Windows 11 can still be installed and used without a Microsoft account, but the available paths have narrowed and become build-dependent — this guide explains every practical method (during setup and after), why Microsoft is pushing online accounts, what has been patched, and the safe...
Windows 11’s 25H2 release is now rolling out as a lightweight enablement package that flips already‑shipped features on top of 24H2, delivering an incremental but important servicing milestone for consumers, power users, and IT teams alike.
Background / Overview
Windows 11, version 25H2 is not a...
Microsoft has quietly moved another step toward an account-first Out‑of‑Box Experience (OOBE) for Windows 11 by removing several low-friction workarounds that let people create a local account during setup, effectively forcing an internet connection and a Microsoft Account (MSA) on the default...
account first
account first setup
cloud provisioning
enterprisedeployment
insider preview
local account
local account bypass
local account removal
microsoft account
microsoft account requirement
offline setup
online account
oobe
oobe changes
oobe setup
privacy rights
provisioning tools
refurbishers
setup oobe
windows 11
windows 11 oobe
windows 11 setup
windows oobe
Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 11, version 25H2 reached public release on September 30, 2025 but will appear in Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) catalogs for on‑premises enterprise management on October 14, 2025, a timing detail that materially changes how organizations should plan...
With the Windows 10 end‑of‑support deadline looming, the practical choice to move to Windows 11 is increasingly unavoidable — but how you make that move matters. A clean install of Windows 11 (24H2 or 25H2) delivers a noticeably different outcome than an in‑place upgrade: better chance of...
Microsoft has published KB5054156 — a tiny enablement package (eKB) that flips on Windows 11, version 25H2 for devices already running the fully patched 24H2 servicing baseline, turning a months‑worth of staged feature binaries into an active release with minimal downtime and a single restart in...
Microsoft’s Copilot is no longer a curiosity — it’s a built-in assistant, a paid enterprise tool, and an arms‑length feature in Windows and Office that many users will encounter whether they actively sought it or not.
Background / Overview
Microsoft uses the single brand name Copilot for a...
Microsoft’s near-final Windows 11 25H2 build has quietly begun to appear as official ISO media on Microsoft’s delivery infrastructure, with Release Preview ISOs now discoverable by enthusiasts and the enablement-package (eKB) path — KB5054156 — confirmed as the primary in-place upgrade for...
25h2
enablement package
enterprisedeployment
insider iso
insider program
iso image
kb5054156
official isos imaging
release preview
release preview iso
windows 11
windows 11 25h2
Microsoft’s 2025 Windows 11 feature update — version 25H2 — arrives as a careful, operationally minded release rather than a headline-grabbing rework: it’s an enablement package that flips on features already staged in the 24H2 servicing stream, removes a few long‑deprecated tools, and resets...
24h2 issues
25h2
25h2 enablement
25h2 rollout
25h2 update
all apps
camera stack fix
cfr rollout
continuous upgrades
copilot ai
copilot plus
driver updates
enablement package
enterprise admin
enterprisedeploymententerprise imaging
enterprise it
enterprise management
enterprise patching
enterprise rollout
gated ai features
group policy
imaging iso
insider preview
iso imaging
iso media
iso verification
it administration
it deployment
it manageability
legacy removal
legacy removals
legacy tooling
legacy tooling removal
lifecycle management
lifecycle reset
management tooling
media creation tool
on device ai
phone link
phone link integration
photos app
post install updates
recall
safeguard holds
security
security hardening
security improvements
servicing lifecycle
software updates
stability update
staged rollout
start menu
start menu redesign
system updates
upgrade strategy
user interface ux
wi-fi 7 readiness
wifi 7 enterprise
windows 11
windows 11 24h2
windows 11 25h2
windows 11 start menu
windows 11 updates
windows eleven 25h2
windows eleven imaging
windows hello
wsus deployment
Microsoft’s servers are now carrying the near‑final artifacts for Windows 11, version 25H2, and public rollout appears imminent — but this is an incremental, enablement‑package style update that most users and IT teams should treat as a managed, low‑risk operational change rather than a...
