Mac users recently noticed that Microsoft placed a small banner inside the app to warn about the upcoming renaming. Future updates will change the app from Microsoft Remote Desktop to just Windows App. Here is what the banner says:

In an upcoming update for Remote Desktop the client will have a new name, Windows App!

There is also a link to the official Microsoft Learn website where customers can find more information about what the "Windows App" app can do on different platforms. In a nutshell, if you have a Mac, iPhone, or iPad, Windows App will let you work with Azure Virtual Desktops, Windows 365, Microsoft Dev Box, Remote Desktop Services, and Remote PCs.

As of right now, Windows App is in preview, and you can get it for Mac from the Download Center. It is also available in the Microsoft Store for Windows 10 and 11 systems.

This quiet announcement generated quite a lot of negativity among users. Many claim the new name would be very confusing when searching, working with the application, or providing tech support for inexperienced customers.

On the other hand, some say changing Microsoft Remote Desktop to Windows App on non-Windows platforms is actually reasonable because it is literally a gateway to remote Windows systems or Windows in the cloud.

What do you think? Does changing Microsoft Remote Desktop to Windows App on Apple's platforms make sense to you? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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It is safe to say that no one liked that change, and Microsoft is now trying to fix it. In Windows 11 build 22635.4145, which was released on Friday for insiders in the Beta Channel, Microsoft made the panel less confusing by changing the location of the "Sign out" button. It is now in plain sight and no longer hidden in additional menus. As for other profiles on your computer, getting to them still requires clicking the three-dot button.

The updated Account Manager is turned on by default and does not require changing anything in the operating system. However, Microsoft did not mention it in the official release notes for build 22635.4145. Instead, it was spotted by @phantomofearth on X:

Hopefully, Microsoft will waste no time bringing the updated Account Manager to stable Windows 11 builds and Windows 10. The latter is also getting this feature, but it is currently hidden in the latest preview builds.

Other changes in Windows 11 build 22635.4145 include new mouse settings (scroll direction and cursor acceleration), improvements to Windows Spotlight desktop backgrounds, some changes to the Start menu, and plenty of bug fixes across the operating system. You can check out the full release notes here.

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Say you have a two-hour video lesson and want to find a certain thing inside it. According to bits discovered by @XenoPanther on X in build 27695, Windows 11 will soon allow you to do so.

Once enabled, Windows 11 will start indexing your local files, setting up an AI model, and transcribing all your media files. After that, you will receive a notification that the system is ready for a "content-based" search in media files.

Here is the full description that was discovered:

Search by spoken words in your indexed video or audio files. By clicking 'I agree,' you consent to scanning the media files on your device. If needed, the required model will be downloaded and installed in the background. Your media files are being processed Once the AI model is set up, it needs to transcribe your media files and index them before enabling content-based search. We'll inform you once the process is complete.

For now, there is no information on whether this feature will be exclusive to Copilot+ PCs with their powerful NPUs. Windows 11 already has some AI-based features that are available on "traditional" systems with Intel and AMD processors, so we will have to wait for Microsoft to acknowledge the existence of "content-based search," explain how the feature works, and what are the hardware requirements.

Speaking about Copilot+ PCs, it was recently discovered that Windows 11 will let you uninstall Recall if just turning it off is not an option. They have also received support for DirectML and WebNN. If you want to try all those AI features on a Copilot+ PC but spending $999+ is not an option, the good news is that $800 models with an eight-core Snapdragon X Plus processor are coming in September 2024.

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In a blog post, Microsoft stated that it added a way for users to pin conversations on Teams for Personal communities. The owners of those communities can both pin and unpin those conversations by accessing the More options (…) menu.

There's also a new Files tab that was added this month to communities. Clicking on the tab will let users see all of the files that have been shared within that community.

Teams for Personal also improved how to share a screen in the app. Microsoft says:

The latest feature update allows you to grant another person in the meeting control of your computer, enabling them to operate it just as you would. This facilitates collaboration, especially with multiple presenters, but it’s important to only grant control to trusted individuals.

After you start sharing your screen, you should see an indicator that this action is taking place on top of the screen. You can then move the cursor to hover over that indicator, and you should see a new "Give control" option appear in the presenter toolbar. You can click on it to grant another person control over your PC.

Teams for Personal has also added a way to change the default notification sound with a range of different options. Be aware this new feature is only for Windows users for now.

The app now allows users to add in their Linkedin profile. Microsoft says:

Hovering over a person’s name or avatar reveals their profile card, which includes a LinkedIn section. This feature is accessible to users who have chosen to make their email visible on their Teams profiles. To view the LinkedIn information, a one-time login to LinkedIn is required.

You can check out even more additional features added to Teams for Personal on the blog site.

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If you have Debian installed on your system, and you've kept it up to date, then you are already on these point releases and don't need to do anything. Also, if you already have Debian installation media, you don't need to throw it away, just continue using it and apply available updates.

One potentially serious issue to be aware of in the Debian 11.11 update pertains to secure boot, here's what the Debian team had to say about it:

Users who boot other operating systems on the same hardware, and who have Secure Boot enabled, should be aware that shim 15.8 (included with Debian 11.11) revokes signatures across older versions of shim in the UEFI firmware. This may leave other operating systems using shim before 15.8 unable to boot.

