Over the weekend, noted Microsoft leaker "WalkingCat" posted a long series of videos on his X account (via Mary Jo Foley). The videos are from 2013 and come from what looks like an internal meeting at Microsoft to get an overview of Project Midori.

This 2013 meeting was designed to let more people at Microsoft get info on the Midori OS and its goals. Most of the videos feature a member of the Midori team, Joe Duffy, talking about the development of the OS, which was being built from the ground up with no legacy Windows code but would still be able to work with the millions of Windows apps.

The videos go into far more information about the now-canceled operating system from Duffy, who is currently the founder and CEO of the software company Pulumi. He also wrote a series of blog posts about Midori after he departed Microsoft.

Microsoft is still updating the Windows OS with Windows 11, and it will release a 24H2 feature update for that operating system later this year. The company has also been working more and more to improve the Windows 11 Arm OS and, earlier this year launched a new version for Qualcomm's Snapdragon X processors under its Copilot+ PCs program.

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Although most people will want to use emulators to play games it’s also possible to use them to run operating systems for one computer inside another.

Like Delta and RetroArch, UTM SE: Retro PC emulator has been allowed into the App Store and is also available for Apple’s Vision Pro. YouTuber Darielquinta decided to take advantage of this to see what it would be like to run Windows XP on Apple’s mixed reality headset, mainly because "anything newer will absolutely not work".

Things don't run especially smoothly at the beginning. The SE in UTM SE stands for Slow Edition, as you’ll see. Accidentally running a German language installer at the start didn’t help, and then the English version took two hours to install, which is slow even by Microsoft’s previous standards.

There were other issues to contend with, as you’d expect, but it’s still a fun experiment. Watch the video and let me know what you think about it in the comments below.

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Windows 11’s big 24H2 update includes an important revision of a driver display model which will usher in important benefits in terms of speeding up NPUs (Neural Processing Units) and GPUs.

This new Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) version 3.2 will come with the 24H2 update and a support document from Microsoft, spotted by Windows Latest, outlines various driver-related improvements that it’ll implement.

This WDDM update will have a weighty focus on NPU optimization, for devices that have an NPU on-board, of course, which includes Copilot+ PCs (a speedy NPU is a requirement for the latter). This will mean faster AI processing, so that features such as Recall - the controversial supercharged search functionality Microsoft has temporarily put on ice - or other AI workloads, will happen in a swifter fashion. It will also deliver GPU-related measures that could improve gaming performance.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Helping Copilot+ PCs fly higher

WDDM 3.2 is set to arrive with a lot of goodies in terms of taking strides forward in powering up the NPU. A range of features that Windows Latest highlights promises to beef up performance levels of some AI tasks, ensuring they run more smoothly, as well as achieving better power-efficiency for the Neural Processing Unit during these tasks. The latter could mean eking out a bit more battery life when it comes to a Windows 11 laptop.

Microsoft is also implementing a “dirty bit tracking” feature, which accelerates data transfer speeds when virtual machines are being migrated between two systems.

It’s not all about AI, though, and PC gamers have some GPU-related optimizations to look forward to with WDDM 3.2. Windows Latest again points out some possible benefits including a suggestion that it could help with lag issues (we’d take that with a heavy pinch of seasoning, though).

We can apparently expect smoother frame rates and overall performance to some extent when gaming thanks to WDDM 3.2, but it’s not made clear exactly how much impact to expect - temper your expectations, as ever.

You can see the full details of all the changes related to WDDM 3.2, if you’re curious, as there are plenty of enhancements applied here. Windows Latest also created a handy table explaining how the various driver-related improvements for both AI and gaming will boost your PC’s performance when Windows 11 24H2 comes out. These may, however, turn out to be relatively minor improvements in many cases - we’ll just have to see when the time comes.

Note that, unfortunately, certain AI features (like Recall) will be for Copilot+ PCs only - although all Windows 11 PCs will get the 24H2 update and these WDDM 3.2 improvements, when the big upgrade rolls out later this year. Copilot+ PCs are, of course, the devices with the beefiest NPUs, and so will benefit the most from the AI-related tweaks that WDDM 3.2 applies - perhaps making a more convincing case for AI with these machines.

So far, Microsoft’s push with AI hasn’t been especially well-received by users, and Copilot has notably struggled to define itself on the Windows 11 desktop so far (and Windows 10, for that matter).

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Outlook's "Draft" Copilot feature means you can now draft an email using the Copilot sidebar on the right-hand side of your Outlook window. To activate this enhanced feature, which everyone with Copilot should, by now, be able to access, simply click the Copilot icon in the top-right corner.

If you already have an email open in your inbox, you can ask Copilot to create a draft to help you reply more efficiently. For example, if you tell Copilot to "Reply to this email confirming that I can attend the meeting" in the command box, the AI tech within the app will draft a response, which you can amend if needed before you send it.

You can also start a new email thread from scratch using Copilot. You might want to create a draft email that invites your friends to a wedding, or a draft reminding your team that there's an inspection later in the week.

Despite its handiness, this new feature should be approached with caution. This type of AI is still in its relative infancy, so there may be glitches and inconsistencies along the way. Relying wholly on the tech to do the work for you, without checking its output, is always risky.

This is why Microsoft is keen to emphasize that this is about drafting emails, not creating them as a finished product. It's always good to also remember that people may be used to your email tone, but AI is unlikely to be able to replicate this, so this is another reason why it's essential to cast your eye over Copilot's suggestions before you send that email!

Copilot's capabilities aren't limited to drafting emails. For example, you can tell it to move all emails from a certain email address to a folder you have created, meaning you're not wasting your valuable time reorganizing your inbox when you have better ways to spend your working hours.

Even if you're a Microsoft 365 subscriber, you'll need to pay more ($20 or £19 per month) for Copilot Pro to access these new features and, indeed, all Copilot features that Microsoft is rolling out across its suite of apps. You can access some Copilot features for free, but the monthly subscription opens the door to much broader use of Microsoft's AI assistant.

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Starting Monday, Zoom users will have the option to open a document tool from within their video calling app and create sharable files based on their meetings—but they’ll also be prompted to use generative AI to help them write and edit them. This new feature, essentially Zoom’s version of docs, is the latest effort to compete with Microsoft and Google to become an everything workplace for businesses.

The docs feature Zoom’s AI Companion, a generative tool built on LLM models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and the company's own models, unveiled last fall. It can take a meeting transcript and organize it into templates, or make tables, checklists, and trackers to organize processes and tasks. The docs can then be integrated to Zoom meetings for sharing and editing.

“AI is what makes the experience so differentiated,” says Smita Hashim, chief product officer at Zoom. “The goal is that the mundane, high friction takes, which take up so much of our time, can be done by AI.”

Zoom docs are the company’s latest update to its collaborative tool Workplace that came out in March. It’s an attempt to attract customers in a crowded market: Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 dominate the space, and have already added their own AI features to tools and to their laptops.

The market is “extremely difficult to compete in,” says Will McKeon-White, senior analyst of infrastructure and operations at research firm Forrester, but not impossible—Google Docs has thrived in a world where Microsoft Word once reigned. Google Workspace has more than 3 billion users, while Microsoft Teams has over 320 million monthly active users.

In this case, Zoom is betting that the price will matter: its Workplace plans include the company’s AI Companion at no extra cost (Zoom Workplace costs between $14 and $19 dollars per user per month for smaller companies. Microsoft’s Copilot for 365 add-on costs $30 per user per month, and Gemini for business from Google costs between $20 and $30 per user per month in addition to base costs for the service).

