A while ago, the Microsoft Garage division, which lets company employees develop new apps and services on their own free time, released Script Lab. This was an add-in for Office developers that allowed them to "create, run, and share JavaScript code snippets in Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint." It was also designed as an open source software project that let anyone contribute to its development.

The Script Lab add-in has proven to be a popular one for Office developers. However, Microsoft has now decided to officially take over its future development. In a blog post today, the company said it now owns the add-in and will continue to develop and maintain it.

The bad news for many developers is that this change means Script Lab will no longer be an open source project. At a result, the add-in's GitHub repository will be archived.

The blog post stated:

We understand that some of you may be disappointed by these changes, and we appreciate your feedback and support. We believe that these changes will ultimately benefit the Script Lab community and provide a better experience for everyone.

The new version of Script Lab will lack one thing related to its previous open source version. It will no longer have its GitHub gist sharing features. Microsoft says this was removed "to better protect our users and their data". The new version will still let developer copy their code snippets to the clipboard and share the code with other developers, but from now on the scripts will have to be manually imported.

For the time being, Microsoft will continue to host the older Script Labs version, in order for developers to export their code snippets as GitHub gists. They can also recover any snippets from the older add-in version that did not automatically transfer to the new version. Microsoft plans to officially end support for the older open sources version on June 3.

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What you need to know

• A video from Sam Tucker on YouTube playfully suggests several ways that he could "fix" Microsoft.
• Suggestions include removing ads from Windows 11, not requiring people to have an online Microsoft account to install Windows 11, and launching the cancelled Surface Neo.
• Many of Tucker's suggestions are echoed by Windows users and tech enthusiasts and have been asked about for years.

Microsoft is one of the largest and most influential companies on the planet, but is it broken? A satirical video from YouTuber Sam Tucker suggests several ways that he could "fix" Microsoft. The video is made in jest, of course, but there are some good points raised by Tucker. Suggestions in the video range from purely satirical to ideas I'd love to see Microsoft listen to.

Tucker is no stranger to Microsoft, often taking playful shots at the tech giant alongside Apple, Sony, and Samsung. A previous video of Tucker's talked about how Microsoft HoloLens was better than Apple Vision Pro in some ways.

Here are some of Tucker's suggestions, skipping some of the more playful ones like having Space Cadet Pinball preinstalled on Windows 11:

• Don't require an online Microsoft account to install Windows 11
• Don't push OneDrive, Xbox Game Pass, and Microsoft 365 when installing Windows 11
• Remove ads from the Start menu
• Don't show news in the Widgets panel on the desktop
• Have Starfield on PS5
• Add an obvious button to apps on GitHub
• Make a Surface Studio display
• Launch the Surface Neo
• Remove safety rails from Bing Image Creator

The fact that we have a guide on how to set up Windows 11 without a Microsoft account indicates Tucker's suggestion would be a welcome change to many. Removing ads from Windows is a common request among Windows users (and myself) as well. It's taken international legislation to force Microsoft to remove some ads from its operating system.

Many were saddened when Microsoft failed to release the Surface Neo and quite a few people have requested a Surface Studio monitor or a refresh to the Surface Studio. Based on his suggestions, Tucker has a good feel for the pulse of Microsoft followers and Windows users.

Does Microsoft need fixing?

Funny videos aside, it's worth asking if Microsoft needs fixing. While no company is perfect, Microsoft has many successful ventures these days. Market cap isn't the only metric of success for a company, but Microsoft being worth over $3.1 trillion and being one of the most valuable companies in the world has to be worth something.

Aside from profits, Microsoft has had several wins over recent years, including its continued push to improve tech accessibility  Azure continues to do well, powering several enterprise organizations and services like Xbox Cloud Gaming. Azure is a large driver of Microsoft's profits.

Microsoft's multi-billion-dollar investment in AI is on the verge of success, depending on who you ask. AI is one of the hottest topics in tech these days and unlike some previous booms in technology, Microsoft leads the charge in AI. There are reasonable concerns about how AI can be used, but market analysts predict that Microsoft will surpass Apple as the world's most valuable company due in large part to AI.

While OEMs like Dell, HP, and Lenovo get rightful credit for their impressive PCs, Microsoft is influential in what makes a computer in 2024. In addition to making and maintaining Windows, Microsoft pushes several PC categories with its Surface hardware and works with manufacturers to create computing experiences.

Of course, Microsoft has had its losses over the years as well. The tech giant once pioneered the augmented reality space before stepping back and seeing Apple turn heads with Apple Vision Pro. Microsoft has also faced legal scrutiny, such as an antitrust investigation that led to the company unbundling Teams from Microsoft 365.

Do you think Microsoft needs fixing? If so, what would you do to fix the company? Let us know in the comments below.

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In terms of new changes and improvements, has fixed a shutdown-related bug, a DWM (Desktop Window Manager) issue, and more. The full changelog is given below:

What’s new in Build 26100

Changes and Improvements

 

[General]

 

• [REMINDER] The build watermark at the lower right-hand corner of the desktop is not present in this build and will return in future Insider Preview builds. This is part of our normal process preparing Windows 11, version 24H2 for releasing to customers later this year – but does not mean we’re done. Windows 11, version 24H2, will be this year’s annual feature update. As mentioned here, Windows 11 will have an annual feature update cadence that releases in the second half of the calendar year.

 

Fixes for known issues

 

[General]

 

• Made another fix to address the issue causing shutdown and hibernate to not work in the latest builds.
• Fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders seeing error 0x80240067 when trying to download app updates from Microsoft Store or Windows updates in Settings in the latest builds.

