Over the past few years, we have heard a lot of stories about Windows' history, such as the reasons behind its fragmented GUI strategy, how the Windows 95 CD packed a lot of fun stuff, details about a cool trick that helped PCs restart faster, and a lot more. Now, a Microsoft veteran has shared some interesting details about Windows 95.

According to Windows engineer Raymond Chen, installers would include copies of redistributable components of Windows 95 that were required to make the software work. Microsoft's guidance regarding this process was that an installer should check if a system component exists in Windows 95 and only introduce it if the OS does not contain it or has an older version.

However, naturally, some developers didn't follow these mandates, and ended up replacing existing system components regardless of their version number. This resulted in older system components being present on Windows 95, which caused chaos for other software that relied on those components.

Microsoft eventually worked around this by maintaining a C:\Windows\SYSBCKUP directory. This contained copies of components that were commonly overwritten by installers. The way this worked was that after an installer completed its process, Windows 95 would effectively check the system's "new" component versions against those present in SYSBCKUP. If the installer had added an old version, it would get quietly replaced by the one present in SYSBCKUP, but if it was indeed a newer version, the replacement copy in SYSBCKUP would get updated.

Chen explains that while this was a fairly primitive approach, it was better than the initial rudimentary attempt which simply blocked installers from overwriting system component files. In that case, installers would simply fail and even begin showing error messages to users, which usually couldn't be handled by regular consumers. Similarly, an implementation that wrote to a dummy file didn't work in practice either because installers would often perform a checksum to ensure that the system component in Windows was the correct one, and threw an error when it wasn't. As such, the SYSBCKUP approach was ideal in reaching a balance between reliability and flexibility.

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Posted Wednesday 25 March 2026 at 5:21 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of February) 854

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Apple has released the 26.4 updates to all of its major software platforms today, including iOS, iPadOS, macOS Tahoe, watchOS, tvOS, visionOS, and the HomePod. The most important reason to install each update is the big pile of included security fixes—you can see the ones Apple is disclosing for iOS/iPadOS and macOS on its security website—but the updates also include a few significant new features, a change from the mostly quiet 26.3 release last month.

We covered many of the most notable features when the first versions of these updates were released through Apple’s beta testing channels. Those include charging limits for MacBooks, for those who don’t want to allow their batteries to charge to their full capacities; the return of the “compact” tab view for Safari running on macOS Tahoe and iPadOS 26; and enabled-by-default Stolen Device Protection.

Other features include the handful of new emoji from the Unicode 17.0 release (see Emojipedia for more); AI-generated Apple Music playlists; new Creator Studio features for the built-in Freeform app; and the ability for adults in a Family Sharing group to use different payment methods from one another when making purchases.

One feature that Apple is publicly testing but which isn’t in the final version of the 26.4 release is end-to-end encryption for RCS messaging. For now, texting with Android users will continue to use the unencrypted version of RCS that Apple began rolling out in 2024 (or, in some cases depending on carrier compatibility, SMS). The version of the RCS standard that supports end-to-end encryption (version 3.0, for the record) also supports things like inline replies and editing or unsending texts—Apple supports these features in iMessage, but it’s unclear whether the RCS update will add them for green-bubble text threads.

The “more intelligent Siri” backed by Google’s Gemini language models also isn’t launching in this release. Apple committed to releasing the update in 2026, but that means it could drop in an update for iOS 26 or in the iOS 27 update that Apple will likely announce at its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 8.

Apple also released a few other security-focused updates for older operating systems. The iOS and iPadOS 18.7.7 updates are available for the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, as well as the 7th-gen iPad, all devices that don’t support iOS or iPadOS 26. At this point, if you’re using a device that can be upgraded to version 26, Apple is no longer releasing iOS 18 updates for your phone or tablet.

The macOS Sequoia 15.7.5 and macOS Sonoma 14.8.5 updates are also available to Macs that can’t be (or haven’t been) upgraded to macOS Tahoe. Those older macOS versions should also get a separate Safari 26.4 update, though it’s not listed on Apple’s security page yet.

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Posted Wednesday 25 March 2026 at 1:02 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of February) 854

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Microsoft is preparing a new wave of changes for Windows 11, and this time, the focus is finally shifting to what users have been asking for all along.

While the company shared its long list of upcoming improvements, a few stand out because they fix some of the most common frustrations with the operating system.

Taskbar repositioning

On Windows 11, one of the most controversial decisions was rebuilding the Taskbar from the ground up while removing key customization options, such as the ability to resize it or move it to different edges of the screen.

Last week, Microsoft unveiled a major set of sweeping changes that it's planning to make to Windows 11 this year that are designed to address top feedback from users who have become frustrated with the platform over the last two years. Most of the changes are very good, with a big focus on fixing fundamental problems and ensuring the OS is fast, fluid, and stable for power users and professionals.

However, Microsoft didn't address all of Windows 11's top issues. While it's certainly tackling a large majority of them, there are a few big outliers from the announcement that appear to not be getting addressed as part of Microsoft's big plan. Here's a rundown of those issues:

• Forced internet and Microsoft accounts during setup
• Unable to disable telemetry data collection
• Confusing feature rollouts
• Unable to uninstall Edge
• Low quality in-box WebView apps

The first big issue that isn't being addressed is telemetry on Windows 11, specifically how much telemetry data the OS collects. It wouldn't be that big of a deal if Microsoft let you turn it all off, but they don't, and there's seemingly no plan to change this. Windows 11's telemetry collection will continue to operate as it always has.

For those who may not know, you can reduce the amount of telemetry that Windows collects and sends, but you can't outright disable it, not easily at least. It would be awesome to see Microsoft give users the choice of turning off telemetry where reasonable to do so.

The next big issue that isn't being addressed, at least not yet, is Windows 11's forced internet and Microsoft Account requirements. Windows 11 won't let you set up a device without first connecting to the internet, and on Windows 11 Home, signing into a Microsoft Account. This is an issue that has bugged power users for years, but Microsoft isn't addressing it.

The good news is there appears to be an effort internally to change this, but nothing has come of it as of yet. If Microsoft is able to push this change forward, I think this change alone would go a long way toward convincing some Linux users to switch back to Windows.

In the past, we have talked about how the Windows 11 GUI is inconsistent because some outdated interfaces still use legacy elements. However, there is a bigger problem as well, and that relates to Microsoft's confusing GUI strategy for developers, which has led to a very fragmented tech stack.

Through a recent blog post by ex-Microsoft CTO Jeffrey Snover, we have some more insights into how Microsoft's GUI strategy has gone wayward over the past couple of decades. Snover goes back to the 1980s, to the days of Win16 and Win32 APIs written in C, which could be used by all Windows developers in a consistent way. He also references the 852-page-long Programming Windows book by technical author Charles Petzold, which could be leveraged by people as the holy grail for desktop application development.

