If you save files on your local machine, you better pay attention to their file extensions. Microsoft says that if a file has its extension capitalized (.DOCX instead of .docx) or with the symbol # in it, an attempt to save when closing the file will result in Windows just deleting the file. Neowin managed to recreate this bug, as it seems to be affecting all users with Office apps version 2409:

Fortunately, the damage is not permanent, and you can restore the deleted file from the Recycle Bin. Alternatively, Microsoft suggests saving the file manually before closing the document or Word altogether. There is also another workaround:

Enable the option “Don’t show the Backstage when opening or saving files with keyboard shortcuts”

 

• This can be enabled by going to File > Options > Save > Don’t show the Backstage when opening or saving files with keyboard shortcuts.

Finally, you can check if your Word documents have all-caps file extensions by turning on the "File name extension" option. To do so in Windows 11, click the View button on the toolbar and select Show > File Name Extensions. In Windows 10, open Folder Options and uncheck the "Hide extensions for known file types" option on the View tab. If a Word document has its extension in all caps, select the file, press F2, and change the extension to lowercase.

You can also check your Word version by clicking File > Account > Word. It is worth noting that the bug does not affect files stored in the cloud.

Microsoft says its Office team is investigating the issue. Meanwhile, users can use workarounds listed in the official documentation.

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Today, Microsoft released a minor update, PowerToys 0.85.1. The change log on the app's GitHub page shows just two bug that have now been resolved with this latest version:

• #35188 - Fixed an issue causing Workspaces to launch the wrong project through a shortcut.
• #35228 - Fixed a crash when opening the New+ templates folder through the Settings application.

Of course, you can download PowerToys 0.85.1 from its GitHub page. You can also get the same app from the Microsoft Store. People who have a previous version of PowerToys can update to the latest version by clicking on the app, then click on Settings, then General, and finally by clicking or pressing on the "Check for updates" selection to get to the latest version. Keep in mind that this app is just for Windows 10 or 11 PCs.

In case you missed it, the last major PowerToys update, with version 0.85, included a number of new features and improvements to the app,. That included the addition of a new utility, called New+. It is supposed to let users set up "a personalized set of templates to quickly create files and folders from a File Explorer context menu."

Other additions in version 0.85 included a way for people to switch the UI language for the utilities in the app, along with adding more supported applications for the Workspaces feature in PowerToys. It also added the Middle Eastern Romanization character set and it cut down on the Peek memory usage by fixing image leaks in the app.

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The main changes of the update are more AI, Wi-Fi 7 support, Sudo for Windows and several other changes. Microsoft did remove features as well. The most visible one is probably the rich text editor WordPad.

WordPad could be used to open plain text files, rich text format documents (.rtf), Microsoft Word documents (.doc, .docx) as well as open formats (.odt, OOXML).

WordPad is gone

Only some users may notice that the classic WordPad text editor is no longer available. Attempts to launch the app via Start fail, because the app is no longer returned when you type its name. If you know its original location on the hard drive, which is "%ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Accessories\wordpad.exe", you will notice that it is not there anymore.

The feature update removed three WordPad files actually from the Windows installation. This happens regardless of whether the system is updated from an earlier version or fresh installed.

The three files in question are:

• Wordpad.exe in C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories
• wordpadfilter.dll in C:\Program Files\Windows NT\Accessories
• write.exe in C:\Windows

The WordPad directory has one or multiple subfolders next to the two listed files. These use language codes and include strings for different languages.

Microsoft's official stance is to use Notepad for plain text edits and Microsoft Word, a commercial software, for rich text documents. While you could install a third-party app, LibreOffice comes to mind, to load the supported document formats of WordPad, you may also restore WordPad on the device.

Note: WordPad is no longer developed. The app won't receive updates, including security updates anymore. It may stop working at one point because of that.

Restoring WordPad on Windows 11

Microsoft removed the WordPad files from Windows 11 version 24H2. To restore the rich text editor, all you have to do is restore the files. Chance is, that you do not have them anymore, as you would have needed to back up them before running the update.

Several sites have uploaded the files already. A better option is provided on this website. The software package includes all necessary files to run WordPad plus a good number of locales; this allows you to run WordPad in your language.

Note: I verified the software package over at VirusTotal. The scan found no issue with it.

1. Download the wordpad.zip archive from the website.
2. Right-click on the downloaded file and select Extract All.
3. Accept the prompt that opens by selecting extract.
4. Run the installer to install WordPad on the system.

WordPad is available again and it should run fine for the moment. Since the app is installed, you may remove it at any time from Settings > Apps > Installed apps.

Tip: You can also check out the download over at Deskmodder. This contains just the three files. You simply extract them and can run them from any location.

Closing Words

Microsoft did not provide a reason for the removal of WordPad. A likely explanation is that Microsoft dropped it to spend development resources elsewhere and to push sales for Office at the same time.

Besides Microsoft 365, which is a subscription-based product that includes Office, there is also the new Office 2024 that came out just in time for the Windows 11, version 24H2 release.

What is your preferred (rich) text editor on Windows? Was it WordPad or something else? Feel free to leave a comment down below to join the discussion.

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The Register obtained a copy of a letter sent to the European Commission with the request, signed by Vivaldi, Waterfox, Wavebox, and Open Web Advocacy. The companies claim that the EU's decision leaves Microsoft unpunished for unfair Edge practices in Windows, which is "the most important gateway for consumers to download an independent browser."