 

[Copilot in Windows*]

 

• With the updated Copilot in Windows experience that introduces the ability for Copilot to act like a normal application window, we have fixed the issue that prevented the ability to bring focus to the “…” or refresh buttons within Copilot when using a keyboard (ex: by using tab to cycle through buttons).

 

[Windowing]

 

• Fixed a DWM crash impacting some Insiders in the latest flights (this could result in you seeing your screen flash black).

 

Known issues

 

[General]

 

• [IMPORTANT NOTE] We are investigating reports that some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels are stuck on Build 26040 or Build 23620. The investigation is ongoing, however if you are impacted by this and really want to get onto the latest build in the Canary or Dev Channel today – you can download the latest ISO here and do a clean install and opt your device back into flighting in the Canary or Dev Channels.

 

[Copilot in Windows*]

 

• Voice access does not work reliably with the updated Copilot in Windows experience that introduces the ability for Copilot to act like a normal application.
• Using Windows Ink to write in Copilot will not work with the updated Copilot in Windows experience that introduces the ability for Copilot to act like a normal application window.
• When Copilot in Windows is docked and resized to a large width, Copilot does not always fill the width of the panel. Resizing Copilot usually fixes this issue.

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

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What is new in Microsoft Edge Dev 125.0.2492?

Added Features:

 

• Introduced the feature of pinning to the taskbar within Site Pinning campaigns.

 

Improved Reliability:

 

• Resolved a problem that was causing the browser to crash when using the favorites feature.
• Fixed a browser crash on android.

 

Changed Behavior:

 

• Fixed an issue that prevented the focus from being set to the tab search input field when the menu is opened.
• Resolved a problem that caused the “Show Shopping toolbar” option to appear on the shopping page after signing in with an AAD account.
• Resolved an issue to prevent retrieval of hashtags from hidden videos on YouTube.
• Resolved an issue that allowed a website to be repeatedly added to the block list and displayed multiple times.
• Resolved a problem where the speaker icon indicates sound on the site icon, even though there is no audio output following the closure of the media tab.
• Resolved an issue where the speaker icon remained in the unmuted state even after opening the side panel and muting the application via right-click.
• This resolved an issue that clicking ‘Share’ to print resulted in a brief blank screen for one second.
• iOS: Fixed an issue where browser would crash after the share button was clicked in the downloaded PDF file on iOS.

 

Android:

 

• Resolved an issue when activating the ‘Find on Page’ feature in landscape mode caused two toolbars to appear on android.
• Resolved a problem that prevented file uploads on the Android version of browser Mobile.

Microsoft Edge 125 Dev is available on the official Edge Insider website. Supported platforms include Windows 10, 11, macOS, Linux, and Android. Version 125 will arrive in the Stable Channel on the week of May 16, 2024.

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In a blog post, Microsoft says that this new app was created with the use of the Windows App SDK. For those who may not be familiar, it was first launched in March 2021 and offers developers a way to make apps for Windows 11, along with Windows 10 version 1809 and later. The latest version of Windows App SDK is 1.5 which launched in late February 2024.

In a support post, Microsoft says there are many benefits to making Windows 10 and 11 apps with the Windows App SDK. They include adding new "APIs and features as soon as they are released", along with a faster update schedule, and a unified API surface. Microsoft claims this will allow apps like the Windows Photos app to get "the same set of Windows APIs that are available in the Windows App SDK" regardless of the app model that is chosen.

In the blog post today, Microsoft stated:

This change moves Photos to the latest Windows app development platform, with modern UI and other quality and performance improvements.

 

All the current Photos app features and functionality is still present in this version. However, given the extensive changes, this version may be a little rough around the edges as we continue to polish the experience. To get this experience, Windows Insiders on Windows 11 in the Canary and Dev channels can update the Photos app to version number 2024.11040.1002.0.

Dev and Canary Insiders can send their feedback about the new Windows Photos app in the Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Photos.

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Krystian Kolondra, EVP of Browsers and Gaming at Opera, said:

“Introducing Local LLMs in this way allows Opera to start exploring ways of building experiences and knowhow within the fast-emerging local AI space."

Opera is calling these new features as part of its "AI Feature Drops Program" and swears user data will be kept locally on their device, allowing them to use generative AI without the need to send information to a server. The company is utilizing the Ollama open-source framework to run these models on users' computers. Each variant of the models has between 2-10GB of space on the local system.

Opera is trying hard to jump on the AI bandwagon with these new features, although local LLMs aren't the first AI thing the browser features. With the launch of Opera One last year, the company has made itself clear that it's trying to be an AI-centric flagship browser and even launched Aria, its AI assistant. The features will help Opera enhance its market share by offering unique and innovative features to its users. As of March 2024, Opera has a desktop browser market share of 3.15%, as per Statcounter.

If you are interested in exploring this new feature in Opera, you can upgrade to the newest version of Opera Developer and follow these steps to activate the local LLMs on your computer. Once activated, the local LLM will be utilized on the user's machine instead of Opera's own AI assistant Aria, till the user starts a chat with Aria or switches it back on.

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This known issue only impacts users with Outlook.com country domains, according to a support document published by Redmond on Tuesday.

Affected Outlook users are being told in follow-up emails from Gmail's servers that their messages were suspicious and have been stopped from reaching the recipient's inbox.

"Remote server returned message detected as spam [..]. Gmail has detected that this message is likely suspicious due to the very low reputation of the sending domain. To best protect our users from spam, the message has been blocked," the replies from Gmail's mail server (mx.google.com) explain.

Google's support website says that it's very likely that only a subset of these messages are being blocked because they have "a strong likelihood of being spam."

Temporary fix available

Until the Outlook.com Team can address this newly acknowledged issue, Microsoft advises impacted users to add an Outlook.com alias to their accounts and email Gmail contacts using that alias.