Cluster Reply and Riverty this week unveiled a fast-tracked, Microsoft-backed omnichannel customer service platform that Riverty says was delivered in just 100 days and built to be AI-first while keeping human empathy at its core. The rollout consolidates voice, chat and email into a single...
agent assist
agent experience
ai in customer service
ai-first
automated context
automation
azure
channel consolidation
cluster reply
contact center
copilot
copilot studio
customer experience
customer service
data governance
data privacy
dataverse
dynamics 365
enterprise crm
enterprisedeploymententerprise it
financial services
fintech
fintech automation
global roll-out
governance
intelligent routing
live dashboards
microsoft
microsoft copilot
multi-language
multi-market
multilingual
multilingual ai
observability
omnichannel
omnichannel routing
riverty
voice automation
Google has quietly planted a new flag on the Windows desktop: an experimental, Spotlight‑style Google app that appears as a summonable floating search capsule (default hotkey Alt + Space) and stitches together local file search, installed apps, Google Drive, Google Lens visual lookup, standard...
administrative controls
ai mode
aimode
alt space shortcut
copilot competition
encryption at rest
enterprisedeployment
gemini ai
google app for windows
intune support
lens desktop integration
local and web search
local indexing
multimodal search
powertoys run
privacy telemetry
screen capture lens
sign in required
spotlight like search
windows labs experiment
Pennsylvania is moving from pilot to purchase order: Governor Josh Shapiro told more than 900 technology, academic and business leaders at the AI Horizons Summit in Pittsburgh that the commonwealth will expand access to advanced generative AI tools for qualified state employees — adding...
ai governance
ai in government
ai lab
ai policy
ai readiness
azure government
bny cmu ai lab
chatgpt enterprise
cmu
cmu ai lab
data governance
data privacy
data residency
data security
dlp
dual vendor strategy
ediscovery
enterprisedeployment
foia compliance
generative ai
google ai accelerator
governance
governance board
government ai governance
labor management
labor management collaboration
least privilege
mfa
microsoft copilot
pennsylvania
pennsylvania ai
pilot program
privacy
public sector ai
public sector tech
public-private partnerships
state government
training
transparency
transparency reporting
workforce training
Microsoft’s September Patch Tuesday brings a substantial, feature‑heavy cumulative update to Windows 11—KB5065426—delivering a mix of visible UI polish, staged Copilot+ AI capabilities, privacy controls for on‑device generative features, and a set of bug and security fixes that administrators...
Microsoft released the September 9, 2025 cumulative update for Windows 11, version 24H2 — KB5065426 (OS Build 26100.6584) — a combined security and quality rollup that both closes recent high‑priority vulnerabilities and addresses a string of functional regressions introduced earlier in the...
Microsoft’s August 2025 security rollup hardened Windows Installer to close a privilege‑escalation hole, but the change has also begun prompting unexpected User Account Control (UAC) credential requests and breaking app installations for standard (non‑administrator) users across many Windows...
admin elevation
august 2025 update
autodesk
configmgr sccm
cve-2025-50173
enterprisedeployment
kb5063878
kir
known issue rollback
msi error 1730
msi repair
office 2010
per-user vs per-machine
security hardening
software packaging
uac prompts
windows 10
windows 11
windows installer
windows server
Microsoft has confirmed a new compatibility problem that emerged after the August 12, 2025 cumulative security updates: a Windows Installer hardening intended to close a privilege‑escalation hole (tracked as CVE‑2025‑50173) is now triggering unexpected User Account Control (UAC) prompts for...
A prominent tech writer has publicly abandoned the Windows 11 Start menu in favor of Flow Launcher, an open‑source, keyboard‑first app launcher — and in doing so rekindled a long‑running debate about how Windows should expose search, system commands, and shortcuts to power users. The transition...
alt+space
chocolatey
enterprisedeployment
everything search
files and apps search
flow launcher
flow launcher plugins
keyboard launcher
media control
open source
package managers
plugin ecosystem
power users
privacy and security
scoop
spotify plugin
windows start menu
winget
Microsoft has acknowledged a compatibility regression introduced by the August 12, 2025 cumulative Windows updates that can cause unexpected User Account Control (UAC) elevation prompts and MSI Error 1730 failures for non‑administrator users when applications trigger Windows Installer (MSI)...
Microsoft’s latest Insider flights quietly pushed two practical — and in some ways overdue — AI features into Windows 11: Fluid Dictation inside Voice Access and expanded Windows Studio Effects for alternative cameras on Copilot+ PCs, alongside small but useful File Explorer hover actions that...
ai features
ai-camera-processing
amd
camera-pipeline
compatibility
copilot
copilot in explorer
copilot+
copilot-plus
creators
driver rollout
driver-rollout
enterprisedeployment
external cameras
external-webcams
file explorer
file-explorer-copilot
fluid dictation
fluid-dictation
hybrid-work
insider
insider-preview
intel
npu
on-device ai
os-camera-pipeline
privacy and security
privacy-security
snapdragon
usb webcam
usb-webcam
voice access
voice-access
windows 11
windows studio effects
windows-studio-effects