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Did you hear the news that Windows 11 is getting a shiny new Start menu? Earlier this week, alongside the announcement of the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, Microsoft revealed the much-reworked Start menu, plus some new features (some of which are slightly delayed). Now, in a new blog post on the Microsoft Design website, Microsoft revealed how it came to the new Start menu that will soon be available for Windows 11 users. Microsoft says it followed the following four "guiding stars" to make the new Start menu: Apps, at a glance: all your apps, including pinned, installed, and freshly discovered, should be "right there." Make it yours: the menu should reflect your preferences and workflow, showing what matters the most to you. Accelerate the day: speed things up by eliminating unnecessary clicks. Honor the icon: keep the menu familiar while also offering some new stuff. The design team prototyped a bunch of designs. Here are some of them with some interesting ideas, including a unique take on app categorization, a segmented Start menu, widgets in the Start menu (remember live tiles?), some seriously radical notions, and more: Microsoft adds that over 300 Windows 11 users helped the company in their studies, and some even joined live co-creation calls. As a result, the company implemented the following changes: What users asked What Microsoft made Easier app discovery A single-view Start menu with your pins at the top, recommendations in the middle, and dynamic app categories or the list of all apps below. No more switching between different views. Smarter suggestions Windows 11 now learns your preferences for more useful recommendations. Plus, the recommended section could be fully turned off (one of the most popular requests from users) More control You can select what you want to see more of: pins or recommendations. Clear mobile separation A separate pane for all Phone Link-related content. Here is the final result in action: The company also notes that the goal was to ensure the Start menu looks good and is well-optimized for devices ranging from a small Surface Go to massive 49-inch ultrawide displays. Microsoft does not say when the new Start menu will be publicly available for testing (not to mention the public release), but you can already toggle it on using feature IDs in recent Windows 11 preview builds. What do you think about the Start menu redesign? Do you like how Microsoft addressed popular criticism? Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Bad news for Windows Insiders: no more Windows 11 preview builds this week. Microsoft announced that we won't see a new Dev or Beta build this week, and the Canary Channel is blocked due to a major bug. This also means that some of the features that Microsoft promised to release for testing this week are not coming. Brandon LeBlanc, senior program manager on the Windows Insider Program, revealed in a post on X that the Canary bug preventing the team from releasing a new build affects various features, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections, camera functionality (including Windows Hello), and more. While build delays are nothing extraordinary in the Windows Insider program, this one is especially unfortunate, considering that earlier this week, Microsoft promised to release some big AI upgrades for Windows 11 in the Insider program. Hopefully, we will get the promised stuff, namely the AI agent for the Settings app, in one of the next week's builds, so stay tuned. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Following the release of Microsoft Edge 136 at the beginning of May, Microsoft dropped another Edge update for customers in the Stable Channel. Version 136.0.3240.64 is now available for all to download, and it features two changes: fixes for Microsoft Editor and security patches. Microsoft Edge, currently the second most popular desktop browser, has a custom spellchecker called Microsoft Editor, which watches over your writing. In addition to basic typos and misspelled words, Microsoft Editor can highlight grammar mistakes and offer various suggestions to improve your writing. However, after the recent updates, Microsoft Editor stopped working, and now, Microsoft is fixing that with version 136.0.3240.64: Note that Microsoft Editor sends the data you type to Microsoft's servers for processing and spellchecking. Also, this feature is enabled by default. If you are not okay with that due to privacy concerns or other reasons, you can switch to basic spellchecking or turn it off for good. To do so, head to Settings > Languages > Writing Assistance > Enable grammar and spellcheck assistance. Additional changes in Microsoft Edge 136.0.3240.64 update include a fix for CVE-2025-4372, a Chromium security vulnerability: CVE-2025-4372: Use after free in WebAudio in Google Chrome prior to 136.0.7103.92 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium) You can update Microsoft Edge to the latest version by heading to edge://settings/help. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Raymond Chen, a senior Microsoft engineer, often tells interesting tales about Microsoft or Windows. For example, recently, he shared some more details about the Janet Jackson song that is officially a cyberthreat for Windows computers and how some OS features like the APO were used to protect PCs. Chen shares these stories in his The Old New Thing column on Microsoft's site and in the latest post, he has described how the Windows native clipboard is different from other clipboard managers but in a good way. For those who may not be familiar, Windows offers a default clipboard that can be enabled via the Settings app. There is a simpler way, too, by using the Win + V shortcut and then selecting the "Turn on" option. In this latest story, Chen answers a question that some of you may have noticed and wondered: "Why doesn’t Clipboard History capture rapid changes to clipboard contents?" Chen says that the asynchronous approach is actually what makes the Windows one better, at least in terms of performance, as it does not slow down the system with constant changes. Windows is able to achieve this using the AddClipboardFormatListener function and the WM_CLIPBOARDUPDATE message identifier. The former is part of the Winuser header (.h file) wherein winuser.h file helps to handle various user-side inputs like keyboard and mouse, among others. These Windows API features were introduced with Windows Vista. Explaining how all this works, Chen writes: Thus, it looks like Microsoft has taken an approach such that even something like the clipboard has been created in a way so that it does not affect the performance of the OS. It is good to see that the company takes care of these small yet significant things in order to make Windows great. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Skype may be dead, but GroupMe keeps getting new features. GroupMe, a messaging app owned by Microsoft, was revitalized in 2024 with Copilot. Since that major update, Microsoft has quietly worked on additional AI features for the app. This week, GroupMe gained support for 4o image generation powered by Copilot. Within any GroupMe chat, you can tag @Copilot and ask the tool to generate an image. For example, you could ask Copilot to transform an image into a specific art style. You can also tag Copilot and ask for help with plans, facts, and topics of discussion. It's interesting to see GroupMe gain new features. The app has been around for ages, but it is more of a niche app that's popular on college campuses. With the death of Skype, GroupMe is one of few casual communication platforms owned by Microsoft. While there is a free version of Microsoft Teams, many view Teams as a tool for work or education. GroupMe: What's new Upload + Prompt Drop an image into your group chat and tag @Copilot with what you want to see. That selfie from last night? Turn it into an album cover. Your coffee pic? Make it look like a Renaissance painting. Your imagination is the prompt. "@Copilot make our group selfie look like a 2000s boy band album cover" "@Copilot turn this burrito into an oil painting" Quote Reply to Riff on Shared Pics See something wild? Reply to your friend’s message, add @Copilot and your idea. This is where inside jokes become visuals. "@Copilot turn Justin's dog into a 90s action figure" "@Copilot make Max look like a medieval knight" Not Just Visuals Copilot can bring your group’s creativity to life with image gen, but that’s just the start. Use it to: Plan your next move: “@Copilot help us plan a weekend trip to Nashville with food, music, and one weird museum.” Fact check your friends: “@Copilot is it true octopuses have three hearts?” Start something new: “@Copilot draft an email we can send to local businesses for our fundraiser.” Get homework help: “@Copilot explain the transitive property like I’m 5” Spark ideas: “@Copilot we want to start a podcast—throw us some name ideas and a first episode topic.” Copilot can only read and respond to messages where it is @ mentioned. And it will remember the context of the times it is mentioned by anyone in your group chat. What is GroupMe? GroupMe is a messaging app that first launched in 2010. Shortly after launching, GroupMe was purchased by Skype. Around one year later, Skype was then purchased by Microsoft. As a result, GroupMe has been under the Microsoft umbrella for well over a decade, but it was left largely untouched for much of that time. Microsoft released a major update to GroupMe in 2024 that overhauled the app and added AI capabilities. Earlier this year, Microsoft added several Copilot features to GroupMe. That journey continued this week with the latest update to the app. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Compact Mode on the Xbox app has added some small, but important features just in time for Microsoft's partner handheld with ASUS. One of the major criticisms of Windows 11 on handhelds such as the ROG Ally to date is the clunkiness of the UI. Windows just isn't built for tiny screens. With the first 'Xbox handheld' on the way, aka, Project Kennan — a device we have reported on and which has experienced its first photoshoot recently — Microsoft is starting to make some small, but important additions to the Xbox app. First reported by The Verge's Tom Warren, the Xbox app on Windows 11 is now showing useful system information when in Compact Mode, including a clock, battery status, and Wi-Fi. I've checked my own Xbox app and indeed it is showing this additional information, although as I'm on a desktop with Ethernet, it looks a little different. I should also say that it likely isn't rolling out fully at this point. Other members of the Windows Central team aren't seeing the same, though I'm on the Insider Program (as is Tom Warren who first reported on this), so it makes sense it may be landing there first. But it's happening, and just in time for the as-yet unnamed Xbox/ASUS handheld, Project Kennan. Compact Mode in the Xbox app is potentially the front end for this handheld, as you would imagine ASUS won't be layering Armoury Crate on an Xbox-branded device by default. Clicking on the clock or network connection doesn't do anything, at least for now, but these little touches shouldn't be overlooked. They're important for quality of life on a handheld. If Microsoft is getting into the game, there's no excuse anymore. The handheld space is heating up in 2025 SteamOS is about to break free of the Steam Deck. (Image credit: Windows Central | Zachary Boddy) Gaming handheld PCs have been growing in popularity over the past few years, really driven forward, initially, by the launch of the Steam Deck. 2025 is going to be the biggest year, yet, though. Xbox is due to launch its first branded handheld, admittedly, through a partnership with ASUS. There's a new ROG Ally on the way, it seems, likely powered by AMD's latest chips. Then there's SteamOS, which is getting ready to push beyond the Steam Deck. The Legion Go S (pictured above) is the first licensed partner handheld to offer SteamOS out of the box, but the software will finally be available this year to install on other devices. I'm convinced that unless you need a laptop to use for purposes other than gaming, a handheld is increasingly the smarter choice over a gaming laptop. They're far more portable, have usable battery life, and as we've already seen, can play even demanding games at an acceptable standard. We still don't have dates for SteamOS, nor the Xbox Project Kennan, but all signs point to real soon. And I can't wait. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Nearly a year after replacing the aging default player was deemed a high priority, GNOME Showtime is finally slated to become the core video application for the GNOME desktop. Just recently, GNOME Developers officially completed the merge request to integrate Showtime into the core lineup. This change ushers out the long-serving Totem video player, known simply as "Video Player" to many GNOME users, in favor of the modern replacement in the upcoming GNOME 49 release expected in September 2025. Unfortunately, Showtime could not make it in time for the GNOME 48 release earlier this year, but its inclusion is now confirmed. The motivation behind replacing Totem was clear: it relied on the older GTK3 toolkit. It had seen minimal maintenance or major feature development in recent years, leaving it feeling increasingly outdated within the evolving GNOME desktop. Showtime was built from the ground up with modern technologies, leveraging GTK4 and Libadwaita. This provides a more contemporary appearance that integrates smoothly with the rest of the desktop and ensures better adaptability across different device screen sizes. Showtime playing a movie Showtime emerged from the GNOME Incubator program, aimed at bringing new, well-aligned applications into the core collection. Its development focused on delivering a simple and distraction-free video watching experience. This philosophy is echoed in the application's description on Flathub: This design manifests in a minimalist interface where controls conveniently fade away during playback, putting the focus entirely on the content. Compared to Totem, Showtime brings active development and essential playback features users expect today, like remembering where you left off in a video, options to jump forward or backward using the keyboard, the ability to grab screenshots, and easy switching between audio tracks and subtitles. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Microsoft has released the latest version of Visual Studio Code, known as the April 2025 release or version 1.100. It brings plenty of improvements, all of which you can read about below. One notable feature that you should look out for is the ability to craft custom instructions in the Chat feature. Here are some of the key highlights from this update: In addition to the new features listed above, this latest version of Visual Studio Code is getting a new base model, in the form of GPT-4.1, one of OpenAI's latest advanced language models. While this model excels in coding, you can always change it in the Chat view to another model at any time. If you're not too keen on using AI to help you do your coding, a change that may appeal to you in this update are the two new floating window modes: compact and always-on-top. In compact mode, some UI elements are hidden to show more code and always-on-top keeps you chosen window on top of all the other windows until you leave that mode. Finally, affecting code editing, this update includes a new Next Edit Suggestions (NES) model that gives you faster and more context-relevant code suggestions. Aside from suggestions being given quicker, they're also less intrusive and align more closely with your recent edits. If you want to download this update, get it from the Visual Studio Code website. If you already have it installed, look out for any notifications about the update. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Recently Google came out with a report sharing findings from a study where customer service agents used an optional conversational AI assistant. Google found this tool could significantly boost productivity, reporting that agents using the AI saw an average 14% increase in efficiency. This gain, according to Google's calculations, could save a full-time worker approximately 122 hours per year, surpassing Google's initial estimate. The study also noted the AI had a particularly large impact on lower-performing agents, helping them handle more difficult tasks and boosting their output by 35%, compared to a more modest 7% gain for higher performers. However, these potential efficiency gains may come with a hidden social cost, according to a new study from Duke University, published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This research claims that despite AI's productivity benefits, using tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini might lead to your coworkers and managers viewing you as less competent. The research, titled "Evidence of a social evaluation penalty for using AI," involved four experiments with over 4,400 participants. Researchers Jessica A. Reif, Richard P. Larrick, and Jack B. Soll from Duke's Fuqua School of Business found a consistent pattern: employees who use AI tools tend to face negative judgments from colleagues and managers regarding their competence and motivation. In the first experiment, participants imagined using either an AI tool or a standard dashboard creation tool for a work task. Those in the AI group anticipated being seen as lazier, less competent, less diligent, and more replaceable. They also indicated they would be less willing to tell their managers or colleagues about their AI use. A supplemental study replicated these core findings, showing that participants in the AI condition expected significantly lower competence ratings from colleagues compared to those using a dashboard tool. In the table below, higher scores indicate a more positive outcome for "Disclosure," "Competence," and Diligence. On the other hand, higher scores for "Lazy" and "Replaceable" represent a more negative outcome. The second experiment seemed to confirm these anxieties. When participants evaluated descriptions of employees, those who received help from AI were consistently rated as lazier, less competent, less diligent, less independent, and less self-assured compared to those who got similar help from non-AI sources or no help at all. Another supplemental study investigated whether these social penalties changed if AI use was described as common versus uncommon in the workplace. Interestingly, the perceived norm of AI use did not significantly alter these negative social evaluations, suggesting the penalty is quite robust. The researchers also found that this bias can influence real-world business decisions. In a hiring simulation, managers who did not personally use AI frequently were less likely to hire candidates who reported regular AI tool use. Conversely, managers who were frequent AI users themselves showed a preference for AI-using candidates. This aligns with findings from another part of the study, indicating that the perception of laziness in an AI-using candidate is stronger among evaluators who themselves use AI less frequently. The final experiment identified perceived laziness as a primary driver for this negative evaluation. However, this penalty could be lessened if the AI tool was clearly beneficial and appropriate for the specific task at hand. When AI use made obvious sense for the job, the negative perceptions were significantly reduced. For example, the study detailed that for manual tasks, using AI had a negative direct effect on perceived task fit, even beyond the laziness factor. In contrast, for digital tasks where AI could be seen as more useful, AI use had a positive direct effect on perceived task fit, which helped to partially counteract the negative impact of perceived laziness. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of April): 1,811 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend