KC Softwares was first mentioned here on this site in January 2008. We tested the company's flagship product SUMO, Software Updates Monitor, against four other programs designed to improve the updating of Windows applications.

Lots of mentions followed, as well as an extensive review of SUMO in 2015. SUMO was not the company's only program; there were others, like DUMO, designed for driver updates, Startup Sentinel, to manage autostart entries, or Video Inspector, a program to display information about the codecs that a video file required for playback.

SUMO is an excellent program. It scans installed programs on the Windows PC and checks the installed versions of the programs against a database that contains information about the latest versions of programs.

Users could then update none, one, some or all of the applications, use a disallow-list to protect programs from being updated, and also include beta or development editions in the checks.

If you visit the KC Softwares website right now, you'll see a termination notice at the very top of every page.

The following explanation is offered on the site: "KC Softwares activities are to be terminated by end of October 2023. All products are to be considered as End-Of-Life (EOL) on October 31st 2023. Sales are stopped."

The company has stopped sales of its products already and plans to set the status of all of its software applications to discontinued on October 31, 2023.

No additional information is provided on the website. We asked KC Softwares about the termination and managed to find out more about the closure. While it did not reveal a specific reason for the closure, it did state that "several good alternatives" are on the market.

The EOL data means that products that rely on server connectivity, such as SUMO or DUMO, will stop working, once the server architecture is shut down.

As far as SUMO is concerned, the creation and rise of the Windows Package Manager winget, may have had an impact on downloads and sales. SUMO users may check out the application; while it does not offer all the features that SUMO offers, it may work for part of the user base, for instance, to update all Windows programs at once.

Now You: do you use KC Softwares applications?

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As spotted by an X (formerly Twitter) user, the latest Canary builds let you select one of two layouts: horizontal with webpages side-by-side and vertical with stacked tabs. You can also switch between them on the go by clicking a three-dot button and resize them by dragging a divider.

In addition to a new layout, Microsoft is working on another quality-of-life improvement for Split Screen. The "More option" menu will soon offer two options: open links in the secondary tab or the current one. To help users better understand the concept, there will be extra graphics explaining the behavior of each option.

Here are a few tips and tricks Microsoft suggests to help you make the best use of Split Screen:

Quickly navigate sites with drag and drop

Drag a link from your left screen to the right screen to quickly open, compare or switch sites in Split screen. Drag and drop is available even when Open link in current tab is selected.

Adjust your screen size

Change the size of your split screens with the slider in between the screens. Slide left or right until you reach your desired size.

Split your screen, not your attention

Take multitasking up a notch by experimenting with different split screen tasks to achieve your goals—compare prices across popular shopping sites or open a thesaurus while you write an essay. The combination pairs are endless!

If you want to try the updated Split Screen feature in Microsoft Edge Canary, head to the official Edge Insider website. Note that preview builds are often unstable and crash-prone, so the best way to test early new features is to run Canary alongside the stable release of your preferred browser (including Microsoft Edge).

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What you need to know

• Microsoft announces an end to servicing legacy v3 and v4 Windows printer drivers via Windows Update, to be completed in 2027.
• Manufacturers will subsequently need to provide third-party drivers via brand-specific support portals.
• With a first-party Microsoft IPP Class Driver, printers will function on modern versions of Windows without extra software.

In what might seem like the first genuinely helpful step forward for printer usability in years, Microsoft is ending its support for third-party printer drivers (via Tech Radar) delivered through Windows Update. Though it sounds daunting, native support for Mopria-compliant printers (a certification program promoting interoperability between different models and manufacturers) will be available via its first-party IPP Class Driver, first introduced in Windows 10 version 21H2.

For developers, this means moving printer customization options from a traditional Win32 environment to Microsoft's UWP (Universal Windows Platform) framework. Still, consumers will generally benefit from a more plug-and-play experience thanks to the cross-compatibility across all editions of Windows. Microsoft's roadmap shows its plans to phase out legacy drivers, with no new drivers to be published via Windows Update from 2025.

Will my printer still work?

This doesn't put an end to brand-supplied drivers, only to their delivery via Windows Update. If you connect a new printer to your personal computer or network, you'll be free to use basic printing functionality as provided by the Microsoft IPP Class Driver. Otherwise, manufacturers can host third-party drivers with extra features via the web or even a traditional CD-ROM (yes, some printers still come with these.)

