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If you’ve been frustrated by the rigid defaults, hidden telemetry, and scattered settings that make Windows 11 feel less like “your” PC and more like a machine configured for someone else, a new generation of community scripts and open-source tools promises to put far more control back in the hands of users. What started as a handful of debloat scripts has become an ecosystem of modular PowerShell modules, GUI front-ends, and community-driven projects that let you tune privacy, remove inbox...

Windows 11 can feel bloated the moment you unbox a PC — but with a deliberately chosen setup flow and a few cautious post‑install steps, you can arrive at a far leaner, less intrusive system without running opaque debloating scripts. The practical approach explored by MakeUseOf — set the right locale during OOBE, avoid tying the PC to a Microsoft account, temporarily trip EU‑focused uninstall options, and then harden telemetry and update behavior — is a credible, lower‑risk path to a cleaner...

Microsoft testet derzeit eine Reihe weitreichender Änderungen für Windows 11, die sowohl die Sicherheitsarchitektur als auch das zentrale Design der Oberfläche betreffen. Mehrere Experimente und Pilotfeatures deuten darauf hin, dass Microsoft nicht nur Routineverbesserungen plant, sondern strukturelle Anpassungen, die langfristig den Umgang mit Anwendungen, Systemintegrität und die Benutzerführung verändern können. Das ist relevant für Endanwender, IT‑Administratoren und Software‑Hersteller...

EPC Group’s new six-layer architecture reimagines Microsoft Power BI as an enterprise decision intelligence platform — extending Microsoft’s Copilot with AutoML, LLMs, cognitive enrichment, RAG-based retrieval, agentic automation, and continuous forecasting so that dashboards don’t just report history but proactively surface and act on future risks and opportunities. Background Power BI has steadily evolved from a self-service reporting tool into a richer, AI-infused analytics surface...

If you want the Landfall Mason Operator skin locked behind the Memories Operator Order in Black Ops Royale, the quest is simple in concept but requires fast routing, a little luck with spawns, and disciplined endgame play — you must pick up a blue shirt in the Stadium’s North Stand, carry that trigger item to the Heliport and interact with a framed photo behind the D’Avalon Heliport desk, then survive to a top‑five placement to complete the Order and unlock the reward. / Overview Operator...

Training With Industry (TWI) fellows gathered at Microsoft’s Innovation Hub in Arlington, Virginia, for the 2026 midpoint review from January 12–16 — an event that crystallized the program’s central purpose: put frontline Army acquisition officers inside the private-sector engine room so they can return with the relationships, skills, and perspective necessary to accelerate force modernization. Background The Army’s Training With Industry (TWI) initiative is a one‑year work‑experience...

Windows 11 power users have a new, blunt instrument for reclaiming control: a community-built PowerShell project that promises to remove or hide the operating system’s expanding set of AI surfaces — from the Copilot UI to Recall and other Appx/MSIX-based components — with a single, scripted workflow. The tool has fast become a lightning rod for debate: to enthusiasts it’s an elegant answer to lost control and creeping telemetry; to cautious admins it’s a reminder that one-click removal of...

Microsoft’s push to make Windows 11 behave more like a living‑room console arrives this spring: beginning in April 2026, a new, system‑level Xbox Mode will let compatible Windows 11 PCs boot into a controller‑first, full‑screen gaming shell that prioritizes games, reduces desktop interruptions, and places the Xbox PC app at the center of the experience. Background Microsoft first experimented with a console‑style gaming shell on Windows handhelds late in 2025 under the name Full Screen...

Microsoft’s push to make AI an everywhere companion for players took another step this week when an Xbox executive confirmed that Gaming Copilot will expand from PC and mobile into “current‑generation consoles” later this year, a move that—if it arrives as described—will put a persistent, context‑aware AI assistant directly on Xbox Series X and Series S hardware for the first time. The remark, delivered at a Game Developers Conference panel and reported on March 12, 2026, crystallizes a...

Microsoft’s latest Insider drops have quietly removed a long‑standing artificial ceiling in the Windows display stack, letting the OS accept and report refresh rates above 1,000 Hz — a small change in release notes that has outsized implications for competitive gaming, monitor vendors, and the hardware ecosystem. erview For years, Windows treated refresh‑rate handling as a pragmatic engineering surface: most displays fell between 60 Hz and 240–360 Hz, and the OS and GPU drivers evolved to...

