Today, the Browser Company (that is the actual name of the team developing the Arc browser) released a new version of the browser for Windows users. Here is what the company says in the announcement:

Starting today, you can install Arc on any ARM devices you have, or share it with your Windows ARM-using friends, by directing them to the Download Arc for Windows button at arc.net.

The changelog for the latest version does not contain much, but the most important thing is Windows on ARM support. Here is the changelog:

Contained in this release, small but mighty fixes and an announcement you've been waiting for:

 

• We now support ARM processors for Arc on Windows.
• Steve fixed a crash caused by dragging a tab to create a new Arc window or dragging a tab between two Arc windows.
• Arc Search is now on Android and available for Android 12 or later! Download the open beta here!

You can download the Arc browser from the official website. It works on Windows 10 and 11, now including ARM-powered PCs, such as the latest models with Snapdragon X processors. However, you do not need the Surface Pro 11 or the Surface Laptop 11 to benefit from Arc's optimizations for ARM-powered devices—speed and energy efficiency improvements should be noticeable on older computers as well, such as the Surface Pro X or the Surface Pro 9 5G.

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We've applied a config change and telemetry confirmed we've mitigated impact. Users should refresh/restart their Outlook sessions.

Original story - If you are experiencing any issues with using your Microsoft Outlook email app today, you are not alone. The company has admitted there is a current issue with Outlook, but at the moment, there's no word on when it will be fixed.

The Microsoft 365 Status X account posted a message earlier this morning stating that some people in Europe "may be experiencing crashing, not receiving emails or observing high memory usage when using the Outlook client." However, other users outside of Europe, including former Neowin editor Brad Sams, who lives in the US, have posted that they have been having problems with Outlook as well today.

The last update on this problem was posted by Microsoft at 12:11 pm Eastern time. It stated:

We're focused on isolating the source of a potential memory management issue which may be responsible for causing impact. We're working with organizations and are replicating the issue internally to develop a mitigation.

Ironically, Microsoft has been trying to add in new features in the Outlook app for Windows that would not require an internet connection. In September 2023, it announced that it had added support for accessing "Mail, calendar events, and contacts" that would be stored on your PC without the need for online connections. It also added a way to write emails offline on the app, along with the ability to "flag, move, and delete" emails.

Earlier this week, the Microsoft 365 Roadmap added a new entry that stated Microsoft was working on a way for users to launch the new Outlook for Windows app without an online connection. That likely would come in handy today. This feature is supposed to roll out sometime later in October.

We will update this post when this problem has been resolved.

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In January 2015, Microsoft announced that 1.7 million people had signed up to be part of the Windows Insider Program, just a few months after the initial reveal. Since then the program has expanded to include testing of Windows 11 builds, along with Windows apps and services like the Microsoft Store, Paint, Photos, and more.

Today, Microsoft is marking the 10th anniversary of the Windows Insider Program with a blog post along with a special edition of the Windows Insider webcast.

The blog post stated:

Over the years the Windows Insider Program has continuously evolved how we preview experiences (Rings, Channels & Canaries to name a few) as well as what we preview (Windows 10, Windows 11, apps, and services). However, consistent across the years has been the incredible contributions of you, the Windows Insider community, providing your time and feedback to help make each release of Windows great for all our customers.

As far as the future for the Windows Insider Program, the blog post did not offer any specifics on what might be included for its members. It stated:

We remain committed to keeping the lines of communication open, continuing to listen to your feedback, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with Windows.

The blog post also has two new wallpapers from the team at Microsoft Design made to celebrate the Windows Insider Program's 10th anniversary. You can get a new light or dark wallpaper for your PC. The blog post also has versions of the same wallpaper made for ultrawide monitors.

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KB5044284 is the first Patch Tuesday update (B-release) for Windows 11 version 24H2, bumping up the build number to 26100.2033. Microsoft has now made this update available via its Media Creation Tool, which can be downloaded from the company's official website (noticed by the German site Deskmodder).

For those wondering what the update brings, as is usually the case with Update Tuesdays, it addresses security issues, but the release also addresses a remote desktop gateway service problem:

Highlights

 

This update addresses security issues for your Windows operating system.

 

Improvements

 

This security update includes improvements that were a part of update KB5043178 (released September 26, 2024). Below is a summary of the key issues that this update addresses when you install this KB. If there are new features, it lists them as well. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change we are documenting.

 

• [Remote Desktop Gateway Service] Fixed: The service stops responding. This occurs when a service uses remote procedure calls (RPC) over HTTP. Because of this, the clients that are using the service disconnect.

For those who may not be familiar with the Media Creation Tool (MCT), it is essentially Microsoft's official utility that helps users create installation media for Windows, similar to something like Rufus, which is a third-party app. However, unofficial apps like Rufus do come in handy if you are looking to install Windows 11 on unsupported systems, as an official utility like MCT does not allow bypassing the eligibility criteria.

Speaking of which, Rufus developer Pete Batard recently published an alpha update that helps in-place upgrade Windows 11 24H2 on unsupported PCs, though it won't work for everyone. You can find more information about installing Windows 11 24H2 on unsupported hardware in our separate guide.