Outlook aliases are additional email addresses associated with your Outlook.com account, and they use the same inbox, contact list, and account settings as your primary email address.

Users can sign in to their Outlook.com accounts with any alias because they all use the same credentials.

To add a fresh alias, click "Add an alias" and log in to your Microsoft account if required. Within the "Add an Alias" section, create a new Outlook.com email address and designate it as an alias or add an existing email address as an alias, then click "Add Alias."

After creating the new Outlook.com alias, follow these instructions on how to send email from a different email address or change your primary alias.

Google's new anti-spam guidelines

While Microsoft didn't share the root cause behind Outlook.com emails getting tagged and blocked as spam, Google suggests Redmond should review its new bulk sender guidelines to improve Outlook email deliverability to Gmail accounts.

Google is now blocking emails sent by bulk senders who don't follow stricter spam thresholds and authenticate their messages as required by new guidelines designed to strengthen defenses against spam and phishing attacks.

"Starting in April 2024, we'll begin rejecting non-compliant traffic. Rejection will be gradual and will impact non-compliant traffic only," the company says in a recently updated support document.

"We strongly recommend senders use the temporary failure enforcement period to make any changes required to become compliant."

In June, Google will start enforcing these new requirements to block spam, phishing attempts, and malware from reaching its users' inboxes.

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Today, Microsoft unveiled the prices for those planning to make use of the Extended Security Program for Windows 10.

According to the official blog post, Microsoft will charge customers $61 per year for one computer. The program will run for three years, and those planning to join it later will have to pay for the previous period since each update is cumulative and includes every security fix released prior. IT admins will be able to enroll Windows 10 devices into the program using the traditional 5-by-5 activation method with a 25-character key.

If an organization is using cloud-based updated management solutions, it can benefit from a special offer that entitles it to a 25% discount. The promotion allows companies to secure the first year of ESU for $45 per user (up to five devices).

Finally, the Extended Security Update program for Windows 10 will be free for companies using Windows 365 to access cloud-based Windows 11 PCs. ESU is included in the Windows 365 licensing with a one-year commitment.

Microsoft clearly states that companies should not consider the Extended Security Program a long-term solution. Instead, Microsoft recommends using it as a "temporary bridge" while transitioning to a newer, supported Windows version.

Interestingly, the blog post does not mention "regular customers" who will also be able to enroll in the Extended Security Program. Microsoft will most likely announce all the details, prices, and rules in a separate post soon.

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However, a lot of the speculation fell flat as a new report suggested Windows 12 was not happening, at least not in 2024, anymore. However, the report also added that version 24H2 of Windows 11 was going to be a major update, unlike 23H2.

Soon after, Microsoft officially confirmed Windows 11 24H2 and also referred to it as the "2024 Update" for Windows 11.

If you are wondering about the release date of 24H2, you wouldn't be too far off if you guessed that the next version would be generally available (G.A.) in and around September and October, which is when Microsoft also released its previous Windows 11 versions.

A new report from Windows Central claims this is the case. The report also adds that the Windows 11 24H2 will hit RTM (release to manufacturing) this month (April 2024) and that the first AI PCs, built on Arm, will be unveiled a couple of months later in June. It is unsurprising considering Microsoft recently published Windows Hardware Lab Kit (HLK) Insider Previews for system requirements compatibility testing.

The report also talks about an event next month where it shows off new AI features version 24H2 will be loaded with. For example, there is apparently a new "AI File Explorer" in the works. It is unclear if this will be at the Build 2024 conference or something separate.

The full release time frame for Windows 11 24H2 is given below:

• April 2024: Windows 11 version 24H2 reaches RTM milestone.

• May 2024: Microsoft holds Windows event to unveil new AI experiences.

• June 2024: The first Arm-PCs with version 24H2 preloaded start shipping.

• July 2024: Microsoft finalizes feature set for Windows 11 version 24H2.

• August 2024: Microsoft signs-off on day-one feature patch for version 24H2.

• September 2024: Windows 11 version 24H2 + new AI features releases to everyone.

Interestingly and perhaps coincidentally, the December 2023 report that first mentioned the Windows 12 release date being June, alongside a slew of AI PCs. Hence, there may have been some truth to such reports that Microsoft may have been looking at a simultaneous reveal of Windows 11 24H2 as well as Windows 12.

It is also possible that such plans were never finalized as Microsoft partners like Intel and Qualcomm never explicitly stated whether we would see a new generation of Windows.

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In a post on the Microsoft 365 Inside blog this week, the company showed off the new drag and drop improvements for Excel on the web. Users can now click on any row or column in a spreadsheet and then drag that selected row or column when the cursor turns into the hand icon. They can then drop in another row or column.

There's also been some changes to the auto-fill function for the Excel web editions. You can now add data into one of your spreadsheet's cells and then select that same cell. You can then drag that cell with the use of the plus icon that shows up in the bottom right corner of your selected cell.

Finally, clicking on the Paste options in the Excel web menu ribbon will now add some new and specific paste selections when you click on the Paste Special options. They include:

• Values Only
• Formulas Only
• Formatting Only
• Link To Source
• Keep Source Column Widths
• Transpose Rows and Columns

You can also use these new options when you right-click the location in the spreadsheet where you want to paste in the data.

Microsoft recently added a feature to the Excel web edition that allows it to export its spreadsheets in the popular CSV file format. It also announced that Excel, along with other Microsoft productivity apps, will get some new functions via Copilot for Microsoft 365. Later in April, they will allow users to type in prompts and get answers to questions based on their own work content.

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For those unfamiliar, each month, Valve randomly picks a subset of Steam users and offers them anonymous participation in the survey. The provided data is platform-average, and it helps developers decide where to invest their time and resources to reach as many customers as possible.