Then, in the 1990s, Microsoft tried to work around the limitations of Win32 with MFC, COM, OLE, ActiveX, and while these aren't GUI frameworks, they are component architectures that "infected every corner of Windows development and introduced a level of cognitive complexity", according to Snover. The executive claims that this caused massive confusion in developer keynotes as well, as Microsoft wasn't telling a coherent story about technologies, just trying to impress executives through an event Snover describes as a "keynote clusterf*ck".

In 2003, Microsoft showed off Windows Longhorn with an impressive technical vision and Avalon (later known as WPF), which is powered by a GPU-accelerated, vector-based UI subsystem called XAML. In August 2004, Microsoft pivoted from this too and the latest directive was to use C++ for all new development. WPF would ship with Windows Vista, but the shell itself would not use it. This led to bitterness in the Windows engineering team against the .NET team, which caused internal conflicts that eventually led to WPF being orphaned, Silverlight dying, and Universal Windows Platform (UWP) being dead on arrival.

By 2006, it was clear that WPF was an extremely powerful technology, but rather than making it the definitive answer for those asking about Windows development, Microsoft pivoted yet again and announced Silverlight in 2007. Then, in 2010, the company blindsided Sliverlight developers by suddenly announcing that the technology isn't meant for cross-platform initiatives and that HTML5 was the way forward in that area. Silverlight was meant only for Windows phone development.

Fast-forward to 2012 to the announcement of Windows 8, which had a native C++ runtime in WinRT. The Windows team's bitterness towards .NET had resulted in a decade worth of investment in the technology to be suddenly dropped too. Snover eloquently describes the situation in the following words:

There were actually two stories being told simultaneously inside Microsoft. The Windows team was building WinRT. The .NET team was still evangelizing WPF. Different buildings, different VPs, different road maps.

 

What developers heard at //Build 2012: the future is WinRT, and also HTML+JS is first-class, and also .NET still works, and also C++ is back, and also you should write Metro apps, and also your WPF code still runs fine. That is not a strategy. That is a Hunger Games stage where six teams are fighting for your attention.

 

Enterprise developers took one look at UWP’s sandboxing, its Store deployment requirement, and its missing Win32 APIs, and walked away. The framework designed to win them into the modern era had been optimized for a tablet app store that never materialized.

Now, we arrive in the current era, which began in 2015 according to Snover's timeline. UWP had a compelling vision but Microsoft's own products weren't leveraging it. Redmond's messaging remained confusing, hopping across WPF, UWP, Project Reunion, WinUI 2, WinUI 3, and more. In the past 14 years, Microsoft has pivoted 14 times in terms of recommending GUI frameworks and technologies to use for Windows development.

As a result, Windows now ships with 17 GUI technologies powered by five different programming languages:

• Microsoft native frameworks:
  • Win32 (1985) – Still here. Still used. Petzold’s book still applies.
  • MFC (1992) – C++ wrapper on Win32. Maintenance mode. Lives in enterprise and CAD.
  • WinForms (2002) – .NET wrapper on Win32. “Available but discouraged.” Still fastest for data-entry forms.
  • WPF (2006) – XAML, DirectX-rendered, open source. No new Microsoft investment.
  • WinUI 3 / Windows App SDK (2021) – The “modern” answer. Uncertain roadmap.
  • MAUI (2022) – Cross-platform successor to Xamarin.Forms. The .NET team’s current bet.
• Microsoft web-hybrid:
  • Blazor Hybrid – .NET Razor components in a native WebView.
  • WebView2 – Embed Chromium in a Win32/WinForms/WPF app.
• Third-party:
  • Electron – Chromium + Node.js. VS Code, Slack, Discord. The most widely deployed desktop GUI technology on Windows right now – and Microsoft had nothing to do with it.
  • Flutter (Google) – Dart, custom renderer, cross-platform.
  • Tauri – Rust backend, lightweight Electron alternative.
  • Qt – C++/Python/JavaScript. The serious cross-platform option.
  • React Native for Windows – Microsoft-backed port of Facebook’s mobile framework.
  • Avalonia – Open source WPF spiritual successor. Used by JetBrains, GitHub, Unity – developers who stopped waiting for Microsoft.
  • Uno Platform – WinUI APIs on every platform. More committed to WinUI than Microsoft is.
  • Delphi / RAD Studio – Still alive. Still fast. Still in vertical market software.
  • Java Swing / JavaFX – Yes, still in production. The enterprise never forgets.

Jeffrey Snover has described the current situation as a "boof-a-rama", a term coined by himself where "brilliant people are doing stupid things". The former executive has emphasized that the technology being touted by Microsoft was rarely bad. It was often killed off either because of internal politics, a developer conference prematurely announcing a pivot, or a confusing business strategy that orphaned developers. This unpredictable fragmentation is probably the reason why Petzold stopped writing Programming Windows after its sixth edition covered Windows 8/WinRT in 2012.

It is worth noting that while some incidents described in his lengthy blog post are anecdotal, Snover is probably accurate in his descriptions considering his deep knowledge of Microsoft's internal working patterns. He was at the company for 23 years, climbing from Partner Architect to Distinguished Engineer in 2009, Technical Fellow and Chief Architect in 2015, and CTO in 2019. The former Microsoft executive resigned from Redmond in 2022 and joined Google. This continued until 2025, with Snover now officially retired.

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Posted Wednesday 25 March 2026 at 5:31 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of February) 854

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Mozilla Firefox just received an update that has me looking across my Start menu with wandering eyes. Firefox version 149 includes Split View, a free VPN when using public Wi-Fi, and improved PDF performance.

The update also adds security and privacy features, such as automatically blocking notifications and revoking permissions when viewing websites flagged as malicious.

It's also possible to add a Share button to the toolbar in the latest version of Firefox.

If you use Microsoft Edge, you may ask yourself why those features stand out. For example, Edge has had Split View for years.

You'd be right, of course. The reason I'm looking at Firefox isn't because the browser has added a bunch of exclusive features I can't get elsewhere, it's because Firefox has finally caught up to include almost all of my required features while also providing other benefits.

If you'd also like to try Firefox, you can grab it through the Firefox website or through the Microsoft Store.

NVIDIA has released a new graphics driver under version 595.97 WHQL. Today's release does not contain support for new games or specific optimizations. Instead, NVIDIA brought fixes for Halo Infinite and Hitman: World of Assassination, plus addressed stability issues when DLSS and Instant Replay are enabled.

Our new GeForce Game Ready Driver optimizes your experience in the latest titles
featuring DLSS, ray tracing, path tracing, and NVIDIA Reflex, and ensures the best possible
experience in your wider library of games and apps.