Practices in question include Microsoft injecting ads into other browsers' websites, constant popups with mischaracterizing messages about rivaling browsers, software obstacles when changing the default browser, and more.

The letter also says that the browser choice screen that was implemented on mobile platforms as a result of DMA worked well and proved that the rules could protect user choice while also promoting innovations.

We're appealing the European Commission's decision because we believe that you should have the same browser choice on Windows as you have on Android or iOS. Unless Edge is designated, the DMA's promise of fairness, contestability, and consumer choice will not materialize in Windows PCs.

Despite all the dark patterns and annoying popups, Microsoft Edge still has a quite low market share on the desktop browser market. Statcounter's September 2024 findings show that Edge is a little over 5%, supremely outmatched by Chrome.

Although Microsoft Edge is not designated as a core platform service, the EU recently forced Microsoft to allow uninstalling the browser in Windows 10 and 11. The change, however, does not apply to customers outside the European Union, who still have no choice other than to deal with it or use some brute force to get rid of the "Chrome Downloader," as many users jokingly call Edge.

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Now, a new feature is currently rolling out to some WhatsApp iOS beta testers that will take the messaging experience to another level. Spotted in the WhatsApp iOS beta v24.20.71, the platform now lets some users choose among 22 different chat themes and 20 colors for specific conversations. This feature has also been spotted under development for Android users.

The feature is available inside the app settings. Users have the option to select a default chat theme that will be applied to all chats, giving a consistent feel throughout the WhatsApp app. However, users who want variety can choose different themes for specific conversations, letting them differentiate between personal, work, and group chats.

When a user selects a theme, WhatsApp automatically applies a wallpaper based on the selected color, making sure that the aesthetics of the chat align with the theme. Users still have the option to choose a different wallpaper based on their liking.

Since the privacy of theme settings is a priority, the theme that you apply will only be visible on your side and won't affect how the conversation appears on the recipient's phone. Whatever theme you choose will be visible to you only. This also ensures that each user can make WhatsApp personalized without imposing any changes to any chat.

The feature is currently under testing and available to a limited number of users through the App Store and TestFlight app, including those participating in the beta program. If you haven't received the update, you should receive it in the coming days.

Source and image: WABetaInfo

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The roadmap says Microsoft Teams will be adding some new features for chatting in Town Hall live events in November for the desktop, iOS and Android:

Previously in a town hall, only presenters and organizers could chat with each other. With this new update, attendees, presenters and organizers can now chat together during a town hall using the new Event Chat feature. Presenters and organizers can still chat privately during the town hall as well.

In December, Teams for the desktop and Mac will include some improvements for Microsoft List links:

Microsoft Lists links in Teams including list item links and form links will now unfurl when shared in Teams messages making them easier to find and access within Teams messages and inside shared tab in chats.

Also, in December, Teams for all supported platforms will get some new moderator features:

Allows moderators to answer questions from specific attendees without displaying the reply to the other participants. This capability can be helpful for sensitive questions, personal inquiries, or follow-up discussions that are not intended to be broadcast to the entire audience.

For people who use the new Outlook for Windows, Microsoft will be adding some people module improvements sometime in February 2025:

In the new Outlook for Windows, the people module offers a streamlined contacts interface with a single view of each person, automatically linking duplicates and enriching them with organizational profiles.

Outlook for Windows and the web will also add four new themes sometime in November as well.

Finally, the Edge web browser will get some new settings improvements in December:

Edge Settings is migrating to WebUI2 to boost page responsiveness and introducing a series of minor visual and content upgrades to improve overall usability and utility. This includes optimizing for concise wording of individual settings, simplifying the number of pages and reorganizing content, and creating a cohesive user interface.

That's it for our weekly look at the Microsoft 365 Roadmap updates. Barring another natural disaster, we will be back next Sunday with another installment.

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Besides them, there are also those on old computers who have not upgraded their OS to Windows 11 or even 10 yet. Microsoft has quietly updated its guidance support article that is meant to help such users transition from older versions of Windows, namely, Windows 8.1, 7, Vista, and XP, to Windows 11.

New bits of info in this support guide, which is also meant as an FAQ, include recommendations for a new PC as well as OneDrive that should help users move over easily as they upgrade to Windows 11.

The article also discusses general information related to what exactly the "end of support" for a Windows OS means and whether users can upgrade for free to Windows 11.

Microsoft writes:

What does end of support mean?

 

Devices running an unsupported version of Windows will still function, but Microsoft doesn't provide the following:

 

• Technical support of any issue
• Software updates
• Security updates or fixes

 

While you could continue to use your PC, without continued software and security updates your PC is at greater risk for viruses and malware. We recommend upgrading to a version of Windows that's still supported. A new device that can run Windows 11 makes for an easy transition and a great experience.

As mentioned above, Microsoft says a new PC with Windows 11 on it is the recommended way to transition, and the tech giant is not wrong to suggest this given that almost every device running anything pre-Windows 10 is not officially compatible with Windows 11.

You can also make sure that is the case using Microsoft's official PC Health Check app or using a trustworthy third-party app like WhyNotWin11.

What options do I have for staying supported on Windows?

