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Microsoft’s Windows 11, version 25H2, is deliberately low‑drama: rather than introducing a slate of brand‑new consumer features, Microsoft shipped it as a small enablement package that activates functionality already staged in the 24H2 servicing stream — and, in the process, removes legacy management tooling such as PowerShell 2.0 and WMIC. Background / Overview Microsoft has continued the servicing model it refined in recent years: new feature binaries are staged across monthly cumulative...

Windows developers and administrators who depend on client-certificate (mTLS) workflows will need to keep using workarounds: a structural limitation introduced by TLS 1.3 and the way Windows handles TLS in kernel (http.sys / Schannel) means IIS Express on Windows 11 cannot reliably request a client certificate after the initial handshake, Microsoft engineers confirm, and a permanent, transparent fix for the lightweight developer server looks unlikely in the near term. Background What changed...

Microsoft has moved the next annual Windows 11 update — Windows 11, version 25H2 (Build 26200.5074) — into the Release Preview testing ring, opening the final validation window for Insiders and commercial pilots ahead of a broader public rollout later this calendar year. The update is not a full OS rebase but is being delivered as a small enablement package (eKB) on top of the existing 24H2 servicing stream, which means most of the code has already been staged in monthly cumulative updates...

Microsoft has quietly pushed Windows 11, version 25H2 (preview Build 26200.5074) into the Release Preview Channel and is delivering it as a lightweight enablement package (eKB) that flips features already staged on 24H2 systems — a move that prioritizes security, manageability and low-impact deployment over a sweeping UI rebase. Background / Overview Microsoft’s annual Windows 11 feature update model has matured into a shared servicing branch approach where much of the next release’s code...

Microsoft has opened the Release Preview gates for Windows 11, version 25H2, delivering a near‑final enablement package (reported in preview as Build 26200.5074) that flips features already staged in the 24H2 servicing stream and invites Insiders, IT pilots and commercial customers to validate before a broader rollout later this year. Background / Overview Microsoft’s servicing model for Windows 11 has continued its shift toward a shared servicing branch approach: feature binaries are...

Microsoft and Phison have pushed back hard against a wave of social-media claims that the latest Windows 11 cumulative update is “bricking” NVMe SSDs — but the episode exposes a brittle edge case in modern storage stacks, a gap between telemetry and forensic proof, and practical steps every Windows user and administrator should take now. Background In mid‑August 2025 a cluster of enthusiast posts and hands‑on test benches reported a repeatable failure pattern: during sustained, large...

Microsoft says its August Windows 11 security update KB5063878 is not to blame for a cluster of “vanishing” gaming SSD reports, but the episode has exposed a narrow, environment‑specific failure pattern that still leaves gamers and power users with real — and immediate — data‑safety decisions to make. Background / Overview Microsoft pushed the combined servicing‑stack and cumulative update for Windows 11 version 24H2 — tracked as KB5063878 (OS Build 26100.4946) — on August 12, 2025, as part...

Microsoft Edge Canary for Android now exposes an experimental flag that lets users play YouTube videos in the background without a YouTube Premium subscription, and the change — paired with an aggressive new ad‑blocking option in Canary — raises immediate questions about user convenience, creator revenue, and where browser competition meets platform policy. Background Microsoft has been steadily expanding Edge’s capabilities on mobile, and the Canary channel is where experimental features...

Microsoft has begun seeding Windows 11, version 25H2 (preview Build 26200.5074) to the Release Preview Channel as a lightweight enablement package (eKB) that flips features already staged on current 24H2 machines — a move that prioritizes manageability and security hardening over a broad UI rebase. Background / Overview Windows 11’s annual feature update for 2025 is being delivered using the same “shared servicing branch” approach Microsoft used for recent releases: new feature code is...

Microsoft’s follow‑up investigation insists the August Windows 11 cumulative patch did not “brick” SSDs, but the story is far from a tidy conclusion: community test benches produced a repeatable failure fingerprint, controller vendor lab work failed to reproduce the fault, and Microsoft’s telemetry shows no fleet‑wide spike — leaving users and IT teams to manage real risk amid unresolved forensic gaps. Background / Overview In mid‑August 2025 Microsoft shipped the routine cumulative update...