Here is the changelog:

• Halo Infinite: Texture corruption may occur on R595 drivers
• Hitman: World of Assassination: Game stability issues when NVIDIA Smooth Motion is enabled
• Game stability issues after enabling DLSS FG when Instant Replay is enabled

Known bugs include the following:

• Enshrouded: Missing terrain in some areas
• Arknights: Endfield: stutter may be observed in some gameplay

The NVIDIA 595.97 WHQL driver is available on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 systems with the following graphics cards. Note that GTX 10 Series and 900 series are no longer supported, so if you want to get NVIDIA's latest fixes and improvements, you have to update to a newer graphics card (GTX 16 Series or newer).

You can download driver 595.97 WHQL from the official NVIDIA website or the NVIDIA app. Release notes are available here (PDF).

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Posted Wednesday 25 March 2026 at 5:28 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of February) 854

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As the company explained earlier this month, the bug triggers 0x800CCC0F and 0x80070057 error codes when synchronizing Gmail and Yahoo accounts.

Microsoft said that this type of email account stopped syncing as of February 26, 2026, and that, in both cases, users were no longer prompted to sign in to their accounts when Outlook syncing stopped working.

In an update to the original support document, Microsoft says that although the issue was fixed in the Microsoft 365 service on Friday, some customers may still experience sync issues until their OAuth token expires.

"After you change your password, it usually takes one hour for the OAuth token to expire," the company explained on Monday. "After the token expires you will get a sign in prompt from Outlook. If you do not want to wait on the hour you can do the workarounds below to force the sign in prompt."

Customers who can't get their Outlook to sync can also use a temporary workaround shared by Microsoft before the fix rolled out, which requires them to delete the registry entries for the affected email address under the Identities key at Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\Identity\Identities in the Windows Registry Editor.

Microsoft is also investigating a bug that triggers "Can't connect to the server" errors when creating groups in classic Outlook when Exchange Web Services (EWS) is enabled for the tenant.

Another issue, acknowledged almost two months after the first user reports surfaced online, causes the mouse pointer to disappear for some users in classic Outlook, OneNote, and other Microsoft 365 apps.

Microsoft asked affected customers to submit diagnostic log files to assist the Outlook Support Team with analysis by opening a support case through their Microsoft 365 admin.

In January, it addressed another classic Outlook issue caused by the December 2025 updates that prevented Microsoft 365 customers from opening encrypted emails.

Microsoft is also working to address a known issue that will render the classic Outlook email client unusable for users who enable the Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in.

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Posted Wednesday 25 March 2026 at 5:28 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of February) 854

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This month has been relatively quiet for Microsoft Windows updates.

Sure, there are the occasional “won’t install the update” situations that are usually fixed with a repair install over the top. I’ve become tired of seeing them.

And there were two out-of-band updates for Windows 11 Enterprise 25H2, but they impacted only those who had opted into hotpatching. Hotpatch KB5084597, released on March 13, fixed a problem where the prior patch had introduced a security issue into the Windows Routing and Remote Access Service management tool. Hotpatch KB5084897 on March 16 fixed an issue where Bluetooth devices might not appear on the Bluetooth and devices page in Windows Settings or in Quick Settings, even if the devices are connected and functioning as expected. This could also prevent users from adding new devices, because some available devices did not appear on the list for connection.

However problematic these issues were, Win11 25H2 Enterprise represents a minority of Windows 11 PCs. They are not material in the grand scheme of Windows updates. So all in all, this was a quiet, good month for releases and justifies lowering the MS-DEFCON level to 4.

There was a problem that prevented access to Microsoft online services. It has already been fixed in the out-of-band update KB5085516:

[Microsoft account sign in] Fixed: After you install the Windows update released on or after March 10, 2026, some users might experience an issue signing in to apps with a Microsoft account. Even when the device has a working Internet connection, a “no Internet” error appears during sign in and prevents access to Microsoft services and apps such as Microsoft Teams Free and OneDrive.

This impacts only Microsoft accounts, not business Entra accounts. If you do not log in with a Microsoft account and do not use Teams or OneDrive, you can skip the update.

The bug that triggered headlines and loss of access to the C drive turned out to be a result of a problem with the Samsung Galaxy Connect app. The fix was to the app, not to Windows.

The same can’t be said about the impact of Outlook bugs introduced during the month, some directly impacting consumers the hardest.

Consumers

I’m still a fan of the classic Outlook app, especially in business. I still use some third-party COM-based add-ins that allow me to tweak how I use Outlook and how I save emails. It’s thus great news to see that Microsoft is postponing the forced phase-out of classic Outlook. I take it as a sign that Redmond realizes work needs to be done. But this doesn’t mean that the issues introduced in this month’s classic Outlook releases should be ignored.

Starting off, we have Classic Outlook replaces accented and extended characters with question marks. Good grief. This was fixed in the updates released after March 10, 2026.

Then there is the more impactful Users get errors 0x800CCC0E & 0x800CCC0F synchronizing Gmail and Yahoo accounts in classic Outlook. Whenever Outlook tries to sync but the user is not logged in, it is supposed to prompt for credentials. This is not happening, so these errors appear in the Send/Receive Progress dialog. In an update to the above post made just yesterday, Microsoft reported that the problem had been fixed:

This issue was fixed by a change in the Microsoft 365 service on 3/20/23. It is possible that after the fix and you change your password, you may still see the same symptoms. After you change your password, it usually takes one hour for the OAuth token to expire. After the token expires you will get a sign in prompt from Outlook. If you do not want to wait on the hour you can do the workarounds below to force the sign in prompt.

The post goes on to provide some workarounds. My recommendation: If you’re having the problem, log in to the Web version, don’t try to redo anything, and wait until the fix kicks in for you.

One workaround is described in Microsoft’s support post How to revert to an earlier version of Office. I hesitate to recommend it because — and trust me on this — it is not a trivial procedure.

Businesses

An Outlook issue impacting businesses more than consumers is explained in the Microsoft support post Classic Outlook crashes and opens in Safe Mode starting March 12 2026:

Starting around March 12, 2026, classic Outlook might crash and then prompt to start in Safe Mode. This issue is happening when older builds of classic Outlook are using the newest version of the Teams Meeting Add-In build 1.26.02603. For example, this issue happens on Current Channel if the classic Outlook build is equal or lower than Version 2402 (Build 17328.20142).

The matter is currently under investigation, but the support post says:

Current Status: We’re continuing to work on deploying a fix to resolve the compatibility issue and anticipate that this should be complete by our next scheduled update.

Next update by: Monday, March 23, 2026, at 5:30 AM CDT.

That means the problem should have been fixed yesterday.

The Microsoft support post How to manage Kerberos KDC usage of RC4 for service account ticket issuance changes related to CVE-2026-20833, originally published in January, contains guidance on the procedures and timeline of updates related to Kerberos KDC. April begins the enforcement phase:

This update changes the default DefaultDomainSupportedEncTypes value for KDC operations to leverage AES-SHA1 for accounts that do not have an explicit msds-SupportedEncryptionTypes active directory attribute defined.