Affected users can temporarily disable Secure Boot before updating other operating systems.

Some popular packages that have been updated in Debian in these Debian updates include calibre, linux, numpy, shim, systemd, qemu, emacs, openjdk-17, wpa, flatpak, chromium and firefox-esr.

The new Debian versions will be available soon to download from the Debian download page, the new ISOs don't seem to be live on the main download buttons at the time of writing.

In recent Debian news, the Debian LTS Team took over the Debian 11 security updates so that Security and Release Teams can focus on the current Debian 12 release and the soon-to-be-released Debian 13. Debian 11 users will continue to receive updates until August 31, 2026, however, the Debian Project recommends that users upgrade to Debian 12.

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In a blog post, Microsoft stated that some of the new keyboard shortcuts in Outlook for Windows include 'Ctrl+Y', which lets users switch between folders by typing in the first letter or number of that folder. Also, there's a new function for the 'Tab' key in the app's reading pane:

Previously, each time users pressed the ‘Tab’ key, focus would go to every button and link within the reading pane. Now, users can navigate the grouped elements by pressing the arrow keys and simply use the ‘Tab’ key to jump focus to different parts of the message.

Finally, Microsoft has changed the ‘Alt + Windows’ shortcut to launch the Ribbon key tips to just pressing the 'Alt' key to make it easier to discover for users.

Microsoft also announced it is working with third-party companies like Narrator, JAWS and NVDA to improve Outlook's screen reader features. The blog post states:

When opening an email to read, JAWS and NVDA now start automatically reading the whole message body aloud. Along with focusing the message body after opening an email, we have also enhanced the focus states following other commands. For example, after launching new Outlook or completing a search, the default focus is directly on the first item in the message list instead of the entire message list region.

Also, people who navigate Outlook with their keyboard and use the 'skip to’ links will now experience the focus turning to the message or message list item, which should help improve the keyboard experience with the app.

Microsoft says that in October it plans to add a feature that will let Outlook users navigate timeslots in the calendar grid with the arrow keys on the keyboard. It will also soon add support for using Narrator to automatically read an Outlook message

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In today's blog post, Microsoft announced a new feature called channel cards for Teams channels. It stated;

Hover over the channel name in the header, or wherever the channel is mentioned, to see important information, such as the channel description, last activity time, team name, and membership information, helping you quickly understand the context and purpose of the channel.

Another new feature added for businesses who use Teams in August allows people who share the same tenet can now request to join an established Teams shared channel with the use of that channel's share link. Yet another new Teams business feature lets users access apps in a Teams group chat that have other channel users that are outside their company.

The town hall feature in Teams added a way for participants to see and send emoji-style reactions during such an event. Microsoft says:

Attendees can select the reaction they wish to temporarily display to the presenters and other attendees via the actions ribbon at the top of the town hall window. Reactions appear as a continuous stream on the side of the screen, giving real-time representation of participant sentiment.

Earlier this month, rumors hit the internet that Microsoft was working on an upcoming major update for Teams that would merge its text chat and channels into one user interface. Microsoft seemed to confirm that rumor in an update on its Microsoft 365 Roadmap site, with a new entry that said it would launch a new "your teams and channels’ view" inside "a centralized hub" in Teams sometime in October.

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The new build number is 27695. It includes some Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) improvements, along with other additions, improvements, bug fixes and known issues. It also mentions that starting with build 27691, the expiration date for Canary Channel builds will now be on September 15, 2025.

Here is the changelog:

What’s new with Build 27695

 

New position for the Widgets entry-point on left-aligned taskbars

 

We’re beginning to roll out a new position for the Widgets entry-point on left-aligned taskbars. The taskbar entry-point will move to the left of the systems tray and will be wider so you can see richer content from Widgets on your taskbar. When you launch the Widgets board, it will fly out from the right side instead of the left side.

 

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.

 

Windows LAPS: Retrieve encrypted passwords during Active Directory recovery situations

 

Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) has been improved with a new ability to recover encrypted passwords from Active Directory (AD) backup media even when there are zero AD domain controllers running.

 

Windows LAPS encrypted passwords offer much better security over the traditional approach of storing clear-text passwords in Active Directory. Windows LAPS password encryption is based on Cryptography API: Next Generation Data Protection API (CNG DPAPI). Under normal operating conditions, the decryption keys are always retrieved from a running AD domain controller. When an unexpected disaster occurs, there may be no AD domain controllers running.

 

You can now use the Get-LapsADPassword PowerShell cmdlet to retrieve and decrypt Windows LAPS encrypted passwords from Active Directory backup media (mounted using the AD snapshot browser, aka dsamain.exe) with zero network interaction with any AD domain controller. In fact, this operation is now possible even when running on a non-domain-joined, workgroup machine. If you still have access to your AD backup media, all Windows LAPS encrypted passwords will now be recoverable regardless of the situation.

 

This new improvement is implemented in the existing Get-LapsADPassword PowerShell cmdlet. When the -Port and -RecoveryMode parameters are both specified, any retrieved passwords will be automatically decrypted in a purely local operation using the decryption keys found in the snapshot browser.