Regarding security concerns, Microsoft professes it will still address any issues related to legacy drivers even after the service period ends if the edition of Windows is within its support lifecycle. Similarly, Microsoft has no plans to deactivate printer-specific features with the legacy driver platform, and multi-function printer/scanner/fax machines will still work over IPP (Internet Printing Protocol.)

By 2027, third-party drivers will have been completely phased out of Windows Update, save for security-related fixes. From then on, you'll be able to connect a printer and send print jobs immediately instead of scouring the Internet for outdated support pages with driver packages built for Windows Vista. Any extended functionality will remain accessible with a manual third-party install, preventing accidental driver overlap via automatic updates. Imagine that.

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It’s been two weeks since the release of Linux kernel 6.5, which means that the merge window for Linux kernel 6.6 is now officially closed and the first Release Candidate is now available for download for early adopters, developers, and everyone else who wants to get an early taste of the next major Linux release.

Linux kernel 6.6 will come with many new features and improved hardware support, as expected from a new kernel series. Some highlights include new Intel IVSC MEI drivers, a new firmware-attributes driver for changing BIOS settings from within Linux on HP devices, charger mode, middle fan and eGPU settings support for ASUS devices, and keyboard backlight control support for more Lenovo IdeaPad devices.

Also new is support for new Mellanox-powered devices, support for new device tree interfaces and other goodies for the RISC-V architecture, USB MIDI 2 gadget support, new IIO drivers, support for SEV-SNP and TDX guests on Hyper-V, support for the Cirrus Logic CS42L43 audio codec, support for Group Multi-Color (GMC) LEDs, support for the GameSir T4 Kaleid controller, KFENCE, KASAN, KGDB, and KDB support for the LoongArch architecture, and support for NVIDIA T4 GPUs to use Secondary Bus Reset.

Linux kernel 6.6 also promises zoned block device and compression support improvements for the F2FS file system, support for shared mmaps in no-cache mode for the FUSE file system, fixes for netfilter and BPF, a lot of fixes for the AMDGPU driver, regression fixes for MIDI 2.0 support, KASLR support and support for the BPF prog pack allocator on the RISC-V architecture, and better Intel RAPL power management.

“As always, there are way too many individual changes – or even developers – to list for the merge window. We’ve got 12k+ commits from 1700+ individual developers, And 800+ merges to tie it all together. All that is actually quite normal, this seems to be shaping up to be neither a very small nor a particularly large release,” said Linus Torvalds.

The final release of Linux kernel 6.6 is expected at the end of October or in early November 2023. Depending on how many Release Candidate (RC) milestones Linus Torvalds will announce until then, we could expect Linux 6.6 to arrive on October 29th if there will be seven RCs or on November 5th if eight Release Candidates are announced.

Until then, you can download the first Release Candidate (RC1) milestone of Linux kernel 6.6 right now from Linus Torvalds’s git tree or from the kernel.org website if you want to take it for a test drive on your PC. However, please keep in mind that this is a pre-release version that’s NOT suitable for use on a production machine.

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The company introduced troubleshooting tools in earlier versions of Windows. Many Fix-It solutions were released that were designed to resolve common issues, such as printing issues, no Internet connectivity, to improve battery life or address software installation problems.

A new support article on the Microsoft website provides details on the planned deprecation of the Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool and its troubleshooting tools.

The deprecation timeline "will take place over the next three years" according to Microsoft:

• 2023 – Begin redirecting some of the troubleshooters to the new Get Help troubleshooting platform
• 2024 – Complete the troubleshooter redirection and remove the rest of the troubleshooters
• 2025 – Remove the MSDT platform

Microsoft does not provide specific dates at this point. Starting in 2023, some troubleshooters will be redirected to the Get Help application already.

The plan is to move troubleshooting and support into Get Help, which is designed to become the support app for the Windows operating system. Windows users may run Get Help from the Start Menu. Individual Get Help troubleshooters are also available in the Settings app under System > Troubleshoot > Other Troubleshooters.

It displays a number of common issues that users may experience and has a text input field for searches.

The Get Help app displays advertisement to users, but it still displays options to run troubleshooters for issues that it identified based on the user's input.