According to Valve, in March 2024, Windows 11 went down from 41.96% to 41.61%. On the other hand, Windows 10 gained what Windows 11 lost—its market share increased from 54.19% to 54.40%. Other Windows versions, which are now unsupported, continue to their inevitable demise. 64-bit Windows 7 has 0.49% (-0.08 points), and 64-bit Windows 8.1 has 0.08% (-0.01 points).

1. 64-bit Windows 10 - 54.40% (+0.21 points)
2. Windows 11 - 41.61% (-0.35 points)
3. 64-bit Windows 7 - 0.49% (-0.08 points)
4. 64-bit Windows 8.1 - 0.08% (-0.01 points)

Overall, 96.67% of all Steam users play games on Windows PCs (-0.24%). MacOS has 1.38% (+0.06), and Linux has 1.94% (+0.18).

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

You can find more information on the official Steam Hardware and Software Survey website.

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In a post on the Microsoft 365 Insider blog, the company said that many users of Loop would like some "more flexibility and functionality" for its task list components feature. Today, Microsoft has made an update to that feature with a newly refreshed design that looks more like the tables in Loop. They now include UI additions like borders, a summary roll, and more.

In addition to the UI changes, Microsoft has added filtering options to task list components, so you can narrow down the task lists by name, assignee, due date, and more. You can even put in multiple filter choices to narrow the lists even more. Microsoft has also added a row height feature that allows you to change and customize the length of a task list row height to whatever you want.

Microsoft Loop also now lets you expand or collapse task list components, and there's a new multi-select feature that lets you select more than one row to accomplish an action and have it affect all of the rows you selected.

Microsoft has even listed some features that are coming in the coming months:

You will also be able to filter by task status as well as filter complete and incomplete tasks by check circle status.

In the meantime, all of the other new task list component features are live in the Microsoft Loop app. You do have to have a Microsoft 365 subscription with a Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 commercial license and a stable internet connection to use these features.

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In a blog post, Microsoft announced that Windows 11 users of the free edition of Teams can now create what it calls a Community Bot. It's a new automatic welcome message that is sent to a user when they join a Teams (free) community group. Microsoft stated:

Community Bot can be used to share important details, prompt new members to introduce themselves, acquaint new members to the community or whatever you would like to say!

Community group leaders can add the bot message by selecting the community they wish from the list, and then clicking on the More options (…) menu next to the community name. They can select the Community Bot option and write the welcome message. They can then preview it and finally, they can select the Save option to have it ready for any new community members.

Microsoft Teams (free) also added two new features for iOS and Android users in the past month. One is a new noise suppression feature for meetings. You can use the default Auto setting in the apps which will automatically make the changes to the noise suppression levels, or manually switch it from Low to High. Be aware that the High option will block all noise except your own voice.

Finally, mobile app users for Microsoft Teams (free) can now add a website link in community groups. Once added, the link will be available for all members of that community along with anyone who gets an invite link to that group.

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Skype Preview on Android now lets you paste text and retain its formatting, such as bolt, italic, strikethrough, and code. This change will help you preserve formatting and avoid wasting time re-applying it.

Another change in Skype 8.116 is Channels 2.0 (a built-in news feed powered by Microsoft News with over 3,500 news providers). Here are the new features it includes:

• Channels Store: Dive into a curated selection of channels and find your next favorite community.
• Seamless Transition: Experience the switch to a more robust backend, designed for live broadcasting to all subscribers, bringing the latest stories to your fingertips.
• Channels Preview: Peek at channel content before deciding to follow.
• Channel Profile: View detailed profiles of channels to learn more at a glance.
• Follow/Unfollow: Seamlessly join channels that pique your interest and leave those that no longer do.
• Effortless Unsubscribe: Leaving a channel is just a click away, with options to explore new ones in our enhanced Store.
• Manage Channels: Full control over your channel preferences and notifications.
• Chat List Header Update: A refreshed look for a more intuitive user interface.
• First Experience Refined: Select and subscribe to your preferred channels with our friendly first-run experience.
• Article Sharing: Share and discuss articles right within your channels.
• Default Mute: Dive into your content without the distraction of notifications unless you opt-in.
• Report a Concern: Easily report content or concerns to keep the community safe.

Finally, Skype 8.116 has fixed the bug that was causing a persistent spinner in chats.

You can download the latest Skype Insider update from the official website. The program is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android.

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A bit of good news is that the company may be looking at redesigning the Start menu soon. Regardless, if you intend to have more options to tweak the Windows 11 Start menu, you can try out this Windhawk mod that allows users to customize it.

This mod is dubbed Windows 11 Start Menu Styler and you can do some cool tweaking to the Start menu like removing certain undesired items. You need Windhawk version 1.4 or newer for this mod to work.

The developer of the mod has explained how it works. They write:

The settings have two sections: control styles and resource variables. Control
styles allow to override styles, such as size and color, for the target
elements. Resource variables allow to override predefined variables.

In terms of what a user can do, this mod allows the ability to remove the Search box, the Recommended section, the User profile button, and also the Power button. It also allows users to move pinned app lists.

The list of things users can do as of now is given below:

• Remove the search box
• Move pinned app lists
• Remove the Recommended section
• Remove the user profile button
• Move the power button

Detailed instructions on how to configure and modify the above are available on this page on the app's GitHub repo.

For example, if you wish to remove the Recommended Section, you can place the following in the Target box:

Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#ShowMoreSuggestions, Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#SuggestionsParentContainer, Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls.Grid#TopLevelSuggestionsListHeader

After this, a user needs to enter "Visibility=Collapsed" in the Styles box in order to hide the Recommended section. You can view the necessary modifications in the image above.

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This past week, the update was made available to all Windows 11 users via KB5035942 as an optional update. However, we noticed several users online complaining about various issues installing the update as it would fail or the system would crash with a blue screen.