 

Step 1: Mount the Active Directory backup media database:

 

Step 2: Recover the Windows LAPS passwords from the mounted AD backup media database:

 

Step 3: This step is informative only; the screenshot below demonstrates that the above operations were executed on a workgroup machine:

 

In summary this improvement resolves a key Windows LAPS concern of how to recover Windows LAPS passwords in a disaster scenario where no AD domain controllers are running. For more information see: Retrieving passwords during AD disaster recovery scenarios.

 

Changes and Improvements

 

[General]

 

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 27691. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Canary Channel.

 

Some Insiders in the Canary Channel will begin to see an estimated time for how long their PC will be offline to install Build 27695. This estimate will be shown on the Windows Update settings page and via the Start menu power button.

 

[Notifications]

 

If desired, there’s now an option to turn off the suggestions to disable notifications from certain apps. You can now press the “…” within the notification to disable the notification, as you can with other notifications, or you can go to the list of notification senders in Settings > System > Notifications and turn it off from there (called “Notification Suggestions” in the list). Note – this entry will only appear in the senders list after you have received one.

 

[Windows Share]

 

We are rolling out the ability to easily share content to an Android device from Windows share window. The feature requires you to pair your Android device to your Windows PC using the Link to Windows app on Android and Phone Link on your PC.

 

[Widgets]

 

We are rolling out an update to the Widgets Board to improve security and the APIs for creating widgets and feeds for users in EEA regions. As part of this update, the Microsoft Start Experiences app will power the Microsoft Start widget and feed experiences. Also, as part of this update, some existing widgets will be removed and others will be modified, temporarily affecting their functionality. This update sets the foundation for new widgets and other features in development, set to roll out soon.

 

Fixes

 

[File Explorer]

 

• Fixed an issue where when pressing WIN + E, a screen reader might unexpectedly say a pane had focus, or focus may not be set within File Explorer at all.
• Fixed an issue which was causing CTRL + F to sometimes not start a search in File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue where keyboard focus might get lost sometimes when doing Shift + Tab in File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue causing screen readers to not announce when you were opening or navigating items in the breadcrumb flyouts of the open or save dialog.
• Fixed an issue causing screen readers to not announce anything when opening or navigating items in the column header flyout in File Explorer.

 

[Task Manager]

 

Fixed an issue where the colors in the Performance section weren’t displayed correctly in dark mode.

 

[Windows Sandbox]

 

Fixed an underlying issue which could cause Windows Sandbox to fail to launch with error 0x80070005 sometimes.

 

[Other]

 

• Fixed an issue where when installing Windows by booting from recent install media, it wouldn’t make itself the default partition if another version of Windows was installed.
• Fixed an issue underlying issue causing dfrgui.exe (Defrag and Optimize drives) to fail in the previous flight with a pop up saying SXSHARED_UCRT.dll was not found. This is also believed to be the cause of seeing an error saying “the specified module could not be found” errors in that flight when trying to use the backup options in Control Panel.

 

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”.

 

[Input]

 

We are working on the fix for an issue causing the emoji panel to close when trying to switch to the kaomoji and symbols sections, or after selecting an emoji.

You can check out the full blog post here.

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Although you can manually drag icons outside the overflow area, the process is a bit tedious, especially if you have many icons in the tray. Also, Windows 11 is known for messing around with tray icons, hiding them for no reason, or randomly bringing some back (looking at you, OneDrive). As usual, third-party developers fix things where Microsoft lags behind.

A simple Windhawk mod by m417z lets you toggle on all tray icons with a single click, just like it is possible in Windows 10's Settings app. For those unfamiliar, Windhawk is a third-party app and a repository of various tweaks for Windows 10 and 11. Many of them fix Windows 11's minor inconveniences, so it is worth checking out if you do not mind messing with third-party tweaking apps. However, Windhawk lets you check modules' source code so you can see what each mod is doing with your system.

If you want to try the mod that lets you turn on all tray icons, download Windhawk from the official website, install the app, search for "Always show all taskbar tray icons," and click install. You will see the effect right away. To revert the taskbar to the original state, click "Disable."

Another interesting mod that is available via Windhawk lets you move the taskbar to the side. The implementation is a bit convoluted, but some think it is better than having the taskbar permanently stuck at the bottom of the screen (Microsoft thinks that feature is not important).

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However, upon the lifting of review embargoes, the tech media and fans were left rather unimpressed. Compared to the previous launches, Zen 5 performance gains were just about okayish, especially on Windows. The only redeeming factor is that they were not too expensive, and they seem to be dropping in price already.

AMD blamed Windows optimization, or rather, the lack thereof, and promised a performance patch soon. In the meantime, the hidden Windows Administrator account could help work around the issue.

Following AMD's announcement, testing revealed that Windows 11 24H2, where the patch was supposed to land, showed a very impressive 11% average performance boost when gaming. However, later, this patch was introduced to 23H2 PCs as well via a preview update that will land next month's Patch Tuesday.

Aside from Windows, a new firmware was also promised that would add an option to bump up the TDP of the Ryzen 9000 X-series SKUs from 65 watts to 105 watts. This extra power headroom should help sustain higher performance for longer.

MSI has become the first motherboard vendor to release the new AGESA (AMD Generic Encapsulated Software Architecture) firmware. As you can see in the screenshot above, there is a new option to enable "TPD to 105W" after you install the new AMD AGESA BIOS PI (Platform Initialization) 1.2.0.1 update.