Gemini can also help users brainstorm in Google Docs, create images, and summarize and refine text. And CoPilot can work across Word, PowerPoint, and Excel to analyze information, rewrite information, and create presentations.

Persuading businesses to move from one workplace tech provider to another is challenging, and Zoom may be banking on the fact that many organizations already use Zoom alongside another provider, leaving them open to a switch. Zoom has been looking for the next big thing that could replicate its rapid growth during the Covid-19 lockdowns, as people worked via Zoom or even attended Zoom weddings. In early 2023, the company hit a tipping point—the number of clients that were willing to pay for Zoom had already done so, and fewer people were turning to it for “fun” Zoom calls with family or friends.

The company dropped off the Nasdaq 100 at the end of 2023, and its share price is down nearly 90 percent from its 2020 high. Zoom laid off about 15 percent of its staff in early 2023, but seemingly aware it needed to expand, began integrating more calendar features and added cartoon avatars. Zoom has recently also seen growth in its Contact Center, a customer service channel for businesses. But to compete with bundled services like Google and Microsoft that also offer video calls, it needs to do more.

Under pressure to evolve after its pandemic hype, Zoom has made a full push to integrate AI into its platform. In April Zoom announced its Workplace collaboration tools, which include an AI assistant that summarizes meetings and chats and can also write messages and emails. Zoom also expanded its workflow automation tool in July, which sends automated and recurring reminders tied to meetings and regularly scheduled tasks, like summary notes and project updates.

But the end goal of Zoom is bigger: In June Eric S. Yuan, CEO and founder of Zoom, painted a vision of the future to The Verge where AI-driven digital twins stand in for people during meetings and read and respond to emails. Yuan’s future of work is one where we work less, thanks to AI. (Yuan did not specify whether Zoom is currently working on digital twins.)

For now, one of the biggest challenges for workplace tech to solve is the chaotic nature of notifications; from emails, chats, phone calls, and various places to store documents, workers are overwhelmed and wasting time digging data up. This is where AI could help, and that’s easier done if that information lives within one company’s software, McKeon-White says.

Zoom’s growing platform has “good potential,” says Adam Holtby, a principal analyst of workplace transformation for research firm Omdia says, particularly among frontline workers who have not traditionally been targeted by Google or Microsoft and are not tied to desks, who are ripe for digital disruption and need tech solutions.

But making transformative changes in AI at work will take huge investment in capital and employee training. Companies want to be on the forefront of AI, but some leaders have provided little guidance to workers. The impact of that investment may not be clear until later this decade.

Zoom needs to “continue in broadening out its AI capabilities,” says Holtby, to show that their tools should be prioritized and are worth the investment. Amid the AI hype cycle, normalizing AI use among a broad swath of workers will still take time.

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About a month ago, Nvidia published a knowledge base article about the end of support of its drivers on old computers without the POPCNT instruction set (POPCNT stands for population count). It is not just an arbitrary no-support state: installing driver 555 or newer on a system with a supported Nvidia GPU and unsupported processor results in the entire system crashing to a BSOD with the error code SYSTEM THREAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED.

Beginning with the Release 555, NVIDIA display drivers will no longer support older CPUs that do not support POPCNT (Popuulation Count) instruction. While these CPUs are already officially not supported on Microsoft's Windows 10/Windows 11, if a user with a PC using an unsupported CPU attempts to install R555+ display drivers, the PC will bugcheck/BSOD when booting into Windows.

Windows 10 users with systems powered by old processors with still-supported graphics cards (like GTX 750 Ti and newer) may want to tweak their Windows Update settings to prevent the OS from automatically downloading driver 555 or newer.

In all fairness, probably not many Windows users run their Core 2 Duo systems with still-supported Nvidia graphics cards, so the story is unlikely to stir too much drama among Windows users. But if your old pre-SSE4.2 system with the GTX 750 Ti or GTX 950 cannot boot after updating the graphics driver, you now know why. If you do not know whether your system supports the POPCNT instruction set, check out this article.

Via @TheBobPony on X

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For example, Linux is case-insensitive, it more or less ignores file extensions, and it uses a different character than Windows uses as its directory path separator.

The best way to become comfortable with the Linux command line is by learning the commands.

Starting out with any new operating system can be frustrating, because the simplest operations don’t work in the way you’re used to. Learning these differences between Windows and Linux can cure headaches.

That fish out of water feeling is awful, when the most basic operations throw you for a loop. It's natural to worry that everything else is going to be a struggle too. Getting nowhere fast leads to people giving up entirely. When dabbling in the shallows is so discouraging, the idea of taking the plunge becomes unappealing.

As is often the case, it’s the little things that matter most. So here’s our list of little things that have a big impact on your first few days as a Windows user exploring the Linux command line.

Case Sensitivity

On Linux, file and directory names are case-sensitive. On Windows they’re not.

Linux lets you have files in the same directory that are called the same thing, as long as they’re written differently.

Let’s create a few files to illustrate this. If you read these filenames out loud they all sound the same. But, because they use a different mix of characters, on Linux they're actually different names.

touchunique-file.txt

touchUnique-file.txt

touchUnique-File.txt

touchUNIQUE-file.txt

ls

Files on Linux with names that differ by case only

The touch command creates the files and ls confirms they happily reside in the same directory. On Windows, file.txt and FILE.TXT refer to the same file.

The case sensitivity of Linux applies to directory names, too.

mkdir sub1

mkdir Sub1

mkdir SUB1

ls -l

Directories on Linux with names that differ by case only

All of these subdirectories exist within the same parent directory.

Paths and Directories Separators

Windows uses a backslash \ as the directory path separator, but Linux uses /, the forward slash. You’re going to need to concentrate to overcome the muscle memory of typing \.

pwd

A directory path displayed in a Linux terminal window.

\ dates back to the release of MS-DOS in 1981, but / was born in 1971 with the first version of Unix. If MS-DOS had used / as well, this issue wouldn’t exist.

File Extensions

On Windows, file extensions tell the operating system which application to launch when you double-click a file. On Linux, the operating system determines the file type by examining its header bytes.

You can do this yourself using the file command.

file mystery-file

Using the Linux file command to identify a file type.

File extensions on Linux tell you, the user, what type of file something is. Linux already knows.

Nor do you need to use a specific extension on binary executable files. There’s no Linux equivalent to the COM and EXE extensions of the Windows world. A Linux executable can have any extension, or no extension.

do-some-work

and-you.too

Running commands with and without extensions in a Linux terminal window.

Hidden Files and Directories

On Linux, if a file or directory has a period ‘.’ as the first character of its name, it’ll be hidden. To hide a file on Windows, you right-click the file, click Properties, click the Hidden checkbox so that it is selected, then click OK.

Adding the -a (all) option to the ls command lists includes hidden files and directories in the listing.

touch new-file.txt

touch.new-hidden-file.txt

ls

ls -a

Using the Linux touch command to create a regular and a hidden file in a terminasl window.

 Most file browsers, such as GNOME’s Files, support toggling back and forth between showing and hiding your hidden files, by hitting Ctrl+H. In the Windows 11 file explorer, from the toolbar select View > Show > Hidden Items to do the same thing.

In GNOME Files, without showing hidden files, we see a single file.