 

There are a few options for using a supported version of Windows:

 

• Recommended: New PC with Windows 11 - Windows 11 is the most current version of Windows. If you have an older PC, we recommend you move to Windows 11 by buying a new PC. Hardware and software have improved a lot, and today's computers are faster, more powerful, and more secure.
• Installing Windows 11 on your current PC - You can also see if your current PC meets the minimum system requirements for Windows 11. PCs that are running an unsupported version of Windows are unlikely to meet these requirements, but if yours does, you can purchase and download a full version of Windows 11 Home or Windows 11 Pro or buy from a retailer. If you do choose this path, you'll need to reinstall your apps. In some cases, a newer version of the app may be required. You also need to transition files, data, and settings. The installation overwrites the contents of your existing hard drive. It may be easier for you to first upgrade to Windows 10 and then upgrade to Windows 11.
• Installing Windows 10 on your current PC - Windows 10 is still available and will be supported until October 14, 2025. You can check if your current PC meets the minimum system requirements for Windows 10. If it does, you can check with retailers to see if they still offer Windows 10 for sale.

If anyone is wondering if a free upgrade to Windows 11 or 10 is possible from something like Windows 7 or 8.1, the company has confirmed that is not the case.

Are there free options to upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11?

 

There currently aren't free upgrade paths from unsupported versions of Windows to either Windows 10 or Windows 11. You can purchase Windows 11 from Microsoft or contact a retailer to learn about more options. You can upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 for free.

Finally, the last bit of information is regarding the transfer of personal files like photos wherein Microsoft has recommended using OneDrive cloud storage for easy sync and backup of important data. The company has also said that something like an external hard disk drive (HDD) is also an alternative depending on the scenario:

How do I transfer my personal files to a new computer?

 

It's easy to bring your files and photos to a new PC using OneDrive, a cloud storage service. You can back up and protect your files online in the cloud and then sync onto a new PC. Syncing the files between your new PC and the cloud allows you to store the file locally for offline use when you don't have internet access. They're also stored on the OneDrive service in the cloud where you can restore them if something happens. OneDrive can automatically keep the two versions in sync as changes are made.

 

If OneDrive isn't the best fit for you, you can also use an external hard drive or USB key to copy over files.

You can find the support article here on Microsoft's official website.

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Important: There are no workarounds systems with processors that do not support SSE4.2 instructions. Windows 11 version 24H2 will not boot on such systems, so the only option is to install Windows 11 version 23H2 or older as described in this guide.

Quick links:

• I want to update my unsupported PC to Windows 11 version 24H2
  • Option 1 (easy)
  • Option 2 (slightly more complicated)
• I want to clean-install Windows 11 version 24H2 on an unsupported PC

How to update an unsupported PC to Windows 11 version 24H2?

Sadly, some of the previous tricks, such as the setup.exe /product server command or Compatibility Troubleshooter for the Windows 11 Installation Assistant, no longer work in Windows 11 version 24H2. The first returns an "unknown command" error, while the second throws another error in the preparation stage.

Fortunately, there are still ways to update an unsupported PC to Windows 11 version 24H2 without using third-party applications.

Here is a simpler method that is very similar to the old setup.exe /product server command. The idea is the same, but the command is slightly different.

1. Go to the official Windows 11 website and download a Windows 11 24H2 ISO.
2. Mount the image and go to the Sources folder.
3. Hold the Shift key and right-click a blank space, then select "Open PowerShell window here."

   

4. In the PowerShell window, type cmd and press Enter.
5. Type setupprep.exe /product server and press Enter.

   

6. Follow the on-screen instructions in a new window. Note that although the setup screen shows "Windows Server," you are still installing a regular edition that matches your current SKU.

   

That is it.

Here is another slightly more complicated method that involves editing the system registry. If you are not comfortable with that, stick to the first option.

1. Press Win + R and type regedit to launch Windows Registry Editor.
2. Paste the following into the address bar: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags.
3. Click Edit > New > Key and rename it to HwReqChk.

   

4. Click Edit > New > Multi-string Value.
5. Rename the new value to HwReqChkVars.
6. Double-click the value and paste the following:
   SQ_SecureBootCapable=TRUE
   SQ_SecureBootEnabled=TRUE
   SQ_TpmVersion=2
   SQ_RamMB=8192
   Ignore the error message about empty strings.

   

7. Save the changes.
8. Download Windows 11 version 24H2 ISO from the official website and mount the image.
9. Click setup.exe and follow the on-screen instructions.

How to install Windows 11 24H2 on an unsupported PC?

Note: One of the older methods described in this article (the one with merging a reg file) no longer works.

1. Download the Windows 11 version 24H2 image from the official website.
2. Download Rufus from its website. It is a free, open-source app for creating bootable media.
3. Connect your USB drive and open Rufus.
4. Select the drive from the Device drop-down list.
5. Select "Disk or ISO image" and click Select.
6. Find the Windows 11 24H2 image and then leave everything else in the app as is.
7. Click Start.
8. Check the "Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot, and TPM 2.0" option. Without it, Windows 11 24H2 will not install on your computer.

   

9. Wait for the app to finish the process.

Once everything is done, restart your computer and boot from the USB drive. The setup app will let you install Windows 11 without issues on an unsupported computer with an older processor or no TPM/Secure Boot.