The company says the Cinebench R23 sees a 13% performance uplift on the octa-core Ryzen 9700X with this new update in terms of multi-core performance, though nothing has been said about single-core/thread gains. Ryzen 9600X owners should also see decent improvement.

MSI has also provided a list of the motherboard models where the new firmware is available:

• MEG X670E GODLIKE

• MPG B650 CARBON WIFI

• MEG X670E ACE

• MPG B650 EDGE WIFI

• MPG X670E CARBON WIFI

• MAG B650 TOMAHAWK WIFI

• MAG X670E TOMAHAWK WIFI

• MAG B650M MORTAR WIFI / MAG B650M MORTAR

• X670E GAMING PLUS WIFI

• B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI

• PRO B650-P WIFI

   

You can find MSI's announcement post here on its official website.

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Here is the full changelog:

Added Features:

 

• Added ‘x’ button at the bottom of the sidebar.
• Included Edge Bar launch and auto-start toggles in the sidebar settings page.

 

Improved Reliability:

 

• Resolved an issue where browser crashes when the site pane is pinned and ‘Open in sidebar’ is selected.
• Fixed a crash issue when closing the last tab in InPrivate or guest windows.

 

Changed Behavior:

 

• Resolved an issue where the Toggle didn’t sync when Gamer Mode was activated in the Banner.
• Fixed an issue where the browser displayed a ‘Favorite added’ message even when no data was entered.
• Fixed an issue where the ‘More Options’ button under the tab's actions menu had an incorrect control type defined.
• Resolved an issue where the screen reader announced extra information when expanding or collapsing any item under ‘recently closed’.

 

Android:

 

• Resolved an issue when pressing the Enter or Space key on the ‘Earn more rewards’ link within the browser app’s profile section for Microsoft Rewards did not trigger any action on android.
• Fixed an issue when clicking on the text box would cause a blank space to appear at the bottom of the webpage on Android.
• Fixed an issue where URLs would not load if the navigation history was empty on android.
• Fixed an issue when clicking on the title area at the top would cause the Rewards page to close on Android.

 

iOS:

 

• Resolved an issue where browser defaults to dark mode and the appearance settings cannot be changed on iOS when the dark mode icon is clicked in the overflow menu.
• Resolved an issue that was preventing the sharing and downloading of online PDFs on iOS.
• Resolved an issue by optimizing the tips text that appears when downloading the PDF for the first time.
• Fixed an issue where the content in the search box overflows on iOS.
• Fixed an issue where selecting ‘Read Aloud’ from the pop-up options and then clicking the ‘X’ button on the toolbar would not stop the read aloud function.

You can download Edge 129 Dev from the official Edge Insider website. Alternatively, go to edge://settings/help and click "Learn More" in the Microsoft Edge Insider section.

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Usually, nothing is exciting about these point releases, but the first point release is notable because Canonical switches on upgrades from Ubuntu 22.04 LTS for the first time. While Ubuntu 24.04 LTS came out in April, Canonical holds off on upgrading 22.04 LTS users just in case there are bugs. This maturation period ensures that users continue to get a stable experience.

The new point release is available for Ubuntu Desktop, Server, and Cloud products. The various spins also get the update, including Kubuntu, Ubuntu Budgie, Ubuntu MATE, Lubuntu, Ubuntu Kylin, Ubuntu Studio, Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Ubuntu Cinnamon, and Ubuntu Unity.

Any Ubuntu 22.04 LTS users should keep their eyes peeled on the Update Manager, as this is where the upgrade will be made available for download. With that said, if you don't want to move from Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, you can keep on running it without issue for another three years until 2027.

Some readers may be aware that some Ubuntu point releases feature Hardware Enablement (HWE) updates, which bring support for new hardware. Ubuntu 24.04.2 will be the first release this cycle to introduce improved hardware support introduced by Ubuntu 24.10. According to OMG! Ubuntu, existing users will get the HWE stack via a software update too.

So, if you've been thinking of installing Ubuntu recently, now is the perfect time to do it. The newly spun ISOs feature all the small updates that have been released since April. This will save you time post-install, so now is a great time to get Ubuntu.

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Following the ditching of systems without SSE3 support (Edge no longer updates on those old Windows PCs), Microsoft raised the OS requirement for Mac users. Starting with Edge 129, macOS 11 is the minimum supported OS. Older releases are no longer supported.

As for deprecated features, Microsoft is dropping the CryptoWallet feature. No one knows why it was there in the first place, but it is now on its way out.

Edge 129 Beta contains all the fixes and improvements from Edge 129 Dev updates released over the last few weeks. If you want to check them out, use the following links below:

• Microsoft Edge Dev Channel update to 129.0.2752.4
• Microsoft Edge Dev Channel update to 129.0.2766.0
• Microsoft Edge Dev Channel update to 129.0.2779.0
•  

Here is the rest of the changelog:

Fixes:

 

• Policy updates to allow wildcards. The documentation for the following policies were inaccurate and were corrected. These policies support wildcards (*) in URL patterns when being configured: ImagesAllowedForUrls, ImagesBlockedForUrls, InsecureContentAllowedForUrls, InsecureContentBlockedForUrls, PopupsAllowedForUrls, PopupsBlockedForUrls.