One file visible in GNOME Files, with a hidden file present but not displayed.

Hitting Ctrl+H reveals the hidden file.

A regular and a hidden file displayed in GNOME Files, because the user has pressed Ctrl+H.

Command Differences

Terminal commands are very different on Linux from their Windows counterparts, and often come with short names. The ultimate has to be a single period. On Linux, ‘.’ tells the shell to source or read a file.

Some Linux command names are at least suggestive of their use, like cp for copy and mv for move. Others are more opaque. Windows users are familiar with using dir at the command prompt to list files and directories, while Linux users type ls, which is short for list.

 Windows PowerShell users might use cat to list files, but cat on Linux concatenates files or dumps their contents to the terminal window, in an action similar to the Windows type command. The Linux type command describes commands and parameters, but not in the way a user guide might. For that, you use the man command, short for manual.

To change directories, you use cd on both platforms, but on Linux you don’t have drive identifiers. Everything, including mounted drives, is just a directory branch off the root / directory.

To distinguish command options from parameters, Linux uses - or -- but Windows uses /.

 Another difference is that typically, Linux commands are silent on success. Adopting the "no news is good news" stance, you’ll only see output if something goes wrong. If you’re not alerted to an issue, assume what you just did worked.

rmunwanted-file.txt

Using the Linux rm command to remove a file in a terminal window

The file is removed, silently. Also, there’s no Recycle Bin with rm. Your file’s gone. Period.

We shouldn't be surprised at these differences. Different platforms are bound to have different command sets. Our only answer is to embrace the change, and learn the commands.

Use sudo Instead of Run as Administrator

Window users might be familiar with the Run as Administrator option found in an executable's right-click context menu. This runs the program with elevated permissions.

The equivalent on Linux is the sudo command. Preceding a command with sudo runs that command with elevated permissions. Only users who are specifically granted permission are able to invoke superuser mode.

If we try to add a user with sudo, we’re refused. But if we’re in the sudoers list and we precede the command with sudo, Linux allows us to add the user.

Linux refusing to add a user until the sudo command is used.

There’s a learning curve associated with moving to any new operating system, and whichever way you slice it, you’ve got to climb that curve. But if you don’t get the basics sorted out, you’ll never make it up that slope.

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Google Chrome is still the number one. Its massive 64.72% market share increased by 0.03 points in July 2024. Third place holds Apple's Safari, which is the only desktop browser that is exclusively available on macOS. It has 9.1% (+0.07 points).

Mozilla Firefox remains in fourth place with 6.64% (+0.09 points). Although the browser is not expected to make significant leaps or overtake Safari or Edge, it might get some extra users in light of Chrome deprecating Manifest V2 extensions.

The end of Manifest V2 means that some extensions, namely content blockers, will lose some of their capabilities. In fact, the makers of uBlock Origin, one of the most popular content blockers, already suggest moving to uBlock Lite, a Manifest V3-compliant extension with fewer features. Firefox does not plan to ditch Manifest V2 extensions, so uBlock Origin is not shutting its doors for good.

Here is what the desktop browser market looks like as of the beginning of August 2024:

1. Google Chrome: 64.72% (+0.03 points)
2. Microsoft Edge: 13.74% (+0.39 points)
3. Apple Safari: 9.1% (+0.07 points)
4. Mozilla Firefox: 6.64% (+0.09 points)
5. Opera: 2.91% (-0.45 points)

You can find more information about desktop browsers on the official Statcounter website. By the way, Statcounter also reported that Windows 11 crossed the 30% mark for the first time since its launch three years ago. Learn more about it here.

As an online publication, Neowin relies on ads for operating costs, and if you use an ad blocker, we'd appreciate being whitelisted. In addition, we have an ad-free subscription for $28 a year, which is another way to show support!

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Perhaps the most interesting new listing for an upcoming feature is one that will be added to Clipchamp sometime in September. The easy-to-use web-based video editor will soon add support for accessing Microsoft's Copilot digital AI assistant. Here's what Copilot is supposed to offer Clipchamp users next month:

Clipchamp brings video creation skills to Copilot. Type your prompt and Clipchamp will write a bespoke script, source high quality stock footage, and assemble a video project with music, voiceover, text overlays and transitions. Open your video project draft in the Clipchamp app to continue to edit, export, and share. This feature is great for informational videos, video messaging, how-to videos, demos, and video presentations.

In other Microsoft 365 Roadmap news this week, people who use the Outlook app for iOS and Android will get a new composing feature in September:

We heard feedback from you, our customers, and are adding support for choosing fonts while you compose in Outlook for iOS and Android. There is also improved support for fonts in the reading pane.

Also, there's an entry this week about Outlook for Mac adding calendar support in Online Archive. However, the entry also says this feature is not scheduled to be added until June 2025, so you have a long wait.

Microsoft Viva users also have a long wait for an upcoming Copilot addition to Viva Goals:

Copilot in Viva Goals helps you save time by generating a comprehensive summary with tone, length of your preference for one or more goals in the view, allowing you to quickly catch up on and share your goal status and progress with leaders, stakeholders, and your team

The preview is available now but the site says it won't officially launch until June 2025.

That's our look this week at the Microsoft 365 Roadmap site. Come back next Sunday to see if there's more new entries to check out compared to this week.

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GnuPG (aka GNU Privacy Guard) is a free, open source replacement for Symantec’s PGP suite that allows you to encrypt and sign data security. With GnuPG, you can protect files on your local system and even communications with third parties. With a versatile key management system and access to several public key directories, GPG is a must-have for security-minded Linux users.

GnuPG can be used from the command line and is supported by email apps such as Thunderbird. For anyone who needs to encrypt and sign data on Linux, GnuPG is the way to go.

Let’s dive into this tool and see how you can use it to enhance the security and privacy of the data on your Linux systems. GnuPG is also available for other platforms (such as macOS and Windows) but I’ll limit this discussion to Linux only.

Why Do You Need GPG?

Using GPG ensures the secure transmission of information between parties and offers the ability to encrypt/decrypt files stored on local drives. By using this tool, the information contained within files and emails cannot be read by just anyone.

Of course, GPG uses key pairs to function. Those pairs consist of a public and private key. The private key is retained on your desktop or server and should never leave those machines (or be shared with anyone). The public key is intended to be shared with whoever needs to be able to decrypt your messages.

When using GPG with email, the process looks like this:

1.     The sender sends a public key to the receiver.
2.     The receiver sends a public key to the sender.
3.     The sender encrypts a message to the receiver with the receiver’s public key.
4.     The receiver receives the message and decrypts it with their private key.

Without the private key, the message cannot be decrypted.

The same thing holds true with local files. You can encrypt a file with GPG, using your keypair. When it comes time to decrypt the file, you’ll run the decryption command and, upon successfully typing the password associated with your key, the file will be accessible.

With that introduction out of the way, let’s see how this is implemented on Linux.

Install GPG

The first thing to do is install GPG. Since GNU PG can be found in the standard repositories of most Linux distributions, the installation is quite simple.

For example, on Ubuntu, the installation command is:

sudo apt-get install gnupg -y
   
If you’re using a Fedora-based distribution, the command would be:

sudo dnf install gnupg -y

You might find that GPG is already installed on your machine. If so, huzzah! One less step to take.

Creating Your First Key Pair

Now that GPG is installed, you have to generate your first key pair. There are two ways to do this, via the command line and one of the available GUIs (such as Seahorse for GNOME and KGpg for Plasma).