Linux Lite 7.6 arrives as a pragmatic, low-friction alternative for users tired of Windows 11’s hardware demands—especially those running older laptops and desktops who want a familiar, lightweight desktop with current applications and clearer documentation. Background / Overview Linux Lite has long pitched itself as a Windows-friendly Linux distribution built to extend the life of older hardware while reducing the friction of switching away from Microsoft’s desktop ecosystem. The project...

Linux Lite 7.6 arrives as a targeted, low-friction option for Windows users stuck on aging hardware or unwilling to adopt Windows 11’s increasingly strict requirements, packaging a modest but practical set of desktop refinements, updated apps, and a major shift in documentation by introducing a community-driven Wiki. Background Linux Lite has steadily positioned itself as a Windows-friendly, lightweight Linux distribution aimed at newcomers and older PCs. Its development strategy favors...

Judy Sanhz represents a modern breed of consumer-focused technology journalism: experienced, methodical, and relentlessly practical in translating platform changes into usable guidance for everyday users. Her body of work emphasizes clear how-tos, hands-on testing, and fast, accessible explanations of updates from major players such as Google and Microsoft, with a recurring focus on Windows 11, Android 15, productivity tools, and cross-device workflows. Background Judy has more than fifteen...

Two parallel announcements from Meta and Microsoft this week — a patched zero-click vulnerability in WhatsApp and a timetable for mandatory multi-factor authentication across Azure — crystallise a single lesson for enterprise security teams: convenience is no longer an acceptable substitute for rigorous identity and communications controls. Background Enterprises live at the intersection of consumer apps and corporate infrastructure. Messaging tools like WhatsApp enjoy enormous reach and...

Microsoft Azure customers were jolted into a weekend of frantic console checks and support tickets after an account migration left forecasted costs wildly inflated, triggering automated budget alerts that suggested some organizations were about to exceed their planned spend by hundreds of percent. Background Azure's budget and forecast system is designed to give administrators early warning of potential overspend by combining actual consumption with a projection model that estimates...

Microsoft has quietly pushed three Out‑of‑Box Experience (OOBE) servicing packages — KB5065813, KB5065847, and KB5065848 — that change how Windows 11 (22H2/23H2/24H2) and Windows Server 2025 are provisioned at first boot, enabling day‑one quality updates and delivering emergency fixes to recovery and enrollment flows. Background The Windows setup flow has been evolving beyond a cosmetic first‑run wizard into a managed provisioning checkpoint where security posture and compliance can be...

Microsoft and a leading SSD controller vendor have pushed back on viral claims that a recent Windows 11 update “bricked” NVMe drives — after industry tests and Microsoft telemetry showed no reproducible, platform‑wide hardware failure, but the episode still leaves unanswered forensic questions and concrete steps users and IT teams should take now. Background / overview In mid‑August 2025 Microsoft shipped the regular Patch Tuesday cumulative update tracked by the community as KB5063878 for...

Title: Enable Hibernation (and 14 other practical Windows 11 tweaks) to squeeze more life from your laptop battery By: WindowsForum.com — Senior IT Desk Summary — what the Analytics Insight piece said (short) Analytics Insight’s visual guide recommends several straightforward Windows 11 tweaks — Battery Saver (Energy Saver), lower display brightness and refresh rate, Dark Mode, disabling unnecessary startup/background apps, and (notably) enabling hibernation so you can “save your session and...

Microsoft is retiring the long‑standing Mobile Plans app in Windows and moving plan discovery and purchase to carrier websites while keeping eSIM provisioning inside Windows Settings — a transition Microsoft says will take effect when the Mobile Plans app is removed and support ends in late February 2026. The change is less about cutting cellular support from Windows and more about consolidating where commerce happens: carriers will own checkout and subscription management, while Windows...

Microsoft’s 2025 Windows 11 update arrives as a quiet, operational pivot: Windows 11, version 25H2 is being shipped as a small enablement package that flips on features already staged in the 24H2 servicing stream, contains no headline-grabbing consumer features at launch, and explicitly removes legacy management tools such as PowerShell 2.0 and WMIC while giving IT admins new controls to trim preinstalled Microsoft Store apps on managed devices. Background / Overview Microsoft published the...