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Microsoft’s Fairwater makes plain what the AI era already suspected: the next phase of computing will be built not in racks tucked into generic halls, but in factory‑scale campuses that operate as a single, purpose‑designed supercomputer for training and serving massive models. The scale, the technology choices, and the trade‑offs baked into Fairwater expose both the practical strengths of hyperscale AI infrastructure and the geopolitical, environmental and market questions that follow when...

Microsoft released an out‑of‑band cumulative update for Windows 11 version 24H2 on September 22, 2025 — KB5068221 (OS Build 26100.6588) — to fix a targeted compatibility regression that caused Microsoft Office to fail when delivered via Microsoft Application Virtualization (App‑V), while also carrying the September security rollup and a servicing‑stack update; the package reiterates a known SMBv1/NetBIOS connectivity caveat and includes a reminder about the upcoming Secure Boot certificate...

Microsoft has expanded Microsoft Entra’s logging toolkit with a set of targeted capabilities that give administrators far better visibility into agent activity, service-to-service authentication, and richer sign-in attributes — features designed to improve security monitoring, incident investigations, and cross-tenant correlation while introducing operational and privacy trade-offs that IT teams must manage carefully. Background Microsoft Entra sits at the center of identity and access...

Microsoft has set a firm end-of-support date for Windows 10: after October 14, 2025 Microsoft will stop shipping routine security updates, feature/quality patches and standard support for the main consumer and many enterprise editions, forcing users and organizations into a short, practical decision window. Background / Overview Windows 10 debuted in 2015 and for a decade has been the dominant desktop OS across homes, businesses and public institutions. Microsoft announced that Windows 10...

Microsoft quietly shipped an out‑of‑band cumulative update for Windows 11 version 24H2 on September 22, 2025 — KB5068221 (OS Build 26100.6588) — to resolve a targeted compatibility failure that caused Microsoft Office to misbehave when delivered via Microsoft Application Virtualization (App‑V), while also bringing along AI component refreshes and a servicing‑stack update; however, the patch re‑emphasizes a known SMBv1/NetBIOS connectivity regression introduced earlier in September and...

Microsoft’s decision to end free security and quality updates for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, has pushed an estimated hundreds of millions of users into an immediate and consequential choice: upgrade to Windows 11 where possible, enroll in Microsoft’s time‑limited Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, replace hardware, or accept rising security and compatibility risk. The announcement, the contours of Microsoft’s consumer ESU offer, and the scale of the Windows 10 install base have...

Microsoft has quietly removed two of the most disruptive upgrade blocks that kept certain PCs from receiving the Windows 11 24H2 feature update: a long-standing camera/face‑detection safeguard and a widely felt audio/Bluetooth compatibility hold, meaning many devices that were previously blocked can now be offered 24H2 once the required driver and cumulative updates are installed. Background: why the 24H2 rollout became a messy patchwork Windows 11 24H2 (the “2024 Update”) arrived with a set...

Microsoft’s Copilot is evolving from a one‑person productivity assistant into a set of embedded, context‑aware AI teammates that live inside Teams channels, SharePoint sites, Viva Engage communities and meetings — agents that proactively run coordination tasks, capture decisions, and keep projects moving while operating under Microsoft’s enterprise security and governance controls. Background Microsoft introduced Copilot as a productivity layer that assisted individuals inside Word, Excel...

Microsoft pushed an unscheduled, out‑of‑band cumulative update to Windows 11 version 24H2 to address a high‑impact compatibility regression affecting virtualized Office deployments — but the patch also reiterates a known SMBv1 connectivity caveat administrators must account for before broad rollout. Background Microsoft released KB5068221 (OS Build 26100.6588) on September 22, 2025 as an out‑of‑band (OOB) update for Windows 11, version 24H2. The package is cumulative: it includes the fixes...

Microsoft's latest Paint update introduces editable project files and on‑canvas opacity controls, a pair of small but pivotal features that sharply reduce the friction between casual sketches and multi‑session image projects — and bring the classic Windows app closer to being a viable, zero‑cost alternative for many everyday Photoshop tasks. Background Microsoft has been steadily rebuilding Paint from a single‑session doodle tool into a more capable creative surface over the past few years...