Gina Montgomery’s approach to designing trusted Copilot and agent experiences reframes the conversation about enterprise AI from hypothetical capabilities to practical deployment: structured adoption, clear governance, and human-centered change management are the levers that determine whether Copilots become productivity multipliers or confusing, underused tools. Her recent interview and session highlights—grounded in real-world deployments at Armanino and reflected across Microsoft’s...

Microsoft's March 10, 2026 cumulative for Windows 11 — shipped as KB5079473 (OS builds 26200.8037 and 26100.8037) — promised a routine Patch Tuesday: security fixes, small quality-of-life features such as in-box Sysmon, WebP wallpaper support, Emoji 16, and a built-in internet speed test. Instead, a noticeable wave of user reports arrived within 24–72 hours describing failed installs, repeated post-update reboots, black/blank screens, and a range of GPU/graphics regressions that left systems...

Microsoft’s March cumulative update for Windows 11, KB5079473 (released March 10, 2026), is rolling out with a familiar mix of new features and security fixes — but a growing number of users now say the patch is also triggering severe instability on some machines, including hard freezes, repeated restarts, and Blue Screens of Death (BSODs). The update’s official support page still lists no known issues, while community threads, Microsoft Q&A posts, and Reddit threads show multiple reports of...

Microsoft Azure has validated and readied its datacenters to run NVIDIA’s new Vera Rubin NVL72 rack‑scale AI system, positioning Azure as the first public cloud to claim production validation of the GB300 “Blackwell Ultra” NVL72 platform — a move that crystallizes the shift from server‑level GPU instances to rack‑as‑the‑accelerator thinking and escalates the hyperscale cloud AI arms race. Background / Overview Microsoft’s announcement frames the validation as the first large‑scale...

Glasgow-headquartered managed service provider Kick ICT closed the year ended 30 September 2025 with a mixed set of numbers: revenue slipped by just over 6% to £27.0 million, EBITDA eased marginally to £4.5 million, yet gross profit ticked up two percent to £16.3 million. The headline reads like a small retreat, but the story beneath the figures is more complex — a period of strategic investment, organisational restructuring and targeted M&A activity supported by private equity that...

Microsoft quietly rolled out an out‑of‑band hotpatch identified in community reporting as KB5084597 for Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC 2024 to address a cluster of high‑risk vulnerabilities in the Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) management components — a restartless, hotpatch‑style fix targeted at hotpatch‑eligible devices and pushed on or around March 13, 2026. emote Access Service (RRAS) is Microsoft’s long‑standing server role that provides VPN, NAT and routing capabilities on...

Microsoft is bringing its AI-powered Gaming Copilot out of the PC and mobile beta and into the living room: Xbox Series X|S consoles will receive a built‑in Gaming Copilot experience in 2026, the company confirmed during its Game Developers Conference presentations and follow-up briefings. This is the clearest sign yet that Microsoft intends to make conversational, context‑aware AI a first‑class part of the Xbox platform — not an optional second screen — and it has major implications for...

Microsoft will bring its AI-powered Gaming Copilot to Xbox Series X|S consoles in 2026, turning an overlay-style, context-aware assistant that has been tested on PC and mobile into a living-room feature for console players — a move announced during Microsoft’s presentations at GDC and confirmed by Xbox representatives. Background / Overview Microsoft's Copilot brand has expanded rapidly across productivity and consumer products; Gaming Copilot is the company's gaming-specific implementation...

A low-cost, high-impact trick is resurfacing with fresh polish: a cybercrime crew tracked by Microsoft as Storm-2561 has been distributing trojanized VPN clients — convincing MSI installers that sideload malicious DLLs and harvest corporate credentials — by deliberately manipulating search results and hosting their fakes on legitimate developer infrastructure. The campaign, first observed in mid‑January 2026 and publicized by Microsoft in March, spoofs well-known enterprise VPN brands...

Microsoft has confirmed a serious Windows 11 servicing regression that in some configurations can leave the system drive inaccessible — effectively locking users out of the C: drive — and the vendor has begun shipping emergency fixes and mitigation guidance as the problem rippled through consumer and enterprise environments. ([windowscentral.cscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/windows-11-second-emergency-out-of-band-update-kb5078127-released-address-outlook-bugs)) Background / Overview...