24H2 image background by INESby on Pixabay.

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Meanwhile, on the home users side of things, users with unsupported hardware are also trying to have a taste of the latest version of Windows and one of the popular tools that is useful in such a case is Rufus.

However, several users have been reporting that an in-place upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 is not working as the system requirements bypass fails. Pete Batard, the author of Rufus acknowledged the problem and provided a batch script that works around the issue. Batard also added that a future version of Rufus will have this script baked in.

He wrote:

For in-place upgrades, you need to run the following from an elevated command prompt before running setup.exe

reg.exe delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\CompatMarkers" /f 2>NUL
reg.exe delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Shared" /f 2>NUL
reg.exe delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\TargetVersionUpgradeExperienceIndicators" /f 2>NUL
reg.exe add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\HwReqChk" /f /v HwReqChkVars /t REG_MULTI_SZ /s , /d "SQ_SecureBootCapable=TRUE,SQ_SecureBootEnabled=TRUE,SQ_TpmVersion=2,SQ_RamMB=8192,"
reg.exe add "HKLM\SYSTEM\Setup\MoSetup" /f /v AllowUpgradesWithUnsupportedTPMOrCPU /t REG_DWORD /d 1

 

I'll add this batch script to the created media in a future version of Rufus.

 

...

 

It should fix the new restrictions for in-place upgrade if you manually run a batch script that will be placed at the same level as setup.exe and that will contain the registry commands posted above.

 

It will not change anything for clean install, since I haven't found breakage in the clean install bypasses while testing, meaning that if a clean install of 24H2 doesn't work with Rufus 4.5, then it also won't work with Rufus 4.6.

Aside from this, the Rufus developer was clearly annoyed about users on really old systems complaining that their PC was unable to bypass the requirements even after this script. He wrote:

Please take discussions of what CPUs are worthy to run Windows 11 somewhere else, or I will start deleting posts, as this thread is getting long enough already. These kind of discussions are squarely off-topic.

For those who may not have followed, Windows 11 24H2 only works on processors that come with PopCnt and SSE4.2 and thus no bypass method, app or software can help those on such ancient pieces of hardware. They can continue using Windows 11 23H2 though.

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Before you go on, it is worth noting that your system may not be "seeing" Windows 11 version 24H2 due to a blocking issue. Check out the list of known bugs before attempting to download and install Windows 11 24H2. Applying a workaround might lift the block, or you will have to wait before Microsoft fixes the bug that prevents you from updating.

Option 1—download Windows 11 24H2 from Windows Update

Using this method requires the May 2024 non-security update for Windows 11.

1. Open Windows Settings and go to Windows Update.
2. Toggle on the "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" option and confirm the action.

   

3. Click "Check for updates." Windows will look up available updates, and if your system is eligible, it will offer to download Windows 11 24H2.
4. Click download and wait for the process to complete.

Note: Windows 11 version 24H2 is a full system update, so installing it is likely to take more time than installing a cumulative update.

Option 2—download Windows 11 24H2 using Installation Assistant

1. Go to the official Windows 11 download website using this link.
2. Find the "Windows 11 Installation Assistant" section.
3. Click "Download Now."
4. Go to this website to download Microsoft's PC Health Check app. The Installation Assistant won't let you update without checking if your system is eligible, even if you are already on Windows 11.
5. Install the PC Health Check app and run it. Click check and make sure it says that your system is compatible with Windows 11.

   

6. Close the PC Health Check app and launch the downloaded Installation Assistant exe.
7. Click "Accept and Install."

   

8. Sit back and wait for the process to finish. The app will prompt you to restart once the preparation process is over.

   

Option 3—update to Windows 11 24H2 using official images

We should warn you that if your computer cannot update to Windows 11 24H2 using previous methods, force-updating it with an ISO via in-place update may not be the best option. Microsoft might have a compatibility hold or a known issue preventing your system from updating. In such a case, force-installing Windows 11 24H2 will likely result in poor user experience, crippling issues, instabilities, or broken apps. Proceed at your own risk.

1. Go to the official Windows 11 download website using this link.
2. Scroll down to the "Download Windows 11 Disk Image" section.
3. Select "Windows 11" from the drop-down menu and click "Download now."
4. Select the language you need.
5. Click "64-bit Download" and wait for your browser to download the ISO file.
6. Double-click the downloaded image and launch the setup.exe file.

   

7. Wait for the app to prepare your system, then click "Install" on the "Ready to install" screen.

   

Finally, you can always create a bootable USB drive using the Media Creation Tool and clean-install Windows 11 on your computer.

That is how you can officially download Windows 11 version 24H2 without waiting for Microsoft's approval.

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Unfortunately, it was announced in April 2019 that no new feature development would go on and maintenance support would go on until the end of life of the Scientific Linux 6.x and 7.x releases. However, an alternative Linux distribution was offered up as a spiritual successor to Scientific Linux.

On 7 December 2022, it was announced that CERN and Fermilab jointly planned to use a new Red Hat Enterprise Linux-based (RHEL) distribution called AlmaLinux. The two distros are very similar because they're both based on RHEL and AlmaLinux delivers the same benefits as Scientific Linux did.