This phase changes the default value for DefaultDomainSupportedEncTypes to AES-SHA1 only: 0x18.

This phase also enables the manual configuration of the RC4DefaultDisablementPhase rollback value until programmatic enforcement in July 2026.

You can do a manual rollback, but only until July 2026. Test carefully after the April updates so that you’re prepared for July, when full enforcement goes into effect and rollback will no longer be available.

Also make sure you are in the thick of your Secure Boot updating plans, ensuring that workstations are on the latest firmware or you are planning to redeploy workstations accordingly.

If you use Intune in your business environment, make sure you are aware — and understand — that attackers came in through the Microsoft cloud management tool to gain access to a firm and then proceeded to remotely wipe devices, including personal Android and iPhones that were part of the managed Intune environment. Do what you can to beef up your admin accounts if you are an Intune administrator.

Microsoft’s cloud services are taking a bit of a beating lately — first with this attack method that many of us are exposed to, and then with a ProPublica article detailing how many government procureers did not recommend Microsoft’s cloud services but approved the contract anyway. The cloud is now, and has always been, simply servers in a different geographic location — one that you may not have control over unless you take the time to understand it.

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Posted Tuesday 24 March 2026 at 5:51 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of February) 854

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Outlook, and email infrastructure in general, is a core component of an organization, which is also why things can go awry if it breaks. Microsoft regularly brings new features to Outlook to make sure that it meets the growing demands of its existing customers while also attracting new ones. Now, it has announced an Outlook upgrade that may be one of its best ones yet.

Microsoft has unveiled a brand new People experience for Outlook that "reimagines" how to manage and search for contacts across your directory. The company understands that navigating complex directory structures and nested organizational hierarchies can be tedious, which is why it has introduced an intelligent search experience.

This interface starts surfacing results as soon as you start typing, and you don't need to navigate org charts to find the right person. Microsoft has described the keyword search experience as lightning fast across names, designations, departments, and more. Additionally, it will surface smart suggestions based on communication patterns and organizational context. The result set will also be unified across organization’s directory, your personal contacts, or a linked account. Finally, once you find your desired contact, you can immediately start a Teams chat or call with them too, without unnecessary clicks.

Apart from this, Microsoft has also touted revamps in the following areas:

• Modern multi-column table view - See all your contacts at a glance with a clean, customizable table layout. Sort, filter, and scan your contacts faster than ever.
• Quick actions at your fingertips - Email, call, or chat with any contact directly from the contact list. No need to open a contact card first.
• Multi-select and bulk operations - Need to categorize, email, or manage multiple contacts at once? Select them all and take action in a single step.
• Categories for flexible organization - Organize your contacts with color-coded categories that work across Outlook. Tag contacts as “Key Clients,” “Project Team,” “Vendors,” or anything that fits your workflow.
• Import and export - Easily bring contacts in from CSV files or export your contact data whenever you need it.
• Consistent experience everywhere - Whether you’re using Outlook on the desktop, Outlook on the web, or Teams, the People experience is the same - modern, fast, and reliable.

The Redmond tech giant has highlighted that performance was a key metric while designing and evaluating the new contact search experience. It is rolling out right now on the new Outlook for desktop and the web experience. You can begin using it by clicking on the People icon in the left navigation rail.

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Posted Tuesday 24 March 2026 at 5:51 pm AEST (my time).

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Although Microsoft encourages customers to use its managed Exchange Online service and regularly updates it with new capabilities, the fact of the matter is that many enterprise customers still prefer the self-managed and self-hosted Exchange Server implementation as it allows them more control over their infrastructure. As Exchange Server approaches it 30th anniversary this year, Microsoft has shared its plans for what's next.

Exchange Server has evolved quite a bit since its first public release in 1996. Its initial version focused on integrating calendar, email, and a centralized directory, while also offering admin controls and native support for standards like SMTP and X.400. Over time, it "influenced" the development of Active Directory, and also made automation, scalability, and reliability a built-in experience rather than something that was shoehorned. Microsoft touts Exchange Server as its first successful server product for enterprise customers, which was further extended via Exchange Online.

As such, Microsoft has emphasized that even after the passage of three decades, Exchange Server still matters. This is also why the product is still supported until at least 2035 through Exchange Subscription Edition (SE), which means that the company is investing heavily in its future. Despite the existence of a cloud-first solution like Exchange Online, infrastructure doesn't have to be cloud-only.

That said, this backward compatibility between Exchange Server variants has also been difficult to manage in some regards. Microsoft has supported the co-existence of three major Exchange versions within a single organization for years, which has made migration easier for its customers. However, this approach has also slowed down development and architectural cleanup activities as backward compatibility needs to be maintained with each change. This is why Microsoft is anticipating customers to eventually make peace with Exchange SE as the single major version within their organization. Exchange SE CU2 does not even allow co-existence of other versions of Exchange within a single environment.

Additionally, cybersecurity will continue to be a core focus for Exchange Server. Microsoft has cautioned that IT admins may be required to perform additional work to ensure that their Exchange Server deployment is secure, this is all for the greater good. Microsoft has emphasized that email architectures are here to stay, which is why investment in their evolution is essential.

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Posted Tuesday 24 March 2026 at 5:50 pm AEST (my time).

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Over the past few months, Microsoft has been injecting AI features into OneDrive, because the company believes that it is more than just a simple cloud storage solution. To that end, OneDrive received Photos Agent, new Copilot integrations for enterprise customers, and the ability to embed AI agents in the platform. Now, Microsoft has revealed yet another AI capability for the popular cloud storage service.

This new feature is called AI Restyle and it is geared towards the OneDrive Photos experience. You can probably guess what it does based on its name alone. It basically allows you to "reimagine" your real photos in different styles through the power of AI. You'll be able to transform regular photos into various art styles such as anime, pencil sketches, caricature, plush toys, cinema posters, and more.

The idea behind this capability is to have all your real photos and AI creations in the same place, allowing for easy access and further modification. Microsoft emphasizes that all your content will still be "unmistakably yours", just restyled.

Microsoft has highlighted several functionalities of AI Restyle, such as the instant creation of new images based on styles that are added regularly, the ability to personalize photos through optional prompts, and the option to experiment with various styles quickly. You can also share your restyled content across different apps with ease.

AI Restyle has now begun rolling out for OneDrive customers on Android, iOS, and the web. However, do keep in mind that it requires a Microsoft 365 Premium subscription, which is essentially an upgrade for Microsoft 365 Family that costs an eye-watering $199.99/year. That said, AI Restyle will only get better from here as the Redmond tech giant is pondering over bringing it to more platforms, while also unlocking more editing styles for customers to play around with.

