Windows 11’s next annual refresh is officially on the doorstep: Microsoft’s 25H2 update has reached final pre-release builds and is being distributed to partners and insiders, but the real headline for many users may be the overhauled Start menu — a change already living, dormant, in Windows 11...
Microsoft has quietly begun testing a more integrated, surface-level approach to Account management in Windows 11 through the latest Insider builds (delivered as KB5065786), and the changes deserve attention from everyday users, power users, and IT administrators alike.
These updates — visible...
cloud services
enterprise
file explorer
insider preview
it admins
kb5065786
microsoft account
onedrive
oobe
passkeys
passwordless
privacy
settings
sign-in
startmenu
subscriptions
ux design
windows 11
windows hello
windows update
Windhawk arrives as a surprisingly polished bridge between what Microsoft ships in Windows 11 and what many users actually want: a lightweight, open‑source mod platform that makes the Start menu, taskbar, File Explorer and other core UI elements genuinely customizable — and, in many cases...
Microsoft will begin automatically installing the Microsoft 365 Copilot desktop app on Windows machines that already have Microsoft 365 desktop clients installed, a background rollout slated to start in early October and run into mid‑November 2025 — and while enterprise tenants can opt out, most...
Google’s experimental Windows app aims to remove the friction of switching windows to look something up — a floating, Spotlight‑like search bar you summon with Alt + Space that can search local files, installed apps, Google Drive, and the web, and that folds in Google Lens and the company’s AI...
accessibility
admin controls
ai assistant
ai mode
ai-assistant
ai-assisted
ai-mode
ai-powered launcher
aimode
alt plus space
alt space
alt space hotkey
alt space launcher
alt+space
alt-space
altspace
app
app-experiment
beta
closed-source
cloud search
cloud-ai
cloudsearch
command palette
cross surface search
cross-platform
dark mode
data privacy
data-flow
data-privacy
desktop
desktop search
desktop-app
desktop-search
desktopsearch
drive
drive integration
drive-integration
driveintegration
end-user
enterprise
enterprise it
enterprise privacy
enterprise readiness
enterprise-it
enterprise-readiness
everything vs google
experimental
filesearch
gemini
gemini ai
generativeai
google
google app for windows
google app windows
google app windows labs
google apps
google drive
google drive integration
google lens
google lens desktop
google search
google search labs
google-drive
google-lens
googledrive
googlelens
governance
installed apps
integration
itadmin
keyboard first
keyboard shortcut
keyboard shortcuts
keyboard-first
keyboard-launcher
keyboard-shortcut
keyboard-shortcuts
keyboardshortcuts
labs
labs experiment
launcher
launcher overlay
launcher tool
launchers
lens
lens integration
lens ocr
lens-capture
local and cloud search
local and web search
local files
local indexing
local search
local search windows
local-and-web
local-files
local-search
localsearch
microsoft copilot
multimodal
multimodal ai
multimodal search
multimodal-ai
ocr
open-source
opt-in
os integration
os launcher
os search ux
os shell
osintegration
overlay
overlay app
overlay launcher
overlay ui
performance
permissions
power users
powertoys
powertoys run
privacy
privacy and security
privacy concerns
privacy-safety
privacyconcerns
productivity
productivity tools windows
screen capture lens
search
search labs
search-ecosystem
search-labs
searchlabs
security
spotlight
spotlight style
spotlight style search
spotlight-like
spotlight-like launcher
spotlight-like search
spotlight-style
spotlight-style search
spotlightlike
spotlightstyle
startmenu
telemetry
translation
unified results
unified search
unified search results
unified-search
unifiedsearch
user interface
ux design
visual search
visual-search
visualsearch
web results
web search
web search integration
web-search
webresults
websearch
windows
windows 10
windows 10+
windows 11
windows desktop
windows desktop app
windows launcher
windows search
windows search alternative
windows ux
windows-10
windows-11
windows-app
windows-labs
windows10
workflow
workspace support
Microsoft is rolling the Microsoft 365 Copilot app onto Windows 11 devices that already have the Microsoft 365 desktop apps installed, pushing a background, non‑disruptive installation that will place a new Microsoft 365 Copilot entry in Start menus across eligible systems beginning in Fall 2025...
applocker
auto install
copilot
data privacy
eea excluded
end user experience
enterprise governance
fall 2025
helpdesk
intune
it administration
licensing
m365 apps
mdm
microsoft 365
microsoft 365 copilot
opt-out
security
startmenu
windows 11
Windows 11 gives you more than one way to open the Settings app — and knowing the right method for the moment can save minutes or avert a full restart when you’re troubleshooting. The platform exposes the app everywhere: Start, Taskbar, Quick Settings, File Explorer, Run and command-line tools...