The two organizations said that they would use AlmaLinux as the standard distribution for the experiments at their facilities after reflecting on experience and discussions with experiments and other stakeholders. They said that AlmaLinux was gaining popularity in the community thanks to its long life cycle, extended architecture support, rapid release cycle, upstream community contributors, and support for security advisory metadata. It had also been shown to be "perfectly compatible" with other rebuilds and RHEL.

It was also mentioned back then that CERN and, to a lesser extent, Fermilab, would use RHEL for some of their services and applications. Both Scientific Linux 7, which was used at Fermilab, and CentOS 7 which was being used by CERN, would be supported until June 2024, which has now just passed.

Interestingly, despite the name, Scientific Linux did not bundle a large selection of scientific software. Instead, it acted as a common Linux distribution for various labs and universities around the world without duplicated effort. For this reason, AlmaLinux perfectly fills the void left.

The current version of AlmaLinux is AlmaLinux 9 which was released in May 2022. It has received several point releases since then, the most recent being 9.4. It will have active support until 31 May 2027, and security support until 31 May 2032.

So, if you're interested to see what all the big wig scientists are using on their computers, now you know, it's AlmaLinux. While it's positioned as an Enterprise operating system, anybody can run it on a supported computer and the long life of each release is very nice.

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On Thursday, Apple released the first software updates for its devices since last month's rollout of iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia.

Those who've been following along know that several key features that didn't make it into the initial release of iOS 18 are expected in iOS 18.1, but that's not the update we got on Thursday.

Rather, Apple pushed out a series of smaller updates that fixed several bugs but did not add new features. The updates are labeled iOS 18.0.1, iPadOS 18.0.1, visionOS 2.0.1, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1, and watchOS 11.0.1.

Arguably, the two most important fixes come in iPadOS 18.0.1 and iOS 18.0.1. The iPad update fixes an issue that bricked a small number of recently released iPads (those running Apple's M4 chip). That problem caused Apple to quickly pull iPadOS 18 for those devices, so Thursday's iPadOS 18.0.1 release is actually the first time most users of those devices will be able to run iPadOS 18.

On the iPhone side, Apple says it has addressed a bug that could sometimes cause the touchscreen to fail to register users' fingers.

You can find the list of changes for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS below.

iOS 18.0.1 release notes

• Touchscreen may be temporarily unresponsive in certain circumstances on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models
• Camera may freeze when recording macro mode video on the Ultra Wide camera in 4K with HDR turned off on iPhone 16 Pro models
• Messages may unexpectedly quit when replying to a message with a shared Apple Watch face

macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 release notes

• Messages may unexpectedly quit when replying to a message with a shared Apple Watch face
• Improves compatibility with third-party security software

watchOS 11.0.1 release notes

• Apple Watch may unexpectedly restart for some users
• Music app may unexpectedly quit when loading media
• Battery may drain more quickly than expected
• Touchscreen may be temporarily unresponsive for some Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users
• Messages may unexpectedly quit when replying to a message with a shared Apple Watch face

visionOS 2.0.1 release notes

• YouTube video player in Safari may freeze Safari
• Web Extension data may be lost after updating to visionOS 2
• Messages may unexpectedly quit when replying to a message with a shared Apple Watch face

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The full changelog is given below:

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

[Start menu]

 

• “All apps” is now just “All” on the Start menu. This change began rolling out with Build 22635.4291 earlier this week.

 

[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)

[Security]

 

• Windows Search runs IFilters in the Less Privileged App Containers (LPAC). LPAC are like app containers, but they deny even more permissions by default. The intent is that a process running in a LPAC has access only to the resources needed by it. This model helps to minimize the potential damage that can be caused by a compromised process by limiting its access to sensitive system components and data.

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

[General]

 

• Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe crash impacting Insiders while using your PC in the last few Beta Builds.

 

[File Explorer]

 

• Fixed an issue which was causing the items in the navigation pane to become very spread out (with unexpected padding between each item) for some people.

 

Known issues

 

[Start menu]

 

• After installing this build, you may find there is an unexpected amount of spacing between items in the Start menu all apps list.

 

[Live captions]

 

• After installing this build, live captions will crash if you try to use it.

New Clock widgets: Countdown and Timer

We are rolling out a Clock app update to Windows Insiders across all Insider Channels that includes two new clock widgets: countdown and timer. Make sure you have the latest version of the Clock app update from the Microsoft Store (version 11.2408.9.0 and higher). After you open the widgets board, you can open the widgets picker by clicking the “+” button in the top right corner where you would be able to add these widgets to your board.

 

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Clock App.

You can find the official blog post here on Microsoft's website.

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Here are the changes that are rolling out gradually to Dev Insiders with the "Get the latest features as soon as they are available" toggle on:

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Dev Channel with toggle on:

 

[General]

 

• This update includes a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience for Insiders running this build on their PCs.

[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)

 

[Windows Sandbox]

 

• The new Windows Sandbox Client Preview that began rolling out with Build 26120.1843 should now be available to all Insiders in the Dev Channel.

  

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Dev Channel with toggle on:

 

[Other]

 

• Fixed an issue for some Insiders with dual boot devices, where the boot menu (where you select which OS to boot into) wasn’t displaying correctly (the color was wrong, and it might only display in half the available space).