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Posted Tuesday 24 March 2026 at 5:49 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft continues to release emergency OOB (out-of-band) updates to resolve issues caused by recent patches. After last week’s KB5084897 update that fixed Bluetooth connectivity issues in Windows 11, Microsoft has now released the KB5085518 hotpatch update for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2, which deals with sign-in problems with personal Microsoft accounts.

The March Patch Tuesday update (KB5079473) for Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 caused problems with apps such as Microsoft Teams and OneDrive, where users couldn’t sign in using a personal Microsoft account. Even with a working Internet connection, a “no Internet” error would appear. This update deals with these issues.

Here’s the official changelog:

"[Microsoft account sign in] Fixed: After you install the Windows update released on or after March 10, 2026, some users might experience an issue signing in to apps with a Microsoft account. Even when the device has a working Internet connection, a “no Internet” error appears during sign in and prevents access to Microsoft services and apps such as Microsoft Teams Free and OneDrive."

This is a hotpatch update, meaning it’s arriving mainly to eligible Windows 11 Enterprise users (including Enterprise LTSC 2024). Microsoft released this exact same fix for regular Windows 11 versions just two days ago. The update will arrive and install automatically on eligible systems without the need for a restart.

Microsoft hasn’t listed any known issues caused by this update. However, Microsoft is having a turbulent period with recent Windows 11 releases, so that may change soon.

Check out full details about the KB5085518 hotpatch update for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2.

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Posted Tuesday 24 March 2026 at 10:45 am AEST (my time).

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Mozilla has started rolling out Firefox 149 to all users in the Stable Channel. The latest release delivers several notable feature updates (announced previously) that improve productivity and privacy, including a native Split View mode, a built-in VPN, and more.

With version 149, Firefox offers a built-in Split View mode that lets you browse two pages side-by-side. This feature is pretty common in modern browsers, and Firefox is finally catching up. You can launch this feature by right-clicking a tab and selecting "Add to Split View."

Another big change in Firefox 149 is the built-in VPN. It is available in the US, UK, Germany, and France (gradual rollout), with a 50GB monthly cap. Note that, unlike traditional VPNs, Mozilla's built-in solution does not allow you to select a routing country, so those who want a more advanced option should consider dedicated VPN providers.

Another interesting new feature comes from Firefox Labs. The Tab Notes feature lets you add additional information to your tabs.

Split View and built-in proxy are the main features in Firefox 149.0, but there are more improvements. The rest of the changelog includes better performance for PDF files, improvements to website notifications, and new languages for the built-in translator:

• Many PDF files will now load significantly faster thanks to hardware acceleration.
• Firefox now automatically blocks notifications and permanently revokes permissions for any website flagged as malicious by SafeBrowsing. This prevents unsafe sites from sending background notifications to users, commonly used for ads, spam or phishing.
• You can now add a Share button to your toolbar via Customize Toolbar, making it easy to share the current tab using your Windows or macOS system sharing options.
• Address Autofill is enabled for users in Australia, India, Italy, Poland and Austria.
• Firefox error pages have a fresh new look, with updated visuals that better match the overall feel of Firefox. The redesigned pages create a more cohesive experience while making it clearer what went wrong.
• Explore more of the web with new on-device translation support for Bosnian, Norwegian, Serbian and Thai, plus improved accuracy for Croatian.

As usual, the update contains security fixes and various changes for developers and enterprise users. You will be able to find full release notes on the official website.

Firefox 149 is now available for download from Mozilla's FTP. Existing users will get the update in the coming hours.

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Posted Tuesday 24 March 2026 at 7:15 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft has just released TypeScript 6.0, a programming language built on JavaScript that allows developers to add type-checking to their JavaScript code. You can install it, or update the current version running on your computer, by running the following npm command:

• npm install -D typescript

The most notable thing about TypeScript 6.0 is that it's going to be the last release based on the current JavaScript compiler codebase. Microsoft is already working on TypeScript 7.0, and it will be a full rewrite in Go. According to Microsoft, switching the codebase should make programming in TypeScript 10 times faster.

As a transition release, 6.0 is mostly focused on cleanups and preparing developers for the move to 7.0. Still, there are new features, as well as a decent number of breaking changes in this release. Here's the full list of what's new and what changed in TypeScript 6.0:

• Less Context-Sensitivity on this-less Functions
• Subpath Imports Starting with #/
• Combining --moduleResolution bundler with --module commonjs
• The --stableTypeOrdering Flag
• es2025 option for target and lib
• New Types for Temporal
• New Types for getOrInsert Methods
• RegExp.escape
• dom lib now includes dom.iterable and dom.asynciterable
• strict now defaults to true
• types now defaults to []
• module defaults to esnext, target defaults to es2025
• Deprecated: target: es5, --outFile, --baseUrl, --moduleResolution node, --moduleResolution classic, AMD/UMD/SystemJS module targets

Microsoft also notified developers that many projects will need at least two immediate changes after upgrading to TypeScript 6.0. The first is explicitly setting "types": ["node"] in tsconfig, as the new empty default will cause a flood of missing identifier errors. The second is setting "rootDir": "./src" if it was previously being inferred automatically, otherwise, output files will end up in the wrong directory.

Microsoft says that the team is now entirely focused on developing TypeScript 7.0. The new TypeScript version is already available in native preview, and if you want to try it, you can do so by running the following command:

• npm install -D @typescript/native-preview

Microsoft is expected to release the stable version of TypeScript 7.0 in a few months.

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Posted Tuesday 24 March 2026 at 7:13 am AEST (my time).

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And here we go again. The software giant has confirmed a new issue affecting Microsoft account sign-ins on Windows 11 after installing the March 2026 update.

According to the company, devices running the latest cumulative update released on March 10, 2026, including KB5079473 (build 26100.8037), may fail to sign in to several apps and services that rely on Microsoft accounts.

Microsoft account sign-ins may fail after installing KB5079473

The issue impacts devices running Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2. After installing the update, users may encounter an incorrect error message when trying to sign in.

Instead of authenticating successfully, apps display the "You'll need the Internet for this. It doesn't look like you're connected to the Internet" message.

This happens even when the device is properly connected. Microsoft says the problem is tied to a specific network connectivity state triggered after installing the update.

The bug affects multiple apps and services that depend on Microsoft account authentication, including Teams (free), OneDrive, Edge, Excel, Word, and Microsoft 365 Copilot.

However, enterprise users are not impacted. Systems using Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) for authentication continue to work normally.

Fix now available through update

Microsoft has now resolved the issue with the release of the out-of-band update KB5085516.

To apply the fix, open Settings > Windows Update, click the "Check for updates" button, and install the latest available update. After restarting your computer, Microsoft account sign-ins should work normally again.

A workaround is available to mitigate the issue

Before the fix was released, Microsoft provided a temporary workaround that resolved the problem in most cases.

To fix the issue, restart the computer while it remains connected to the internet. This action resets the computer's connectivity state and restores proper sign-in functionality.

There is one important caveat. If the device restarts without an active internet connection, the issue may reappear.