Regardless, Microsoft, as always, published a standalone package to improve the compatibility of KB5035942 by updating the Windows recovery. This WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment) update has been delivered via SafeOS update under KB5036567.

If you are having issues while installing KB5035942, it may be worth it to give this a shot.

Microsoft writes:

KB5036567: Compatibility update for installing and recovering Windows 11, version 22H2 and 23H2: March 26, 2024

 

Summary

 

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery features for Windows 11, version 22H2 and Windows 11, version 23H2.

In a Tech community blog post about Windows 10 Dynamic Updates, Microsoft explained Dynamic Updates in more detail regarding its various components and uses. These packages include fixes to Setup.exe binaries, SafeOS updates for Windows Recovery Environment, and more:

As soon as a Windows 10 feature update initiates, whether from media or a Windows Update service-connected environment, Dynamic Update is one of the first steps invoked. Windows 10 Setup reaches out to an Internet-facing URL hosted by Microsoft to fetch Dynamic Update content, then applies those updates to your OS installation media.

 

Content acquired includes:

 

• Setup Updates: Fixes to Setup binaries or any files that Setup uses for feature updates.
• Safe OS Updates: Fixes for the "safe OS" that are used to update Windows recovery environment (WinRE).
• Servicing Stack Updates: Fixes that are necessary to address the Windows 10 servicing stack issue and thus required to complete the feature update.
• Latest Cumulative Update: Installs the latest cumulative quality update.
• Driver Updates: Latest version of applicable drivers that have already been published by manufacturers into Windows Update and specifically targeted for Dynamic Update.

 

In addition to these updates, Dynamic Update will preserve Language Pack (LP) and Features on Demand (FODs) content during the upgrade process. These are not updates to LPs and FODs, but reacquisition to ensure the user has these elements present with the update completes.

The update is available from the Microsoft Update Catalog website at the following link: KB5036567.

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This past week, the update was made available to all Windows 11 users via KB5035942 as an optional update. However, several users online are reporting installation issues, and some of the affected who are managing to complete the installation and setup are further experiencing black screen issues on startup.

The problems came to our attention when we found several posts on the Microsoft Community forum with users complaining that they were having installation-related issues with the said update.

User OnlyAlex22 reported that they were unable to verify whether KB5035942 was successfully installed. At the time of writing, 11 others upvoted this query as they are seemingly experiencing something similar. They write:

KB5035942 and KB5036035 were both available as updates on my Windows 11 PCs. I installed them on two devices successfully, but on one device KB5036035 got stuck at down

 

loading 98% for hours. KB5035942 installed fine.

As the second KB got stuck, I restarted the device and it said 'installing updates' and then I noticed KB5036035 was available again and downloaded and installed fine with a further restart.

The problem is, I cannot find KB5035942 listed in Windows Update history as installed today like on all my other PCs or available to uninstall.

I can see though that it has I think been installed through reliability history.

How do I know if this KB has been installed correctly and do I need to be concerned that it's not showing in Windows Update history or available to uninstall?

In a separate post, another user Margaret Foster1 faced something similar:

I have Windows11 23H2 and kb5035942 will not install it keeps saying something went wrong and no worries we are undoing the install? I have tried to install manually and it says it is already installed but the update notification still remains and say a restart is required.

Yet another user J9b_361 says the update failed to install with an error code "0x80188309."

The system can Blue Screen too as user Nikhil Katiyar_CH notes:

With the latest release of KB5035942, we have observed that most of the machines are getting prompted for 'Automatic Repair", or "Blue Screen Error". The count of crashed machines is increasing with each installing the update.

At the time of writing, eight others have upvoted this query.

Meanwhile, some of those who manage to install the update can run into a black desktop screen. Steve H writes on their Feedback Hub post:

Windows Update KB5035942 is causing Startup problems

 

After installing KB5035942 the computer restarts and then the screen goes blank. Only the mouse is visible.
I uninstalled this update and it installed again in the Widows update. I tried using wushowhide but it did not appear on the list of updates to hide.

Another user Josh H writes:

Black desktop background after KB5035942 preview update

 

My workstation updated overnight. The first time logging in, after a while my desktop background image renders, but if I do things like create a drag-select box, that region of the desktop gets repainted as a black background. The black desktop behavior persists after a reboot. After rebooting and logging in, my desktop background image has yet to display at all.

Barring any roadblocking bugs, Microsoft will release the Moment 5 update for everyone along with the April "Patch Tuesday" update (which used to be reserved for fixing problems with Windows) on Windows 11 23H2. One can only hope that Microsoft is able to identify the issues that some are having with installing the optional Moment 5 update before the compulsory global roll-out.

If you installed KB5035942 on your Windows 11 PC, let us know in the comments below if it was a smooth operation or whether it led to problems.

Source

According to Statcounter, February 2024 was not the best month for Windows 11. After reaching its highest point in January, Microsoft's latest operating system dipped quite significantly, going from 28.18% to 26.72% (-1.46 points). Interestingly, the company recently started sending out "invitations to upgrade" to more non-managed devices with Windows 10. So far, those invitations have not helped Windows 11 increase its market share.

Windows 10, on the other hand, reclaimed some of the previously lost audience. As of right now, its market share sits just a little higher than 69%. Statcounter claims Windows 10 increased its market share by 1.81 points. Windows 10 will reach its end of life in October 2025, so expect Microsoft to expedite the rollout of Windows 11 to more eligible devices in the near future.

Despite their "no support" status, Windows 7, 8.1, and 8 still have relatively big market shares. Windows 7 is at 3.04%, Windows 8.1 is at 0.44%, and Windows 8 is at 0.29%. Even Windows XP has a large enough audience with access to the internet (even though mainstream browsers dropped Windows XP years ago) to register on Statcounter's gauges—0.39%.

