virtualization

  1. Repurposing Windows 10 PCs with ChromeOS Flex: A Practical Guide

    Microsoft’s decision to end routine security updates for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025 has pushed an already fraught conversation about hardware lifecycles, planned obsolescence, and user choice into the open — and retailers and refurbishers are responding with an unexpected pivot: turn that...
  2. Windows on Arm: 90% of user minutes in native apps signal maturity

    Microsoft’s claim that Arm-based Windows PCs now see most user minutes spent inside natively compiled apps marks a pivotal moment for the platform — a transition from compatibility-first survival to native-first performance and efficiency. Microsoft executives point to a figure that will shape...
  3. Steam to End Windows 32-bit Support by Jan 2026: What You Need to Know

    Steam will stop supporting Windows 32‑bit installations on January 1, 2026, a move that, if confirmed and implemented as reported, will leave the vanishingly small number of users still running Windows 10 in its 32‑bit form without client updates, security fixes, or official Steam Support help —...
  4. Windows 11 on a 2005 Sun Opteron: Tiny11 and POPCNT

    As an experiment that sounds more like a retrofuturist stunt than practical advice, a 2005 Sun workstation powered by an early AMD Opteron has been shown booting and running Windows 11—thanks not to official support but to a pared-down, community-built Windows image known as Tiny11 and an...
  5. KB5065474 Windows 11 Enterprise Hotpatch: OS Build 26100.6508, PSDirect & Secure Boot Advisory

    Microsoft released a targeted hotpatch—KB5065474—on September 9, 2025, for Windows 11 Enterprise (24H2 / LTSC 2024) that advances eligible devices to OS Build 26100.6508, delivers a focused app-compatibility / UAC repair, and includes two operational advisories administrators must treat as high...
  6. Azure Linux 3.0 Adds Linux 6.12 LTS Kernel-HWE Option

    Microsoft's Azure Linux 3.0.20250910 adds an optional Linux 6.12 LTS hardware‑enablement (HWE) kernel, giving Azure customers a supported path to newer device drivers and platform improvements while keeping the existing Linux 6.6 LTS kernel available for conservative deployments. (phoronix.com)...
  7. macOS Tahoe vs Windows 11: Privacy-First AI vs Enterprise-Ready Flexibility

    Apple’s macOS 26 “Tahoe” and Microsoft’s Windows 11 no longer compete on the same flat plane — Tahoe doubles down on a design‑led, privacy‑first desktop infused with on‑device intelligence, while Windows 11 pushes AI into a broadly compatible, enterprise‑ready platform that still owns gaming and...
  8. Secure Boot Certificate Expiration: Plan for Windows, Linux, and OEM Firmware (2023 CA)

    Microsoft has confirmed that the original Secure Boot certificates shipped with most Windows PCs are nearing the end of their life, and the transition to new certificates is already underway — a quietly consequential change that affects Windows servicing, OEM firmware, Linux compatibility, and...
  9. Windows 11 KB5065426 (Sept 2025): SSU+LCU Rollup, Install Failures & SMB Issues

    Microsoft’s September cumulative for Windows 11, KB5065426 (OS Build 26100.6584), is proving to be a high‑priority security and quality rollup — and for a meaningful subset of users it’s also proving unusually stubborn: installs failing with a wide variety of error codes, long downloads, and in...
  10. KB5066360: No-Restart PSDirect Hotpatch Fix for Hyper-V Handshake

    Microsoft has released KB5066360, a targeted hotpatch for Windows PowerShell that corrects an interoperability and security regression affecting PowerShell Direct (PSDirect) when host and guest virtual machines are unevenly patched; the update is a no-restart hotpatch for eligible systems and...
  11. WSL2 vs Native Ubuntu on Windows 11 25H2: Real-World Performance

    Microsoft’s own preview of Windows 11 25H2 may ship as a tiny enablement package, but running Ubuntu under WSL2 on that same Windows build is not indistinguishable from a native Ubuntu install — Phoronix’s fresh tests show a measurable, workload-dependent performance cost that deserves close...
  12. Nano11: Extreme Windows 11 Slimdown to 2.29GB for VMs

    NTDEV’s latest builder shrinks a full Windows 11 ISO down to a reported 2.29 GB by surgically removing nearly everything most users expect from a modern desktop OS — from Xbox and Solitaire to Windows Update and Windows Defender — producing an extremely compact, intentionally unserviceable image...
  13. WinBoat: Run a Windows Desktop on Linux via Docker and RemoteApp

    WinBoat arrives as one of the clearest attempts yet to bridge the Windows-on-Linux gap by running a full Windows environment inside a lightweight Docker container and exposing apps to the Linux desktop as (nearly) native windows. (github.com) Background WinBoat is an open‑source project from...
  14. Nano11: Extreme Windows 11 Slimming and Its Trade-offs

    Nano11’s demo-sized ISO and sub‑3GB installed footprints are headline‑grabbing — but they’re the result of deliberate surgical removals and heavy compression that trade serviceability, security, and general compatibility for raw minimalism. Background / Overview Windows 11’s default footprint...
  15. Mac to Windows Remote Desktop: A Secure, Tested 2025 Guide

    Connecting from a Mac to a Windows PC is no longer a niche trick; it’s a day‑to‑day workflow for developers, accountants, and hybrid workers who want the best of both worlds. With the Microsoft Remote Desktop client (and the newer Windows App consolidation on macOS), a properly configured...
  16. Oracle VirtualBox 7.2.2 Maintains Stability with Key 7.2 Fixes

    Oracle’s VirtualBox 7.2.2 arrives as a focused maintenance release that patches several painful regressions introduced with the 7.2 series—most notably virtual machines failing to start on Windows‑on‑ARM hosts, Trusted Platform Module (TPM) emulation problems for some guests, multiple GUI...
  17. Nano11: Shrinking Windows 11 to 2.28 GB — What to Know and Risks

    NTDEV’s tiny11 project spawned a new contender: Nano11 — a community-made script that strips Windows 11 to the bone and, in one recent demonstration, produced an ISO file reported at just 2.28 GB and an installed system that was reduced to roughly 3.25 GB after aggressive compression and...
  18. Nano11 Builder: Ultra-Small Windows 11 ISOs via Aggressive Debloat

    NTDEV’s new Nano11 Builder takes the Windows‑11 debloat movement from pragmatic trimming to experimental minimalism, producing bootable ISOs and installed images measured in single‑digit gigabytes by surgically removing inbox apps, servicing infrastructure, and even parts of the Windows...
  19. Windows 10 End of Support 2025: Migration Playbook and ESU Guide

    Microsoft’s October deadline for Windows 10 support has arrived like a ringing bell for an industry that—by several measures—wasn’t ready: large numbers of consumer and corporate endpoints still run Windows 10, many organisations face compatibility and budget constraints, and the safety net...
  20. nano11: Ultra-Light Windows 11 ISO for Lab and VM Testing

    NTDEV’s community ecosystem has produced yet another extreme take on Windows 11: nano11, a script-driven rebuilder that pares a stock Windows 11 image down to astonishingly small sizes — an ISO reportedly just over 2 GB and an installed footprint under 3 GB when combined with compression — by...