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Microsoft has quietly released the optional preview update KB5065790 for Windows 11 version 23H2 (Build 22631.5984), a compact quality rollup that fixes a handful of high‑impact reliability issues — notably a SIM PIN sign‑in freeze, multi‑monitor Remote Desktop shutdowns, problematic Chinese IME rendering, and an SMBv1 NetBT connectivity regression introduced earlier in September. Background / Overview Windows 11 version 23H2 shipped in October 2023 and is approaching the end of servicing...

Minecraft Bedrock players can now try the 1.21.120.23 experimental build through the Preview/Beta channels on consoles, PC and mobile — a small, focused update that fixes several gameplay and input bugs, restores missing file associations on Windows, and carries a handful of technical tweaks creators should note before enabling experimental content. Overview The 1.21.120.23 Preview/Beta is a minor but important incremental update to Minecraft: Bedrock Edition that’s being distributed through...

You landed on a block page when trying to view the Edgar Poe: Hidden Objects Game achievements on XboxAchievements.com — the message reads “The owner of this website has banned your IP address (104.196.9.116)” — and this article unpacks exactly what that message means, what likely caused it, how to confirm the facts, safe troubleshooting steps you can take right now, alternatives for getting the achievement list, and the technical and policy risks to be aware of as you investigate...

Logitech’s new K980 Signature Slim Solar+ keyboard shifts a familiar office peripheral into a near–maintenance-free device by relying entirely on ambient light for power, promising a decade-long battery lifespan and a $99.99 street price that places solar charging firmly into mainstream accessory territory. Background Logitech has introduced the Signature Slim Solar+ K980, a full-size wireless keyboard built around a slim solar strip and a low-power design marketed under Logi LightCharge...

Microsoft will stop issuing routine security and feature updates for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025 — a hard cut that converts a decade of steady vendor maintenance into a single, calendar-driven risk event for hundreds of millions of PCs worldwide, and one that has provoked consumer outcry, petitions and legal challenges as users scramble to choose between upgrading, paying for a one‑year safety net, replacing hardware, or migrating to alternative platforms. Background / Overview Windows 10...

Windows 3.0’s help system was called “online” long before the web, and the distinction points to a small but revealing shift in how engineers—and later users—used the words online and offline to describe availability, not connectivity. Recent attention to an Old New Thing post by veteran Microsoft engineer Raymond Chen reminds us that “online help” in the Windows 3.0 era meant “immediately available to the computer,” not “available on the internet,” and that linguistic shift helps explain...

Microsoft’s formal end-of-support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, is now less than three weeks away, and schools that still rely on Windows 10 devices face immediate and material security, compliance, and operational risks unless they act fast. Devices that remain on Windows 10 after that date will no longer receive mainstream security patches or technical support, creating network weak points that cybercriminals commonly exploit. Education IT teams must move from planning to execution...

Algoriddim’s djay has finally re‑established first‑class access to the streaming giant most DJs and casual music fans already live in: Spotify’s full catalog is now available inside djay on Mac and Windows — for Spotify Premium subscribers in supported markets — bringing drag‑and‑drop streaming, Automix compatibility, and direct playlist access to desktop DJ workflows. Background Since its first major cross‑platform pushes, djay has been one of the most visible consumer-to-pro DJ apps, known...

Microsoft pushed a small but crucial PowerToys patch this week — version 0.94.2 — to unblock installs that had been failing with a bootstrapper error, restoring successful installs from GitHub, winget, and the Microsoft Store and stopping a rollout-wide headache for power users and IT teams alike. Background PowerToys is Microsoft’s community-driven toolkit for power users, shipping modular utilities such as Keyboard Manager, FancyZones, Color Picker, and accessibility-focused tools like...

Microsoft just gave Windows 10 users one last lifeline — but the window to grab it is small, conditional, and full of trade-offs you need to understand before you act. Overview Microsoft will stop regular security updates for consumer editions of Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, but it is offering a time‑boxed consumer Extended Security Updates (ESU) program that provides one additional year of security-only patches through October 13, 2026. The enrollment mechanics are unusual: eligible...

