If you’re new to Windows or just upgraded to Windows 11, the Microsoft Store is the safest, simplest way to discover, install, update and manage apps on your PC — and it has evolved significantly in the last year to take on more desktop software and real-world update headaches. This guide shows...
Winget can turn the tedious, hour‑long ritual of tracking down installers and clicking through wizards into a one‑line operation that installs dozens of apps automatically — and for many Windows users that changes how they provision a PC overnight.
Background / Overview
The Windows Package...
Uninstalling the Xbox Game Bar from Windows 11 is a quick way to remove an overlay you don’t use, reduce background activity on low‑spec machines, and eliminate potential overlay conflicts — and Windows gives you three primary removal paths: Settings (GUI), PowerShell (Appx), and the Windows...
WinGet is the easiest Windows-native way to search for, install, update, remove, and migrate applications — and once you understand what it actually does (and what it doesn’t), it becomes hard to go back to hunting EXEs, accidental bloatware, and manual update checks.
Overview
WinGet (the...
Microsoft has quietly pushed out PowerToys v0.94.2 to stamp out a stubborn installer regression that left some users unable to upgrade or install the utility suite from GitHub, winget, or the Microsoft Store, restoring a critical path for distribution and deployment.
Background
PowerToys has...
Windows 11’s taskbar just gained a one‑click “Perform speed test” control — but instead of spinning up a native diagnostic engine, the button opens your default browser and lands on Bing’s internet speed test (the same Speedtest technology Ookla powers in Bing).
Background
Microsoft has been...
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
windows
windows 11
winget
Microsoft’s app-store experiment started with a clear promise — a single, safe place to find and automatically update Windows software — but for more than a decade the reality was a sequence of missteps, confusing platform shifts, and fragmented developer incentives that left most PC users...
app curation
app packaging
appx
desktop bridge
developer economics
electron
enterprise it
intune
microsoft store
msix
pwa
sccm
software distribution
third party stores
update orchestration
uwp
win32
windows 11
windows update
winget
Windows 11 hides a surprising number of high-impact productivity tools beneath its clean new interface — features that can shave minutes off repetitive tasks, reduce interruptions, and make multi-app workflows feel effortless once you know where to look. This piece walks through the most useful...
Microsoft’s refreshed Windows Backup now offers a built‑in, local PC‑to‑PC migration path that makes moving your personal files and many settings from an old Windows PC to a new Windows 11 machine far less painful than past upgrades — but it is not a silver bullet, and there are important...
app reinstall
backup strategy
bitlocker
data transfer
external drive
local transfer
network guidance
onedrive
oobe
pc migration
pc to pc migration
privacy security
troubleshooting
windows 11
windows backup
winget
wired ethernet
Microsoft’s refreshed Windows Backup now includes a built‑in, local PC‑to‑PC migration path that can move your files and many personalization settings across the local network during Windows 11 setup — making the leap to a new machine faster and less dependent on external services or paid...
Windows 11 now offers a built-in, local PC-to-PC transfer path inside the Windows Backup app that promises to simplify moving your files and settings to a new machine — but it comes with important caveats, sharp trade-offs, and a handful of setup steps most users will need to know before they...
app reinstall
bitlocker
cloud backup
data migration
device encryption
enterprise migration
file transfer
local network
local transfer
onedrive
otp pairing
patch tuesday
pc-to-pc transfer
preparation steps
settings migration
wifi transfer
windows 11
windows backup
winget
A prominent tech writer has publicly abandoned the Windows 11 Start menu in favor of Flow Launcher, an open‑source, keyboard‑first app launcher — and in doing so rekindled a long‑running debate about how Windows should expose search, system commands, and shortcuts to power users. The transition...
alt+space
chocolatey
enterprise deployment
everything search
files and apps search
flow launcher
flow launcher plugins
keyboard launcher
media control
open source
package managers
plugin ecosystem
power users
privacy and security
scoop
spotify plugin
windows start menu
winget
Windows 11 ships with a clear design philosophy: modern, polished, and opinionated. For many users that means a pleasant daily experience out of the box — but it also means defaults that favor discoverability and platform features over minimalism and control. Pocket-lint recently distilled five...
desktop ux
enterprise it
focus
group policy
intune
microsoft store
presence sensing
privacy
productivity
screensaver
security
settings
taskbar
taskbar alignment
updates
user experience
widgets
windows 11
winget
WinGet has quietly become one of the most practical productivity tools in a Windows 11 power user's toolbox — not just for installing apps, but for managing whole system states, enforcing upgrade policies, and automating maintenance. A recent MakeUseOf piece showed four simple WinGet workflows —...
Windows power users have long known the best tools often live outside the commercial software ecosystem, but a recent MakeUseOf roundup highlighting “unbelievably” polished open‑source Windows apps crystallizes just how far free software has come: the list assembles utilities that replace or...
Checking which Python is installed on a Windows PC shouldn’t be a chore — a couple of quick Command Prompt commands and you’ll know whether you’re running Python 3.11, 3.10, 2.7, or nothing at all. This practical guide expands on the quick tips from Windows Report and turns them into a...
Microsoft’s glossy marketing often highlights the big, headline features of Windows 11, but a recent explainer that rounds up “13 features you probably didn’t know about” is a useful reminder: the OS is full of practical, time‑saving tools that rarely make the launch‑pad demo. The original list...
android webcam
clipboard history
focus sessions
link to windows
ocr
phone link
photos app
powertoys
productivity
rollback
snap layouts
snipping tool
tips
tricks
windows 11
winget
Microsoft PowerToys quietly transforms Windows 11 from a rigid, predictable environment into a highly malleable productivity powerhouse — and once you start using tools like Workspaces, PowerToys Run, FancyZones, Peek, and Keyboard Manager, the OS feels fundamentally different. Toys has evolved...
Microsoft has confirmed that OneNote for Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025, and Microsoft is urging users and organizations to migrate to the newer OneNote on Windows app now to avoid losing editing and sync functionality when the legacy app becomes read-only...
backups
backups-and-sync
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