Microsoft has now resolved the issue with an emergency update, and users are recommended to install the latest patch as soon as possible to avoid sign-in problems.

Have you experienced this problem after installing KB5079473 on your PC? Let me know in the comments.

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Posted Tuesday 24 March 2026 at 6:22 am AEST (my time).

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People inside Microsoft may be fighting to get rid of Windows 11's Microsoft account requirement during setup, but Microsoft accounts are still important for accessing apps and services. Teams, Edge, Office, and other Microsoft apps require a Microsoft account that allows you to sign in and sync things seamlessly, at least that's how it's supposed to work.

A recent bug in Windows 11 caused an error for some users that blocked sign-in to Microsoft apps. The bug appeared on systems that had installed the March Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 11.

Only those who used Microsoft accounts were affected, meaning people with Entra ID were able to sign in to the apps without issue.

Microsoft confirmed the issue last week and has since rolled out a fix in the form of an emergency out-of-band update, which is detailed in a support document:

• [Microsoft account sign in] Fixed: After you install the Windows update released on or after March 10, 2026, some users might experience an issue signing in to apps with a Microsoft account. Even when the device has a working Internet connection, a “no Internet” error appears during sign in and prevents access to Microsoft services and apps such as Microsoft Teams Free and OneDrive.
  
  Note: Only sign ins using Microsoft accounts are affected. Businesses using Microsoft Entra ID for app authentication will not experience this issue.

Fixing Windows 11 updates

Messy Windows updates are one of the pain points of Windows 11 that Microsoft has promised to reduce. Updates are supposed to improve performance, address security issues, and add or improve features. Unfortunately, Windows 11 updates have included several bugs lately, ranging from small annoyances to serious issues.

Microsoft has issued several out-of-band security updates this year to address issues that shipped to Windows 11, including the emergency fix released on March 21 specifically for the Microsoft account issue.

Microsoft shared last week that it will allow users to pause Windows updates forever. That option has been requested for years but has not been present since Windows 8.

Postponing updates forever would present other issues, such as a PC lacking protection from security patches. People will need to balance holding off on installing an update to avoid bugs with keeping their PCs secure.

If your PC works perfectly today, would you risk a security flaw just to avoid the next buggy Patch Tuesday? Let me know in the comments.

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Posted Tuesday 24 March 2026 at 6:21 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft's obsession with AI on Windows 11 is finally coming to an end, the company has confirmed. As part of it's big plan to address Windows' biggest problems, Microsoft is reducing where Copilot buttons and menus appear across system apps and interfaces in a major move to reduce AI bloat.

It's a major change in direction for a tech company that has a lot riding on Copilot and AI. It's easily the biggest money maker for the tech giant right now, but that isn't stopping the Windows team from putting its foot and saying "no more" to AI bloat.

Microsoft says that this year, you will see Copilot and AI experiences like the ones found in Notepad, Photos, Snipping Tool, and Widgets be reduced or outright removed where it made little sense to exist in the first place. The company is eager to reduce AI bloat across most system apps and interfaces.

"You will see us be more intentional about how and where Copilot integrates across Windows, focusing on experiences that are genuinely useful and well‑crafted," says Microsoft EVP of Windows & Devices, Pavan Davuluri. "As part of this, we are reducing unnecessary Copilot entry points, starting with apps like Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets and Notepad."

It's reassuring to see that the company is willing to reduce the overabundance of AI on Windows 11, especially those which offer no real value to the end user. It should result in a much cleaner looking OS, where Copilot only really exists in a few key areas such as the dedicated Copilot app and Ask Copilot search box.

Of course, some Copilot integrations will likely remain, but the company hasn't been explicit about which features will be sticking around. It does say that going forward, the company will be "thoughtful about how and where we bring AI into Windows, leading with transparency, choice and control, so that new capabilities enhance the experience rather than complicate it."

Microsoft's built-in video editor on Windows 11 now requires a OneDrive account. Following a recent change, the app now requires you to use OneDrive to create or edit projects.

Not only does that mean any future projects require a Microsoft account, editing your preexisting projects now requires signing in to OneDrive.

Specifically, Clipchamp requires you to save projects to OneDrive if you'd like to make edits. You can store media locally, but projects need to be saved to Microsoft's cloud.

That's a strange limitation, because it means you could save the project to OneDrive but only have your media files on your PC, making it impossible to work across devices.

It would make more sense to have a "local-only" option that keeps project files and media files offline and a "cloud" option that keeps all files synced through OneDrive.

When you log in to Clipchamp, it will guide you through the process of setting up OneDrive. For a moment, you may believe you can keep everything local to your device, but that's not really the case. If you save your projects locally, those projects will not be editable. Selecting that option shows the following message:

"Store your past projects on your local disk instead of OneDrive?

If you choose to store projects locally, they won’t appear in the Clipchamp app. Projects must be saved to OneDrive to stay editable."

Windows Latest was the first to flag the change to Clipchamp.

I was surprised to see the change to Clipchamp, so I reached out to Microsoft for confirmation. The company confirmed that OneDrive is required to create and edit Clipchamp projects. Users don't need to upload media assets to OneDrive and retain the option to store those locally. If cloud backup is enabled, those files may be saved to OneDrive.

Has Microsoft broken Clipchamp?

For the first several weeks of the Linux 7.0 development cycle, Linus Torvalds, the founder of Linux, said that the first few weeks of development were unusually hectic, threatening the timely release of Linux 7.0. As of the fifth release candidate, which just came out, things seem to be simmering down a bit.

Providing a comment on the state of things this week, Torvalds said things have calmed down a bit this week, but it is still larger than what you’d expect at this point. Despite this, the founder is still taking this as a good sign.

For anyone that doesn’t obsess over Linux kernel release cycles, they usually see two weeks of merging new features before going through seven weeks of testing to ensure stability. Sometimes, things get so disrupted that an eighth week of testing is needed, and it is possible we were heading towards that this time around due to the unusually large size of the updates.

With things calming in the latter half of the cycle, it reduces that chance that the development cycle will be pushed out an extra week, which is good for users as it will mean support for newer hardware faster. With that said, it will still take time for distributions to deliver the new kernel to users.

According to Torvalds, this week’s patches were made up mostly by driver updates to GPU and networking. Outside of drivers, this week brought updates for core networking, filesystems, BPF, selftests, and architecture fixes.

If there are seven release candidates, the final version will arrive on April 12. However, according to average time of development predictions, an eighth release candidate and April 19 release is more likely, despite what Torvalds has said.

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Posted Monday 23 March 2026 at 5:23 pm AEST (my time).

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This month, Microsoft has already released two emergency OOB or out-of-band updates to resolve a couple of major issues. The first one under KB5084597 was a security patch for a critical network vulnerability while the second one, KB5084897, was to fix broken Bluetooth connectivity. Those were on Windows 11 2024 LTSC.