First, let’s create a key pair via the command line. This command will be the same, no matter the distribution you use. Generate your first key pair with:

gpg --full-generate-key

You’ll be asked to answer a few questions, such as:

•     What kind of key you want
•     What size key do you want
•     How long the key should be valid
•     Real name
•     email address
•     Comment (optional)
•     Password

Whenever possible stick with the defaults (unless you have a reason otherwise). When the creation of the key finishes, you’ll be presented with the details, which you don’t need to save. You can then list your keys with the command:

gpg --list-keys

The list will include all keys you’ve created along with their associated name, email addresses, and creation dates.

If you opt to go the GUI route, the process of creating your first key is very simple. For example, with Seahorse, you only need to click + in the upper left corner, select the GPG key (Figure 1), and then fill out the necessary information.

Figure 1: You can create other types of keys and even straight-up passwords with Seahorse.

Encrypt a File With GPG

Now that you have your key ready, let me show you how to encrypt a file with GPG. If you want to encrypt a folder, you would first have to pack it into a file, such as you would with a command like:

tar cfz filename.tgz folder

How do you encrypt a file with GPG? Easy.

Let’s say the file in question is newstack.txt and you want to encrypt it with your own GPG key. To do that, the command would be something like this:

gpg --output newstack.tgz.gpg --encrypt --recipient RECEIVER newstack.tgz

Where RECIEVER is the email address associated with your personal GPG key pair. If you want to encrypt the file to be sent to another user, you would use the receiver’s email address. That, of course, requires you import the receiver’s public key. Here’s how to do that:

1. Request the receiver’s GPG public key.
2. Save that key to your local drive.
3. Import the receiver’s GPG public key with the command (run within the directory housing the receiver’s public key you saved) gpg –import file.gpg (Where file.gpg is the public key file you saved from the receiver).

Now that you’ve imported the receiver’s public key, you can encrypt files using it and send the files to them, knowing only the holder of the private key that matches the public encryption key you used can open the file.

To decrypt a file encrypted with GPG, the command would be:

gpg --output newstack.tgz --decrypt newstack.tgz.gpg

The receiver of the file will be asked to enter the password for their key pair. Upon successful authentication, the command creates a new file with the name given after the –output option. Once the file has been decrypted, you can unpack it (if it’s a tgz or zip file) and view the contents.

And that’s the basics of using GPG on Linux. To find out more about how this tool works, be sure to read the official documentation, where you can read through the howtos, manuals, man pages, user guides, and more.

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    uBlock Origin: This extension may soon no longer be supported.

    Remove or replace it with similar extensions from the Chrome Web Store.

Makers of the uBlock Origin extension published an article on GitHub that explained why Google Chrome claims uBlock Origin "may soon no longer be supported." Long story short, the message appears due to Google's plans to deprecate Manifest V2-based extensions in favor of Manifest V3.

For those unfamiliar, Manifest is a set of rules that defines how extensions integrate into browsers and interact with web pages. Migration from Manifest V2 to V3 has been long in the making. It faced tremendous criticism from users and developers, forcing Google to delay its plans and implement various changes to address complaints.

Despite multiple changes, Manifest V3 still imposes significant limitations on browser extensions, especially content blockers. There is no Manifest V3-based uBlock Origin, so the developer recommends uBlock Origin Lite, a "pared-down" Manifest V3-compliant version of the extension.

Like uBlock Origin, uBlock Lite prioritizes reliability and efficiency, but it has to compromise some features that are now impossible with Manifest V3. There is a dedicated web page that describes the difference between uBO and uBO Lite.

Since the switch to Manifest V3 cripples the extension quite a lot, the developer does not plan to implement an automatic upgrade in the Chrome Web Store. Therefore, users can either stick to it until the bitter end or look for Manifest V3-compliant alternatives, such as uBO Lite or others:

Manifest v2 uBO will not be automatically replaced by Manifest v3 uBOL. uBOL is too different from uBO for it to silently replace uBO -- you will have to explicitly make a choice as to which extension should replace uBO according to your own prerogatives.

Ultimately whether uBOL is an acceptable alternative to uBO is up to you, it's not a choice that will be made for you.

According to the most recent announcement, Google plans to finish the migration to Manifest V3 by the end of 2025. However, enterprise customers will have the ability to continue using Manifest V2 extensions for six more months. Interestingly, Mozilla, the only mainstream browser maker that does not use Chromium, does not plan to ditch Manifest V2 extensions. Therefore, uBlock Origin will continue working in Firefox and other browsers that do not intend to deprecate V2 extensions.

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RevertSV is a Windows mod that changes Windows 11 features like the Start menu, taskbar, and search into their Windows 10 counterparts. It also changes Notepad, Paint, and UWP apps. It’s worth noting that while the apps will be the Windows 10 versions, some will revert to the Windows 11 ones if they get updated.

The program doesn’t change everything, and some features, like the Cortana button, either don’t work or can’t be removed, but for the most part, it does a good job.

As with any modding programs that make fundamental changes to the operating system, like this one that turns Windows 10 into Windows 7, you probably shouldn’t use it on a system you use every day unless you’re happy to take the risk or have tried it out in a virtualized environment first.

You can download RevertSV from the Internet Archive here.

If you want to see how it works and behaves (along with any features that don’t function as intended), check out the video from Come On Windows below:

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The Secure Shell (SSH) isn’t just about allowing you to remote into servers to tackle admin tasks. Thanks to this secure networking protocol, you can also mount remote directories with the help of the SSH File System (SSHF).

SSHFS uses SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) to mount remote directories to a local machine using secure encryption, which means the connection is far more secure than your standard FTP. As well, once a remote directory is mounted, it can be used as if it was on the local machine.

Consider SSHFS to be a more secure way of creating network shares, the only difference is you have to have SSHFS installed on any machine that needs to connect to the share (whereas with Samba, you only have to have it installed on the machine hosting the share).

Let’s walk through the process of getting SSHFS up and running, so you can securely mount remote directories to your local machine.

What You’ll Need

To make this work, you’ll need at least two Linux machines. These machines can be Ubuntu or Fedora-based, because SSHFS is found in the standard repositories for most Linux distributions. You’ll also need a user with sudo privileges.

Installing SSHFS

Since SSHFS is found in the standard repositories, the installation is quite simple. Log into the server (which will house the directory to share) and install SSHFS with one of the following commands:

•     Ubuntu-based distributions – sudo apt-get install sshfs -y
•     Fedora-based distributions – sudo dnf install fuse-sshfs -y
•     Arch-based distributions – sudo pacman -S sshfs
•     openSUSE-based distributions – sudo zypper -n in sshfs

Next, log into your local machine and install the package as well.

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This week, Microsoft announced even more Copilot functions are being added to Forms. In a blog post, the company stated Copilot can be turned on in Forms to offer suggestions on how to make a form or survey more attractive.

Now, when a person uses Microsoft Forms to make a new form or quiz or opens up an existing form, there will be a banner that shows up on top on the form. The banner will have a message stating "Copilot has suggestions to improve your form." The user can click on "View" to see those suggestions.

The first thing Copilot will suggest is putting in an appropriate theme for your form or quiz to make it more attractive. It will show several of them based on the form's topic, and you can pick which one you think is the best.

Copilot could also give you some ideas about a form's settings. It states:

For example, it might remind you to allow responders to save and edit their responses for more accurate feedback or set a timer for improved time management.

