Google has quietly shipped an experimental Windows desktop application that puts Google Search, Google Lens and its conversational AI Mode a single keystroke away — a Spotlight‑style overlay that searches your PC, installed apps, Google Drive and the web without switching windows.
Background /...
ai mode
alt space hotkey
drive and web search
enterprise considerations
enterprise controls
gemini
google
google app for windows
lens integration
local file search
on-device indexing
privacy
privacy analysis
productivity
search labs
security
spotlight style search
telemetry opt-out
windows
workspace exclusions
Google is quietly rolling a new Windows-native search experience into its Labs program that brings the company’s web search, Google Lens, and its AI-powered AI Mode onto the desktop — reachable instantly with an Alt + Space hotkey and designed to search your local files, installed apps, Google...
Google has quietly placed a Spotlight‑style search overlay on the Windows desktop, and this experimental app — available through Google’s Search Labs — promises to bring unified local, Drive, and web search plus Google Lens and AI Mode to a single, summonable interface reached with the Alt +...
Google’s experimental Windows app drops a summonable, Spotlight‑style search bar onto the desktop that promises to surface local files, installed apps, Google Drive content, and web results — and it folds Google Lens and the company’s AI Mode into a single, keyboard‑first interface invoked by...
ai mode
alt space
desktop search
enterprise privacy
google
google drive
google drive integration
google lens
local and server processing
powertoys run
search labs
spotlight
spotlight style
unified search surface
windowswindows desktop app
Google has quietly begun testing a new desktop search experience for Windows that looks and feels like macOS Spotlight but with Google’s distinctive multimodal and generative-AI capabilities layered on top, bringing web search, Google Drive, local files, installed apps, and Google Lens into a...
ai
ai mode
alt space
cross-platform
desktop search
enterprise
google
google drive
google lens
installed apps
local files
multimodal ai
privacy
productivity
search labs
security
spotlight style
ux design
web search
windows
Google has quietly brought a Spotlight‑style search overlay to Windows, launching an experimental Google app that lets you summon a floating search bar with Alt + Space to query the web, local files, installed apps and Google Drive — and it combines that with built‑in Google Lens and Google’s...
ai-mode
alt space hotkey
alt-space
drive
enterprise
google
google app windows labs
integration
labs
lens
local-search
multimodal
privacy
productivity
search
spotlight
spotlight like search
telemetry
windowswindows desktop
Google’s experimental Google app for Windows lands as a compact, Spotlight‑style overlay that promises to unify web search, local file search, Google Drive access, Google Lens visual queries and a conversational AI Mode — all summoned from anywhere on the desktop with the Alt + Space hotkey...
ai mode multimodal
ai-mode
alt space shortcut
alt-space
desktop-search
enterprise
gemini ai
google
google app windows
google drive integration
google lens desktop
labs experiment
lens
privacy
productivity
spotlight
unified local and web search
web-search
windowswindows spotlight like search
Raycast’s Windows beta already improves two of the most frequently used — and often frustrating — pieces of Windows input: the emoji picker and the clipboard history, delivering smoother search, persistent storage, and a more keyboard-centric workflow that will matter to power users and...
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
start menu
tenant opt-out
windows
Microsoft has pushed fresh Release Preview cumulative updates for both Windows 11 and Windows 10 this week, delivering a set of targeted reliability fixes for 23H2 and a small stability-focused rollup for 22H2 that are intended for validation before broader distribution.
Background
Microsoft...
Mozilla’s Firefox 143 lands as a pragmatic, Windows‑focused update that finally closes several long‑standing feature gaps while introducing new privacy, accessibility, and media improvements — notably taskbar‑pinned web apps (PWA‑style), Microsoft Copilot in the AI sidebar, camera preview in...
Microsoft has pushed fresh Release Preview updates for both Windows 11 and Windows 10 this week, delivering targeted reliability fixes for real‑world scenarios and a terse Windows 10 rollup aimed at keeping late‑life devices stable while organizations complete migration plans.