Not all classic troubleshooters will be redirected to the Get Help app, as Microsoft won't recreate all of them. Some will be removed in 2024 from the Windows operating system without replacement.

The following troubleshooters will be removed from future versions of Windows 11 without replacement:

• Connection to a Workplace using DirectAccess
• Devices and Printers
• Hardware and Devices
• HomeGroup
• Incoming Connections
• Internet Explorer Performance
• Internet Explorer Safety
• Keyboard
• Power
• Search and Indexing
• Speech
• System Maintenance
• Shared Folders
• Windows Store Apps

The deprecation and removal of classic troubleshooters applies to future versions of Windows 11 only. Devices that run Windows 11 version 22H2 or older, including Windows 10, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7, are not affected by the change.

Users on those devices may continue to use the classic troubleshooting platforms to get issues fixed on their devices.

The Fix-It solutions, troubleshooters and also the Get Help issues fixer are designed to correct common issues experienced by users. Mileage varies greatly, and it is always recommended to make sure that the tools are not set up to fix issues automatically.

Now You: how is your experience with built-in troubleshooters in Windows?

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Austin wrote his own account on the creation of PowerPoint which can be read at the ComputerHistory.org site (in PDF format). Austin was hired by the Silicon Valley software company Forethought in October 1984 by its vice president of product development Robert Gaskins. The company was making software for Apple's Macintosh PCs but was in financial trouble.

Austin wrote that the company was trying to develop a presentation software app, based on an idea by Gaskins. In the end, Austin and Gaskins worked together on the app. Austin wrote:

The product design details required a lot of invention. Bob was able to spend many hours with me hashing over ideas. It was a productive process and the quality of my designs reflected Bob’s support and feedback. I have compared our collaboration to a building design project: Bob wanted to build a dream house and I was his architect.

The app had the working name Presenter, and as the name implied it was designed to not just show slides but to create presentations. Austin wrote:

It should allow the production of various presentation materials from a single master file. This would include both presentations slides (overhead transparencies, but also on-screen presentations, and perhaps eventually 35mm slides) and printed handouts. The potential high quality of output should be matched by high-resolution graphics and typeset-quality text.

As the development of Presenter moved forward, the company was looking for a new and better name. Austin wrote:

On a business trip, Bob looked out the airplane window and noted the “Power Point” runway sign just before takeoff. The name cleared the trademark search and before long we were putting the finishing touches on an About PowerPoint window for the new product.

PowerPoint 1.0 was launched on April 20, 1987, for the Macintosh. In August 1987, Microsoft bought Forethought and the rights to PowerPoint for $14 million. It was the company's first major acquisition and it turned out to be a good one. The software continues to be used extensively, and The Washington Post states that it's used to make 30 million presentations a day, according to Microsoft. Austin continued to work on PowerPoint as part of Microsoft until he retired in 1996.

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The Document Foundation announced today the general availability of LibreOffice 7.5.6 as the sixth maintenance update to the latest LibreOffice 7.5 open-source and free office suite series to fix more bugs and issues.

LibreOffice 7.5.6 is here almost two months after the LibreOffice 7.5.5 point release and addresses a total of 53 bugs that have been reported by users or discovered by the LibreOffice developers in the LibreOffice 7.5 series. For more details about these bug fixes, you can study the RC1 and RC2 changelogs.

If you’re using the LibreOffice 7.5 office suite series, you can download the LibreOffice 7.5.6 update right from the official website as binary installers packaged by The Document Foundation for DEB or RPM-based GNU/Linux distributions.

Source tarballs are also available for system integrators and those who want to compile LibreOffice from sources.

LibreOffice 7.5 arrived in February 2023 with new features and enhancements like dark mode support, new application and MIME-type icons, an enhanced Single Toolbar UI, improved PDF Export, and more.

It is supported until November 30th, 2023, with a total of seven maintenance updates. The next one, LibreOffice 7.5.7, is expected to hit the streets sometime at the end of October or in early November 2023 as the last update in the series.

The Document Foundation reminds us that this is the “Community” edition of LibreOffice supported by volunteers. For enterprise-class deployments, The Document Foundation recommends the LibreOffice Enterprise family of applications from ecosystem partners.

The Document Foundation also reminds us that LibreOffice 7.6 was released last month as a major update to this popular open-source office suite, so if you can upgrade to this version it’s highly recommended to do so as soon as possible. The first point release, LibreOffice 7.6.1, should be available as soon as next week too.