Finally, when you are about ready to send a form or quiz out, Copilot could draft a message to help boost the responses to the form. It could also help set up who can respond to the form. For example, Copilot could let the form only be answered by people who work in your company.

Businesses must have a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license in place before they can access the AI assistant in Forms. Microsoft began rolling out Copilot support for Forms for its commercial users, including Enterprise and Education customers, in late July.

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As uBlock Origin lead developer and maintainer Raymond Hill explained on Friday, this is the result of Google deprecating support for the Manifest v2 (MV2) extensions platform in favor of Manifest v3 (MV3).

"uBO is a Manifest v2 extension, hence the warning in your Google Chrome browser. There is no Manifest v3 version of uBO, hence the browser will suggest alternative extensions as a replacement for uBO," Hill explained.

"uBO Lite (uBOL) is a pared-down version of uBO with a best effort at converting filter lists used by uBO into a Manifest v3-compliant approach, with a focus on reliability and efficiency as has been the case with uBO since first published in June 2014."

Google Chrome users are also warned to remove or replace the uBlock Origin ad blocker with similar extensions.

A "Find alternative" link also sends them to this Chrome Web Store page, which advises them to switch to uBO Lite, Adblock Plus, Stands AdBlocker, or Ghostery.

Warning showing up next to all MV3 extensions

However, uBlock Origin users aren't the only ones seeing this warning banner, as it's now displayed on the chrome://extensions page for all MV2 extensions after updating to Chrome version 127. Users in the Chrome Beta, Dev, and Canary channels have been seeing these warnings since June 3, 2024.

Over the coming months, Google will disable extensions that have remained on the MV2 platform and ask users to choose an MV3 alternative.

While users will still be able to re-enable their MV2 extensions temporarily, this option will eventually be removed.

"This will be followed gradually in the coming months by the disabling of those extensions. Users will be directed to the Chrome Web Store, where they will be recommended Manifest V3 alternatives for their disabled extension," Google explains in the MV2 deprecation timeline.

"For a short time after the extensions are disabled, users will still be able to turn their Manifest V2 extensions back on, but over time, this toggle will go away as well."

The company adds that these changes will be rolled out to all users in the Chrome Stable channel over the coming months, with the goal of completing the transition to the MV3 standard by the start of 2025.

Enterprise MV2 deprecation starting in June 2025

Enterprises using the ExtensionManifestV2Availability policy, which enables them to control Manifest v2 extension availability on Linux, Mac, Windows, and ChromeOS, will be exempt from any browser changes until June 2025, when the Chrome MV2 deprecation enterprise rollout begins.

Google announced the rollout of the Manifest V3 extensions platform with the release of Chrome 88 in December 2020.

This new framework also introduced major technical challenges for extension developers, especially for those requiring greater control over web browser functions such as ad blockers, forcing them to create new extensions with limited capabilities (like Hill's uBlock Origin Lite).

uBlock Origin's developer has also created a FAQ explaining the differences between the Manifest V2 extension and the new Lite Manifest V3 version.

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Today, Neowin noticed that Microsoft is also pushing another update to both Windows 10 and 11 systems under KB5001716. This update is different from the ones we mentioned above as it upgrades the Windows Update service components. It's meant to essentially trigger Windows to automatically download and install a newer Windows 11 or 10 feature update in case your current OS version is approaching the end of servicing status.

Summary

 

This update includes a new user interface (UI) functionality for Windows Update in Windows.

 

This article applies to the following:

 

• Windows 11, version 21H2

• Windows 10, version 22H2

• Windows 10, version 21H2

• Windows 10, version 21H1

• Windows 10, version 20H2

• Windows 10, version 2004

   

Notes about this update

 

• When this update is installed, Windows may attempt to download and install feature updates to your device if it is approaching or has reached the end of support for your currently installed Windows version. Feature updates offer new functionality and help keep your device secure.
• After this update is installed, Windows may periodically display a notification informing you of problems that may prevent Windows Update from keeping your device up-to-date and protected against current threats. For example, you may see a notification informing you that your device is currently running a version of Windows that has reached the end of its support lifecycle, or that your device does not meet the minimum hardware requirements for the currently installed version of Windows.

 

Known issues in this update

 

We are currently not aware of any issues that affect this update.

You can view the support page for KB5001716 here on Microsoft's official website.

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Here is the change log:

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta 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.

 

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

 

[General]

 

Fixed an issue which was causing sporadic explorer.exe for some Insiders while using your PC in the latest flights.

 

Known issues

 

[Taskbar]

 

[NEW] We’re working on the fix for an issue causing explorer.exe to crash for some Insiders when closing apps from the taskbar in the latest builds.

 

[File Explorer]

 

Insiders in the Beta Channel with the updated Recent, Favorites, and Shared sections on the File Explorer homepage may see the following known issues:

 

• Keyboard focus may be lost on selection of an unselected tab item.

 

[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.

This will be the only release for Windows Insider Program members this week. Microsoft's Brandon LeBlance has posted on his X account that there will not be any updates released to members of the Dev or Canary Insider channels this week.

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As of right now, Windows 11 holds roughly 45.81% of all Windows users on Steam. In July 2024, that value dropped by 0.82 points. Windows 10, on the other hand, gained 0.74 points, which put it at 50.16%.

Although Valve no longer supports Steam on Windows 7 and 8/8.1, the client apparently still works, which means the two operating systems still have some user base on Steam. Valve claims 0.41% of all Windows users are on 64-bit Windows 7 (+0.01 point) and 0.08% are on 64-bit Windows 8.1.

Overall, the overwhelming majority of Steam users prefer Windows to other operating systems. 96.55% of all participants reported using Windows (-0.06 points), 2.08% use Linux, and 1.37% play Steam games on Macs (+0.06 points). The most popular Linux distros on Steam are Arch Linux (0.17%), Linux Mint 21.3 (0.11%), and Ubuntu 22.04 (0.08%).

Here is what was happening on the hardware side in July 2024.

You can check out more information on the official Steam Hardware & Software Survey page. Keep in mind that participation in the survey is optional and aims to provide platform-average data.

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Most modern web browsers support Picture-in-Picture mode. It allows users to display video content in a separate window on the system. Ideal for keeping an eye on the video while switching to another tab to do something else.

Up until now, activation of Picture-in-Picture mode was a manual affair. You had to click on the icon while hovering over the video to launch it.

Firefox would then display the video in its own window, and you could move it around, resize it, and control playback.

Automatic Picture-in-Picture mode coming to Firefox

If you run the latest Firefox Nightly, currently at version 130, you may enable the newly added automatic Picture-in-Picture mode in the browser.

Once done, Firefox will launch a Picture-in-Picture window automatically when you play a video and switch away from its tab to another. Very handy to continue watching uninterrupted and without having to start the mode manually.

Here is how you enable it:

1. Load about:preferences#experimental in the browser's address bar. You may also select Menu > Settings > Firefox Labs if you prefer to go there manually.
2. Check the option Picture-in-Picture: auto-open on tab switch.

That is all to it. Firefox launches the mode automatically from that moment on whenever you switch to another tab.

Firefox setting to enable automatic Picture-in-Picture mode

Even better, when you go back to the tab of the video, Picture-in-Picture mode is ended automatically. Video playback resumes on the tab without any delays in that case.

The entire operation was fluent during tests.