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With the latest release, VMware Workstation properly recognizes Windows 11 version 24H2 images. The previous release, version 17.6.0, mistakenly detects 24H2 ISO files as Windows Server 2025 and auto-switches to the Easy Install process. Developers also fixed update issues on non-English hosts and resolved two more bugs.

Here is the changelog:

• When creating a new virtual machine from an ISO image file, VMware Workstation does not recognize Windows 11 24H2. If you create a virtual machine from a Windows 11 24H2 ISO image file, VMware Workstation recognizes a Windows Server 2025 iso file instead.
• Powering on a virtual machine fails with VMware Workstation 17.6 - unrecoverable error: (svga) svga Exception 0xc0000005 error. Powering on a virtual machine with the 3D graphics feature deactivated and activated Allow hardware acceleration for all virtual machine consoles from the VMware Workstation preferences fails with VMware Workstation 17.6 - unrecoverable error: (svga) svga Exception 0xc0000005 error.
• Cannot install or upgrade VMware Workstation 17.6 on a non-English host system. If you try to install or upgrade VMware Workstation on a host system in a different locale than English, an MSI pop-up error appears.
• CentOS 9 Stream with kernel versions later than 5.14.0-432 is not supported on Workstation Pro 17.6 as a host. CentOS 9 Stream with kernel versions later than 5.14.0-432 is not supported on Workstation Pro 17.6 as a host.

Known issues in VMware Workstation Pro 17.6.1 include the following:

The multi-monitor feature might not work correctly in specific topologies

 

In specific situations, based on different hardware and topologies, the multi-monitor feature does not work as expected. You might see issues like reverting the topology to a single screen, or not cycling through monitors.

 

Workaround: None.

You can update VMware Workstation Pro by clicking Help > Software Updates. Alternatively, you can download the latest version directly from VMware.

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In its announcement, the KDE project said that it updates neon every two years. It noted that the Ubuntu 22.04 LTS base "was getting increasingly crusty with old Pipewire causing problems and packages like Krita not compiling at all."

Moving to the new version of KDE neon isn't too difficult. Just open up Plasma Discover and install the latest update then restart the system to install the update. When you use the system, you should get a pop-up telling you an upgrade to KDE neon 24.04.1 LTS is available, if you go ahead with it you'll put in your password and then go through the upgrade process.

Ensure that important data is backed up first and note that third-party sources will be disabled, if you need them you can enable them later. At some point during the upgrade, the configuration file change window will appear, you should press keep according to the upgrade instructions. After this, you will have the option to keep or remove obsolete packages, it's best to remove them.

Once the upgrade is complete, you will need to restart the system and then it should boot up to the new version of KDE neon. If you want to check the in-depth upgrade instructions, you can find them here.

Source: KDE

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The most notable change in Files 3.7.11 is the bulk file renaming. You can select a range of files to rename and press F2 or click the Rename button on the toolbar. Next, Files will prompt you to enter the new name and then number all the selected files accordingly. This applies not only to files but also to folders.

Another improvement in Files 3.7.11 is a slightly reworked "Create new item" dialog window, which now displays the type of item being created instead of a generic "Enter an item name" message. Finally, the About page now has the option to copy the User ID. This should help developers debug the app and find crash reports.

Here is the rest of the changelog:

• Reduced minimum window dimensions.
• Enabled support for typing custom icon path in the properties window.
• Added Files icon to the process in Windows.
• Fixed window placement.
• Fixed an issue where sorting preferences weren’t saved when changed in the Columns Layout.
• Fixed NullReferenceException in BaseTransferItemAction.ExecuteTransferAsync.
• Fixed an issue when dragging & dropping items in the sidebar.
• Fixed an issue where the Start Menu tile didn’t specify the branch.
• Fixed an issue with navigating photos on Windows 10.

The update is now available for customers who side-load Files using the installer from the official website, and it will soon land in the Microsoft Store for everyone else. The app is free if downloaded from its website, but you can also purchase it in the Microsoft Store to support development.

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For example, an Eleven Forum member thecaretaker who started a thread on the issue, says:

Just updated to Win 11 Pro 24H2. All is working fine. However, I've got an additional 8.63GB of Update files that won't delete (see image).

I've run Component Store cleanup but it hasn't made any difference. Also ran it in safe mode.

When someone suggested that they run a Disk Cleanup, another user confirmed that it was not working either, as they wrote:

No, at least not on my PCs.

An entry labelled "Windows Update Cleanup" at 8.63GB remains. Disk Cleanup will not remove it.

I searched for a means to fix that. It appears that it's a bug, the Microsoft will have to fix.

The user and several others believe this may be a bug in Windows 11 24H2, but that is unlikely since almost every system exhibits this 'symptom.'

A user on My Digital Life forum suggests this may not be a bug after all and is how Microsoft intended it to be. They write:

Again, this is not really a problem/bug but the result of the current Updates development, the files need to be kept by the system.