Following those, today, Microsoft has released yet another OOB update this time for Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 to fix an internet connectivity-related problem we reported on a few days back. Due to this new bug that was documented this week, Microsoft confirmed that MSA or Microsoft Account sign-in broke and as such affected users were not able to access Microsoft's free apps like Teams Free, OneDrive, Edge, Copilot, Excel, and Word as it led to "You'll need the Internet for this. It doesn't look like you're connected to the Internet" error message.

With today's new OOB update under KB5085516 (builds 26200.8039 on 25H2 and 26100.8039 on 24H2), Microsoft has resolved this bug. The changelog says:

"[Microsoft account sign in] Fixed: After you install the Windows update released on or after March 10, 2026, some users might experience an issue signing in to apps with a Microsoft account. Even when the device has a working Internet connection, a “no Internet” error message appears during sign in and prevents access to Microsoft services and apps such as Microsoft Teams Free and OneDrive."

Again, Microsoft notes that the issue does not affect Microsoft Entra ID app authentications. To get the update, go to the Settings page via the Start menu, then Update & Security > Windows Update. Here, you will find KB5085516 under Check for Optional Updates.

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Posted Sunday 22 March 2026 at 5:44 pm AEST (my time).

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ZDNET's key takeaways

•   Microsoft finally acknowledged complaints about Windows 11.
•   The company is promising sweeping changes to a slew of features.
•   Windows Insiders will have a greater voice in upcoming releases.

Microsoft's customers have been grumbling about Windows 11 since the day it shipped, and lately, those complaints have gotten louder and angrier.

They've complained about the "glitchy mess" of Windows Update, the push to cram Copilot-branded AI features into every nook and cranny of Windows, upsells and ads, and inconsistent system performance.

And finally -- finally! -- someone in Redmond noticed.

In a long post titled "Our commitment to Windows quality," published on Microsoft's website and sent via email to millions of members of the Windows Insider Program, Windows boss Pavan Davuluri laid out a laundry list of changes Microsoft plans to make in Windows 11, starting this month.

What's most remarkable about this post is what it doesn't contain. Here's how Davuluri kicked things off:

Every day, we hear from the community about how you experience Windows. And over the past several months, the team and I have spent a great deal of time analyzing your feedback. What came through was the voice of people who care deeply about Windows and want it to be better.

That paragraph belongs in the non-apology Hall of Fame, with a cross-reference to "Friday news dump" -- a classic PR technique that aims to minimize media coverage of the awkward news being released.

When I read that paragraph, I was gobsmacked. They "spent months analyzing feedback"? Seriously? They needed charts and graphs to figure out that people just want Windows to work?  

Here's what's on the list of changes coming to Windows, along with my own translation of what some of those changes really mean. Note that these changes will roll out in preview builds starting this month and continuing through the rest of the year. There's no announcement on when they will reach public releases.

More taskbar customization

You couldn't ask for a more perfect example of how Microsoft finally caught up to what Insiders have been griping about for years.

When Microsoft released the first preview of Windows 11, nearly five years ago, the new taskbar lacked a feature that had been a favorite of power users for decades: the ability to move the taskbar from its default location at the bottom of the display and snap it to the side or top.

On the Feedback Hub app, where Microsoft collects bug reports and comments from Windows users, one feature request has been at or near the top of the list since day 1: "Bring back the ability to move the taskbar to the top and sides of the screen on Windows 11."

As of this morning, that suggestion had been upvoted more than 24,000 times and had received more than 2,100 comments, with their tone growing increasingly angry as the years passed with no sign that this feature was on the roadmap.

This entry has been at or near the top of the most-requested feedback items for five years.
Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET

So it's fitting that this item is at the very top of today's list: "More taskbar customization, including vertical and top positions ... We are introducing the ability to reposition it to the top or sides of your screen, making it easier to personalize your workspace."

About time.

Less AI slop

As I noted earlier this year, Microsoft has been relentlessly shoehorning AI features into places where they absolutely don't belong. I follow feedback in forums carefully, and I would estimate that roughly 99% of the comments about AI features boil down to a simple request: Please stop.

In a blog post welcoming 2026, CEO Satya Nadella argued that "we need to get beyond the arguments of slop vs. sophistication." In response, the internet made "Microslop" the most popular meme of the new year.

Bowing to that feedback, Microsoft now says it is backing off. "You will see us be more intentional about how and where Copilot integrates across Windows, focusing on experiences that are genuinely useful and well‑crafted," Davuluri says. Specifically: "We are reducing unnecessary Copilot entry points, starting with apps like Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets, and Notepad."

More control over updates

The Patch Tuesday schedule was supposed to make Windows updates predictable, but that hasn't worked out in practice, judging by the volume of complaints I hear every month about an unwanted Windows update suddenly interrupting an important online meeting or wiping out hours' worth of work.

The response? "We're giving you more control" over updates, Microsoft says, "while reducing update noise with fewer automatic restarts and notifications." When those changes roll out, it should be easier to skip updates during device setup, restart or shut down without installing updates, and pause updates for longer when needed.

Those are all welcome changes, and long overdue.

Better performance

I regularly hear complaints about File Explorer being painfully slow to load and also slow in performing everyday tasks. Today's announcement promises "launch time reductions" in File Explorer, with "substantially lower latency for search, navigation, and context menus," along with an end to the annoying flickering that some users have reported.

Also on the roadmap is "improved memory efficiency, lowering the baseline memory footprint for Windows ... and more consistent performance, even under load."

Key to the overall performance improvement plan is a push to move core parts of the Windows UX to WinUI3. Given that WinUI3 has been around longer than Windows 11, it's surprising that this change is only happening now.

Greater attention to reliability

Today's post contains a long discussion of reliability, starting with this promise: "Across the operating system, we will focus on improving ... baseline reliability [and] strengthening the Windows foundation by reducing OS level crashes, improving driver quality and app stability across our ecosystem so PCs run smoothly and reliably every day."

That sounds great, but isn't that what they were already supposed to be focusing on every day already?

I'm especially interested to see a renewed emphasis on the Windows Insider Program. As I wrote almost a year ago, that once-groundbreaking program has become a "confusing mess."

Pavuluri says the company plans to "[raise] the quality bar for builds and [offer] clearer visibility into what features are included in each Insider build."

The entire Insider leadership team left the program last year, and I haven't seen a public announcement of any new personnel changes.

And more

The list goes on and on, with improvements promised in Bluetooth and USB connections, printer support, Windows Hello, and search. There's even a promise to make widgets less annoying. (Good luck.)

The post closes with a pretty sweeping promise:

As part of this effort, we are evolving how Windows is built behind the scenes to raise the quality bar and deliver innovation where it matters most, shaped by the feedback we are hearing from you.