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The full changelog for the new build is given below:

Changes and Improvements

[Start menu]

• Rich thumbnail previews (tooltips) for cloud files under Recommended on the Start menu and the ability to right-click to share on these files which rolled out with Build 23511 may temporarily disappear for some Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.

Fixes

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue where dragging app icons in the taskbar may sometimes lead to an explorer.exe crash.

[Search on the Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue where sometimes the tooltip when mousing over the search box wouldn’t match the current search highlight.

[Dev Drive]

• Fixed an issue where it wasn’t possible to paste a folder path to mount into the dialog when creating a new Dev Drive.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[File Explorer]

• [NEW] Icons on the desktop may show as generic white pages rather than their proper icons.
• [NEW] There is an issue where the progress wheel icon will get stuck in the File Explorer tab even though the folder has finished loading.
• [NEW] Changing the sort order of folders doesn’t persist if you navigate away and back from the folder.

[Start menu]

• Some apps under All apps on the Start menu, such as PWA apps installed via Microsoft Edge, may incorrectly be labeled as a system component.

[Input]

• Unicode Emoji 15support which began rolling out with Build 23475and the updated colour font format with COLRv1 support that began rolling out with Build 23506 no longer appear after updating to Build 23531 due to a bug. This issue will be fixed in a future flight soon.
• [NEW] There is a high hitting tabtip.exe crash which is impacting the ability for some Insiders to type.

[Windows Copilot]

• [NEW] We heard feedback from Insiders in the Dev Channel that the Windows Copilot Preview is not available in some regions. We found an issue and plan to re-enable it for these Insiders with a fix in a future flight.
• You can use Alt + Tab to switch out of Windows Copilot, but not back into it. Windows + C will move focus back to Windows Copilot
• When first launching or after refreshing Copilot while using voice access you’ll need to use “Show grid” commands to click in the “Ask me anything” box for the first time.

Microsoft Store Update

Windows Insiders in all channels running version 22308.1401.x.x of the Microsoft Store and higher will see the following improvement rolling out:

New Game Pass page: Explore and subscribe to PC Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate through our new dedicated page. With the new experience, you can learn about Game Pass benefits, such as exclusive games, deals, free perks, EA Play, and more. It’s also easier to discover, jump in, and play your next favorite game, including Day One games, new games on Game Pass, Bethesda games, and more.

New Game Pass page in the Microsoft Store.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Microsoft Store.

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

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The company says it has changed the way it delivers WinRE updates as they are being deployed via monthly cumulative updates through the Windows Update (WU) and the Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). As such sufficiently large Recovery Partition is required for this and in the case the partition does not have enough room, the update will fail and display the following error message "Windows Recovery Environment servicing failed." The tech giant writes:

Summary

Microsoft has changed how it updates PCs that run the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). WinRE will be updated using the monthly cumulative update. This change only applies to PCs that get updates from Windows Update (WU) and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). This change starts on June 27, 2023, for the Windows 11, version 22H2 cumulative update.

Some PCs might not have a recovery partition that is large enough to complete this update. Because of this, the update for WinRE might fail. You will receive the error message, "Windows Recovery Environment servicing failed.”

As mentioned above, a step-by-step guide has also been provided by Microsoft though it may not be the easiest one to follow for an average user.

You can view the amount of recovery partition in your PC by running the Disk Management console (run "diskmgmt"):

The guide below will help boost the recovery partition capacity by 100MB:

Manually resize your partition by 100 MB

• Open a Command Prompt window (cmd) as admin.

• To check the WinRE status, run reagentc /info. If the WinRE is installed, there should be a “Windows RE location” with a path to the WinRE directory. An example is, “Windows RE location: [file://%3f/GLOBALROOT/device/harddisk0/partition4/Recovery/WindowsRE]\\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk0\partition4\Recovery\WindowsRE.” Here, the number after “harddisk” and “partition” is the index of the disk and partition WinRE is on.

• To disable the WinRE, run reagentc /disable.

• Shrink the OS partition and create a new recovery partition.

  • To shrink the OS, run diskpart.

  • Run list disk.

  • To select the OS disk, run sel disk. This should be the same disk index as WinRE.

  • To check the partition under the OS disk to find the OS partition, run list part.