The user is referring to the new Windows cumulative update delivery method that Microsoft introduced with Windows 11 24H2 and Server 2025. Called "Checkpoint Cumulative updates" (CCU), the company has essentially delivered these as checkpoints instead of the entire update since RTM, thus reducing the size of each update. As a consequence of that, it is certainly plausible why deleting this "8.63 GB" of unwanted data is not working.

However, this is simply speculation, and it is possible that the issue is indeed a bug that needs to be fixed. After all, the company had already confirmed a CCU-related problem that leads to the "Operation is not supported” error message.

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Here is the changelog:

Changes and Improvements

 

[General]

 

[REMINDER] Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Canary Channel has been updated to 9/15/2025 starting with Build 27695. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Canary Channel.

 

[Search on the Taskbar]

 

We are beginning to roll out the ability to share local files directly from within the search results shown in the search box on the taskbar.

 

[Voice Access]

 

We are making improvements for the spelling and corrections experience in voice access. You can now use the experience for the entire voice access session. The spelling experience will now enable you to dictate the characters at a faster speed and offer more editing flexibility inside the experience with dictation commands, namely selection, deletion and text navigation commands.

 

[Fonts]

 

There is a new simplified Chinese font (Simsun-ExtG) with 9,753 ideographs supporting Unicode Extensions G, H and I. Included is the highly requested character for Biangbiang noodles. This character U+30EDD is said to be the most complicated Chinese character, as you can see in the image below. We are aware that some applications may not be able to display these new extension characters yet.

 

• Unicode range G 30000-3134A (4,939 chars)
• Unicode range H 31350-323AF (4,192 chars)
• Unicode range I 2EBF0-2EE5D (622 chars)

 

[Settings]

 

The detach virtual hard disk (VHD/VHDx) button we added under Settings > System > Storage > Disks & Volumes introduced with Build 27686 has temporarily been disabled starting with Build 27718. We’re working to re-enable this change in a future flight soon.

 

Known issues

 

[General]

 

• [IMPORTANT NOTE FOR COPILOT+ PCs] If you are joining the Canary Channel on a new Copilot+ PC from the Dev Channel, Release Preview Channel or retail, you will lose Windows Hello pin and biometrics to sign into your PC with error 0xd0000225 and error message “Something went wrong, and your PIN isn’t available”. You should be able to re-create your PIN by clicking “Set up my PIN”.
• [NEW] We’re investigating reports that some games, including Microsoft Solitaire & Casual Games, are crashing on launch after installing 27718.
• [NEW] We’re investigating reports that some Insiders are still experiencing rollbacks (with error code 0xc190010) when attempting to install the latest Canary builds.

 

[Input]

 

We’re working on the fix for an underlying issue causing the Emoji Panel and Clipboard History to not open in certain surfaces anymore, including in Registry Editor.

You can check out the full blog post here.

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Last month, one of Windows 11's preview builds introduced a much-needed change for customers with devices equipped with a physical Copilot key: the ability to remap the key to another application. However, if you recently updated to the latest Beta build and cannot find the announced feature, that is because Microsoft removed it. Temporarily.

Microsoft recently updated the release notes for build 22635.4291 and confirmed that the Copilot key remapping feature is now gone. The reason is simple: bugs. Luckily, it is not gone for good, and Microsoft plans to re-introduce it in a future update. Here is what Microsoft says in a now-updated changelog for build 22635.4291:

[ADDED] We have temporarily disabled the ability to configure the Copilot key that began rolling out with Build 22635.4225 to address some issues and refine the experience. We plan to bring it back soon.

Once the Copilot key remapping is back, you will be able to make it open any signed and packaged MSIX application. The feature will be available in Settings > Personalization > Text Input > Customize Copilot Key on Keyboard. It will be mapped by default to Copilot until the user changes it.

Keep in mind that this option is only for devices with a physical Copilot key, such as the latest Copilot+ PCs like the Surface Laptop 7. Changing the setting on computers without a Copilot key will not do anything.

In addition to bringing back the ability to remap the Copilot key in its original form from build 22635.4225, Microsoft plans "further refinements to this experience." For now, it is unknown what kind of refinements customers can expect. It would be nice to have the option to launch any application, not just packaged MSIX, but Microsoft says the limitation is to make sure the mapped apps "meet security and privacy requirements to keep customers safe."

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As part of the preview for developers, Microsoft is rolling out several web platform features within Edge. This includes a limited Origin Trial of the API and associated auction mechanisms, which Microsoft says are also privacy-preserving. This preview also includes additional Edge user settings to boost transparency and give users more control.

The Redmond giant is rolling out the functionality to users gradually so you may not even see it in the Canary and Dev channels. If you want to switch it on manually, type the following in the URL bar edge://flags#edge-ad-selection-api then enable the API. Unfortunately, the preview is still in limited regions and notably excludes the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom (UK).

For any developers interested in reading more about the Ad Selection API in more detail, it has created a project page on GitHub. New issues can also be opened in the project's GitHub repository and there are biweekly calls to discuss aspects of the project. If you want to report issues without using GitHub, in Edge, go to Settings and more (...) > Help and feedback > Send feedback.

So, while this news doesn't really concern end users just yet, it's a positive sign for any Microsoft Edge users who wish for online ads in the browser to be more private. It's not clear how long it'll take for this new setup to start impacting ordinary people, though, as Microsoft hasn't provided a timeline.

Source: Microsoft

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Starting with OBS Studio 31.0.0 Beta 1, using Nvidia Encoder requires a graphics card based on the Maxwell architecture and newer. In other words, you need a GTX 900 Series graphics card or newer. GTX 600 and 700 Series are no longer supported, except for the GTX 750 and 750 Ti, which are Maxwell-based.

Besides dropping support for the 11-year-old Nvidia architecture, OBS Studio 31.0 Beta introduces several new features and plenty of small changes:

• Added NVIDIA Blur Filter and Background Blur [pkviet]
• Added preview scrollbars and zoom/scale indicator [cg2121/Warchamp7]
• Added v210 format support for AJA device capture [paulh-aja]
• Added Amazon IVS service integration [palana]
• Added QSV AV1 Screen Content Coding [thyintel]
• Enabled first-party YouTube Chat features [msuman-google]

You can find the complete changelog and download links on GitHub.

Another thing worth noting is that if you have a computer with an Nvidia graphics card, make sure you are on driver 551.76 or newer before installing the latest OBS Studio release. This driver was released in March and does not support Nvidia's Kepler-based graphics cards. As of right now, Nvidia provides mainstream driver support for Maxwell-based graphics cards and newer.

For those unfamiliar, OBS Studio is a free, open-source app that lets you capture, record, and stream video. It works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, which makes it a go-to app choice for many content creators regardless of their platform choice.

Via VideoCardz

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Microsoft seemingly hinted at that time that more offline features would be added in future updates, as it stated, "The first set of offline capabilities in the new Outlook for Windows. Mail, calendar events, and contacts will be stored on your device, so you can view them even when you're not connected to the internet."

For some reason, though, the ability to locally store Mail, calendar events, and contacts was delayed until the company finally reiterated it earlier this year in June. The entry was the same under Microsoft 365 (M365) feature ID 178030. However, Microsoft never really disclosed why the release date was pushed back.

Regardless, fast-forward to today, and the company is adding more offline features, which was Microsoft's original intention. The latest entry on the Microsoft 365 roadmap is related to offline Outlook application booting, which is a welcome addition, especially for those who still prefer Classic Outlook.

The entry says:

Outlook: Offline app boot

 

This introduces the ability to open or restart the new Outlook for Windows when not connected to the internet. Previously, you needed a connection to the internet to open or restart the new Outlook. Offline access is only supported when the app is already running and then goes offline. Opening and restarting the app while offline will be introduced with this rollout.

The entry is listed under ID 414516, and Microsoft states the feature will begin rolling out this month in October 2024. However, do note that it has already been slightly delayed, given that it was initially added on September 3, 2024.

The message has also been published on the Microsoft 365 Admin Center dashboard under ID MC907098.

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For those who need a recall, towards the end of September 2024, Microsoft released its non-security preview for the month under KB5043145. However, the update, as mentioned above, was highly problematic, and for the time being, the tech giant could not offer any help other than confirmation. As such, it asked for more details via feedback from affected users and later issued a mitigation solution via known issue rollback.

The company has added that those who do not wish to install the latest Patch Tuesday on their systems can still opt for the known issue rollback method linked above. It involves configuring a Group Policy entry to deploy the known issue rollback (KIR). This may be the safer option to opt for if system administrators do not want to deal with potentially new issues that may pop up with the latest Patch Tuesday.

In the updated post, Microsoft writes:

Resolution:

 

This issue was resolved by Windows updates released October 8, 2024 (KB5044285), and later. We recommend you install the latest security update for your device as it contains important improvements and issue resolutions, including this one.

 

If you have an enterprise-managed device and have installed the update released October 8, 2024 (KB5044285) or later, you do not need to use a Known Issue Rollback (KIR) or a special Group Policy to resolve this issue. If you are using an update released before October 8, 2024, and have this issue, your IT administrator can resolve it by installing and configuring the special Group Policy listed below. The special Group Policy can be found in Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> >.

You can find the issue entry here on Microsoft's official Windows health dashboard web page.

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It's been a while since most of us used or just thought about Winamp. But now there is a whole lot going on with the MP3 player of yore, mostly due to a remarkably chaotic source code release.

As previously announced, Winamp, through its Belgian owner Llama Group, provided "the Legacy Player Code" on September 24 so that developers could "contribute their expertise, ideas, and passion to help this iconic software evolve."

The code was made available, but not very open. Under the "Winamp Collaborative License (WCL) Version 1.0.1," you may not "distribute modified versions of the software" in source or binary, and "only the maintainers of the official repository are allowed to distribute the software and its modifications." Anyone may contribute, in other words, but only to Winamp's benefit.