Here is the breakdown of the Windows market as of March 2024 by Statcounter:

1. Windows 10: 69.04% (+1.81 points)
2. Windows 11: 26.72% (-1.46 points)
3. Windows 7: 3.04% (-0.06 points)
4. Windows 8.1: 0.44% (-0.22 points)
5. Windows XP: 0.39% (-0.13 points)

You can find more information on the official Statcounter website.

Disclaimer: Statcounter reports are not 100% accurate. Click here to learn how the company gathers data. Microsoft does not provide official stats and Windows version breakdowns, so users and developers have to rely on third-party analytics services.

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The March 2024 report from Statcounter reveals that Microsoft Edge is still having a hard time getting new users. During the month, it lost 0.05 points and reached 12.71%. Even though Microsoft Edge is preinstalled on hundreds of millions of PCs worldwide, most people still prefer Chrome.

The slow growth of Edge could also be attributed to the recent changes Microsoft implemented to make its products DMA-compliant in Europe, such as the ability to uninstall Microsoft Edge without using third-party apps, scripts, and hacks.

It is not all negative, though. Microsoft is trying to lure users with legitimately useful features. For example, Microsoft Edge will soon let you limit how much memory it eats. This feature might make the browser more appealing to users who are conscious of resource consumption on their computers.

Google Chrome is still the number one. It increased its already unreachable market share to 65.77%, going up 0.39 points in one month. And with Chrome now being fully ARM-friendly, those planning to buy the upcoming computers powered by the Snapdragon X Elite platform will have even fewer incentives to switch browsers.

Here is the breakdown of the desktop browser market as of March 2024:

1. Google Chrome - 65.77% (+0.39 points)
2. Microsoft Edge - 12.71% (-0.05 points)
3. Apple Safari - 8.63% (-0.08 points)
4. Mozilla Firefox - 6.61% (-0.64 points)
5. Opera - 3.15% (+0.1 points)

And here is what things look like on the mobile side, where the market is dominated by Google and Apple:

1. Google Chrome - 65.29% (-0.63 points)
2. Apple Safari - 24.26% (+0.49 points)
3. Samsung Internet - 4.41% (-0.01 points)
4. Opera - 2.2% (+0.03 points)
5. UC Browser - 1.44% (+0.11 points)

On the mobile market, Microsoft Edge has a 0.3% share, which went down 0.02 points in March 2024. Microsoft is working on browser extension support for the Edge browser on mobile, so maybe it will help convert some users from Chrome or Samsung Internet.

You can find more information on the official Statcounter website.

Disclaimer: Statcounter reports rely on code embedded into millions of websites across the internet. Therefore, they are not 100% accurate. Click here to learn more about how the company gathers data.

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According to a Reuters report, Microsoft will sell its chat and video app Teams separately from its Office product globally.

A Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters:

To ensure clarity for our customers, we are extending the steps we took last year to unbundle Teams from M365 and O365 in the European Economic Area and Switzerland to customers globally.

The unbundling means Microsoft enterprise customers around the globe will be able to purchase Microsoft 365 subscriptions without Teams, or have to buy a standalone version of Teams.

The spokesperson added:

Doing so also addresses feedback from the European Commission by providing multinational companies more flexibility when they want to standardise their purchasing across geographies.

The report states that starting April 1, customers will have the option to either continue with their current arrangement, renew their existing license, update it, or switch to the new offers available.

As for the pricing, Reuters notes:

For new commercial customers, prices for Office without Teams range from $7.75 to $54.75 depending on the product while Teams Standalone will cost $5.25. The figures may vary by country and currency. The company did not disclose prices for current packaged products.

The decision comes after the European Commission (EC) opened a formal antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s bundling of its Teams software with the Office productivity suite last year.

However, the EC first received a complaint against Microsoft regarding its bundling of Teams with Microsoft 365 from one of Teams' competitors, Slack, over three years ago. Slack contended that packaging the products together provides Microsoft with an unfair advantage.

Microsoft has yet to publicly announce the changes regarding the unbundling of Teams officially.

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Microsoft recently announced the end of built-in Android emulation on Windows. The company announced the deprecation of the Windows Subsystem for Android, which offered a comfortable option to run Android games and apps on Windows.

With it gone, users must look at other options to run Android apps and games on their devices.

The best Android emulator for gaming

Windows users have a good selection of Android emulators, especially when it comes to gaming. From Google’s official Google Play Games for PC to established emulators. Some offer extensive features and options, while others are clearly lacking in some areas.

BlueStacks

Minimum System Requirements:

• Operating System: Windows 7 and newer
• RAM: 4 GB
• Hard Drive: 5 GB
• Processor: Intel or AMD
• Other: Windows admin account

BlueStacks is an Android emulator for Windows PCs. It offers a real emulation of Android on your PC.

You can log in to Google Play with a Google account to install Google Play games. Google Play support gives you access to all games of the marketplace.

You also have access to games in the BlueStacks Store. You find a number of exclusive games here. All games are free and some include free access access to paid content.

In addition to these options, BlueStacks also offers to install local Android files in APK format. The last two options do not require a Google account.

After installation, it is not the emulator that opens, but the BlueStacks user interface. It provides access to the BlueStacks Store, Google Play games, a marketplace with offers and your installed games.

The emulator is loaded from here, for example when you start a game from your library or install a new game.

Tip: Advertising is automatically displayed on the side. However, you can deactivate this in the settings.

Games are played with a mouse and keyboard, or with gamepads such as a PS4, PS5 or Xbox One controller. The emulator supports a resolution of up to Full HD.

