Windows 11’s long-suffering dark mode just stopped getting interrupted by glaring white copy and delete pop-ups, and the change makes File Explorer feel like a finished product instead of a patchwork of modern and legacy surfaces.
Overview
Microsoft’s latest Dev Channel Insider Preview build...
Microsoft has begun the phased rollout of the Windows 11 25H2 update, a streamlined “enablement package” that turns on features already present in recent builds, adds new AI-driven tools in File Explorer and search, refreshes the Start menu and lock‑screen widgets, introduces finer...
Microsoft’s Start menu may finally stop pulling web results into Edge and Bing by force — experimental flags discovered in Microsoft Edge Canary suggest Windows Search could soon open links in your system default browser and use your preferred default search engine instead of always routing...
I began using Windows 11 in beta in 2021 and, over several major releases, learned a handful of practical, time‑saving adjustments that turned the upgrade from “annoying compatibility shuffle” into a smoother daily driver — and those same five fixes are the heart of Tom’s Guide’s quick primer...
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...
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 computing
enterprise
file explorer
insider preview
it admin
kb5065786
microsoft account
onedrive
oobe
passkeys
passwordless authentication
privacy
settings
sign in
startmenu
subscription
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...
customization
explorerpatcher
file explorer
mod platform
modding
modding community
open source
open-source mods
software security
startmenustartmenu styler
taskbar
taskbar styling
vertical taskbar
windhawk
windows 11
windows customization
ExplorerPatcher’s latest pre-release restores the long-missed File Explorer title bar, patches several Start menu and taskbar regressions, and moves under-the-hood hooking to a new library — but it also ships with a short list of known quirks and a reminder that modifying core shell behavior...
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...
2025
admin center
ai in office
app management
applocker
auto install
cloud ai
consumer technology
copilot
data governance
data security
deployment
device deployment
eea
eea exclusion
end user experience
enterprise it
enterprise policy
governance
group policy
helpdesk readiness
home users
intune
it admin
mdm
microsoft 365
microsoft copilot
microsoft office
opt-out
privacy
privacy compliance
productivity
rollout
security
software policy
startmenu
tenant opt-out
tenants
user consent
user education
windows
windows 11
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-powered launcher
alt key
alt space launcher
alt-space
app
app-experiment
beta
closed source
cloud ai
cloud search
command palette
cross surface search
cross-platform
dark mode
dataflow
desktop
desktop apps
desktop search
drive
drive integration
end users
enterprise
enterprise it
enterprise privacy
enterprise readiness
everything vs google
experiment
file search
generative ai
google
google app for windows
google apps
google drive
google drive integration
google gemini
google lens
governance
installed apps
integration
it admin
keyboard
keyboard launcher
lab-testing
labs
launcher
launcher overlay
lens
lens integration
lens ocr
lens-capture
local and cloud search
local and web search
local files
local indexing
local search
local-and-web
microsoft copilot
multimodal ai
multimodal search
ocr
open source
opt-in
os integration
os search ux
overlay
overlay launcher
performance
permissions
power users
powertoys
privacy
productivity
productivity tools
screen capture lens
search
search ecosystem
search labs
security
shell
shortcuts
spotlight
spotlight like search
spotlight-like launcher
startmenu
telemetry
translation
unified results
unified search
user interface
ux design
visual search
web results
web search integration
windows
windows 10
windows 10+
windows 11
windows apps
windows search
windows ux
windows-labs
workflow
workspace
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...
2025
applocker
auto install
copilot
eea exclusion
end user experience
enterprise governance
help desk
intune
it administration
licensing
m365 apps
mdm
microsoft 365
microsoft copilot
opt-out
privacy
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...
accessibility
automation
command prompt
deep linking
enterprise
file explorer
it pros
ms-settings
powershell
quick settings
run dialog
settings app
shortcuts
startmenu
task manager
taskbar
troubleshooting
uri schemes
windows 11
windows+i
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...
2025
admin center
applocker
background install
copilot
early october rollout
eea exclusion
endpoint management
enterprise it
microsoft 365 apps admin center
microsoft copilot
privacy
startmenu
tenant opt-out
windows
Microsoft’s continued migration of legacy Control Panel features into the modern Settings app has taken another step forward: recent Windows 11 Insider preview builds contain hidden, in-progress pages that surface longstanding keyboard controls and a redesigned haptic touchpad panel inside...
25h2
accessibility
beta channel
consolidation
control panel
control panel migration
copilot
dev channel
enablement package
enterprise it
group policy
handheld gaming
haptic touchpad
input control
insider builds
iso availability
it administration
keyboard repeat
keyboard settings
mdm
patch management
powershell 2.0 removal
preview features
release preview
repeat delay
repeat rate
security hardening
servicing model
settings app
startmenu
touchpad tuning
windows 11
windows insider
windows studio effects
wmic removal
Microsoft’s plan to push the Microsoft 365 Copilot app onto many Windows desktops next month is the clearest signal yet that the company intends to make an AI assistant a default part of the Windows productivity surface — but the details, caveats, and operational impact matter as much as the...
Microsoft’s latest packaging of its agent-building tools — now split into Copilot Studio Lite and the Copilot Studio Full Experience — is less a rename and more a strategic reframe: the company is clarifying who these tools are for, where they run, and how enterprises should govern them. The...
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...
2025
admin center
admin controls
ai productivity
app integration
applocker
auto install
automation
background install
copilot
copilot rollout
data governance
data residency
deployment
device management
device settings
eea
eea carve-out
eea exclusion
end users
endpoint management
enterprise it
enterprise rollout
european economic area
fall 2025 rollout
gdpr
group policy
help desk
helpdesk planning
intune
it admin
it administration
it governance
licensing
licensing gating
microsoft 365
microsoft 365 apps admin center
microsoft copilot
microsoft education
microsoft office
modern app settings
onboarding discovery
opt-out
policy management
powershell
powershell uninstall
privacy
privacy compliance
privacy telemetry
productivity tools
registry
regulatory compliance
remote provisioning
rollout
security
security compliance
srp
startmenu
telemetry
tenant opt-out
turnoffwindowscopilot
user adoption
user experience
user training
windows
windows 11
windows deployment
windows management
windows update
Microsoft will begin automatically installing the standalone Microsoft 365 Copilot app onto many Windows devices this fall, pushing a dedicated Copilot entry into the Start menu on eligible machines unless administrators explicitly opt out — a move Microsoft describes as a background...
admin settings
applocker
copilot
deployment
device settings
eea
eea exclusion
fall 2025 rollout
mdm
mdm policies
microsoft copilot
microsoft store
modern app settings
opt-out
privacy
startmenu
telemetry
windows
Microsoft will begin automatically installing the Microsoft 365 Copilot app on many Windows devices this fall, but the rollout is neither universal nor unstoppable — administrators and privacy-conscious users have documented methods to block installation and disable the feature, and Microsoft...
admin center
admin settings
applocker
auto install
autopinstall
background install
change management
copilot
defender application control
deployment
device management
device settings
disable copilot
eea
eea europe
eea exclusion
endpoint management
endpoint security
enterprise
enterprise it
enterprise rollout
european economic area
governance
group policy
group policy csp
intune mdm
it admin
it administration
it governance
mdm
microsoft
microsoft 365
microsoft copilot
modern app settings
policy management
privacy
privacy telemetry
registry
regulatory compliance
regulatory risk
rollout
security compliance
software restriction policies
startmenu
telemetry
tenant opt-out
uninstall copilot
user experience
wdac
windows
windows 10
windows 11