  • To select the OS partition, run sel part.

  • Run shrink. Desired=250 Minimum=250.

  • To select the WinRE partition, run sel part.

  • To delete the WinRE partition, run delete partition override.

  • To create a new partition, run create partition primary.

  • To format the primary partition, run format quick fs=ntfs label=”Windows RE tools”

• Set the partition to be a Recovery partition.

  • To check if your disk is MBR or GPT, run detail part. If you get a GUID like, "Type: ebd0a0a2-b9e5-4433-87c0-68b6b72699c7" below Partition 3, your disk is GPT. Otherwise, it is MBR.

    • For MBR disk, the command should be set id=27

    • For GPT disk, the command should be set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac

    • gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001

• To confirm that the WinRE partition is created, run list vol.

• To exit from diskpart, run exit.

• To re-enable WInRE, run reagentc /enable.

• To confirm where WinRE is installed, run reagentc /info.

Note If creation failed or you did not want to extend the WinRE partition, run reagentc /enable to re-enable WinRE.

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

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This changes today, as the email client's automatic updating system is now offering to upgrade Thunderbird 102 installations to version 115.

The updates are not done automatically, as users of the email client need to seek for the Thunderbird 115 update manually. A click on Help > About Thunderbird opens a small popup window that lists the current installed version and any update that is available at the time.

Thunderbird 102 users will see the update to Thunderbird 115 here. It is still necessary to activate the "update to 115.2.0" button to download and install the new Thunderbird version on the device.

The unlocking of the automatic update suggests that the Thunderbird team has confidence in the latest version, which is Thunderbird 115.2.0 at the time of writing. The release notes do not list any known issues in the version, but certain features, such as Sync, are not yet available.

Thunderbird 115

Thunderbird 115 is a major update for Thunderbird. The new version has received several point updates since the initial launch, which addressed issues and made corrections to various features.

Major changes include a redesigned interface, which users may customize, so that it resembles the classic interface, unified email folders that displays all emails in a single folder, sortable folders, new cards view layout for users who prefer this "mobile" design, and lots of other improvements.

Thunderbird 102 users will have to spend some time adjusting features and options. Many settings carry over though, but anything that is new may need to be readjusted.

One option that cautious users have is to install Thunderbird 115 in a different directory. This separates it from the current version, but requires the import of the user profile. Another option is to create a backup first before starting the update.

Thunderbird 115 is the last release version for the Microsoft Windows operating systems Windows 7 and Windows 8 / 8.1.

Closing Words

Thunderbird 115 is the first step in a series of major updates and improvements that will come to the email client in the coming years. The first Android version is still expected this year, but it is just one of the many features the team has planned for the email client.

Thunderbird 102 remains to be supported for at least another month. The next version, 102.15.0, is scheduled for a release on August 30, 2023. It could be the last version, but nothing has been announced at this point.

Now You: Thunderbird 102, 115 or something else? Which email client(s) do you use?

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The Redmond giant announced the new update for Paint for Windows Insiders in Canary and Dev channel. With the new update, Microsoft is giving users an option to remove backgrounds from photos with ease, allowing them create perfect pictures with ease. Furthermore, the feature will also allow users to remove backgrounds from the entire canvas or from a selection within a canvas.

The feature is simple to use and requires the user to import a canvas into paint or just open an existing image using Paint. Once in Microsoft Paint, users can click on the Remove Background option on the remove background button on the top ribbon. This will instantly remove the background from the image. Alternatively, you can select a part of the image using the select tool and have Microsoft Paint remove the background of the selected area.

To get started, paste or import content onto the canvas and click on the new remove background button in the toolbar to remove the background on your entire image. You can also use the rectangle select to specify an area that you want to remove the background on.

The feature is currently rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev channel. To use background removal, you will need to ensure that you have Microsoft Paint version 11.2306.30.0 or above installed. If you are on Canary or Dev channel then you can head to the Microsoft Store to download the latest update. Do note that Microsoft released the version 11.2306.28.0 update unintentionally with "a bug where a confidentality banner is shown". So you should make sure to download the latest update before using the Paint app.

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Here is the change log:

Fixes for known issues

• Fixed a high hitting ctfmon.exe crash in recent flights, which may have impacted the ability to type for some Insiders.

