windows11

Microsoft has quietly begun inviting some Windows 11 users to a new “Microsoft AI Labs” sign‑up from inside MS Paint, a subtle but significant step in how Microsoft is testing and distributing experimental AI features across the OS — and the rollout is already exposing tough questions about...

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 is rolling out a fresh set of updates to three of Windows 11’s most ubiquitous utilities—Paint, Snipping Tool, and Notepad—to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev channels, delivering both small UX wins and consequential AI features that shift how everyday creation and capture...

Microsoft’s latest Insider builds repurpose the SCOOBE (Second‑Chance Out‑of‑Box Experience) screen into a full‑screen, blocking renewal prompt that reminds users a Microsoft 365 subscription “needs attention” — a test that has reignited debates about whether Windows should be used as a sales...

Windows 11’s built‑in search can be handy, but for many power users it’s long felt sluggish, cluttered with web suggestions, and inconsistent when dealing with non‑indexed folders or massive file collections — which is why dozens of lightweight, keyboard‑first launchers and indexers have sprung...

Google’s Chromium team is rolling out support for Windows 11’s Direct3D 12 (D3D12) video encoding path to Chrome and Microsoft Edge, a change that shifts real‑time video encoding for browser-based calls and screen sharing from the CPU to the GPU — promising smoother video, lower CPU utilization...

Microsoft has marked a months‑old audio compatibility problem that blocked a subset of devices from receiving the Windows 11, version 24H2 feature update as resolved, after a vendor driver was published via Windows Update and the compatibility safeguard (safeguard ID 54283088) was removed for...

The Windows 11 taskbar looked like a fresh start—sleeker, centered, more modern—but for many users it felt more like a locked box than a customization canvas. A tiny, unofficial tool called Windhawk changes that: it’s a modular tweaking platform that restores missing functionality, unlocks...

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’s Release Preview rings received another quiet pair of cumulative updates this week: one for Windows 11 and one for Windows 10, both described by Microsoft as small, stability-focused fixes rather than new features—an unsurprising posture as Windows 10 approaches end of support and...

Firefox’s latest release delivers the kind of practical Windows-focused refinements power users have been asking for — and a high-profile AI tie‑in that will keep privacy wonks and enterprise admins debating for weeks. Background / Overview Mozilla’s rapid-release cadence means the browser you...

Microsoft’s looming Windows 10 end‑of‑support deadline has catalyzed a surge of tools aimed at keeping older PCs useful, and one of the most capable free utilities to emerge is Flyoobe — an evolution of the Flyby11 project that lets enthusiasts install Windows 11 on machines Microsoft marks as...

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...

Microsoft’s Secure Boot update FAQ makes clear that a coordinated, multi-step transition is now live: Windows will roll new 2023 signing certificates into UEFI variables and update the Windows boot manager to preserve Secure Boot protection ahead of the 2011 CA expirations, but the rollout...

Microsoft has begun removing the long‑standing Windows Management Instrumentation Command‑line (WMIC) tool from Windows images — WMIC will be absent by default on new installs and removed for systems upgraded to Windows 11, version 25H2 — and administrators must treat this as a scheduled change...

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...

Microsoft’s lifecycle clock is now glaringly visible for many organizations: support for several Windows releases will stop within months, and the window for action is short enough that CIOs, IT managers, and school IT directors must move from planning to execution now. A recent lifecycle...

Microsoft’s latest Insider experiments repurpose the post‑setup SCOOBE flow into a full‑screen, blocking reminder that tells Windows 11 users when their Microsoft 365 subscription “needs attention,” and the change has reignited a familiar debate: when does helpful notification become in‑OS...

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 pushed a busy week of changes across Windows 11 and the broader Windows ecosystem: September’s Patch Tuesday landed with a handful of quality fixes and a long-requested calendar clock return, Microsoft released ISOs for Windows 11 version 25H2 to Insiders, the SSD “bricking” saga...