 

Feature updates

 

• Update to Microsoft Edge supported operating systems. The minimum supported macOS version is increased to macOS 11. Users on older versions of macOS will no longer receive Microsoft Edge updates. For more information, see Microsoft Edge Supported Operating Systems.
• Deprecation of the CryptoWallet feature. To improve end user experience, the CryptoWallet feature and the CryptoWalletEnabled policy is deprecated. The CryptoWalletEnabled policy will be obsolete in an upcoming release.
• Microsoft Edge sidebar updates. For inactive sidebar users and new Microsoft Edge users, the sidebar is turned OFF. Users can always return to the Settings > Sidebar and turn the sidebar ON again at any time. For active sidebar users, the current sidebar state remains the same.
  
  Administrators can control the availability of the sidebar using the HubsSidebarEnabled policy. Note: This feature is a controlled feature rollout. If you don't see this feature, check back as we continue our rollout.

You can download Microsoft Edge 129 Beta from the official Edge Insider website. Stable release is expected on the week of September 19, 2024.

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In KB5041865, which was released for Copilot+ PCs earlier this week, Microsoft introduced Recall as an optional feature. You can press Win + R and type "optionalfeatures," and then find Recall in the list of available components (assuming you are on a supported device). Toggling it off should remove Recall from the operating system.

Until KB5041865, it was only possible to turn off Recall. Now, however, Microsoft appears to be ready to give users more control over this feature, which many find quite questionable privacy-wise.

Windows Recall was supposed to launch in June alongside Copilot+ PCs from Microsoft, Samsung, ASUS, and other manufacturers. Microsoft shipped Recall to insiders, and customers quickly discovered that Recall poses quite serious privacy risks. The news spread like wildfire, forcing Microsoft to take Recall down and go back to the drawing board.

Now, Microsoft is getting ready to let users test Recall once again. The company implemented several changes to make the feature strictly opt-in. Windows 11 will also ship with a reworked onboarding experience with clearer explanations of how Recall works. Finally, Microsoft tightened security to ensure locally stored data can only be accessed by the right person.

If you want to test Recall, you must purchase a Copilot+ PC with a Snapdragon X Elite or Plus processor. While these are pretty expensive, some of the best models are already available with big discounts. Also, there has already been some progress on porting Recall to unsupported devices. Some even decided to make an open-source third-party alternative that works on any computer.

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Here is the changelog:

Highlights

 

This update addresses non-security issues for your Windows operating system.

 

Improvements

 

• Important: Use EKB KB5015684 to update to Windows 10, version 22H2.

 

This non-security update includes quality 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.

 

• [Input Method Editor (IME)] When a combo box has input focus, a memory leak might occur when you close that window.
• [Country and Operator Settings Asset] This update brings COSA profiles up to date for certain mobile operators.
• [Bluetooth] An app stops responding because of a memory leak in a device.
• [Bind Filter Driver] Your system might stop responding when it accesses symbolic links.
• [Unified Write Filter (UWF) and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM)] An SCCM task to re-enable UWF fails because of a deadlock in UWF. This stops the device from restarting when you expect it.

 

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

 

Windows 10 servicing stack update (KB5041581) - 19045.4840

 

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.

There are a couple of known issues with the update:

Symptom	Workaround
After installing this update, you might be unable to change your user account profile picture.   When attempting to change a profile picture by selecting the button Start> Settings > Account > Your info and, under Create your picture, clicking on Browse for one, you might receive an error message with error code 0x80070520.	We are working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.
After installing this security update, you might face issues with booting Linux if you have enabled the dual-boot setup for Windows and Linux in your device. Resulting from this issue, your device might fail to boot Linux and show the error message “Verifying shim SBAT data failed: Security Policy Violation. Something has gone seriously wrong: SBAT self-check failed: Security Policy Violation.”   The August 2024 Windows security update applies a Secure Boot Advanced Targeting (SBAT) setting to devices that run Windows to block old, vulnerable boot managers. This SBAT update will not be applied to devices where dual booting is detected. On some devices, the dual-boot detection did not detect some customized methods of dual-booting and applied the SBAT value when it should not have been applied.	Please refer to the workaround mentioned in Windows release health site for this issue.

You can download the latest non-security update for Windows 10 version 22H2 by heading to Settings > Windows Update and toggling on the "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" option.

If you are on Windows 11, check out its latest non-security update here.

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In addition to Black Myth: Wukong, Star Wars Outlaws, Concord, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Open Beta, the new driver gets optimizations for FINAL FANTASY XVI.

Besides that, AMD has also fixed a driver timeout (TDR) or app crash issue that affected Black Myth: Wukong, although the company has also added that the Global Illumination bug remains. The company also says that its driver team is working with the developers of Star Wars Outlaws on an intermittent corruption issue that happens after tweaking in-game graphics settings.

The full release notes are given below:

Highlights

 

• New Game Support

   

  • Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 Open Beta

  • Concord™
  • FINAL FANTASY XVI
  • Star Wars Outlaws™

 

• Expanded HYPR-Tune Support

   

  • HYPR-Tune support allows HYPR-RX to enable in-game technologies like AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution.