And here are the updates that are also gradually rolling out, but this time for all Dev Insiders:

[Settings]

 

• We are adding the ability to configure the Copilot key. You can choose to have the Copilot key launch an app that is MSIX packaged and signed, thus indicating the app meets security and privacy requirements to keep customers safe. The key will continue to launch Copilot on devices that have the Copilot app installed until a customer selects a different experience. This setting can be found via Settings > Personalization > Text input. If the keyboard connected to your PC does not have a Copilot key, adjusting this setting will not do anything. We are planning further refinements to this experience in a future flight.

  

Known issues in build 26120.1930 include the following:

[General]

 

• This build may fail to install with error 0x800f0983. If you see this error, please try to install it again, as it should work on retry. If it stays on 0%, please be patient – it should proceed.

 

[Start menu]

 

• If you click or tap on a letter on Start menu’s All apps list, the All apps list may break. If you encounter this issue, please try rebooting or restarting explorer.exe to fix it.

Full release notes for Windows 11 Dev build 26120.1930 are available here.

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With the new status likes feature, you'll now see a green heart button beside the reply field. By pressing this, the creator will see that you like their status in the list of people who viewed the status. The likes do not contribute to a counter but are just shared privately with the creator.

Private mentions on the other hand enables the status creator to privately mention people who are allowed to reshare their status. If you've been privately mentioned, you will be notified by WhatsApp privately. This feature seems like it could be good for spreading awareness about events or issues you care about that you want other people to spread wider.

Meta says these features are now starting to roll out to all WhatsApp users. They will be available globally soon. Meta said that it will be bringing more features to the Status and Updates tab over the next few months to help you feel more connected to your friends and family, but didn't share details about what would be coming.

Earlier this month, Meta began rolling out 10 new filters and 10 new backgrounds for video calls in WhatsApp. The filter options include Warm, Cool, Black & White, Light leak, Dreamy, Prism light, Fisheye, Vintage TV, Frosted glass, and Duotone. As for the backgrounds, they will include Blur, Living room, Office, Cafe, Pebbles, Foodie, Smoosh, Beach, Sunset, Celebration, and Forest.

Source: WhatsApp

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Here is the complete list of changes in this update:

• Find in Explorer - Quickly find files in the Explorer view with the improved Find control.
• Source Control Graph - More filtering options and interactivity in the Source Control Graph.
• Python test coverage - Run Python tests with coverage and get rich results in the editor.
• ESM - Faster VS Code startup thanks to the migration to ESM.
• Account preference - Specify which account to use for an extension.
• Copilot in Native REPL - Get code completions and Inline Chat in the Native REPL.
• Improved chat context - Drag & drop files or use IntelliSense for more relevant chat context.
• Test environment setup - Get help with setting up a test framework for your workspace.

In the last update, we mentioned that Visual Studio included some major AI improvements, and version 1.94 continues to improve the GitHub Copilot experience.

With this update, you can now attach additional files as context for a chat prompt by dragging files or editor tabs from the workbench to the chat. This feature is helpful if you have any queries about specific files in your projects. When you ask, Copilot has some contextual grounding to answer your questions better.

Another improvement related to Copilot pertains to the read-eval-print-loop (REPL) editor. The REPL editor is used by the Python extension in Visual Studio Code, and it now supports Copilot Inline CHat and code completions directly in the input box.

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

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One Reddit user listed the following features missing from the new Copilot experience:

• Plugins
• Notebook mode
• Sharing conversations and responses
• Downloading conversations in Word, text, or PDF format
• Listening to responses (text-to-speech)
• Copying responses
• Editing and copying prompts
• Image generation (now limited to creating only one image instead of four)

It's important to note that these features were all working fine in the previous Copilot experience. In addition to these missing features, the new Copilot doesn't support landscape mode, forcing users to use the app only in portrait mode. Users can no longer select different models or tones (Precise, Creative, and Balanced). Furthermore, the new Copilot doesn't display math notations correctly in responses.

The overall user experience has seemingly declined to the point that some people are now using Microsoft Edge mobile and the Bing app, which still have the old Copilot experience. It seems like Microsoft rushed the Copilot release before integrating all the features from the existing version. Hopefully, Microsoft can fix these issues quickly before users turn to competitors like Gemini and ChatGPT, which are receiving frequent major updates.

Recently, Gemini added expanded support for Gemini Live in over 40 languages and introduced Google's most advanced Gemini 1.5 Pro model to its users. ChatGPT yesterday announced the launch of Canvas, a new UI for coding and writing tasks. With competitors like Gemini and ChatGPT rapidly improving, Microsoft needs to address these issues quickly to remain competitive in the AI assistant market.

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What you need to know

• Microsoft recently released a new update for Copilot that features a "warm and inviting" user interface, an immersive chat experience, and more.
• As the update rolls out to more users, several complaints have surfaced on social media about the overhauled experience, including a degraded user experience, low-quality responses, and more.
• Windows Central has contacted Microsoft to comment on the highlighted issues. 

As reported earlier this week, Microsoft pushed a massive update to its Copilot AI assistant, including next-gen AI features like Copilot Vision, which can browse the web in Edge, and new experiences that blur AI and human interaction. 

The update also overhauled Copilot, with a new interface designed to be "warm and inviting" and offering an immersive chat experience. It's worth noting that some of these features are buried behind Microsoft's Copilot Pro service, making it paramount to have the $20 subscription plan to access them.

