Microsoft's latest Insider flight quietly turns three of Windows 11’s most familiar utilities—Paint, Snipping Tool, and Notepad—into more capable, workflow‑focused apps by adding editable project files, in‑capture markup, and local AI editing that can run on Copilot+ hardware without a...
Microsoft has quietly added a one‑click Internet speed test launcher to Windows 11’s taskbar and quick settings, and it’s arriving alongside continued enhancements to the Snipping Tool (a.k.a. “Scissors”) that push the app from a basic screenshot utility toward a compact image and video capture...
Microsoft’s Windows 11 Insider previews for early September 2025 widen the operating system’s AI footprint and polish long‑standing UI rough edges, but they also underline the strategic tradeoffs Microsoft is making as AI features move deeper into the OS: more convenience and on‑device...
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Microsoft has quietly posted official Windows 11 ISO images for Insiders, giving testers, OEMs, and IT teams the first gated chance to perform clean installs and full out‑of‑box experience (OOBE) validation for the upcoming Windows 11 feature update — the 25H2 Release Preview build family (Build...
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...
Microsoft is quietly turning the Xbox button on controllers into a small but consequential multitasking shortcut in Windows 11: a long press now opens Task View so gamers can switch between apps and games without leaving the controller, while a short press still opens the Game Bar and a...
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Microsoft’s quiet tweak to the Xbox controller on Windows 11 — making a long press of the central Xbox button open Task View while preserving a tap for Game Bar and a sustained hold to power the controller off — is small in code but large in intent, signaling a deliberate push toward...
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controlled feature rollout
controller first
controller mapping
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Microsoft’s latest Insider preview quietly repurposes the Xbox/Guide button into a three‑state system control: a short tap still summons the Game Bar, a long press now opens Task View, and a sustained hold continues to power the controller off — a small UX tweak that signals a deliberate push to...
Microsoft has quietly put the “Windows 12” party on hold: the next public release from Redmond is Windows 11, version 25H2, arriving as a lightweight enablement update in the second half of 2025 rather than a ground-up OS reboot — and that decision changes what upgrade planning should look like...
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Microsoft is quietly experimenting with a small but consequential change to how the Xbox button behaves on Windows 11: a long press of the Xbox button now opens Task View, while a short press still summons the Game Bar and a sustained hold continues to power the controller off.
Background /...
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Microsoft has quietly repurposed the Xbox button on gamepads when used with Windows 11 Insiders: a long press now opens Task View while a short press still launches the Game Bar, and a press-and-hold continues to power down the controller — a small but practical tweak rolling out to Dev and Beta...
Microsoft is quietly rolling out a one‑click pathway to check your internet connection from the Windows 11 taskbar: a new system tray shortcut that opens a network speed test in your default browser, currently visible in Insider preview builds.
Background
Microsoft has long leaned on...
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Microsoft has begun testing a change that remaps the Xbox button on controllers in Windows 11 so a long press opens Task View, while a short press still opens the Game Bar and a sustained hold still powers the controller off.
Background
Microsoft has steadily worked to make Windows 11 friendlier...
Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 Insider preview builds quietly add a one‑click internet speed‑test shortcut to the taskbar network flyout — but the shortcut simply opens Bing’s web‑based speed test rather than running a native, offline measurement — and the same builds also include a subtle but...
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windows 11
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Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 Insider builds are shipping a new, full-screen renewal prompt aimed at lapsed Microsoft 365 subscriptions — an eye-catching SCOOBE (Second‑Chance Out‑of‑Box Experience) screen that insiders and early reports describe as a full‑screen nag to renew rather than a...
Microsoft has quietly published official ISO images for Windows 11, version 25H2 to the Windows Insider Preview downloads area, completing a key piece of release scaffolding for IT teams, OEMs, and enthusiasts even as most devices receive the feature update as a lightweight enablement package...
Windows 11’s 25H2 installer has arrived for testers, but the copy available today is a Release Preview disk image (ISO) and still a preview build — meaning most users should sit tight and wait for the official, staged rollout through Windows Update rather than rushing to download and manually...
Microsoft has quietly made the official x64 ISO for Windows 11, version 25H2 (Build 26200.5074) available to Release Preview Insiders, completing a key piece of release scaffolding that IT teams, OEMs and imaging specialists have been waiting for even as Microsoft continues to deploy the update...
Microsoft has made Windows 11, version 25H2 available to testers in the Windows Insider Release Preview channel, delivering the update primarily as a lightweight enablement package (eKB) that flips features already staged on 24H2 devices — while Microsoft delays broad ISO publication and...
Microsoft quietly pulled back the promised ISO images for Windows 11, version 25H2 this week, updating its Release Preview announcement to say the ISOs are “delayed and coming soon” even as the update itself lands in the Release Preview channel as an enablement-package style release.
Background...