Despite how this license would seem to bar forks, or perhaps because of that, the code has been forked at least 2,600 times as of this writing. In forking and examining the source when first released, coders have noticed some, shall we say, anomalies:

• Large portions of other projects' code, offered under other, more robust licenses, were seemingly included (if later deleted) from Winamp's repository
• The original Winamp code may have leaked the source code for SHOUTcast server software
• In seeking to remove offending files with a simple deletion instead of a rebase, Winamp kept it available to those who know Git mechanics
• Proprietary packages from Intel and Microsoft were also seemingly included in the release's build tools

As people in the many, many busy GitHub issue threads are suggesting, coding has come a long way since the heyday of the Windows-98-era Winamp player, and Winamp seems to have rushed its code onto a platform it does not really understand.

Winamp flourished around the same time as illegal MP3 networks such as Napster, Limewire, and Kazaa, providing a more capable means of organizing and playing deeply compressed music with incorrect metadata. After a web shutdown in 2013 that seemed inevitable in hindsight, Winamp's assets were purchased by a company named Radionomy in 2014, and a new version was due out in 2019, one that aimed to combine local music libraries with web streaming of podcasts and radio.

Winamp did get that big update in 2022, though the app was "still in many ways an ancient app," Ars' Andrew Cunningham wrote then. There was support for music NFTs added at the end of 2022.

In its press release for the code availability, the Brussels-based Llama Group SA, with roughly 100 employees, says that "Tens of millions of users still use Winamp for Windows every month." It plans to release "two major official versions per year with new features," as well as offering Winamp for Creators, intended for artists or labels to manage their music, licensing, distribution, and monetization on various platforms.

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The company says it supercharged OneDrive to improve its performance, especially when browsing large libraries, filtering documents, and performing other tasks. The built-in search now features more controls, and it can return more results from OneDrive, shared libraries, or files from other customers.

Windows users can now have colorful folders in OneDrive inside File Explorer for better file filtering and organization. This feature is now rolling out, and if you have colored folders in OneDrive for the web, you will soon notice the same folders in File Explorer. In addition, Microsoft upgraded the sharing experience, allowing users to see who is working on a specific document in real-time.

Microsoft also promises "significant improvements" to the document library experience with "OneDrive's flexibility and speed." These improvements will be available around mid-2025, and the exact details are yet to be revealed.

OneDrive for mobile devices is also getting some love from developers. Microsoft announced a redesigned app with improvements that "bring your favorite memories to life." With the updated version, OneDrive focuses on photos, offering quick and easy navigation between albums, people, and favorite photos. The built-in search now better understands natural language, allowing you to search with phrases like "Sophia and her dog on a boat."

The updated OneDrive app is now available for Android users, while iOS will get it next month.

Additional changes in OneDrive for iOS and Android include the ability to import photos from other services, such as Google Drive, Google Photos, and Dropbox, easier photo sharing with people who do not use OneDrive (you can send full-res images with no need to log in on the other end), improved memories, and more.

Another big part of the announcement was Copilot for OneDrive. It is now available to commercial users, and it lets you summarize files, compare several files at once, get answers to questions about specific files, and more.

Microsoft promises to give OneDrive users more capabilities in the future. They include the updated photo experience with "AI-powered photo management" on all platforms, not just mobile, Microsoft Design integration, personalized file views, and more. You can find more details about the latest OneDrive improvements in a post on the official Tech Community forums.

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Here's what's new:

24H2

Highlights

• This update addresses security issues for your Windows operating system.

Improvements

This security update includes improvements that were a part of update KB5043178 (released September 26, 2024). Below is a summary of the key issues that this update addresses when you install this KB. If there are new features, it lists them as well. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change we are documenting.

 

• [Remote Desktop Gateway Service] Fixed: The service stops responding. This occurs when a service uses remote procedure calls (RPC) over HTTP. Because of this, the clients that are using the service disconnect.

   

If you installed earlier updates, only the new updates contained in this package will be downloaded and installed on your device.

 

For more information about security vulnerabilities, please refer to the Security Update Guide website and the October 2024 Security Updates.

Windows 11 servicing stack update (KB 5046306)- 26100.2032

This update makes quality improvements to the servicing stack, which is the component that installs Windows updates. Servicing stack updates (SSU) ensure that you have a robust and reliable servicing stack so that your devices can receive and install Microsoft updates.

Known issues in this update

23H2 and 22H2

Highlights

• This update addresses security issues for your Windows operating system.

Improvements

Note: To view the list of addressed issues, click or tap the OS name to expand the collapsible section.

 

Windows 11, version 23H2

 

Important: Use EKB KB5027397 to update to Windows 11, version 23H2.

 

This security update includes quality improvements. Key changes include:

 

• This build includes all the improvements in Windows 11, version 22H2.

• No additional issues are documented for this release.

Windows 11, version 22H2

This security update includes improvements that were a part of update KB5043145 (released September 26, 2024). Below is a summary of the key issues that this update addresses when you install this KB. If there are new features, it lists them as well. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change we are documenting.