     

  • Support now added to automatically configure AMD FSR 3 frame generation in:
    • Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® III
    • Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered
    • Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales

 

• AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag 2 Support for Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT

   

  • Takes responsive gaming to the next level by introducing an in-game option to optimally pace frames, further reducing input lag on AMD RDNA™ architecture-based discrete and integrated graphics products.
    • Get a decrease in latency in Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR'S CUT at 4K “Very High” settings of up to 28% when using AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution 3 with frame generation with AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag 2 compared to using it without AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag 2 on the AMD Radeon™ RX 7800 XT graphics card. RS-669
    • Users looking for a way to measure response time can use our Frame Latency Meter (FLM) or the built-in latency monitor in AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag 2.
  • Check out our new blog HERE to learn about the benefits of Anti-Lag 2 and how to monitor your latency.

 

• AI on Radeon

   

  • Support and optimizations for the latest 2.1 version of Amuse application with FLUX.1 model support.
    • Amuse 2.1 is supported on
      • Radeon™ 7000 Series
      • Ryzen™ AI 300, 8040 & 7040 Series
    • FLUX.1 model is supported on
      • Radeon™ RX 7900 series, AMD Radeon™ PRO W7900 and AMD Radeon™ PRO W7800 graphics cards.
      • Minimum 32GB system RAM required.

 

Fixed Issues and Improvements

 

• Intermittent application crash or driver timeout may occur while playing Black Myth: Wukong.
• Intermittent application crash may occur while playing Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess on some Radeon™ RX 6600 and 6700 series GPUs.
• Intermittent application crash or driver timeout may occur while launching Pacific Drive or KINGDOM HEARTS -HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX-.
• Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering settings from AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition may fail to correctly apply for OpenGL® applications.
• Artifacts may appear while playing certain games such as Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales or Rust.
• Increased memory usage may be observed while playing certain versions of Minecraft Java Edition.
• Improved “Optimizing Shaders” time when initially launching Forza Motorsport.

 

Known Issues

 

• Overly dark shadows or desaturated colors may be observed while playing Black Myth: Wukong when Global Illumination is to Medium or higher. Users experiencing this issue may set Global Illumination to Low as a temporary workaround. [Resolution targeted for 24.9.1]
• Audio and video may intermittently become out of sync while recording using the AV1 codec in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition. [Resolution targeted for 24.9.2]

You can download the driver by heading over to the release notes page here on AMD's official website.

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Today we are releasing a significant update for DesktopGPT that delivers features to improve keyboard navigation as well as several updates as requested by the community. The update is rolling out now but if you open the settings panel (hit F9 or click the drop-down box) and click About and “Check now”, your app will download the update.

 

DesktopGPT is a tool that we started using internally, especially the templates functionality, and are now bringing it to all of our Object Desktop users.

With the .76 update, which is now available for ObjectDesktop customers, DesktopGPT supports OpenAI's latest models, GPT-4o and GPT-4o mini. Also, those paying for premium access to ChatGPT features can use their API keys.

The latest version of DesktopGPT features some hotkey changes, such as the default Ctrl + Alt + O shortcut for invoking the app's UI (you can press it again to hide the app) and opening the history page with Alt + G. You can also press F1 to see all available shortcuts in the app.

Chat templates also received support for markdown, and the Settings section has an option for the system tray icon.

As of right now, DesktopGPT is only available in the Object Desktop suite, not as a standalone app. You can download the entire Object Desktop package from the official website or Steam. Object Desktop includes programs such as Fences, Start11, Groupy, SoundPackager, DeskScapes and Multiplicity.

To update to the latest DesktopGPT version, navigate to Settings > About and click the "Check now" button.

Disclaimer: Neowin's relationship to Stardock

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In a blog post, Microsoft stated Insiders can check out the new TRIMRANGE function, along with some new related references. The blog post states:

The TRIMRANGE function removes empty rows from the edges of a range. This can be particularly useful when writing dynamic array formulas or optimizing lambda functions for performance.

The blog post included an animated example of the use of the TRIMRANGE function. Excel users can get the length of any text entered into a column with the new function.

Microsoft added:

TRIMRANGE is also a great new tool for optimizing the performance of lambda functions that operate on ranges. It allows lambda authors to more tightly scope ranges, which can reduce the number of necessary computations.

Along with the new function, Microsoft is adding Trim References, or Trim Refs, for short, to the Insider version of Excel. This is supposed to be a better way to "call common variations of the TRIMRANGE function" according to the blog post.

Microsoft 365 Insiders in the Beta Channel can check out TRIMRANGE and the new Trim Refs features on Excel that's running on Version 2409 (Build 18020.2000) or later.

The blog post does offer a reminder that TRIMRANGE and Trim Refs are considered to be available as a preview, and as such the results Excel users may get with these functions are subject to change before they are generally released. As a result. Microsoft does not recommend using this version of Excel in any important worknotes for the moment.

Earlier this week, Microsoft announced it was making some improvements to Excel in terms of how it handles the syncing of form responses. The new solution is now live, and the old one will be retired on October 20, 2024.

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Michal Niehaus, the creator of Oofhours Media Tool (OMT), released a new version that can finally create bootable media, sparing users from the need to download another application. Upon launching the updated version of Michal's Media Tool, you will be presented with two options: create a bootable ISO and save it on your computer or create a bootable media.

