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Microsoft's Azure Linux 3.0.20250910 adds an optional Linux 6.12 LTS hardware‑enablement (HWE) kernel, giving Azure customers a supported path to newer device drivers and platform improvements while keeping the existing Linux 6.6 LTS kernel available for conservative deployments. Background Azure Linux is Microsoft’s in‑house, cloud‑focused Linux distribution (the successor and rebranding of CBL‑Mariner) that Microsoft uses for first‑party Azure services, AKS node images, and other...

Microsoft’s October 14, 2025 deadline for ending free security updates for Windows 10 has prompted a rare public rebuke from consumer advocates, who say the cutoff risks leaving millions exposed to cyberattacks and could produce a massive wave of electronic waste — unless Microsoft rethinks the timetable or expands free coverage options. Consumer Reports joined other advocacy groups in pressing Microsoft to extend free support, while Microsoft’s alternative — a paid Extended Security Updates...

Microsoft has quietly turned a gentle nudge into a full-court press: the company is actively moving Windows users away from Mail & Calendar and the classic Outlook client toward the modern, web-powered new Outlook for Windows, and it’s doing so with scheduled automatic rollouts, built-in opt-out controls for administrators, and deep Copilot integrations that reshape how email is curated and composed. Background / Overview Microsoft’s long-term vision for email on Windows is now explicit...

Tom’s Hardware’s practical rundown of free Windows applications lands where many of us live every day: the toolkit that keeps content, code, and media moving without a subscription bill. The list — which highlights ScreenToGIF, GIMP, Inkscape, Notepad++, Rufus, VLC, and HandBrake — is both a reminder and a challenge: professional workflows no longer require expensive software licenses when open-source and community-driven apps have matured into dependable, feature-rich alternatives...

Consumer Reports has formally asked Microsoft to keep delivering free security updates for Windows 10 consumers beyond the company’s announced October 14, 2025 end‑of‑support date, arguing that the current plan — a one‑year consumer Extended Security Updates (ESU) bridge combined with paid options — will leave millions of households, schools, and small organizations exposed or forced into costly hardware replacement. Background / Overview Microsoft set a firm lifecycle end date for Windows...

Google’s new Windows app is the kind of small, focused product that puts a bright, uncomfortable spotlight on what Microsoft hasn’t delivered: a fast, reliable, keyboard-first search experience that just finds what you need on a PC. The app — an experimental, summonable overlay you open with Alt + Space that searches local files, installed apps, Google Drive and the web, and includes Google Lens plus an optional “AI Mode” — isn’t a sweeping technical miracle. It’s the practical fix Windows...

Apple's latest widget move — an expanded sports widget on macOS that brings iPhone and iPad widgets to the desktop — has reignited a familiar frustration: Windows 11's Widgets Board still feels unfinished, underpopulated, and deprioritized compared with the widget momentum Apple and other platforms are building. The contrast isn't just aesthetic; it exposes strategic gaps in developer support, product focus, and user experience that Microsoft needs to address if Widgets are to be more than a...

Microsoft has quietly escalated the browser wars by using a prominent Bing advertisement to label Microsoft Edge as the “recommended” browser for Windows 11 users who search for Google Chrome, deploying a full comparison table that highlights Edge-only features such as a built‑in VPN, AI personalization, and Microsoft Rewards while visually downplaying Chrome. Background: why this matters now The browser market remains one of the most visible battlegrounds in consumer software. Google Chrome...

Microsoft has rolled a persistent, context‑aware Copilot Chat pane directly into the canvas of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote for qualifying Microsoft 365 business customers — a free, in‑app conversational assistant intended to make AI assistance a native part of everyday productivity while reserving deeper, tenant‑aware Copilot capabilities as a paid add‑on. Background Microsoft’s Copilot strategy has evolved into a clear two‑tier model: a broadly available, web‑grounded chat...

Microsoft’s decision to draw a line under Windows 10 on October 14, 2025 is doing more than closing a chapter — it is sharpening the upgrade calculus for millions of users and accelerating a hardware-led shift toward AI-enabled PCs, commonly sold as Copilot+ or “AI PC” devices. What began as an incremental refresh cycle is converging with a new class of silicon and Windows features that rely on on-device neural processing units (NPUs), creating a rare moment where operating system policy...