 

• [Miscellaneous security improvements to internal OS functionality] No additional issues were documented for this release.

   

If you installed earlier updates, only the new updates contained in this package will be downloaded and installed on your device.

 

For more information about security vulnerabilities, please refer to the Security Update Guide website and the October 2024 Security Updates.

Windows 11 servicing stack update (KB5046247) - 22621.4312 and 22631.4312

This update makes quality improvements to the servicing stack, which is the component that installs Windows updates. Servicing stack updates (SSU) ensure that you have a robust and reliable servicing stack so that your devices can receive and install Microsoft updates.

Known issues in this update

Microsoft is not currently aware of any issues with this update.

21H2

Highlights

• This update addresses security issues for your Windows operating system.

Improvements

This security update includes improvements. Below is a summary of the key issues that this update addresses when you install this KB. If there are new features, it lists them as well. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change we are documenting.

 

• [Miscellaneous security improvements to internal OS functionality] No additional issues were documented for this release.

   

If you installed earlier updates, only the new updates contained in this package will be downloaded and installed on your device.

 

For more information about security vulnerabilities, please refer to the Security Update Guide website and the October 2024 Security Updates.

Windows 11 servicing stack update (KB5044415) - 22000.3250

This update makes quality improvements to the servicing stack, which is the component that installs Windows updates. Servicing stack updates (SSU) ensure that you have a robust and reliable servicing stack so that your devices can receive and install Microsoft updates.

Known issues in this update

Microsoft is not currently aware of any issues with this update.

These updates will be available from Windows Update and should install automatically in most cases. If you would like to download these updates for offline installation, you can get them from the Microsoft Catalog website. You can find the update for 24H2 here, 23H2 and 22H2 here, and the update for 21H2 here.

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The new updates are being distributed under KB5044273, bumping up the builds to 19044.5011 and 19045.5011. You can find standalone links to download the new update on the Microsoft Update Catalog at this link.

The major highlight of the release is security patches.

Highlights

 

• This update addresses security issues for your Windows operating system.

After a couple of weeks without any, known issues are back:

Known issues in this update

Some of the older Windows 10 versions have also received updates today, which have been listed below with their respective release notes (KB) linked as well as links to download them at Microsoft's Update Catalog:

It is noteworthy that Windows 10 20H2 and Windows 10 1909 reached the end of servicing. Non-LTSC editions of 21H2 have also reached the end of servicing.

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Starting with Windows 11 version 21H2, it is now completely unsupported. For those unaware of Windows 11 support policies, Microsoft has two lifecycles for each Windows release: one 24-month for Home and Pro editions and one 36-month for Enterprise and Education editions. The software giant stopped updating Windows 11 version 21H2 for "regular consumers" in October 2023. Now, it is dropping corporate and education users who are still on the original Windows 11 release from late 2021.

Enterprise customers can upgrade to Windows 11 version 22H2, which has one more year of active support ahead of it. Other options include version 23H2 (two more years of support) and the just-released version 24H2 (three years of support from now).

As for Windows 11 version 22H2 for Home and Pro SKUs, they will not receive any updates starting from today. Microsoft usually does not rush forced upgrades between Windows versions as long as they remain supported. However, as a particular release gets closer to its end of life, Microsoft gradually starts updating users to newer versions whether they like it or not. If you have a PC that is still on Windows 11 version 22H2, check out this guide about updating to the latest version. You can update even if your hardware is not officially supported—all you need is this handy guide.

To check your Windows 11 version, head to Settings > System > About and check the "Windows Specifications" box. If it says 21H2 or 22H2, you better prepare to update to continue receiving critical security updates and quality improvements.

For reference, here is what the current Windows 11 lifecycle looks like:

You can read more about Windows 11 support policies here.

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The improvement in question is the ability to share your internet connection with a 6GHz hotspot. Stable Windows 11 versions let you use either 5GHz or 2.4GHz hotspots. With the 6GHz connection getting more popular, Microsoft is implementing the ability to use a more modern protocol with more bandwidth and less interference.

The ability to create a 6GHz hotspot is available in Windows 11 build 26120.1912 and newer. Since it is gradually rolling out to Windows Insiders, some may not have it right here or right now. However, you can force-enable 6GHz tethering with the help of the ViVeTool app.

1. Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files in any convenient folder.
2. Launch Command Prompt as Adminitrator and navigate to the folder containing the ViveTool files with the CD command. For example, if you have placed ViveTool in C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
3. Type vivetool /enable /id:40466470,48433719 and press Enter.
4. Restart your computer.

Keep in mind that 6GHz tethering requires compatible hardware. In other words, your computer must have a Wi-Fi 6E-compatible network card. If you have Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 5, or older network cards, Windows 11 will only let you use 5GHz or 2.4GHz hotspot. Microsoft also warns that not all network cards with Wi-Fi 6E support 6GHz hotspots.

If you have a compatible network card with the feature ID turned on, you can enable 6GHz tethering by heading to Settings > Network & Internet > Mobile Hotsport > Network Properties and selecting 6GHz from the Network Band drop-down.