Microsoft will begin automatically installing the Microsoft 365 Copilot desktop app on most Windows PCs that already have Microsoft 365 desktop applications, in a background, phased rollout Microsoft describes as starting in “Fall 2025” and which industry reporting has translated into an...
admin center
applocker
background install
copilot app
data privacy
early october rollout
eea exclusion
endpoint management
enterprise it
fall 2025
microsoft 365 apps admin center
microsoft 365 copilot
startmenu
tenant opt-out
windows
Microsoft will begin installing the Microsoft 365 Copilot app automatically on Windows devices that already have the Microsoft 365 desktop apps, a background rollout that starts this fall and is expected to reach completion by mid‑November — but it won’t happen for devices in the European...
admin center
admin controls
ai in productivity
applocker
auto-install
autoinstall
automatic installation
automation
background install
background installation
copilot
copilot app
copilot app rollout
copilot rollout
data governance
data privacy
data residency
deployment
device configuration
device management
eea
eea carve-out
eea exclusion
end user
endpoint management
enterprise it
enterprise rollout
european economic area
fall 2025
fall 2025 rollout
gdpr
group policy
helpdesk
helpdesk planning
integrated apps
intune
it admin
it administration
it governance
licensing
licensing gating
microsoft 365
microsoft 365 apps admin center
microsoft 365 copilot
microsoft learn
modern app settings
office apps
onboarding discovery
opt out
opt-out
policy controls
powershell
powershell uninstall
privacy
privacy compliance
privacy telemetry
productivity tools
registry
regulatory compliance
remote provisioning
rollout
security
security and compliance
srp
startmenu
telemetry
tenant opt-out
turnoffwindowscopilot
user adoption
user experience
user training
windows
windows 10 11
windows 10/11
windows copilot
windows deployment
windows management
windows update
Microsoft’s quiet expansion of Phone Link into the Windows 11 Start menu has quietly reshaped how many of us treat our phones while working on a PC, folding basic phone functions—notifications, calls, messages, photos, and device status—into a single, one-click experience on the desktop...
android
bluetooth
connectivity
cross-device
desktop workflow
do not disturb
file transfer
gallery
insider preview
iphone
microsoft
notifications
phone link
photo sync
privacy
rcs
security
startmenu
windows 11
Microsoft’s latest Insider preview (Build 26220.6682, KB5065782) sharpens Narrator’s reading and navigation behavior, brings a small curated set of Emoji 16.0 glyphs to the emoji picker, and rolls out incremental Click to Do (Copilot) refinements — changes that are small in headline but...
Windows 11’s ongoing preview updates are delivering modest but meaningful changes this month: Microsoft has quietly applied reliability fixes to the taskbar’s auto‑hide behavior and is experimenting with surfacing Copilot suggestions inside the Start menu’s Recommended area. These two items —...
ai in os
auto-hide
copilot
enterprise it
group policy
insider preview
intune
launch rollout
microsoft 365 copilot
monetization
preview builds
recommended
startmenu
taskbar
telemetry
ui polish
user experience
windows 11
Windows 11’s next wave of preview builds quietly delivers two of the most requested quality-of-life fixes for everyday users — smoother, more reliable taskbar auto-hide behavior and a pair of bug fixes that restore clickable space above the taskbar — while also ramping up Copilot’s visibility by...
Windows 11’s sleek redesign promised speed and simplicity — what many users didn’t bargain for was a steady stream of promotional content running inside the shell, quietly consuming cycles, network bandwidth, and attention. Recent reporting and large-scale user tests show Microsoft’s...
ads
advertising id
appx
debloat
file explorer
group policy
os ux
performance
powershell
privacy
recommendations
settings
speed
startmenu
system tuning
toggle off
troubleshooting
widgets
windows 11
windows spotlight
Windows 11’s latest Insider preview flight doubles down on Copilot: a new, inline prompt box appears inside the Click to Do context menu, Start shows example Copilot prompts, and Microsoft continues to weave on‑device AI into everyday workflows — all while shipping accessibility fixes, Emoji...
accessibility
click to do
copilot
copilot hardware
copilot-plus
emoji 16.0
enterprise it
group policy
hibernation fix
insider preview
insider-preview
on-device ai
phi-silica
startmenu
telemetry
ux polish
windows 11
windows-11
Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6682 (KB5065782) to the Dev Channel on September 12, 2025, and the flight brings a focused set of AI-driven productivity updates, accessibility refinements, and a broad collection of stability fixes — while also surfacing a few noteworthy...
25h2
accessibility
ai productivity
click to do
copilot
dev channel
emoji 16
enterprise it
file explorer
gaming
insider preview
narrator
obs audio
phi-silica
release preview
startmenu
studio effects
windows 11
windows hello
windows-11
Microsoft has quietly opened the gates: Windows 11 version 25H2 is now available to testers in the Windows Insider Release Preview channel as a small, fast enablement package that flips features already staged in the 24H2 servicing branch — which means you can install the 2025 annual update on...
Microsoft’s long-running flirtation with theme options in Windows has taken a decisive, system-wide turn: Windows 10’s Light Mode moves beyond the piecemeal light accents of earlier releases and applies a unified, pale palette across the system shell — including the Start menu, taskbar, Action...
Microsoft’s next Windows 11 annual update, version 25H2, is not a headline-grabbing reinvention of the desktop — it’s a deliberate, operationally focused release that prioritizes stability, manageability, and measured AI integration over bold new consumer-facing flourishes. This update arrives...
24h2
25h2
ai features
ai mu
categories grid
codeql
copilot
copilot+
driver analysis
ekb
enablement package
enterprise it
file explorer ai
group policy
image hygiene
image provisioning
it administration
mdm csp
on-device ai
oobe
os imaging
powershell 2.0 deprecated
powershell 2.0 removal
release preview
remove default store packages
startmenustartmenu ai
windows 11
windows 11 25h2
wmic removal
wmic removed
wsus
wufb
Thirty years after its retail debut, Windows 95 still reads like a turning point in consumer computing: a technical compromise that became a cultural spectacle, a marketing masterclass that locked an ecosystem into place, and a user‑experience reset whose visual metaphors — most famously the...