• Fixed a few issues impacting explorer.exe reliability, including fixing an issue which could cause File Explorer to crash when navigating to Gallery.

• Fixed an issue which was causing explorer.exe to not work in safe mode.

• Did some work to help improve the performance when switching between different pages in Task Manager.

• Fixed the issue causing some Insiders to see an unexpected pop up asking you to “Select an app to open this ‘ms-screenclip’ link” after the latest Snipping Tool app update.

Known issues

• Some popular games may not work correctly on the most recent Insider Preview builds in the Canary Channel. Please be sure to submit feedback in Feedback Hub on any issues you see with playing games on these builds.

The blog update also mentions another update that was announced earlier this week, All members of the Insider Program can try out a new version of the Microsoft Store that adds a new section devoted to the company's PC Game Pass services.

New Game Pass page: Explore and subscribe to PC Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate through our new dedicated page. With the new experience, you can learn about Game Pass benefits, such as exclusive games, deals, free perks, EA Play, and more. It’s also easier to discover, jump in, and play your next favorite game, including Day One games, new games on Game Pass, Bethesda games, and more.

You can check out the complete blog post here.

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Although most Windows 11 23H2 features are already available for testing in the Beta Channel, the improved Windows Ink experience appears to be delayed.

Release notes for the latest Beta Channel build (22631.2271) claim Microsoft has turned off Windows Ink improvements to resolve bugs "impacting the usability."

Windows Ink

The Windows Ink improvements introduced with Build 22631.2050 that enabled inking directly onto edit fields is being temporarily disabled for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel while we fix some bugs impacting the usability of this experience.

Microsoft has not provided more information about the change, so we can only guess when the company will turn the feature back on.

Hopefully, it will make it to the release alongside other features, such as Windows Copilot, a new volume mixer, reworked File Explorer, more archive formats support (RAR, TAR, 7Z, and more), taskbar improvements, the Windows Backup app, new settings, etc. To learn more about the update, check out our review covering everything new in Windows 11 23H2.

As a reminder, Microsoft is hosting a Surface event in the second half of this month. On September 21, 2023, we expect the company to unveil refreshed Surface PCs with newer internals (you probably should not expect major hardware announcements) and discuss future Windows 11 updates with new capabilities powered by the almighty AI.

Rumors claim Microsoft wants to add optical character recognition to the Snipping Tool app, supercharge Paint with generative AI, and more.

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The change removes the need for printer manufacturers to provide dedicated installers and drivers while still offering customers print customization via Microsoft Store apps. Another benefit of the approach is performance and reliability improvements alongside broad compatibility across Windows versions and editions.

The company understands that the end of servicing v3 and v4 printer drivers is a big change that will impact many customers. Therefore, Microsoft will stage it over "multiple years." Here is the timeline:

• September 2023: The initial announcements.
• 2025: Manufacturers can no longer publish new printer drivers to Windows Update. However, they can still service and update existing drivers.
• 2026: Microsoft changes the printer driver ranking order to make Windows favor the inbox IPP Class Driver.
• 2027: Third-party printer driver updates are no longer available, except for security-related fixes. However, existing third-party drivers remain accessible.

Microsoft adds that manufacturers can continue providing customers with "alternative means" to download printer drivers. In other words, you will be able to install printer drivers from official or third-party websites. Microsoft says it does not plan to prevent users from using separate installation packages or remove features from existing v3 and v4 printer drivers.

The new driver policies will apply to all Windows versions. Also, Microsoft will make Mopria certification a must for Hardware Lab Kit (a certification that ensures a printer is compatible with a broad range of devices, including PCs, smartphones, tablets, etc).

You can learn more about the end-of-servicing plan for third-party printer drivers on Windows from the official documentation.

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Today, Google is announcing some big changes coming soon to Chrome for desktop users to help celebrate its 15th anniversary. In a blog post, the company revealed a new design for Chrome that will roll out in the coming weeks:

Google stated:

Based on our Material You design language, we’ve refreshed Chrome’s icons with a focus on legibility and created new colour palettes that better complement your tabs and toolbar. These new themes and distinct colours can help you distinguish between profiles, like your work and personal accounts, at a glance. We’ve also better integrated with operating systems so your Chrome preferences can easily adapt to OS-level settings, like dark and light modes.