More than a month before Microsoft stops issuing security patches for Windows 10, a fresh Kaspersky telemetry snapshot is sounding a loud alarm: a majority of devices in its dataset remain on Windows 10, with a non‑trivial tail still running unsupported releases such as Windows 7 — a situation that raises measurable security, compliance and operational risks for businesses of all sizes. Background In its formal lifecycle calendar Microsoft has set the end‑of‑support date for Windows 10 as...

Google has quietly brought a native, Spotlight-like search experience to Windows with a new experimental desktop app that places a floating, AI-capable search bar on your PC and lets you summon it instantly with Alt + Space. Background Google’s experimental Windows app is being distributed through Search Labs, the company’s testbed for early-stage search features. The app places a movable, resizable search bar on the desktop and promises fast, unified search across local files, installed...

If you just unboxed a new Windows 11 laptop, there are five settings you should consider turning off right away to tighten privacy, reduce distractions, and reclaim background resources for the tasks that matter most. Background / Overview Windows 11 ships with a range of convenience features enabled by default: telemetry, personalized suggestions, widgets, search highlights, and various tips and promotional notifications. For many users — especially those on entry-level or mid-range laptops...

Google is quietly bringing its signature search experience to the Windows desktop with an experimental app that unifies results from your PC, Google Drive, installed applications and the web — all summoned with a simple Alt + Space shortcut. Background Google has long treated search as a web-first product, relying on browsers and mobile apps as the primary user surfaces. That stance has shifted subtly over the last year as the company expanded AI Mode, integrated Google Lens across more...

Microsoft’s Windows 11 Insider previews for early September 2025 widen the operating system’s AI footprint and polish long‑standing UI rough edges, but they also underline the strategic tradeoffs Microsoft is making as AI features move deeper into the OS: more convenience and on‑device intelligence for Copilot+ PCs, paired with an increasingly dense layer of AI prompts and context menus that administrators and privacy‑minded users will need to manage carefully. Background: what these...

Microsoft has quietly posted official Windows 11 ISO images for Insiders, giving testers, OEMs, and IT teams the first gated chance to perform clean installs and full out‑of‑box experience (OOBE) validation for the upcoming Windows 11 feature update — the 25H2 Release Preview build family (Build 26200.x). Background / Overview Microsoft has shifted its update delivery model in recent Windows 11 releases, using an enablement package (eKB) to flip features already present on patched disks...

Gears of War: Reloaded landed as a high‑polish remaster that aims to modernize visuals and frame‑rates, but for some players the experience was undermined by aggressive camera motion — a problem the Windows Central reviewer solved by turning off a single setting: camera shake. Background / Overview Gears of War: Reloaded is positioned as a canonical remaster of the 2006 classic, released across modern platforms with clear technical ambitions: Day‑one availability on Game Pass, remastered...

Curated for You and Microsoft have activated a first‑of‑its‑kind, lifestyle‑led AI fashion experience inside Microsoft Copilot, putting visually composed, shoppable outfit recommendations into natural conversations and surfacing curated, head‑to‑toe looks from participating retailers when users ask styling questions. Background / Overview Curated for You (CFY), an Austin‑based AI lifestyle commerce platform, publicly announced an operational integration with Microsoft Copilot on September...

Windows engineers quietly keep a short, secretive compatibility table inside the Bluetooth stack to fix one particularly stubborn relic: the Microsoft Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000 — a 2006-era device that shipped its Bluetooth name using the wrong character encoding and forced Windows to treat its reported name as invalid unless the OS applied a targeted workaround. Background The Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000 was introduced by Microsoft in 2006 as a hybrid: a compact...

Open‑source software today offers Windows users a practical way to reclaim control, improve privacy, and boost productivity — and ZDNET’s compact roundup of “10 open‑source apps I recommend every Windows user try — for free” is a useful starting kit that does exactly that. Background ZDNET’s list collects ten well‑established, free projects that map neatly to common Windows user needs: productivity, local search and launch, backup, file sync, messaging consolidation, UI polish, format...