Credit for the IDs goes to @PhantomOfEarth on X.

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Stardock announced Multiplicity 4 today, a powerful application that allows you to control multiple PCs with a single mouse and keyboard. Known as a software KVM, Multiplicity 4 is adding innovative new features to let you use any Windows laptop as a native secondary display, simultaneously stream multiple monitors at the same time, support for IPv6, all while improving our security posture by modernizing the encryption stack.

Powered by our proprietary ControlStream™ v4 technology, Multiplicity 4 is can now stream multi monitor configurations to the primary device with up to 16 monitors supported. This means that if you are connecting to a secondary device that has multiple monitors, you can now see all monitors at the same time without having to switch which viewports.

New with Multiplicity 4 is Seamless Display, a feature that makes it simple to use a laptop or other Windows PC as a secondary native display with Windows. With this feature, you can make a laptop, tablet, or other Windows PC act as a secondary monitor that functions as a native display – this enables the ability to drag apps and windows to the secondary device as if it was plugged directly into your computer.

Seamless, a powerful feature that lets you move effortlessly between multiple devices, has been enhanced to support resolution-aware monitor placement to improve your movement across multiple devices and displays.

"Multiplicity is trusted by emergency call centers around the globe and is used extensively by our manufacturing partners," said Brad Sams, Vice President and General Manager of Stardock Software. "With this release, Multiplicity 4 is adding new features that will help our partners use a single solution for all of their KVM and remote desktop needs for the modern workplace.”

Along with the new features in Multiplicity 4, we have improved our baseline security posture by adding encryption to all flavors of the application with support for AES-256. With this enhancement, your streaming information and file transfers are now using military-grade encryption.

Multiplicity 4 starts at $29.99 for a perpetual license but is discounted during the beta period by 25% for a limited time. Additionally, Multiplicity 4 is included in our award-winning suite of applications, Object Desktop. For more information or to purchase, please visit the Multiplicity 4 webpage.

You can also download the entire Object Desktop package. Object Desktop includes programs such as Fences, Start11, Groupy, SoundPackager, DeskScapes and Multiplicity.

Disclaimer: Neowin's relationship to Stardock

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Users online are reporting that they are unable to use DirectAccess after upgrading to Windows 11 24H2 and typically this is affecting enterprise and office PCs since home users are unlikely to be using such a feature.

The problem it seems is not new as a Reddit user says they had reported it on Feedback Hub several months ago during Insider testing but the issue has persisted. A Registry tweak that disables User Datagram Protocol (UDP) for Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) also seemingly did not help work around the problem. They write:

Direct Access stopped working for us and we had to roll back (which worked). Meanwhile we have paused the feature update.

 

FYI: Regfix with value fClientDisableUDP=1 did not fix it this time. Feedback with logfile sent through the Feedback Hub. (Title "Windows 11 24H2 pre-release breaks Direct Access"

Keep in mind that technically DirectAccess should still work as it is only deprecated and not removed yet, unlike WordPad.

The company has already published articles about what the new feature update brings for enterprises and how the update can be deferred as "optional," but the issue regarding DirectAccess has not been discussed. A bug related to Defender onboarding has been addressed though, and thankfully the company's official support handle on X picked up the DirectAccess issue earlier today.

However, it is an automated message which is the norm for most support handles nowadays and thus it may be a while before Microsoft responds.

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Here are the update highlights:

Intel Game On Driver support on Intel Arc A-series Graphics GPUs and Intel Core Ultra with built-in Intel Arc GPUs for:

 

• Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred Expansion
• DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO
• Silent Hill 2

 

Game performance improvements on Intel Arc A-Series Graphics Products versus Intel 31.0.101.6079 software driver for:

 

God of War Ragnarök (DX12):

 

• Up to 9% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
• Up to 34% average FPS uplift at 1440p with Ultra settings

Fixed bugs include the following:

Intel Arc A-Series Graphics Products:

 

• FC25 (DX12) may exhibit intermittent green corruption in the game menu and during gameplay.

And here are the known bugs:

Intel Arc A-Series Graphics Products:

 

• Doom Eternal (VK) may exhibit intermittent flickering corruption in the game menu and during gameplay.
• Blender may experience application crash while rendering certain benchmark scenes.
• Topaz Video AI may experience errors when exporting videos after using some models for video enhancements.

 

Intel Core Ultra (Series 1 and 2) with built-in Intel Arc GPUs:

 

• Horizon Forbidden West (DX12) may experience color corruption during gameplay.
• Enshrouded (VK) may experience an application crash during gameplay.
• Fortnite (DX12) game may stutter or crash while performing Alt + Tab operations.
• DirectML-based AI applications may experience slower first token latency.
• 3DMark WildMark Extreme may experience performance drop by 5%.
• Chaos Enscape Benchmark 4.1 may experience visual corruption.
• Adobe Premiere Pro may exhibit corruption in the output video after performing 8K AV1 Encode.
• SPECworkstation3.1 may exhibit system instability while running certain workloads.
• PugetBench for Davinci Resolve studio V19 may experience errors intermittently with benchmark preset set to Extended.
• When enabling or disabling Endurance Gaming, the previous frame rate preset may not retain the desired frame rate. If observed, please select the intended setting to reapply the frame rate mode.

