifts its desktop strategy toward Copilot and other AI-first features. Background Cortana began life as Microsoft’s answer to Siri and Google Assistant — a voice-activated, context-aware digital aide integrated into Windows 10 at launch. Over time Microsoft repeatedly scaled back Cortana’s...

A deceptively small UX convenience — allowing Copilot to accept a prefilled prompt from a URL — has been chained into a practical, one‑click data‑exfiltration technique that security researchers call Reprompt, while at the same time enterprise telemetry shows ChatGPT accounts for the lion’s share of generative‑AI data exposures, Microsoft is quietly adding file‑import convenience functions to Excel, and Alibaba has pushed its Qwen app further toward in‑chat commerce — a quartet of...

Microsoft’s enterprise AI tools are now powering a Nakuru‑based health‑tech startup that says its Copilot‑enabled platform is already cutting medicine wastage, speeding inventory processes and opening data‑driven credit to hundreds of Kenyan independent pharmacies. The collaboration between Microsoft and the three‑year‑old startup Zendawa bundles Microsoft 365 Copilot, Power BI and Azure with a marketplace and POS layer to deliver real‑time inventory visibility, expiry alerts, forecasting...

Microsoft-backed AI tools are being used by a Kenyan health‑tech startup to shrink medicine waste, speed stocktaking and even create lender‑friendly credit signals for small pharmacies — a practical example of how cloud AI can deliver immediate operational value at the point of care. Background Neighborhood pharmacies in Kenya operate on razor‑thin margins, rely heavily on manual ledgers, and are frequently exposed to expiry losses, stockouts and cash‑flow shortages. Those structural...

SteelSeries’ Arctis 9X arrived as an Xbox‑first, dual‑wireless flagship that promised console‑grade convenience with PC and mobile versatility — but like many cross‑platform headsets it brings tradeoffs. This feature examines what the Arctis 9X actually offers for Windows 10 users hunting a clearance deal, verifies the key technical claims, and lays out the practical buying, setup, and troubleshooting advice every Windows‑based gamer should read before clicking “Buy.” Background and overview...

Microsoft has confirmed a fresh update regression that can leave some Windows 11 machines restarting when users try to shut them down or put them into hibernation — and the fallout is an immediate operational headache for affected users and IT teams alike. Background / Overview January’s Patch Tuesday delivered a large security rollup for Windows 11 and related platforms, addressing well over a hundred vulnerabilities and closing multiple high‑risk gaps. That same servicing window, however...