productivity

Microsoft’s Copilot for Windows just took a meaningful step toward making file discovery and everyday assistance feel conversational: a staged Insider rollout now brings semantic file search to Copilot+ PCs and a redesigned Copilot home that surfaces recent apps, files and Vision-driven guided...

Copilot Vision is the clearest sign yet that Microsoft wants your PC to be an active, visual partner — not just a passive tool — and that ambition already makes a meaningful difference in real-world workflows while raising important questions about reliability, privacy, and when to trust a...

Microsoft has started rolling out a meaningful update to the Copilot app for Windows Insiders that brings semantic file search (on Copilot+ PCs) and a redesigned Copilot homepage with quicker access to recent apps, files, and Vision-driven guidance — a staged release that promises faster, more...

Microsoft has begun rolling out an update to the Copilot app on Windows that brings semantic file search to Copilot+ PCs and a redesigned Copilot homepage to Insiders, delivering tighter, AI-driven file discovery and faster access to recent apps, files, and guided help directly inside the...

Microsoft's PowerToys team is preparing a set of small but meaningful usability fixes that aim to remove two of the most common annoyances power users report: hunting for the right toggle inside a growing Settings app, and accidentally quitting the suite when they only meant to hide it. The next...

KDE Plasma’s desktop delivers a set of small, disciplined refinements that add up to a very different user experience from Windows 11 — and four of those refinements in particular illustrate why many Windows users who crave control, speed, and muscle in their desktop workflows find KDE difficult...

Open-source software quietly underpins a huge amount of the modern Windows experience, and ZDNET’s recent roundup of “10 open-source apps I recommend every Windows user download — for free” lays out a practical, privacy-conscious toolkit any Windows user can assemble without spending a penny...

Chatbots have moved from novelty to utility, and in 2025 a crowded field of capable, often free, AI assistants stands ready to handle everything from drafting emails and analyzing spreadsheets to generating images and supporting mental well‑being. The most practical choices depend on what you...

Microsoft’s decision to place three new Microsoft 365 “companion” apps — People, File Search, and Calendar — directly into the Windows 11 taskbar is a clear bet on shaving everyday friction from the workday, but it also raises immediate questions about duplication, manageability, and enterprise...

Microsoft has quietly — and deliberately — taken the next step in turning Excel from a grid of formulas into a conversational interface by embedding a native =COPILOT function that lets users type natural-language prompts directly into cells and have generative AI return live, recalculating...

Excel’s new COPILOT() function hands everyday spreadsheet users an AI-powered microscope and a blunt instrument at the same time: it can summarize, classify, extract, and generate structured outputs from free-text or tabular data with a single cell formula, but it also introduces new...

Microsoft’s Snipping Tool appears poised to flip the traditional screenshot workflow by letting you draw and highlight on the live screen before you capture it — a change that promises faster annotation, tighter AI integrations, and a more pen‑friendly experience across Windows devices...

After two decades on Windows and a few months of serious Linux testing, one thing stands out: desktop environments are the feature I wish Windows would borrow wholesale — a modular, swappable shell model that turns the platform into a true creative canvas rather than a single locked-in UI. rview...

You probably use Windows every day without realizing it already comes with dozens of tiny productivity and security features that feel like magic once you know they exist—features such as dictation that types your words for you, OCR that pulls text straight out of images, a cloud-backed...

Microsoft’s Windows could reclaim its place as the undisputed productivity platform in 2025 — but only if Microsoft stops prioritizing marketing nudges and gimmicks and instead delivers focused, enterprise-grade features that solve real workplace pain points now, not sometime next quarter...

Microsoft has taken a long-running complaint about Notepad’s overstuffed right‑click menu seriously: Insiders are now seeing a compact, File Explorer–style context menu that surfaces core edit actions in a single top row while keeping AI and less‑used commands below — a move that trims pointer...

Windows 11’s dark mode is supposed to be easy on the eyes — yet for years many users have been greeted with a jarring white flash every time File Explorer opens a new window or tab, turning a momentary UX glitch into a recurring irritation and, for a minority, a genuine health hazard. That flash...

Microsoft’s Windows has become maddeningly loud about what it thinks you should do — sign in with a Microsoft account, buy Game Pass, use Copilot+, install OneDrive — yet when it comes to the small, gritty features that actually speed work, the OS still feels stingy and distracted. The...

Windows 11 hides a surprising amount of useful functionality behind simple toggles and keyboard combos — the kind of small discoveries that turn a pleasant OS into a genuinely efficient workspace. Background / Overview Windows 11’s design refresh brought a centered Taskbar, rounded corners, and...

For the first time in years, there are convincing signs that Microsoft is finally taking the long-neglected promise of a true, system-wide dark mode for Windows 11 seriously — and the changes showing up in Insider preview builds point to incremental but meaningful progress in File Explorer and...