 

Intel Core Ultra Series 2 with built-in Intel Arc GPUs only:

 

• Star Wars Outlaws (DX12) may experience an application crash or hang while loading to gameplay.
• Final Fantasy XVI (DX12) may exhibit texture corruption during gameplay.
• Silent Hill 2 (DX12) may experience application crash while launching the game

You can download Intel's latest graphics driver from the official website. Full release notes are available here (PDF).

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The KDE project has just announced version 6.2 of its KDE Plasma 6 desktop environment. It's the first big update the popular desktop environment has received since June this year and brings several notable changes, especially for digital artists.

For users of drawing tablets, Plasma 6.2 includes lots of new features, you can now go to System Settings and look for Drawing Tablet to see different tools for configuring your drawing tablet. Some new options include a tablet calibration wizard and test mode; a feature to define the area of the screen that your tablet covers; and the option to re-bind pen buttons to different kinds of mouse clicks.

The KDE project said that you shouldn't need to install new drivers to use your drawing devices but if you see that they do not work, then you can inform the "We care about your Input" project so that work can be done to support your device.

Another feature that will be interesting to artists but also a wider user base is the new color management options. Plasma 6.2 gets more complete support for the Wayland color management protocol enabled by default to help ensure consistent colors are used across monitors.

Improvements have also been made for improved brightness handling for HDR and ICC profiles as well as HDR performance. These updates will improve the experience when designing graphics, playing games, and watching videos.

The final color management update is new tone mapping built into Plasma's KWin compositor. This will improve the look of images that have a brightness or set of colors greater than the screen can display, reducing the "blown out" look images can exhibit.

Another big update with Plasma 6.2 is the power management settings. One improvement is that you can now override misbehaving applications that stop the system from going to sleep or locking the screen. You can also adjust the brightness of each connected monitor separately. These updates should help you lower your energy bills which are still extraordinarily high in some countries.

The Power and Battery widget has also been updated so that you can adjust power profiles for different scenarios. You can hold down the Windows key + B to cycle through different power profiles one at a time, you will see a lead badge on the battery when in power saver mode and a rocket when you're in performance mode.

Other updates in Plasma 6.2 include:

Discover and System Updating

• Support for PostmarketOS packages for mobile devices in Discover
• Better app review writing and more accurate app license information
• Option to shut down the system after an offline update, in addition to restarting

Accessibility

• An improved Accessibility page in the System Settings
• New colorblindness filters
• Full sticky key support on Wayland

UI/Visual Design

• Updated accent colors and System Tray
• Improved Widget Explorer and unified dialog/pop-up appearance
• improved Welcome Center, sound effects, and actions

Other

• The Weather Report widget now shows “feels like” temperatures, adds more information for BBC weather forecasts, and more.
• You can turn off window borders in the Pager widget.
• The Minimize All widget now minimizes only windows on the current virtual desktop and activity.
• You can now give custom names to your custom shortcuts.
• There's now an integrated cropping tool when setting a new user avatar.
• We’ve added a once-a-year donation request notification — please consider using it to show your love for Plasma by donating!

You can find a complete changelog here.

It's unclear when you will receive Plasma 6.2 on your system, it all depends on when various operating systems decide to push it. As quite a big update, it will most likely be include with the next major release of the operating system you're using in the case of Linux distributions unless you're on something Arch-based then you could get it much quicker.

Source: KDE

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Google has already begun the gradual release of the Chat service for the Rapid Release domains. The video messages feature is expected to roll out for Scheduled Release domains on October 25. The company noted that it may take up to 15 days to finally appear on all devices.

The new video message capability on Google Chat not only helps save time but also lets users convert more information and make interactions more personal. According to Google, the video messages feature in Google Chat can be useful in multiple scenarios such as:

• Sales or customer support team members sending video updates about new features or account changes.
• Executives sharing company-wide announcements or strategic updates, fostering transparency and engagement across the organization.
• Team members sending a video with outstanding updates in lieu of attending a live meeting.

Notably, the option to record video messages is limited to those using Google Chat on the web and cannot be done through a smartphone. However, users can watch and reply to the received video messages on their smartphones. Google Chat video messages cannot be recorded on the following browsers and OS: ChromeOS, Linux, and Firefox.

Also, there appears to be a three-minute limit for video messages. This prevents the users from recording long videos. But it should be more than enough to compile and send important information.

If you wish to use this new Google Chat video messages feature, then you need to subscribe to one of the following Google Workspace plans:

• Business Starter, Standard, Plus
• Enterprise Standard, Plus
• Essentials Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus
• Nonprofits
• Frontline Starter, Standard

The feature will be enabled by default and can be disabled as well. To record a video message, users need to select the record button in the Chat compose box and click "video message." Record your message using the webcam on your laptop or computer and send your video.

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