Here is the changelog for the Surface Studio 2+:

Improvements and fixes:

 

• Addresses a potential security vulnerability related to Intel® Security Advisories INTEL-SA-00999, INTEL-SA-01083 and INTEL-SA-01071.
• Addresses the problem that caused Wi-Fi to drop when the device wasn't connected to Ethernet cable.

Here is the list of new drivers:

And here is what is new for the Surface Studio 2:

Improvements and fixes:

 

• Addresses a potential security vulnerability related to NVIDIA advisory CVE 2024-0107.

Here is the list of new drivers:

Here is extra information about the release:

Microsoft rolls out Surface firmware updates via Windows Update. To get one for your Surface, head to Settings > Windows Update. Alternatively, check out offline packages here (Surface Studio 2+) and here (Surface Studio 2).

The Surface Studio 2+ is supported until October 2, 2028. As for the Surface Studio 2, this is the latest update for the computer. This month, Microsoft ended its support, which means it will no longer receive firmware updates and fixes.

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Secondly, the company is also trying to end the usage of Manifest V2 (MV2) extensions as they are no longer supported by its browser. uBlock Origin happens to be one such extension that is highly popular among users due to how efficiently it manages to block annoying advertisements on various websites including YouTube.

For those unfamiliar, the Manifest API essentially deals with how extensions and add-ons work on browsers, and Manifest V3 aims to improve the privacy, security and performance of such extensions.

When you look up uBlock Origin on the Chrome Web Store search bar, it no longer shows up as a suggested add-on. If you proceed regardless and land on the uBlock Origin's page, a highlighted message (warning) that says, "This extension may soon no longer be supported because it doesn't follow best practices for Chrome extensions," is displayed.

Currently, if the extension is in your Chrome browser, the browser extension manager flags it, saying, "This extension may soon no longer be supported. Remove or replace it with similar extensions from the Chrome Web Store."

The uBlock Origin developer has already recommended switching to uBlock Origin Lite, which is based on MV3 and thus officially supported. Nonetheless, some users may want to continue using some of their favorite add-ons, like uBlock Origin and other unsupported MV2 extensions.

In the latest Canary channel build, it looks like Google is planning to disable the option to use such add-ons. The change was spotted by X user and browser enthusiast Leopeva64 who noticed that the toggle to use disabled MV2 extensions is now greyed out completely and it no longer works.

The extension manager now provides the option to either remove them or find alternative add-ons. Keep in mind, though, that this is still in testing and may not end up in the final Stable version. However, Google's intentions seem clear.

As mentioned above, the recommended browser add-on for Chrome is uBlock Origin Lite from the same dev. However, if you want to keep using the original Origin, you can try this official Windows Registry hack, which allows the extension of the MV2 extensions till June 2025.

Another option for users is to switch to Firefox which has stated that it will continue supporting such MV2 extensions. However, things are not perfect there either with Mozilla coming under fire twice recently first for PPA default-tracking its users and second for being seemingly unfair to uBlock Origin Lite.

Source: Leopeva64 (X)

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The following paragraphs highlight these differences. Office 2024 is the successor of Office 2021, which Microsoft released in October 2021.

Which Microsoft Office 2024 editions are available? There is Office 2024 Home for a one-time payment of $149.99 and Office Home & Business 2024 for a one-time payment of 249.99.

Third-party online shops will sell Office 2024 as well. The price is often discounted at these shops. There will also be options to buy a key for Office 2024, but this may not be legal in all jurisdictions.

What is the difference between the two Office 2024 editions? Both Office 2024 editions include the desktop apps Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Office 2024 Home & Business includes Outlook next to that, and it may be used in commercial environments.

What is the difference between Office 2024 and Microsoft 365? Here is the list of core differences:

For how long will Office 2024 be supported? Microsoft will support both Office 2024 editions for five years. This means that they won't receive security or non-security fixes after October 2029 anymore.

Note that you need to purchase the next version of Office by the time to continue using it. It is not clear at this point whether Microsoft will release another non-subscription version of Office.

A switch to Microsoft 365 is always possible as well.

Can documents created with Office 2024 be opened in earlier versions or Microsoft 365? Yes, the format is compatible. Documents may be created and opened in the following Office versions without any issues:

• Microsoft 365
• Office 2024
• Office 2021
• Office 2019
• Office 2016
• Office?2013
• Office?2010
• Office 2007
• Office for Mac 2011
• Office for Mac 2008

Is Internet access required for Office 2024? Internet access is not required for use, but Office needs to be activated, and that is done over the Internet.

More about this:

LibreOffice 24.2 released: enables automatic recovery of documents

How many Office 2024 licenses can a single Microsoft account hold? Microsoft limits the number of licenses to 25 for Office Home 2024, Office Home & Business 2024, and Office Professional 2021.

Is there a free alternative to Office 2024? Yes there is. LibreOffice is an open source Office suite that is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Is it not 100% compatible with Office, but very close. Most Home users probably never encounter issues with compatibility.

What about you? Do you use Microsoft Office, Microsoft 365, or another Office solution? Feel free to leave a comment below.

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What you need to know

• When asked about notable people who died this year, Microsoft Copilot may share a list of people who are still alive.
• In my testing, Copilot shared a list of living persons and people who died in previous years.
• AI chatbots, including Copilot and Google Bard, have issues with sharing factually correct information and often "hallucinate."