This includes deeper validation and broader testing across real-world hardware and usage scenarios before new experiences reach Windows Insiders, and a more intentional approach to where and how new capabilities are introduced. The result will be higher quality builds, more meaningful innovation and greater flexibility in choosing what you want to try. This is how we will continue to build and ship Windows 11, so we can deliver better experiences with greater confidence, month after month.

That sounds to me like an admission that the entire process for building Windows has been broken for some time. If you need to raise the quality bar, doesn't that imply that you've been shipping products that don't meet your customers' quality standards? If you're planning broader testing across real-world hardware, doesn't that imply that the testing regime for the past few years has been insufficient?

Meanwhile, a simple "We're sorry" wouldn't hurt. 

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Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled a sweeping set of changes coming soon to Windows 11 that are designed to address common complaints and issues that people have with the platform. Everything from slow performance to unreliable updates, AI bloat, and excessive ads and enshittification are being tackled.

It's all great news, but there's one big issue that Microsoft notably isn't addressing with these sweeping changes, and that's Windows 11's forced Microsoft account requirements. Even with all these improvements in tow, Windows 11 will still force you to setup an internet connection and sign-in with a Microsoft account during the out of box experience.

That's really unfortunate, as the forced Microsoft account requirement is probably one of the biggest complaints I see people have about Windows 11, and it's not currently being addressed. In fact, the blog post Microsoft published doesn't mention Microsoft accounts at all.

The good news is that this might not be the case forever. Microsoft Vice President and overall developer legend Scott Hanselman has posted on X in response to someone asking him about possibly relaxing the Microsoft account requirements, saying "Ya I hate that. Working on it."

I understand that Hanselman isn't the only person at Microsoft who doesn't like the forced Microsoft account requirements, and that there are a number of people internally that are pushing to relax this. However, it's not as simple as just deciding to remove the requirement and calling it a day.

Microsoft is a big company, and a lot of teams and organizations stand to benefit from Windows forcing a Microsoft account. So it's likely that this processes has to go through a committee of sorts, where each side will present their reasons for and against removing the requirement.

So the good news is the Windows team is definitely looking into its options when it comes to relaxing or removing the Microsoft account requirement, but that there's no committed plan to move ahead with actually making any changes as of yet.

But people with influence internally at Microsoft are fighting for it, which should hopefully reassure those who were hoping to see progress in this area. Ultimately, this is a policy issue, not a technical one. It would be very easy for Microsoft to remove this requirement from a technical perspective, it's just whether or not the company can agree to make the change that needs to be decided.

Would you skip signing-in with a Microsoft account if the OS let you?

If Microsoft were to relax its requirements around using an online account on Windows 11, is that something you would take advantage of? I feel like I'm in the minority when it comes to using a Microsoft account on Windows, as I actually like syncing with OneDrive and being automatically signed-in to Edge and Office. So, let me know if this requirement is something you want Microsoft to relax.

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Posted Sunday 22 March 2026 at 5:49 am AEST (my time).

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Earlier this week, Microsoft announced a set of big changes coming soon to Windows 11 in an effort to regain consumer trust. Some of those changes include the ability to move the taskbar, less annoying Windows Update, performance improvements, and plenty more. One thing remains unchanged, though, and it is the mandatory Microsoft Account during the setup.

While Microsoft has not shared anything about this matter, one of the company's engineers who helps in developing upcoming improvements shared his opinion on it, and it is a pretty strong one.

Scott Hanselmann, a Microsoft VP who is working on fixing Windows 11, replied to one of the users on X who asked about removing forced Microsoft Accounts during the initial Windows 11 setup. It is a common complaint among users, who often want to set up Windows 11 offline and with a local profile. In reply, Scott said that he "hate(s) that" and he is "working on it."

Does that mean that Windows 11 will soon get rid of all the roadblocks that prevent users from using local profiles? It could be possible, but you have to keep in mind that we won't see any change until Windows bosses decide to allow it. However, it is good to see engineers engaging with the community and even sharing their views on different things. Microsoft now wants everyone to know that it hears user feedback and many of those requests will soon materialize.

Until Microsoft decides to fix the mandatory Microsoft Account Requirements, users have to rely on various bypasses and tricks, such as the OOBE\bypassnro command or tools like Rufus.

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Posted Sunday 22 March 2026 at 5:48 am AEST (my time).

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Ever since Windows 11 was released back in 2021, Microsoft has promised great things with it, including in the case of performance, like how the OS is totally built to extract the best out of the given hardware, and when users weren't quite satisfied, the company promised that it was going to do so in 2022.

One and a half years later in 2023, Microsoft went at length to describe all the ways Windows 11 was better than before, and later in 2024, even going on to cite paid study to prove that 11 was better than 10, so as to coax users into upgrading. Later on in 2025, it elaborated on that commissioned publication further.

Despite what others may feel, Microsoft has had generally maintained that it puts a lot of focus on improving even the tiniest useful aspects of the OS, like the clipboard, and in July last year, the company made another serious "commitment" to fix the OS performance.

To be fair to Microsoft, Neowin itself noticed some healthy improvements on several occasions when we tested Windows 11 performance vs 10 around the same time, though it is mentionworthy that Windows 10 also had its fair share of wins (full details in this dedicated article).

Regardless, the tech giant made another promise earlier this year to fix Windows 11, and today, the company shared details on how it plans to do so. Microsoft has said that it is sharpening its focus on the performance aspect of Windows 11 by promising smoother, more reliable experiences across the OS which will roll out throughout the year 2026.

The company says the effort targets system responsiveness, app launch times, File Explorer fundamentals, and the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). The goal is to ensure that Windows feels fast and consistent as users switch between various tasks and workflows.

To do so, Microsoft says that it is reducing baseline hardware resource usage by improving RAM management efficiency and freeing up more capacity for the various apps by lowering the memory footprint of the OS itself. The company suggests that early improvements are already visible with File Explorer showing quicker launch times.

A key part of the initiative involves migrating core experiences to the WinUI 3 framework. The company promises that this move to modernized UI framework will reduce user-interaction latency and overhead at the platform level. As a result, everyday tasks such as opening the Start menu or navigating the File Explorer should feel more fluid.

Speaking of which, the File Explorer itself is receiving substantial upgrades as Microsoft notes lower latency in search, navigation, and context menus, alongside faster and more reliable file operations. As such, copying and moving large files will soon be quicker, says Microsoft, while other common operations like opening folders or searching documents will also benefit.

Moving on, developers using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) are also set to gain as Microsoft is promising improved file performance between Linux and Windows, better network compatibility and throughput, and a streamlined first-time setup.

As mentioned above, Microsoft promises that the rollout of these upgrades will continue across 2026, with incremental updates expected in upcoming Windows 11 releases. Of course, hardware and architecture-specific optimizations are also expected alongside these.

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Posted Saturday 21 March 2026 at 12:09 pm AEST (my time).

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