The new design will also come with a new menu on the top right side of the browser, that Google says will offer fast access to things like its password manager, Google translate, and extensions.

Speaking of which, the Chrome store is also getting its own makeover so users can discover and download new extensions for the browser. The public preview is now live. Google has also expanded the use of its Safety Check features on Chrome to cover extensions as well.

Google is also making improvements to its Safe Web Browsing feature in Chrome so users can surf the net without having to worry about encountering malicious sites. It stated:

To block these dangerous sites the moment they launch, we’re upgrading Safe Browsing so it will now check sites against Google’s known-bad sites in real time. By shortening the time between identification and prevention of threats, we expect to see 25% improved protection from malware and phishing threats. This update will roll out to Chrome in the coming weeks.

Finally, new search features are being added to Chrome. That includes a new Google Search side-pane option where users can check out things like related searches and more.

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On October 10, 2023, the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 21H2 will no longer be supported by Microsoft.

Anticipating next week’s Patch Tuesday, I’m raising the MS-DEFCON level to 2. When (and if) the dust settles, we’ll enter another period of safe patching toward the end of the month. I’ll say more then, but you should prepare.

I’ve been holding back on recommending Windows 11 22H2 for gamers. During the next patching window, make sure to update your firmware and your video card drivers to ensure they are current before updating to 22H2.

If you use the Enterprise or Education edition of Windows 11 21H2, know that support expires on October 8, 2024, not next month. I must apologize to users of those editions because with my constant focus on Pro and Home, I tend to forget that Enterprise and Education always have a longer life span. Most of my systems, both in the office and at home, run Pro.

Highlights

It seems like only yesterday that Windows 11 was released. Yet already, we are nearing the end of life for the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 21H2. As we prepare ourselves to install the September updates later this month, I want to bring you up to date regarding some misleading headline stories.

Windows updates cause blue screens of death — The reality is something quite different. In the case of August updates, only some machines experienced BSODs — and only if you installed the optional updates for Windows 10 and Windows 11 released on August 22, 2023. Microsoft soon identified the problem machines and stopped offering the offending updates to them.

The machines in question were from a specific Taiwanese manufacturer and affected the Micro-Star International (MSI) Z690- and Z790-based motherboards the most. The manufacturer provided a temporary workaround that involved reverting the BIOS to a previous version and uninstalling the problematic Windows update (KB5029351 for Windows 11 and KB5029331 for Windows 10).

A reminder: Do not install optional updates unless I have specifically told you to do so. Optional updates are previews of the nonsecurity updates and fixes that will be rolled into next month’s security updates. They are meant for businesses, to test for side effects before the updates become official the following month. Consumers should not be subjected to yet another unpaid beta testing process. As long as you do not explicitly select them for installation, they will not automatically install.

There have been times when I’ve seen the optional .NET updates get installed on my home machines. Optional updates are not supposed to be pushed, but every so often Microsoft gets a bit rambunctious. In my advancing age, and quite frankly because .NET patches (knock on wood) have become so well behaved lately, I no longer have my previous concerns about accidental .NET patch installations. You can uninstall them, but more often than not I let them stay if the machine is not exhibiting any side effects or issues.

The sky is falling: TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 will soon be disabled in Windows — TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 were the first of many Secure Socket Layer (SSL) improvements making Internet communications more secure for transporting sensitive information such as credit card numbers and login credentials. These earlier TLS versions will be turned off in future versions of Windows in favor of the newer TLS 1.2 and 1.3 releases.

What does this mean for you? Absolutely nothing — if you are running a supported version of Windows. A possible problem is an application program that requires older TLS releases and that you wish to run on a newer machine. A good example would be the need for accounting professionals to install Turbo Tax for the years 2011 through 2018, so they could view older tax returns — programs that are too old to run properly on Windows 11. Admittedly, that’s an edge case. As a CPA, I can assure you that, unless you’ve committed fraud, the statute of limitations for 2018 and earlier returns has closed. So you should rarely need to review returns that old.

On the other hand, some older HP printers use older versions of TLS so they can work securely over the Internet. Forget about trying to update them — everyone should keep an eye on such older equipment. You may be able to disable TLS in the printer to solve the problem, but you’ll no longer have secure communications with it. On a personal note, I’m not charitably disposed toward HP these days because of its replacement-ink policies, so I’d just as soon chuck the thing and get something else with, of course, the most modern TLS.