Microsoft has acknowledged that recent Windows 11 servicing updates introduced a regression that can block playback of DRM‑protected video — producing black screens, frozen frames, and copyright‑protection errors in certain Blu‑ray, DVD and digital‑TV applications — and is staging a targeted remediation through the Release Preview channel while advising affected customers to delay broad installation of the implicated updates. Background Windows 11 received an optional preview servicing...

L’Oréal’s Americas team has quietly turned Microsoft’s Power Platform into a production-grade ingredient in a larger Beauty Tech transformation — shipping low‑code apps that solve real operational pain, cut costs, and scale beyond pilot projects into enterprise‑grade services used across the globe. The company’s Tech Factory is training and enabling makers to build everything from a mobile lab reservation system to SAP‑integrated purchasing apps, and the early results show material time...

Microsoft’s app ecosystem in 2025 is dominated by the familiar trio of collaboration, security, and productivity: Microsoft Teams tops the charts, followed by Microsoft Authenticator and Microsoft Word, signaling a year in which remote work, secure access, and document creation remained central to user behavior across iOS and Android. Background The mobile app market has matured into a two-speed environment: a small set of apps that attract mass, sustained installs, and a long tail of...

Microsoft has quietly rolled out a new, opt‑in program called Windows AI Labs that lets a small group of Windows 11 users test experimental AI features inside built‑in apps — first spotted as a sign‑up prompt in Microsoft Paint and confirmed by multiple outlets and Microsoft’s evolving Copilot+ roadmap. Background / Overview Microsoft has been repositioning Windows as an “AI‑first” platform, blending cloud LLM services with on‑device models executed on specialized silicon. Over the last...

Microsoft’s public preview of the Azure Maps Geocode Autocomplete API brings a focused, developer-friendly typeahead service to Azure’s location stack — promising structured, multilingual suggestions for addresses, places, and points of interest that aim to speed user input, reduce errors, and feed richer location data into maps, dispatch systems, and logistics platforms. This release builds on Microsoft’s broader Azure Maps Search and Geocoding services and is pitched at classic autosuggest...

Microsoft’s decision to end routine Windows 10 updates on October 14, 2025 has turned a long-forecast lifecycle milestone into an immediate and practical crisis for millions of households, small businesses, and public institutions that now face a hard choice: upgrade to Windows 11 where possible, buy a new Windows 11–capable PC, pay for a one‑year consumer Extended Security Updates (ESU) bridge, or run increasingly vulnerable, unsupported systems. Background / Overview Windows 10 launched in...

Microsoft’s decision to end routine Windows 10 updates on October 14, 2025 has moved from a distant lifecycle notice into an immediate, practical crisis for millions of users, leaving households, small businesses and public institutions with a stark set of choices: upgrade to Windows 11 where eligible, enroll in a narrow one‑year Extended Security Updates (ESU) bridge, buy new hardware, or continue operating an increasingly risky unsupported system. Background Windows 10 debuted in 2015...

Microsoft’s decision to stop delivering routine security updates and feature patches for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, forces a hard choice on hundreds of millions of users: upgrade to Windows 11 where possible, buy a short-term safety net, or accept rising security and compatibility risk. Background / Overview Microsoft first signalled Windows 10’s lifecycle years ago and has now set a firm end-of-support date: October 14, 2025. On that date, mainstream monthly security updates, feature...

Microsoft has quietly restored one of the most nostalgic Windows features — the ability to use videos as desktop wallpapers — by adding native video wallpaper support to recent Windows 11 Insider Preview builds, giving users a built-in alternative to third-party tools like Wallpaper Engine and DeskScapes. Background For years, Windows users who wanted animated or video backgrounds relied on third-party applications. Tools such as Wallpaper Engine became de facto standards because Windows...

Microsoft has begun quietly recruiting Windows 11 users into a new, opt‑in pilot called Windows AI Labs, an in‑OS sandbox for testing experimental AI features that first appeared as a sign‑up prompt inside Microsoft Paint and which Microsoft describes as “a pilot acceleration program for validating novel AI feature ideas on Windows.” Background Microsoft’s push to fold generative and assistive AI into everyday Windows workflows has been building for more than a year. The company has layered...