Microsoft has released the optional, non‑security preview update KB5065790 for Windows 11 version 23H2, a compact cumulative focused on reliability fixes rather than new features — and it lands at a time when 23H2 is weeks away from end‑of‑service for consumer editions. Background / Overview Windows 11 23H2 (build 22631 family) shipped in October 2023 and is scheduled to reach end of updates for Home and Pro editions on November 11, 2025. That lifecycle milestone means consumers still on...

Microsoft has quietly removed two long-standing compatibility holds that kept many PCs away from the Windows 11 24H2 feature update — fixes for a face‑detection/camera regression and a Dirac audio driver problem were finally delivered in mid‑September — but the September cumulative update also introduced a fresh DRM playback regression that can block Blu‑ray, DVD and some digital‑TV apps that rely on legacy rendering paths. Background / Overview Microsoft stages feature updates with targeted...

Windows 11 ships polished and modern — but that polish often hides a surprising amount of preinstalled software, background services, and telemetry hooks that can drain performance and privacy. A recent community guide focused on removing bloatware and disabling tracking lays out a practical workflow: start with a local account, surgically remove or block bundled apps, clamp down on telemetry, swap to privacy-first browsers, and use vetted tools for advanced customization. The result can be...

Google and Qualcomm have just pulled back the curtain on a concrete, industry‑level push to run Android on traditional PCs — and the implications go far beyond a new laptop SKU. At Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit, Google’s Rick Osterloh confirmed that the company is “building together a common technical foundation for our products on PCs and desktop computing systems,” and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon publicly called the work he’d seen “incredible,” saying he “cannot wait to have one.” This is...

Microsoft’s public pivot on the AI browser conversation is straightforward: it isn’t building a brand‑new browser — it’s turning Microsoft Edge into an agentic experience by folding Copilot directly into how people already browse, run workflows, and consume web content. This strategy, described at length by Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, reframes the competition: rather than racing to ship an entirely new browser, Microsoft is betting that a deeply integrated Copilot Mode inside Edge —...

Arena Breakout: Infinite refuses to launch for a growing number of Windows players, and the troubleshooting checklist circulating in forums and support pages converges on a small set of practical, high‑impact fixes that address corrupted files, anti‑cheat failures, overlay and monitoring conflicts, GPU selection problems, and corrupted startup media — six solutions that together restore launch success for the vast majority of affected players. Background Arena Breakout: Infinite launched on...

Windows search has long been the green-eyed villain of productivity — slow to return results, hungry for resources, and a constant background presence that can chew battery life and CPU cycles. For users who’ve tried to tame or disable Microsoft’s indexer, the trade-off has been clear: fewer system drains, but more time hunting for files, apps, open tabs and settings. A compact, keyboard-first alternative called Fluent Search promises to bridge that gap by offering lightning-fast lookups, a...

Microsoft’s Copilot is getting a new set of study‑and‑play features that turn the assistant from a passive helper into an active quizmaster — users can now ask Copilot to generate quizzes across history, math, science, and pop culture, use interactive Quiz Cards, and even deploy quiz-style agents through Copilot Studio templates, broadening the assistant’s role into education, training, and casual brain‑teasing. Background Microsoft’s Copilot family has steadily expanded beyond simple chat...

South African medical societies have strongly rejected recent claims that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children, placing themselves firmly in line with international health authorities who say the available science does not support a causal link. Background The controversy flared after high-profile public statements asserting a link between prenatal paracetamol (acetaminophen) exposure and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Those claims prompted a rapid response from...

A Windows 11 servicing update released in late August and rolled into September’s cumulative rollup has introduced a wide-ranging playback regression that breaks DRM‑protected video and audio in certain legacy players and digital TV apps, leaving legally purchased Blu‑ray/DVD titles, capture/tuner software, and other EVR‑dependent playback pipelines unable to display or record protected content. Microsoft has acknowledged the problem, labeled it a known issue for Windows 11 version 24H2, and...