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Thread 'Microsoft’s Renewed Probe Into Israel Ties, Azure Use, and Governance'
Microsoft’s president doubled down on a promise to investigate the company’s ties to Israel because a cascade of investigative reporting, a forceful United Nations inquiry, escalating employee activism, investor pressure and fresh allegations about large-scale use of Microsoft Azure by Israeli military intelligence created a reputational and legal crisis that demanded a renewed, externally supervised response. ton The immediate catalyst for the renewed pledge was a set of investigative...
Thread 'Windows 11 24H2 KB5063878 storage regression: drives vanish under heavy writes'
Microsoft’s August cumulative packages for Windows 11 24H2 have been linked by independent testers, hardware vendors and multiple specialist outlets to a reproducible storage regression: certain SSDs (and a smaller set of HDDs) can stop responding or “vanish” from Windows during sustained, large sequential writes, with a real risk of truncated or corrupted data. Microsoft published the combined cumulative package as KB5063878 (OS Build 26100.4946) on August 12, 2025 and says it is...
Thread 'BeyondTrust 2023 Microsoft Vulnerabilities Report: Windows Server Security Trends'
BeyondTrust’s release of the 2023 Microsoft Vulnerabilities Report — framed as the 10th‑anniversary edition — is both a retrospective and a warning: the last decade of Microsoft vulnerability disclosures has delivered recurring patterns that disproportionately affect Windows Server environments, identity services, virtualization stacks, and the document/graphics processing code paths that modern enterprises depend on. The report’s stated purpose — to distill a decade of Microsoft security...
Thread 'August 2025 Windows MSI UAC Regression Impacts Lab Installations (Error 1730)'
Microsoft’s August security rollups have surfaced an unexpected compatibility regression that is blocking common per‑user MSI actions with a UAC elevation gate — and university computer labs are feeling the impact hardest, where standard student accounts now hit Error 1730 when the operating system refuses to allow a secondary MSI to run without administrator consent. (support.microsoft.com) Background Secondary MSI installers and per‑user repairs have been a quiet but essential part of...
Thread 'King Candy Crush Layoffs and Microsoft's AI Push: A Case of AI-Driven Gaming'
Microsoft’s streamlining of its gaming operations has moved from boardroom memo to daily reality at King, the studio behind Candy Crush — roughly 200 roles are reported to have been cut, and multiple independent accounts suggest remaining staff are being pushed to rely on generative AI tools as a matter of policy, with some teams allegedly replaced by the very systems they helped build. (business-standard.com, mobilegamer.biz) Background / Overview King’s Candy Crush is among the...
Thread 'Networked Learning: Accelerate AI Skills at Work Through Your Professional Network'
Employees across industries are telling researchers and reporters the same thing: learning to use artificial intelligence at work feels like another full-time job — and many are quietly overwhelmed — but an often‑overlooked resource can help shrink that curve: your professional network. Background The rush to adopt AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot and other generative systems has transformed everyday workflows, while simultaneously raising new expectations for employee digital fluency...
Thread 'Microsoft Defender: Built-in Windows Security That Competes with Paid AV'
Not long ago, running a Windows PC without a paid third‑party antivirus felt like leaving your front door open — today, that advice is overdue for a rethink because Windows’ built‑in protections are both better and far more capable than most people realize. Background Windows has a long, sometimes messy, history with malware and with the tools used to fight it. In the early 2000s the platform’s openness and the lack of a strong native anti‑malware engine made third‑party suites essential...
Thread 'Top Open-Source Windows Toolkit: 9 Apps for Privacy, Productivity, Mastery'
Windows ships with a competent baseline of tools, but for users who prefer transparency, control, and long-term maintainability, the open-source alternatives on this How‑To Geek roster are worth considering — this article examines the nine apps the original author installs on every fresh Windows PC, verifies their core claims, explains the rationale for each pick, highlights important caveats, and offers practical guidance for safe, repeatable installs. Background / Overview The original...
Thread 'Windows 10 19045.6276 Release Preview: ESU network control, Backup GA, Secure Boot expiry'
Microsoft’s Release Preview push for Windows 10 Build 19045.6276 (KB5063842) is a terse but consequential update: delivered as an optional, non-security cumulative preview, it bundles a set of targeted reliability fixes while surfacing two management-facing capabilities that matter to IT teams — a network-control enhancement for Commercial ESU scenarios and the general availability signal for Windows Backup for Organizations. The package arrives as organizations enter the final phase of...
Thread 'Windows 11 Pro Deals Meet AI: Semantic Search & Copilot Home'
Windows 11 Pro is being promoted as a bargain and a productivity leap at the same time — with reports of deeply discounted licenses (as low as the low‑teens in some offers) circulating alongside Microsoft's steady rollout of AI enhancements to the OS, most notably a revamped Copilot with semantic file search and a redesigned home experience that aims to make finding and interacting with files, apps and recent work easier than ever. (blogs.windows.com) Background / Overview Microsoft has...
Thread 'MSI Cubi NUC AI 2MG: Copilot+ mini PC for productivity and light gaming'
The MSI Cubi NUC AI 2MG quietly rewrites expectations for what a palm‑sized PC can do: it combines an Intel Core Ultra mobile CPU, Intel Arc integrated graphics, on‑board NPU acceleration, and a full complement of business‑grade I/O into a sub‑liter chassis that’s explicitly positioned as a Copilot+ capable mini PC for productivity, on‑device AI tasks, and surprisingly capable light gaming. This review synthesizes hands‑on reporting and MSI’s own product documentation to separate the...
Thread 'Windows 11 gains native cross-device resume: Android to PC Spotify handoff'
Microsoft is quietly delivering one of macOS’s smoothest conveniences to Windows 11: a native, Handoff‑style resume capability that lets you pick up activity from an Android phone on a PC — starting with Spotify playback and built as part of the Phone Link/Link to Windows continuity stack. The feature is rolling out to Windows Insiders as a staged preview in the Dev and Beta channels, appears as a taskbar “Resume” alert, and can even trigger a one‑click Microsoft Store install of the...
Thread 'Parallels Desktop 26: Tahoe support, Windows 11 25H2, and enterprise IT tools'
Parallels Desktop 26 is available now, delivering day‑one compatibility with Apple’s macOS 26 “Tahoe” and Microsoft’s Windows 11 25H2 while shifting the product to year‑based versioning and adding a suite of enterprise management tools intended to make Windows VM deployment and governance on Mac fleets far easier for IT teams. (alludo.com) Background Parallels has long been the default virtualization choice for Mac users who need to run Windows without rebooting, and the company’s latest...
Thread 'Check Python Version in Windows CMD: Quick Guide to Installers and Py Launcher'
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...
Thread 'Windows KB5064080 Release Preview: Fixes for Explorer, SMB over QUIC, ReFS, and Windows Backup'
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...
Thread 'Hidden Windows 11 Features That Save Time and Boost Productivity'
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...
Thread 'Windows OOBE: Auto-install quality updates via Intune ESP (Sept 2025)'
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...
Thread 'PowerToys on Windows 11: Master multitasking with FancyZones, Run, Peek'
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...
Thread 'Windows Backup for Organizations Hits Release Preview with KB5064080'
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...
Thread 'Is Your PC Windows 11 Ready? Quick TPM, Secure Boot & Upgrade Checks'
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. (support.microsoft.com)...
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