Closing Words

Firefox users who play video content in the browser often may benefit from this. It does not really matter if you have used Picture-in-Picture mode before or not. It is an elegant solution that improves this special case for users of the browser.

It is too early to say whether this will be opt-in or opt-out. It is almost guaranteed however that Mozilla will implement a toggle to enable or disable the feature.

What about you? Do you use Picture-in-Picture mode? Would you use the automatic version if it would launch in your browser of choice?

Feel free to leave a comment down below. (via Sören Hentzschel)

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Mozilla is following in Google Chrome's footsteps in officially distrusting Entrust as a root certificate authority (CA) following what it says was a protracted period of compliance failures.

A little over a month ago, Google was the first to make the bold step of dropping Entrust as a CA, saying it noted a "pattern of concerning behaviors" from the company.

Entrust has apologized to Google, Mozilla, and the wider web community, outlining its plans to regain the trust of browsers, but these appear to be unsatisfactory to both Google and Firefox maker Mozilla.

In an email shared by Mozilla's Ben Wilson on Wednesday, the root store manager said the decision wasn't taken lightly, but equally Entrust's response to Mozilla's concerns didn't inspire confidence that the situation would materially change for the better.

"Mozilla previously requested that Entrust provide a detailed report on these recent incidents and their root causes, an evaluation of Entrust's recent actions in light of their previous commitments given in the aftermath of similarly serious incidents in 2020, and a proposal for how Entrust will re-establish Mozilla's and the community's trust," said Wilson.

"Although Entrust's updated report made an effort to engage with these issues, the commitments given in the report were not meaningfully different from the previous commitments which were given in 2020 and broken in the recent incidents.

"Ultimately, the proposed plan was not sufficient to restore trust in Entrust's operation. Re-establishing trust requires a candid and clear accounting of failures and their root causes, a detailed and credible plan for how they can be addressed, and concrete commitments based on objective and externally measurable criteria."

Wilson also cited a separate document that amalgamated the "substantial number of compliance incidents" at Entrust as cause for concern.

Between just March and May this year, Mozilla made note of 22 separate incidents, many of which related to various delays and missed deadlines.

However, Bruce Morton, director of certificate services and Entrust, responded to Wilson's post directly, echoing its previous commitment to regaining the trust of major browsers.

"Ben, we are disappointed by this decision but want to reaffirm Entrust's commitment to continued execution of our improvement plan and re-establishing confidence with Mozilla and the Web PKI community," he said.

"We also appreciate your support and endorsement of our plan to continue to operate as a delegated RA through our partnership with SSL.com. We'll continue to provide updates here on both fronts."

What Morton is referring to here is Entrust's solution to maintaining relevance in the CA space, which involves partnering with SSL.com, whose certs are still trusted by Chrome et al, and essentially becoming a reseller, allowing its customers to stay with the company should they wish to.

When we contacted Entrust for a response, a spokesperson reiterated Morton's response, saying it was disappointed by the decision, but "our plans have not changed. We remain committed to serving the digital certificate needs of our customers, and also to our role as a Certificate Authority."

It added: "We are pleased that Mozilla endorsed our plan to continue offering our customers digital certificates by acting as a Registration Authority for TLS certificates issued by our partners at SSL.com. At the same time, we are actively and vigorously implementing an improvement plan to return to full browser acceptance."

SSL.com certs bought through Entrust will still read "Entrust" in customers' browsers and customer support will be managed through the company too. SSL.com will just be the provider, making Entrust a registration authority (RA) rather than a CA.

However, customers have already pointed out in various online discussions that the premium Entrust is charging on these SSL.com certs is something to behold. For example, an Organization Validation Wildcard cert – a certificate that secures multiple sub domain names linked to the same base domain (by using a wildcard character * in the domain name field) – costs $299 bought directly from SSL.com if buying only for one year, whereas buying the same cert through Entrust costs $799.

Regarding this move, Wilson said: "We support this arrangement, recognizing that SSL.com, as the operator of the root CA within Mozilla's root CA program, will be responsible for domain validation, certificate issuance, and revocation, and ultimately, for any incidents that may occur."

Mozilla will officially stop trusting certificates issued by Entrust after November 30, 2024. Any issued before then will continue to be trusted, but anything after won't be, unless they're purchased from SSL.com via Entrust.

"We hope Entrust will work to address the root causes of these incidents and so eventually re-establish confidence in its internal policies and processes, its tooling and technology, and its commitment to the Web PKI community," Wilson added.

Google's cutoff is a month sooner than Mozilla's – any certificate issued after October 31 won't be trusted by Chrome 127.

"Certification authorities serve a privileged and trusted role on the internet that underpin encrypted connections between browsers and websites," Google said last month. "With this tremendous responsibility comes an expectation of adhering to reasonable and consensus-driven security and compliance expectations, including those defined by the CA/Browser TLS Baseline Requirements.

"Over the past six years, we have observed a pattern of compliance failures, unmet improvement commitments, and the absence of tangible, measurable progress in response to publicly disclosed incident reports. When these factors are considered in aggregate and considered against the inherent risk each publicly trusted CA poses to the internet ecosystem, it is our opinion that Chrome's continued trust in Entrust is no longer justified." ®

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How do third-party cookies facilitate online surveillance?

Cookies are small packets of information stored in your browser by websites you visit. They were built to enable useful functionality, like letting a website remember your language preferences or the contents of your shopping cart. But for years, companies have abused this functionality to track user behavior across the web, fueling a vast network of online surveillance.

While first-party cookies enable useful functionality, third-party cookies are primarily used for online tracking. Third-party cookies are set by websites other than the one you’re currently viewing. Websites often include code from third-party companies to load resources like ads, analytics, and social media buttons. When you visit a website, this third-party code can create a cookie with a unique identifier for you. When you visit another website that loads resources from the same third-party company, that company receives your unique identifier from the cookie they previously set. By recognizing your unique identifier across multiple sites, third-party companies build a detailed profile of your browsing habits.

For example, if you visit WebMD's “HIV & AIDS Resource Center,” you might expect WebMD to get information about your visit to their page. What you probably don't expect, and what third-party cookies enable, is that your visit to WebMD is tracked by dozens of companies you've never heard of. At the time of writing, visiting WebMD’s “HIV & AIDS Resource Center” sets 257 third-party cookies on your browser. The businesses that set those cookies include big tech companies (Google, Amazon, X, Microsoft) and data brokers (Lotame, LiveRamp, Experian). By setting a cookie on WebMD, these companies can link your visit to WebMD to your activity on other websites.

How does this online surveillance harm consumers?

Third-party cookies allow companies to build detailed profiles of your online activities, which can be used for targeted advertising or sold to the highest bidder. The consequences are far-reaching and deeply concerning. Your browsing history can reveal sensitive information, including your financial status, sexual orientation, and medical conditions. Data brokers collect and sell this information without your knowledge or consent. Once your data is for sale, anyone can buy it. Purchasers include insurance companies, hedge funds, scammers, anti-abortion groups, stalkers, and government agencies such as the military, FBI, and ICE.

Online surveillance tools built for advertisers are exploited by others. For example, the NSA used third-party cookies set by Google to identify targets for hacking and people attempting to remain anonymous online. Likewise, a conservative Catholic nonprofit paid data brokers millions to identify priests using gay dating apps, and the brokers obtained this information from online advertising systems.