Like the original Media Creation tool from Microsoft, OMT will wipe your USB drive and format it in FAT32 before writing the downloaded ISO file. Note that USB drives larger than 32GB will be formatted with a single 32GB partition, leaving the rest of the drive unused.

By the way, in the latest Windows 11 preview builds, Canary build 27686, to be precise, Microsoft finally lifted the 32GB limit on FAT32 drives to 2TB. However, that change has yet to come to stable releases, so customers will have to deal with the limitation until Microsoft fixes it.

Oofhours Media Tool is available for free as an open-source app on GitHub. It allows you to download a specific Windows version with a certain architecture, language, edition, and SKU. While regular users will be fine with the standard Media Creation Tool, OMT can serve as a great helper for enthusiasts who want a specific ISO for their particular reasons. It is also worth noting that OMT gets ESD files directly from Microsoft without any alterations.

You can read more about the update here.

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In a blog post, Microsoft stated:

This feature helps you quickly find relevant plans for your work by highlighting any new plans with tasks assigned to you that you haven’t yet viewed. You’ll find the Recommended Plans view in My Plans, alongside other views like Recent, Shared, Private, and Pinned.

The blog post adds that users of the Planner app will only see the Recommended Plans view if there have been any new plans assigned to them that are not listed under the Recent Plans option.

Microsoft also announced today that Planner app users can now resize the column in the app's Grid view. All they need to do is to head to any plan in the Grid view and hover the cursor over any column They can then increase or decrease the selected column size.

Today's blog also mentions a new feature that's linked to one that was announced a few weeks ago, when Microsoft revealed a new and easier way to copy and share links to plans in the app with others. Today, the company revealed that copying the link and sharing it also now reveals that plan's name, which should make it easier to identify that plan without having to actually click on the link to find out.

Finally, Microsoft has revealed it has made some tweaks to people who access premium plans in the Planner app. In short, the company said opening those premium plans should be 15 percent faster.

Microsoft is also hosting an online event specifically to go over new Planner features, and reveal future plans for the app, on September 17.

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Vivaldi for Windows on ARM delivers several key improvements over its emulated version. Here is what customers can expect:

• Optimized Performance: When you use Vivaldi on Windows on Arm, you experience faster load times, smoother scrolling, and improved responsiveness. Your browsing feels fluid and enjoyable as Vivaldi keeps pace with your needs, whether you’re juggling dozens of tabs, streaming video, or navigating complex web applications.
• Full Feature set: You get the full Vivaldi experience on Windows on Arm, with every feature you know and love. The powerful tab management features, the customizable interface, Tracker and Ad blocker, everything is optimized for your ARM device. You’ll enjoy using Vivaldi Mail, Calendar, and other built-in services and tools that work seamlessly on the platform you choose.
• Seamless Sync Across Devices: Vivaldi fits perfectly into your device ecosystem. You can sync your bookmarks, passwords, history, and settings across all your devices; desktop, laptop, tablet, and phone. No matter where you are, Vivaldi ensures a consistent, personalized browsing experience that keeps you connected.

It is worth noting that those improvements are not only for the latest Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon X Elite or Plus processors—users with older Windows on ARM devices, such as the Surface Pro 9 5G or the Surface Pro X, will also notice better performance and efficiency.

If you recently bought a new Copilot+ PC and you do not know whether Vivaldi or another application is running natively or emulated, launch Task Manager and switch to the Details tab. Native applications will have ARM64 in their Architecture column.

You can download Vivaldi for Windows on ARM from the official website.

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Today, Vivaldi Technologies released a big new update for its browser. Version 6.9 is now available on supported platforms, offering users even more customization, the ability to rename tabs, better tab sync, and performance improvements. Here is a quick description of the release:

Today, we’re excited to introduce Vivaldi 6.9 — a release that may seem subtle at first glance, but is full of improvements. We’re committed to making every release meaningful, whether it’s packed with new features or focused on fine-tuning the experience you already love.

 

This update is all about refining what makes Vivaldi special: giving you powerful tools to personalize your browser, stay organized, and navigate the web your way. While Vivaldi 6.9 includes important bug fixes and performance improvements, we’ve also added a few new features that we think you’ll really appreciate.

With Vivaldi 6.9, users can rename their tabs and tab stacks to give them more meaningful names for better workspace organization. Tab renaming will be particularly handy when dealing with multiple tabs on the same website.

Another productivity-boosting feature is drag-and-drop support for the Downloads Panel. Now, you can grab a file from the panel and drag it to the desktop, email, folder, another app, or anything else. You can move one or several files at once.

The Windows Panel also received some love from developers (it is not related to the Windows OS). It now offers a clearer and better-structured view of all your synced tabs from other devices. You can easily distinguish pinned tabs, workspaces, stacks, and more.

In addition, Vivaldi 6.9 features notable performance improvements for tabs and user interface responsiveness. The built-in Mail client, which was revamped earlier this year, also received over 40 different fixes. You can check out the complete changelog in a post on the official website.