Microsoft Copilot is once again sharing incorrection information. When asked about notable figures that have died in 2024, Copilot lists living celebrities, including Sir David Attenborough. Barring any heartbreaking news that has not been reported, Attenborough is very much alive.

In fact, a school in Leicestershire received a letter from him earlier this week. Attenborough was also named a top British cultural figure in a recent poll. While that designation can be given to someone who has passed, such as when the Late Queen Elizabeth was named a cultural icon, Attenborough received the honor while alive.

The phenomenon was noticed by several people who took to X (formerly Twitter) and other platforms. When asked if he was okay, William Shatner jokingly responded that he was not fine after reading about his death. The Verge shared other examples, including one listing Attenborough as deceased. I've seen similar results in my testing. In addition to listing living people as dead, Copilot incorrectly stated several deaths from previous years occurred in 2024.

What you need to know

• Microsoft PowerToys has received an update that brings the app to version 0.85.
• The update adds a New+ utility that allows you to use templates to create files and folders through File Explorer.
• PowerToys 0.85 also ships several fixes to the app.

Microsoft PowerToys just received an update that adds a new utility to the app. Version 0.85 of PowerToys ships the New+ feature, which lets you use templates to quickly create files and folders through File Explorer. The update also adds the ability to select the UI language used by PowerToys utilities.

As is usually the case with an update to PowerToys, version 0.85 includes a lengthy list of changes and fixes that improve the app. I recommend installing PowerToys to just about anyone that will listen, and now is a great time to hop on board if you've never used the app.

While the latest version of PowerToys and its added New+ feature work well, testing them highlighted a frustration I've had with Windows 11 for years. If you're only interested in what's new in PowerToys 0.85, you can jump to the change log below, which was shared on the PowerToys GitHub page.

Windows 11's horrible context menu

The New+ feature in PowerToys is fine on its own. It works as advertised and makes it easier to create folders from templates. But testing it out reminded me how much of a mess the default context menu in Windows 11 is. The context menu is cluttered, has multiple layers, and mixes how it displays options.

I'm hardly the first person to complain about the Windows 11 context menu. That thing has been a mess since Microsoft first introduced it. In a way, the context menu on Windows 11 is the perfect example of how difficult it is to blend a modern interface with legacy support.

I believe Microsoft's intention was to create a context menu that shows the most commonly used options on a first click while maintaining more niche options behind the "Show more options" section. But the end result is a menu with two different designs that scale differently.

When you click an item in File Explorer or on your desktop, a context menu with a mixture of text and icons appears. While I learned what all the icons mean quickly, the layout of the menu hardly seems to line up with Microsoft's push for accessibility.

Aside from these, Microsoft has also reminded IT system administrators about the recently introduced deployment feature that allows such admins to choose between installing a feature update or not.

The company debuted this policy change earlier this year in May and with this feature, an update can be labelled either as "required," in which case the 24H2 feature update will be installed immediately, or as "optional" which means, unlike before, the feature update will not be force-installed yet.

Arnab Mitra, a Senior Program Manager of Microsoft 365, shared this information via a post on X on their official handle:

As is generally the case, Microsoft wants you to upgrade and for those PCs which are still on Windows 10, to do so "immediately." The company says the app compatibility of its OS is top-notch with claims like "Windows 11 is the most compatible Windows operating system ever".

It also released a video outlining several of the highlights of Windows 11 including performance, which, funnily, cites a paid study to show a ridiculous performance disadvantage for Windows 10.

Despite some of the fluff, Windows 11 24H2 does indeed bring many new unannounced features too. Although some of these may not be for everyone, like faster ReFS performance, others are designed with the general public in mind. These include the likes of WDDM 3.2 upgrades that may lead to fewer graphics driver crashes on version 24H2, as well as AV1 video encoding.

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One of the several new features LTSC has received is VHD-based Dev Drive utilizing ReFS or Resilience File System. The feature debuted back in 2023 at Build, when the company promised up to 30% faster performance.

Today, the company announced that ReFS on Windows 11 24H2 is getting another performance improvement thanks to the new Block Cloning feature. It was already present in Server versions since 2016 but is now being introduced on client PCs as well.

It writes:

Since Dev Drive utilizes the ReFS file system format, Block cloning support = performance benefits whenever you copy a file using Dev Drive. Faster copy completion, less I/O to the underlying storage & improved storage capacity!

Block cloning refers to a technique wherein Windows creates a duplicate copy of a file's data blocks rather than copying the entire file when the said file is copied, moved, or modified and saved within the same volume. Windows identifies the file's data blocks on disk and creates a new reference to the existing data blocks. Thus, the new file points to the same data blocks as the original file.

Essentially, this improvement leads to a more efficient file system by reducing disk space usage and hastening file copy/move/modification speeds.

Neowin had already reported on this improvement when the feature was still in the works. Depending on the size of the file, initial testing showed anywhere between 18% to 94% performance improvement on ReFS with block cloning enabled compared to NTFS.

Sadly, NTFS does not have a feature like block cloning, and hence, general users will not see such improvements. Regardless, this is definitely a real example of improvement in performance, unlike the example Microsoft had given, citing a paid study that shows ridiculous performance numbers.

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