Background /...
Microsoft has pushed Windows 11 Build 22631.5982 (KB5065790) to Insiders in the Release Preview Channel, delivering a broad set of reliability fixes and quality updates aimed at version 23H2 users and administrators.
Background
Windows Insider channels exist to stage changes before they reach...
24h2
25h2
build 22631.5982
canary channel
chinese ime
configmgr sccm
cosa updates
cumulative update
display kernel
docking station
end of servicing
end of support
enterprise it
esu
ime
ime rendering
insider
insider canary
insider program
iso
it administration
kb5065790
kb5066198
mcpmanagement
migration planning
multi-monitor
october 2025
performance
pilot testing
printer queue
printer ui
rdp
release preview
release preview channel
reliability
reliability fixes
remote desktop
shared printer queue
sign-in
sim pin sign-in
undocking
update kb
update rollout
windowswindows 10
windows 11
windows 11 23h2
windows update for business
wsus
Windows has always been a moving target: features appear, gain fans, stagnate, and sometimes quietly disappear — often replaced by something that reflects Microsoft’s current priorities around security, cloud services, and AI. The past decade alone shows a clear pattern: legacy, underused, or...
aero glass
ai in windows
copilot
cortana
edge
fluent design
ie mode
internet explorer
media player
mica
notepad
photos app
security
ui design
windowswindows 11
windows copilot
windows media player
windows photo viewer
wordpad
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
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ai-powered launcher
aimode
alt plus space
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alt space launcher
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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
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desktop-search
desktopsearch
drive
drive integration
drive-integration
driveintegration
end-user
enterprise
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enterprise readiness
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everything vs google
experimental
filesearch
gemini
gemini ai
generativeai
google
google app for windows
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google app windows labs
google apps
google drive
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google lens
google lens desktop
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google search labs
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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
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spotlight-like
spotlight-like launcher
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spotlight-style search
spotlightlike
spotlightstyle
start menu
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
windowswindows 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’s attempt to build a safe, centralized app ecosystem for Windows began as an inspired idea and then spent more than a decade bouncing between half-measures, bad product bets, and shifting incentives — but over the last two years Microsoft has quietly rebuilt the plumbing and the...
app marketplace
centralized updates
commerce model
configmgr
developer economics
enterprise it
intune
microsoft store
msix
open app store principles
pwa
security updates
software distribution
update orchestration
uwp
win32
windowswindows 11
winget
Microsoft’s quiet nudge toward a cloud-first file culture is now more than design preference — it’s a default behavior baked into Windows setup and Office that reshapes how most people will create, save, and think about their documents.
Background
Microsoft’s strategy has been moving toward...
Mozilla’s latest stable cycle, Firefox 143.0, arrives as a pragmatic, platform-focused update that finally restores a long-requested desktop convenience—pinning web sites as taskbar apps on Windows—while folding Microsoft Copilot into Firefox’s AI sidebar, expanding fingerprinting protections...
Microsoft will begin automatically installing the Microsoft 365 Copilot app on Windows devices that already have Microsoft 365 desktop client apps, rolling the background install out beginning in Fall 2025 — with a practical deployment window that industry reporting ties to early October through...
applocker
auto install
background installation
copilot app
data protection
deployment
eea exclusion
endpoint management
fall 2025 rollout
group policy
intune
microsoft 365 copilot
microsoft learn
privacy telemetry
registry policy
tenant opt-out
windows
How to associate (and manage) devices for the Movies & TV (Films & TV) app on Windows
A practical, forum-ready guide for WindowsForum.com — what the official docs say, what changed recently, and step‑by‑step workflows and troubleshooting to keep your movie library working across your PCs and...
account management
appx
device association
dism
download devices
films & tv
five device limit
microsoft account
microsoft store
movies & tv
movies anywhere
offline viewing
powershell
sfc
uwp
windowswindows troubleshooting
windowsapps
xbox
zunevideo