BlueStacks supports a variety of options that can improve your gaming experience. For example, you can activate the shooting mode in shooters by pressing F1 to aim with your mouse.

You can also customize the game controls, create macros for recurring tasks to automate them, or activate real-time translation to translate games into other languages. If you want to play several games at the same time, you can also do this.

Pros:

• Access all Google Play content, some exclusive content, and local Android files
• Comfortable features such as macros, control customizations, real-time translations, or multi-instances supported.

Cons: 

• A bit on the heavy side.
• Supports up to Full HD.

Google Play Games

Minimum System Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 10 and newer
• RAM: 8 GB
• Hard Drive: 10 GB Solid State Drive
• Graphics: Intel UHD 630 or better
• Processor: 4 cores
• Other: Windows admin account and hardware virtualization

Google Play Games on PC allows you to play a number of popular games for Android on your Windows PC. The number of games is manageable. In October 2023, the 3000 games mark was broken.

Popular Android games such as Clash of Clans, Fallout Shelter, or Angry Birds 2 are available. However, you won't find a single game from the current Android games top 10 here. You can view the list of games here.

Google Play Games on PC is currently available as a beta for Windows PCs. The installation checks your PC's settings and informs you of any changes you need to make.

A Google account is mandatory. We like the fact that your progress in some of the games is synchronized between all platforms. If you have a smartphone or tablet with Android, you can continue playing at any time.

One advantage of Google Play games on the PC is that you can also play with a mouse and keyboard. Controllers have been supported since the October 2023 update.

Optimized games also start in full-screen mode, which further improves convenience. According to Google, resolutions up to 4K are now supported.

Beware: games can contain advertising and in-game purchases. In the case of advertising, games may be advertised that you cannot play on your PC.

Pros:

• Part of the games are optimized for PC.
• Synchronization between PC and Android devices.
• Supports mouse, keyboard, and controllers.
• Up to 4K support.

Con:s

• Not that many games. Many popular titles missing.
• No support for local Android games.

LDPlayer

Minimum system requirements:

• Processor: Intel or AMD processor.
• Operating System: Windows XP or newer.
• RAM: 2 GB
• Hard Drive: 36 GB
• Other: hardware virtualization enabled.

LDPlayer is a popular choice when it comes to emulating Android on Windows devices. Note that LDPlayer includes advertisement. You may purchase a premium subscription to get rid of it.

Attention: The installer included an optional offer to install McAfee WebAdvisor. Make sure you decline the installation.

Installation is straightforward otherwise. The interface loads quickly, and you see a list of game suggestions on start. A Google account is required to install games here. The player does support installing Android APK files, which is a great alternative for users who prefer not to sign in using their Google account.

The player is not as cumbersome as some of the others, but much of it depends on the system you run the emulator on.

LDPlayer comes with an impressive list of extra features. These include recording games, the ability to run multiple instances, or support for mapping the keyboard.

Pros:

• Good performance.
• Install apps and games locally and via Google Play.
• Supports mouse, keyboard, and controller input.
• Plenty of configuration options to tune the emulator.

Cons:

• Installer includes adware.

Closing Words

Windows users have plenty of options when it comes to playing Android games on PC. All three of the emulators mentioned above worked well during tests. If you have a fairly modern machine, you may want to try BlueStacks first. If your machine is older, LDPlayer may be your first pick.

Google Play Games suffers from weak game support. This may change in the future, but for now, it is only an option if you want to play a game that it supports.

You can check out this list of 7 Android emulators for Windows 11 for additional suggestions.

Do you prefer another Android emulator or have something to add? Let us know in the comments below.

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We’ve heard about TON in the past but it looks like now the company is putting it to use. The TON Blockchain boasts low fees and high transaction speeds - it even holds a record for the number of transactions that it can process per second.

You do not have to withdraw your Toncoins if you don’t want to. You can reinvest them in Telegram ads, collectible usernames, or Premium giveaways. The ads aspect is pretty interesting because you’ll be able to use them to promote your bot or channel, further increasing traffic to your channel.

Discussing ads a little bit, the company said that you can create ads with just a handful of Toncoins. When you are making your ad, you can select the exact channels where you would like them to appear so you can better target it.

If you’re a Telegram user reading this and screaming “Oh, no! Not ads!”, you don’t need to worry too much as they will only be shown in large public channels and will never appear in your chats, chat list, or other interfaces.

These ads are also privacy-friendly, they are never displayed based on user data. You’ll only see the ads aimed at particular channels you’re in and they benefit the admin of the channel so he will be encouraged to continue maintaining the channel.

If you’re still miffed at the decision, you’ll have to subscribe to Telegram Premium where you’ll be able to turn off ads and get access to exclusive features, including new Telegram Business features that just launched.

Let us know in the comments what you think about this change. Are you a Telegram channel owner who plans to monetise your content?

Source: Telegram

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Microsoft is reuniting management of its Windows operating system and its Surface devices, as the leader of its Windows and Web Experiences team has quit his current role and may leave the company.

The move is one of the repercussions of Microsoft’s appointment of a former Google artificial intelligence (AI) leader to run its new AI division.

Mikhail Parakhin, who as Microsoft’s CEO of advertising and web services was also responsible for Windows and web experiences, is seeking new opportunities, potentially outside of Microsoft, according to an internal memo seen by Computerworld and sent by Microsoft’s head of experiences and devices, Rajesh Jha.

Parakhin was also in charge of the team responsible for the development of Bing, Edge and Copilot—formerly Bing Chat—and now a key product for the company’s client-side AI strategy.

In that capacity, he was placed under former Google employee Mustafa Suleyman, who recently joined Microsoft as EVP and CEO of AI. Suleyman also now leads Microsoft’s generative AI (GenAI) team, which is run by Microsoft corporate vice president Misha Bilenko.

