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Microsoft will begin automatically installing the standalone Microsoft 365 Copilot app in the background on many Windows devices that already run Microsoft 365 desktop clients, with a notable carve‑out for devices in the European Economic Area — a move that promises faster feature rollout and deeper Microsoft 365 integration, but also creates new management, privacy, and governance demands for IT teams and end users alike. Background Microsoft’s Copilot initiative has shifted from being an...

Microsoft is quietly testing a one-click network speed test shortcut in the Windows 11 system tray that launches Bing’s speed‑test widget in the default browser, putting a simple “Perform speed test” entry directly where users already go to check connectivity. Background Windows has long relied on third‑party websites and apps for ad hoc throughput checks: Speedtest by Ookla, Fast.com, and ISP portals are the typical go‑to tools. Microsoft’s recent Insider builds add a taskbar‑level shortcut...

Microsoft Copilot is built into Windows 11 and Microsoft 365, but it’s straightforward to hide, disable, or block the feature when you want a distraction‑free workspace or need to enforce an enterprise policy. Background Microsoft introduced Copilot as a system‑level assistant that blends local and cloud AI to offer contextual help inside Windows and Microsoft 365 apps. The feature is surfaced in multiple places — a taskbar button, a keyboard shortcut, context menus, and ribbon/buttons...

Apple's macOS Tahoe and Microsoft's Windows 11 now occupy distinctly different strategic positions: Apple is pushing an aesthetic and intelligence-led evolution that treats the desktop as a personal, context-aware companion, while Microsoft continues to fold AI into a broadly compatible, hardware-agnostic platform built for scale and legacy support. The result is an apples-to-oranges comparison where design philosophy, ecosystem reach, and hardware assumptions matter as much as raw features...

Microsoft’s own preview of Windows 11 25H2 may ship as a tiny enablement package, but running Ubuntu under WSL2 on that same Windows build is not indistinguishable from a native Ubuntu install — Phoronix’s fresh tests show a measurable, workload-dependent performance cost that deserves close attention from developers, sysadmins, and power users. Background Short version: Windows 11 version 25H2 is being delivered as an enablement package on the Windows 11 servicing branch — it flips staged...

Microsoft has finally quieted a persistent Windows 11 24H2 audio outage that left some machines literally mute by coordinating a vendor driver update and lifting a long‑standing compatibility safeguard that had blocked affected devices from receiving the 24H2 feature update via Windows Update. Background Microsoft’s Windows 11 24H2 rollout encountered an unusual and severe compatibility regression: some systems that included Dirac Audio middleware experienced complete loss of audio output...

Microsoft is quietly turning the Xbox button on controllers into a native Windows multitasking tool: in the latest Windows 11 Insider builds Microsoft maps a short press of the Xbox button to open the Game Bar, a long press to open Task View (the system-level app switcher and virtual desktop interface), and preserves the traditional sustained hold for powering the controller off. Background Microsoft has been steadily reworking Windows 11 to behave better in controller-first and handheld...

Microsoft’s countdown is now unmistakable: October 14, 2025 is the drop-dead date for Windows 10 version 22H2 and related editions, and that deadline forces a clear set of practical choices for anyone still running Windows 10 today. Microsoft will stop issuing routine security and quality updates for Windows 10 after that date, and while the company offers a short-term Extended Security Updates (ESU) bridge and upgrade paths to Windows 11, those options come with conditions, costs, and real...

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has launched a Microsoft-powered blockchain platform called Digital Markets Infrastructure (DMI), going live first with tokenized private funds and completing its inaugural blockchain-powered fundraising transaction — a move that shifts the conversation from pilots to production-grade, cloud-hosted market infrastructure. Background LSEG unveiled DMI as a cloud-native, blockchain-powered platform designed to cover the full asset lifecycle — from issuance...

Microsoft’s enterprise backup story just took a meaningful step: Windows Backup for Organizations — the tenant-scoped backup and restore experience Microsoft built to ease device refreshes and large-scale Windows migrations — is being exposed to Intune administrators and moving into wider availability, with tenant controls that let IT show a restore page during Out‑Of‑Box Experience (OOBE) enrollment. Background Windows Backup for Organizations began life as an evolution of the consumer...