Targeted ads also hurt us. They enable predatory advertisers to target vulnerable groups, like payday lenders targeting people in financial trouble. They also facilitate discriminatory advertising, like landlords targeting housing ads by race.

Yet again, Google puts profits over privacy

Google's decision to continue allowing third-party cookies, despite overwhelming evidence of their surveillance harms, is a direct consequence of their advertising-driven business model. Google makes most of its money from tracker-driven, behaviorally-targeted ads.

If Google wanted, Chrome could do much more to protect your privacy. Other major browsers, like Safari and Firefox, provide significantly more protection against online tracking by default. Notably, Google is the internet’s biggest tracker, and most of the websites you visit include Google trackers (including but not limited to third-party cookies). As Chrome leaves users vulnerable to tracking, Google continues to receive nearly 80% of their revenue from online advertising.

Google’s change in plans follows concerns from advertisers and regulators that the loss of third-party cookies in Chrome would harm competition in digital advertising. Google’s anti-competitive practices in the ad-tech industry must be addressed, but maintaining online surveillance systems is not the answer. Instead, we should focus on addressing the root of these competition concerns. The bipartisan AMERICA Act, which proposed breaking up vertically integrated ad-tech giants like Google, offers a more effective approach. We don’t need to sacrifice user privacy to foster a competitive digital marketplace.

What now?

First, we call on Google to reverse this harmful decision. Continuing to allow one of the most pervasive forms of online tracking, especially when other major browsers have blocked it for years, is a clear betrayal of user trust. Google must prioritize people’s privacy over their advertising revenue and find real solutions to competition concerns.

In the meantime, users can take steps to protect themselves from online tracking. Installing Privacy Badger can help block third-party cookies and other forms of online tracking.

We also need robust privacy legislation to ensure that privacy standards aren’t set by advertising companies. Companies use various tracking methods, like fingerprinting and link redirection, to monitor users across the web without third-party cookies. As long as it remains legal and profitable, companies will continue building and selling profiles of your online activities. Already, Google has developed alternative tracking tools that may be less invasive than third-party cookies but still enable harmful surveillance. Blocking third-party cookies is important but insufficient to address pervasive online tracking. Strong privacy legislation in the United States is possible, necessary, and long overdue. A comprehensive data privacy law should protect our browsing history by default and ban behavioral ads, which drive excessive data collection.

Google's decision to continue allowing third-party cookies in Chrome is a major disappointment. Browsing the internet shouldn't require submitting to extensive surveillance. As Google prioritizes profits over privacy, we need legislation that gives you control over your data.

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But in 2024, we live in a world where an upstart Linux OS called Bazzite supported the Asus ROG Ally X before it was officially released, and a brand new Asus laptop powered by the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 is performing equally well on Ubuntu and Windows. In fact, Linux is scoring some huge wins in cross-platform gaming benchmarks.

Phoronix recently wrapped up a battery of benchmarks on the newly launched Asus Zenbook S 16. Pitting Windows 11 against Ubuntu 24.04 in more than 100 tests, Canonical’s latest distro walked away with just shy of a 3% performance advantage when analyzing the geometric mean of all test results.

Linux Takes The Gaming Crown

The true highlight emerges when looking at the graphics testing. AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series is an SoC (system on a chip) that bundles in Radeon 880M graphics. Phoronix put the Radeon 880M through the paces using cross-platform synthetic benchmarks like Unigine Superposition, Unvanquished, and Furmark to test OpenGL and Vulkan performance. Crucially, the open-source Mesa driver stack was used alongside the Linux 6.10 kernel.

Ubuntu 24.04 won 15 of the 21 tests. And it frequently won by a large margin.

Windows scored a minor victory with Unigine Superposition’s OpenGL benchmark, with a 5% performance advantage (in practice, that’s a difference of less than 2 frames per second). But Ubuntu 24.04 started running away with the crown in Vulkan testing.

In the popular Furmark Vulkan demo, Ubuntu absolutely trounced Windows 11 by 59% . Yes, five-nine.

< View the image at the source page. >

In the cross-platform FPS Unvanquished, Ubuntu 24.04 maintains a noticeable advantage, outperforming Windows 11 between by between 8% and 36% using multiple quality presets. It’s a similar story with Yamagi Quake II (an enhanced open source client for Quake II), as Ubuntu pulls ahead by a ridiculous 44% in the best case scenario, and barely squeaks ahead by a rounding error in the “worst” result.

< Watch the video at the source page. >

This is important, because all of these benchmarks run natively on both operating systems, as opposed to using a compatibility layer such as Valve’s Proton on Linux. It’s Windows vs Linux on fair and equal footing.

The Rule, Not The Exception?

It would seem this performance advantage is quickly becoming the norm, and not an outlier. Back in April, Phoronix carried out another battery of 100+ tests using the Framework 16 laptop. Ubuntu took the crown there as well, outperforming Windows across the board by 20%.

Wallpaper for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS "Noble Numbat"Canonical

Unexpectedly appropriate, then, that Ubuntu 24.04’s default wallpaper boasts a crown, with a decidedly royal color gradient? That being said, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Linux distributions with more finely-tuned kernels executing an even more commanding lead than seen in these Phoronix tests.

I’m looking forward to seeing some real-world gaming performance comparisons on the Ryzen 9 AI 365 with Radeon 880M. Is Linux reaching a point where it can compete despite the overhead of Proton?

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Now, one of the previously delisted virtual machines is back—Microsoft re-released Windows Development Environment version 2407 for VMware, letting users of VMware Workstation Player or Workstation Pro download the latest Windows 11 VM from Microsoft.

In addition to publishing WDE 2407 for VMware, Microsoft updated the expiry date, giving the latest update a few more weeks of work. Now, version 2407 is set to expire on October 29 instead of October 9. Microsoft's official virtual machines are available for free for 90 days, and they do not support activating with genuine license keys. Once they expire, they start nagging users with typical messages of a non-activated Windows installation, such as a black desktop background, regular shutdowns, and notifications.

It is worth noting that the Windows Development Environment version 2407 for Parallels is still missing. The official WDE web page says that the virtual machine is not available "due to ongoing technical issues." We will update this post once the Parallels variant is back.

For those unfamiliar, Windows Development Environment is a Windows 11 Enterprise-based virtual machine with a bunch of developer tools that allow everyone to start making Windows apps. Those tools include Visual Studio 2022, WSL 2 with Ubuntu, Windows Terminal, and Developer Mode. Microsoft updates its VMs every month with the latest Patch Tuesday updates and new features (if available).

You can download Microsoft's official Windows 11 virtual machines here.

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The changes have been classified under two heads, gradual rollout and normal rollout, effectively indicating how users will be receiving the features once they update:

The full changelog for Windows 11 24H2 update KB5040529 is given below:

Gradual rollout

 

• [Emoji] New! This update adds support for Emoji 15.1. Windows supports Unicode symbol-like shapes for family groupings. But Windows will keep using people for them. Also, you can choose the right or left facing direction for some people emoji. The new emoji are:
  • Horizontal and vertical head shake
  • Phoenix
  • Lime
  • Brown mushroom
  • Broken chain
• [Start menu]
  • New! The new account manager is on the Start menu. When you use a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows, you will get a glance at your account benefits. This feature also makes it easy to manage your account settings.
  • New! You can drag apps from the pinned section of the menu and pin them to the taskbar.
• [Windows Backup] New! Windows will now back up many of your sound settings (this includes your sound scheme). This only occurs if you turn on Remember my preferences and select the checkboxes for Personalization and Other Windows settings. To find these, go to Settings > Accounts > Windows backup. Then, you can use the Windows Backup app to restore those settings on a new device.
• [Lock screen] New! Sports, traffic, and finance content will appear along with weather. To turn on this feature, go to Settings > Personalization > Lockscreen.
• [File Explorer] New! You can now use your mouse to drag files between breadcrumbs in the File Explorer address bar. A breadcrumb shows the path to your current file location in the address bar. For example, there are three breadcrumbs in the path This PC > Windows (C:) > Program Files.
• [Settings]
  • New! This update adds a page to Settings > Accounts called Linked devices. On it, you can manage your PCs and Xbox consoles. This page only shows on Home and Pro editions when you sign in to Windows using your Microsoft account (MSA).
  • New! This update puts the “Add now” button in Settings > Accounts. When you select it, you can add a recovery email address if you have not added one for your Microsoft account yet. The button only shows if you sign in to your Microsoft account.
  • New! This update adds a new Game Pass recommendation card on the Settings home page. This home page shows on Home and Pro editions when you sign in to Windows using your Microsoft account. The card appears if you actively play games on your PC.
  • New! This update includes updated visuals for the “Rename your PC” and “Change date and time” dialogs to match the Windows 11 visuals.
• [Windows share]
  • New! This update adds a feature that stops you from accidentally closing the Windows share window. Clicking outside of the window will no longer close it. To close it, select the close button at the upper-right corner.
  • New! You can now create quick response (QR) codes for webpage URLs and cloud files from the Windows share window. Select the share button in the Microsoft Edge toolbar and choose “Windows share options.” Then, you can share the URLs and files across your devices.
  • New! You can now send email to yourself from the Windows share window. You will receive the email at the email address that is in your Microsoft account.
  • New! You can directly share to specific Microsoft Teams channels and group chats in the Windows share window. To do so, you must sign in using a Microsoft Entra ID.
  • New! You can now copy files from the Windows Share window. Just click the new Copy button.
• [Task Manager]
  • This update changes the units for DDR speed from MHz to MT/s.
  • Task Manager releases process handles more quickly when it stops a process.
  • This update makes Task Manager more reliable.
  • This update affects the sort order of processes in Task Manager. Performance is better when you change the order.
  • This update makes Task Manager more accessible by improving:
    • Keyboard focus
    • Tab key navigation
    • Text scaling
    • The readout of item names by screen readers
    • High contrast heatmaps and more.
    • This update makes resizing the Task Manager window easier when you grab the top of its window.
    • Ejecting USB devices using the Safely Remove Hardware option fails. This occurs when Task Manager is open.

Normal rollout

 

• [Widgets] New! The Widgets icons on the taskbar are no longer pixelated or fuzzy. This update also gives you a larger set of animated icons.

 

Improvements

 

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.

 

• [PC Manager]New! This update adds PC Manager to devices in China.
• [Share button] On USB controllers, the button might not work with Game Bar.
• [Azure Virtual Desktop] New! You can now use OneDrive as a RemoteApp in Azure Virtual Desktop.
• [Virtual Filtering Platform (VFP)] New! In Windows nodes, VFP has more support for packet drop collection. This will make it easier to troubleshoot issues.
• [Windows Server vNext] In the latest build, the cache size display behavior is not what you expect.
• [Group Policy Preferences Item Level Targeting (ILT) and Local Users and Groups] You cannot choose a group from the target domain for ILT. Also, you cannot choose an account from Local Users and Groups. The forest does not appear. This issue occurs when you deploy multiple forests, and the target domain has a one-way trust with the domain of the admin. This issue affects Enhanced Security Admin Environment (ESAE), Hardened Forests (HF), or Privileged Access Management (PAM) deployments.
• [Windows Kernel Vulnerable Driver Blocklist file (DriverSiPolicy.p7b)] This update adds to the list of drivers that are at risk for Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) attacks.
• [Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS)] It fails at times when you set Field Engineering logging to 5.
• [NetAdapterCx module] Devices that use certain WLAN cards stop responding.

You can manually download the update from the Microsoft Update Catalog website at this link and can find the official support article here.

The KB5040529 update is compatible with both AMD64 (Intel and AMD PCs) as well as Arm64 systems.

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Microsoft Edge 128 is an important update for the browser. For starters, it ditches old computers without the SSE3 instruction set. That means that your prehistoric 20-year-old PC can no longer run Microsoft Edge. In addition, Edge 128 implements a new update method that lets it get to the latest version when you step away from your computer. The instant update feature is gradually rolling out to all users.

In addition, Edge 128 implements new policies and deprecates the followable web feature and its related policies. Here is the official changelog for Microsoft Edge 128 Beta:

• SSE3 Requirement. Microsoft Edge stopped supporting CPUs that lack SSE3. Devices with such CPUs won't receive any more updates. For more information, see Microsoft Edge Supported Operating Systems.
• Copilot browser Context Policies. The DiscoverPageContextEnabled policy is obsoleted in Edge version 128 and doesn't work after Microsoft Edge 127.
  
  To summarize and answer questions based on browser context in Microsoft Edge, Copilot needs to be able to access the browser context. We're providing two new policies to offer more flexibility for admins to customize Edge browser context access across Copilot chats in Edge sidebar.
  • CopilotPageContext - Control Copilot access to browser context for Microsoft Entra ID profiles.
  • CopilotCDPPageContext - Control Copilot with Commercial Data Protection access to browser context for Microsoft Entra ID profiles.
• Deprecation of the followable web feature. To improve end user experience, the followable web feature is deprecated. The EdgeFollowEnabled policy is also obsolete.
• EnforceLocalAnchorConstraintsEnabled policy obsoletion. The EnforceLocalAnchorConstraintsEnabled policy was previously deprecated and is now obsolete in Edge version 128. Since Microsoft Edge 112, constraints in certificates loaded from the platform certificate store are enforced. The EnforceLocalAnchorConstraintsEnabled policy existed as a temporary opt-out in case an enterprise encountered issues with the constraints encoded in their private roots.
• New Policy for Insecure Downloads over HTTP. Users that download potentially dangerous content on HTTP sites will receive a UI warning in a future Microsoft Edge version. To prepare for this change, the ShowDownloadsInsecureWarningsEnabled policy is now available for admins to enable or disable the warnings related to insecure downloads.
• Get the latest updates effortlessly with instant update. Instant update in Microsoft Edge ensures you get the latest browser updates automatically, when you step away from your computer. So you can just keep browsing, knowing you already have the latest updates to keep you safe online. For more information, see Get instant updates in Microsoft Edge - Microsoft Support. Note: This feature is a controlled feature rollout to consumer customers. A release to enterprise users is TBD. If you don't see this feature, check back as we continue our rollout.

If you want to learn more about what is included in Edge 128, check out the following changelogs from the Dev Channel:

• Dev Channel update to 128.0.2661.0

• Dev Channel update to 128.0.2677.1

• Dev Channel update to 128.0.2690.1

• Dev Channel update to 128.0.2708.0

• Dev Channel update to 128.0.2730.0

• Dev Channel update to 128.0.2739.1

   

You can download Microsoft Edge Beta from the official Edge Insider website. If you prefer stable releases only, check out the latest improvements for Edge 127 here.

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2023: Over 5,800 news posts | 2024 (till end of July): 3,313 news posts