Leading Microsoft into AI

Jha wished Parakhin well in his new endeavors but did not specify whether they would be inside or outside of Microsoft.

“Satya [Nadella, Microsoft CEO] and I are grateful for Mikhail’s contributions and leadership and want to thank him for all he has done to help Microsoft lead in the new AI wave,” he wrote in the memo.

Those contributions include leading the consumer AI strategy by integrating Copilot into Microsoft products such as Bing Search, Office, and other services and devices as part of Microsoft’s push into AI since unveiling its partnership last year with OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.

Parakhin also had a reputation for being transparent about Microsoft’s plans for its products with the company’s vast community of users and maintaining an open dialogue with them about their needs and concerns.

As he mulls his next move, Parakhin will report to Kevin Scott, CTO and EVP of AI, who will continue in his role for the new division.

Windows and Surface reunited

With Parakhin’s move, Microsoft also merged the Windows Experiences and Windows + Devices teams as a core part of the Experiences + Devices (E+D) division to streamline its AI client strategy, according to Jha’s memo.

“This will enable us to take a holistic approach to building silicon, systems, experiences, and devices that span Windows client and cloud for this AI era,” he wrote, announcing direct report Pavan Davuluri as the leader of Microsoft’s Windows and Surface team, which “will continue to work closely with the Microsoft AI team on AI, silicon, and experiences.”

Indeed, this alignment of Microsoft’s client teams will help the company shore up its position moving forward as it carves out its space in the burgeoning AI market, noted John Gallagher, Vice President of Viakoo Labs at Viakoo, a provider of automated IoT cyber hygiene.

“Having Windows and Surface under one leader makes a lot more sense than having those roles split,” he said. “Recombining these functions signals that Microsoft will be more aggressive in how they optimize hardware and software to create a user experience.” 

Streamlined approach

Suleyman co-founded the DeepMind AI lab—one of the pioneers in the space—in London in 2010; Google acquired the lab in 2014. He department Google in 2022 to co-found and lead another AI startup, Inflection AI. Along with Suleyman, another Inflection alum Karén Simonyan also joined Microsoft AI as chief scientist, as did several other former Inflection employees.

Microsoft is tightening up its consumer AI strategy and gearing up for a major push. Indeed, the organizational changes are aimed at helping the company “double down on this innovation,” Nadella wrote in a blog post of the memo sent to employees unveiling Suleyman’s appointment.

The newly formed Microsoft AI group will focus on developing the Copilot chatbot and furthering its integration into various Microsoft products, as well as overseeing consumer AI products and research.

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That included reveals of a new Teams app called Queues that lets users take customer calls in Teams that's coming in June along with a way to interact with Microsoft's Copilot in the new Outlook for Windows and on the web in April.

However, there are some other entries on the roadmap site that are all new. One of them is a new feature coming to Teams for the desktop in May called Meet Now:

Start a huddle with you colleagues using meet now in group chat. Meet now in group chat is a ringless experience designed to enable ad-hoc, real-time communication with your team in a hybrid environment.

Another new entry for Teams on the desktop in May is called Programmatic Desktop Sharing:

We are introducing programmatic desktop sharing, which allows developers to enable screensharing specific pieces of app content. Unlike the currently existing share to stage functionality, meeting participants cannot interact with the shared app; they have a view-only mode of the presenter's app screen similar to screen sharing, but in one click. The shared content is also automatically captured in the meeting recording. This works great for co-consumption scenarios and requires little developer investment.

Teams users on the desktop will get a way to ask for consent from other users to transcript meetings sometime in April:

The meeting policy that requires explicit consent to be recorded is expanding to include transcription. When the policy is applied, a notification will pop-up when the recording or transcription is initiated requesting consent of all participants to be transcribed and recorded. Before a user gives consent, the user cannot unmute, turn on camera or share content in the meeting.

Other new entries on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap website include adding Graph Grounded Chat for Copilot in Excel in April on the web, desktop, and Mac:

Ask Copilot for answers grounded in your work content from the Microsoft Graph—your chats, documents, meetings, and emails—beyond your active Excel workbook. If you’re analyzing a workbook and want to enhance your understanding using information from another source in your tenant, just ask Copilot in Excel.

The new Outlook for Windows and the web will add a feature in May that will let users add shared folders to their favorites. If you have PDFs stored on your OneDrive account, a new web-based feature in May will let you annotate and save those files.

That is our look back at the past week on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap. As usual, we will be back in seven more days with even more new entries to report.

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PhantomOfEarth, the ever-giving source of hidden stuff in Windows 11 preview builds, discovered that Windows 11 build 22635.3420 lets you change from list to grid view in the "All Apps" section. Like other unannounced features, this one requires a bit of tinkering using the ViVeTool app until Microsoft makes it official.

How to enable the new Start menu layout in Windows 11 build 22635.3420

1. Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files in a convenient and easy-to-find folder.
2. Run Command Prompt as Administrator and open the folder with the ViVeTool files using the CD command.
3. Type vivetool /enable /id:48433541,48433706,48433719,48468527,48468541 and press Enter.
4. Type vivetool /enable /id:47205210 /variant:2 and press Enter
5. Restart your computer.

If you are tempted to try the new Start menu layout on your system with the latest Windows 11 Beta build, note that the implementation is a bit raw, which is hardly surprising for an unannounced feature. For example, only the "Start settings" option is present when you right-click any application in the "All apps" list. Therefore, you cannot pin or uninstall programs using the context menu. In addition, there are no folders, so it is one big grid of all applications on your computer in alphabetical order.

Microsoft will most likely iron those bugs out before shipping the new layout to Windows Insiders (assuming it will do so).

Which layout do you like more? Grid or list? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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