Windows 10 reaches its official end of support on October 14, 2025 — a watershed moment that changes how millions of PCs will receive security fixes, feature updates, and technical help from Microsoft. After that date, Microsoft will stop delivering free Windows 10 security updates to in-market devices, but the company has published several transition paths: a time-limited Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for consumers and organizations, a three‑year security allowance for Microsoft...

Clearing Windows 11’s growing pile of cache and temporary files is one of the simplest, highest-ROI maintenance tasks a user or IT pro can perform — it frees gigabytes of storage, reduces odd performance glitches, and keeps modern AI-driven features responsive as your workload grows. Background Windows 11 was designed with user-friendly maintenance tools, but everyday use still generates multiple types of cache — browser caches, app temporary files, DNS and location caches, thumbnail stores...

Microsoft is quietly rolling out a one‑click pathway to check your internet connection from the Windows 11 taskbar: a new system tray shortcut that opens a network speed test in your default browser, currently visible in Insider preview builds. Background Microsoft has long leaned on lightweight web tools and browser‑backed widgets to provide quick diagnostics without heavy OS changes. The latest example is a new “Perform speed test” entry that appears when you interact with the network icon...

Visionet’s elevation to Star Performer and placement as a Major Contender in Everest Group’s Microsoft Business Applications Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2025 signals a clear acceleration in the company’s Microsoft Dynamics 365 practice and a broader competitive shift among mid-tier systems integrators that are doubling down on AI, Copilot, and industry accelerators to win CRM and ERP transformation deals. Background: why the PEAK Matrix® recognition matters Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix®...

If you manage Windows Server, the three quickest and most reliable ways to answer the simple-but-critical question “When did this machine last reboot?” are the Command Prompt (systeminfo), PowerShell (Win32_OperatingSystem / Get-CimInstance), and Event Viewer (System log Event IDs). Each method has different strengths: speed and simplicity, scriptability and scale, or forensic detail and auditability. This feature pulls together the step‑by‑step procedures, explains what the outputs actually...

When a Windows Server hosts services for users or other systems, port visibility is one of the first and most essential things an administrator must master; knowing which ports are listening, which are established, and which are blocked by a firewall directly affects uptime, security posture, and troubleshooting speed. This guide walks through three practical, built-in methods to check ports on Windows Server — Command Prompt (netstat), PowerShell (Test‑NetConnection and...

TierPoint’s announcement that it has earned the Microsoft Solutions Partner designation for Private Cloud marks a notable step in the ongoing normalization of Azure-consistent private cloud offerings—and signals that major service providers are now formally recognized for running cloud-native Microsoft services inside customer premises or partner-operated data centers. The designation, which sits inside Microsoft’s AI Cloud Partner Program framework, highlights TierPoint’s positioning around...

Microsoft is preparing to push its Copilot AI deeper into the Windows ecosystem by automatically installing the Microsoft 365 Copilot app on many Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices starting this fall, a move that aims to make AI companions a default part of everyday computing — but one that also raises pragmatic, privacy, and regulatory questions for IT teams and end users alike. The company’s own deployment guidance confirms a background installation to devices with Microsoft 365 desktop...

For a surprising number of Windows systems, the guilty party behind intermittent stutters, dropped frames, and mysteriously sluggish behaviour isn’t a CPU pegged at 100% or a full SSD — it’s the tiny, sub-millisecond interruptions inside the kernel that LatencyMon can expose and quantify in concrete terms. Background / Overview Windows assigns tiny, high-priority tasks to service hardware and low-level events; when those tasks take too long they delay everything else. LatencyMon, a free...

NTDEV’s latest builder shrinks a full Windows 11 ISO down to a reported 2.29 GB by surgically removing nearly everything most users expect from a modern desktop OS — from Xbox and Solitaire to Windows Update and Windows Defender — producing an extremely compact, intentionally unserviceable image aimed at VMs, testbeds, and legacy-hardware experiments. Background / Overview Windows 11’s on-disk footprint and bundled services have long frustrated enthusiasts who want leaner installations for...