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The appearance section in the Stable version of Microsoft has large squared thumbnails for built-in themes. In the reworked variant, Microsoft suggests switching to a more subtle and compact selector with rounded previews. You can see how the reworked appearance section compares with the current one:

Before

After

The new appearance section is not yet public, but for a good reason. Although you can turn it on with a command, the new theme selector does not work, plus it misses some of the features available in the Stable version. Still, if you are curious to give it a try, here is what you need to do:

1. Make sure you are on Microsoft Edge Canary version 130.0.2800.0 or newer.
2. Go to Performance settings and turn off Startup Boost if it is enabled.
3. Close Microsoft Edge Canary, right-click its desktop icon and select Properties.
4. Place a space in the Target box and paste the following command: --enable-features=msShowRevampedThemesInSettingsAppearance
5. Save the changes and launch Edge Canary with the modified shortcut.
6. Go to Settings > Appearance or edge://settings/appearance.

Microsoft Edge 130 is expected in the Stable Channel on the week of October 17, 2024. However, there is no guarantee that the updated appearance section will make it to the stable release. It still needs more improvements, so Microsoft may take more time to deliver it.

Speaking of other appearance news, Microsoft quietly revealed that the rounded tab feature in the Edge browser is going away. The company added a small note to the flag responsible for it with the release of Microsoft Edge 128 earlier this month. Check out the full release notes for Microsoft Edge 128 here.

Via Deskmodder

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Here is the official changelog that was posted in Microsoft's documentation:

[Widgets Board] We are rolling out an update to the Widgets Board to improve security and the APIs for creating widgets and feeds for users in EEA regions. As part of this update, the Microsoft Start Experiences app will power the Microsoft Start widget and feed experiences. Also, as part of this update, some existing widgets will be removed and others will be modified, temporarily affecting their functionality. This update sets the foundation for new widgets and other features in development, set to roll out soon.

 

This non-security update includes quality 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.

 

• [FrameShutdownDelay] The browser ignores its value in the “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main” registry key.
• [Domain Name System (DNS)] A deadlock occurs in the domain controller (DC) when it starts up in the DNS client.
• [OpenSSH] This update adds a prompt that asks you to confirm when you turn on OpenSSH using the Server Manager UI.

Interestingly, KB5041865 misses parts, such as File Explorer improvements, of KB5041587, which was released earlier today for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2. If you want to learn more about that update, check out our post here. As for known bugs, Microsoft says there are none in KB5041865.

Keep in mind that KB5041865 and KB5041587 are optional updates, so feel free to skip them if you do not feel like updating your computer today. But if you want to get to the latest update, head to Settings > Windows Update and toggle on the "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" option. You can also get KB5041865 from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

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Here are the update highlights for Windows Terminal 1.21:

• Terminal will now remember what was on your screen when you exit, and can restore it if you'd like!
• You can specify multiple active fonts, which will be used in order.
• Box and line drawing glyphs are now rendered pixel-perfect with appropriate stippled shading
• We've rewritten the IME (input method editor) integration to make life much easier for those of you who need to input Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and more
• Scrollbar marks are finally generally available!
• We will now show and highlight all search results at the same time when you search.
• The old text rendering engine has been removed.

And here are the new features in Windows Terminal 1.22 Preview, which, according to developers, is the largest Windows Terminal release to date, with major changes like a new console hosting infrastructure, Sixels support (a bitmap graphics format for terminals), and a lot more:

• Terminal and conhost now support Sixels!
• We have rewritten how hosted console applications are translated for Windows Terminal (and other ConPTY consumers) to be based on direct API->VT translation rather than "rendering" a point-in-time snapshot of the display. This should result in improved throughput, reliability, correctness, plus an ability for applications to send unmodified VT directly to the terminal, but may result in some compatibility issues. Please file any issues you encounter with console applications.
  • ... terminals which support DEC rectangular operations DECCRA and DECFRA should see higher fidelity app-based scrolling
• We now support a much wider range of Unicode, including Emoji with ZWJ, combining characters, flag sequences, and anything else that requires proper Grapheme Clusters! Applications can query support for grapheme clusters with DECRPM 2027, and users can now configure whether Unicode is measured like the vintage Windows Console, like Linux and macOS terminals using wcwidth, or with Grapheme Clusters like Contour and other modern terminal emulators. Global setting compatibility.textMeasurement (enum console, wcswidth, graphemes (default))
• For the first time in decades, we've changed the popup UI (used for F7 and friends) in CMD! It now draws beneath the prompt (pushing the screen up) and has a modern TUI scrollbar if it doesn't all fit on the screen.
• Terminal will now offer relevant packages from WinGet if you're running CMD on Windows 24H2 and run a nonexistent command
• You can now add actions like splitPane and sendInput: foo and quit directly to the New Tab dropdown menu!
• You can now open a pane containing snippets (any sendInput actions!) with the openSnippets action! You can quickly access any commands you've saved in your JSON file, or with the new x-save command, and replay them with a new slick UI
  • ... snippets which can also be loaded from a .wt.json file in your current working directory (we're still working on docs, please stay tuned!)
  • ... snippets which can also be saved directly from the command line with wt x-save "text to save" with additional fixes
• Ctrl+Shift+Period will now open the "quick actions" flyout, which contains snippets and suggestions. You can now also bind the quickFix action to open a menu containing only WinGet suggestions (as of today, on Windows 24H2)
• You can now search with regular expressions in Terminal (and conhost!)

You can check out full release notes for both Terminal 1.21 and Terminal 1.22 Preview on the Releases page on GitHub.

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