Don’t let the headlines scare you.

I give up. I can’t keep track of all the dribbled hardening; tweaks; or second, third, and fourth deployments of this or that patch. I can’t devote time and space in the Master Patch list to keep track of these enforced mandates. Case in point: KB5025885 adds a third deployment phase to the first and second phases that began in May and were updated in July. No sooner than January 9, 2024 (that’s a lovely, specific date, isn’t it?), we will receive another rollout of Boot Manager mitigations. Clearly Secure Boot just plain isn’t secure at all. It’s a rabbit hole. I highly recommend reading a Rufus GitHub thread about how Microsoft finally acknowledged a problem with its earlier fix.

We are still waiting for BIOS updates to protect from a transient information attack called Downfall. But keep this vulnerability in perspective: servers and hosted workstations in data centers are most at risk for this attack, not standalone workstations. In addition, ensure you review your Linux installations; although Microsoft vulnerabilities have been in the headlines, Downfall affects other servers in data centers. Be vigilant on all platforms, not just Windows.

Back in June, the SANS Institute held an online Ransomware Summit. If you have not had a chance to review the talks online, I highly recommend that you check out its YouTube channel and spend a few hours wallowing in the information provided. With seminar budgets being tight in businesses, and ransomware not letting up, it’s a good reminder that we need to keep vigilant. We may patch, we may have firewalls, we may have security software, but often it comes down to the human factor. Take the time to encourage everyone in your organization to be aware and vigilant about email scams that evade the best security filtering every day.

Often, it comes down to one person clicking when they shouldn’t.

Resources

MS-DEFCON 2: Windows 11 21H2 nears end of life

Now, Intel has issued an official WHQL-certified graphics driver update for its Arc and Iris Xe GPUs with version number 31.0.101.4672. The release notes are the same as the ones offered with the beta release driver. Those release notes are below:

• Graphics Driver package has temporarily increased to significantly reduce the Starfield game load duration.
• Several Starfield game instability and visual artifacts have been fixed in this driver. High Preset and below is recommended to improve stability.
• Efforts in progress to further improve overall gaming experience of Starfield for Intel® Arc users in future driver updates.

GAMING HIGHLIGHTS: Intel Game On Driver support on Intel Arc A-series Graphics for:

• SYNCED

FIXED ISSUES:

Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:

• Starfield (DX12) Game load duration is significantly reduced.
• Starfield (DX12) may experience instability and application crash while launching and during gameplay.
• Starfield (DX12) may exhibit texture corruptions and scene flickers during gameplay.

KNOWN ISSUES:

Intel Arc Graphics Products:

• Starfield (DX12) may experience application instability in some areas of the game.
• Starfield (DX12) may exhibit corruption when using Dynamic Resolution Scaling. A workaround is to change the Render Resolution Scale slider value.
• Starfield (DX12) may exhibit texture flickering on light sources during gameplay.
• Starfield (DX12) may exhibit low texture details on certain objects in the game.
• UNCHARTED: Legacy of Thieves Collection (DX12) may exhibit texture corruption on characters.
• Halo Infinite (DX12) campaign may experience an application crash on some system configurations.
• Dead by Daylight (DX11) may experience an application crash during gameplay.
• Topaz Video AI may experience errors when using some models for video enhancement.
• Adobe After Effects may experience an application crash during render operations.
• Device fan may ramp up frequently on certain Intel Arc Graphics products.

Intel Iris X e MAX Graphics Products:

• Driver installation may not complete successfully on certain notebook systems with both Intel Iris Xe + Iris Xe MAX devices. A system reboot and re-installation of the graphics driver may be required for successful installation.

INTEL ARC CONTROL KNOWN ISSUES:

• Using Arc Control Studio capture with certain games may incorrectly generate multiple video files.
• The “Connector” type in the Display page may incorrectly show DP when using an HDMI display connection.
• May observe “stream has already ended” pop-up after the power events with Capture/Highlights/Broadcast toggle on.
• Performance Graphs may scale incorrectly after waking up from sleep.

You can download the new Intel Arc WHQL certified 31.0.101.4672 graphics driver here and check out the full release notes in PDF format here.

Source

What is new in Windows Subsystem for Android 2308 Preview?

The official changelog published in the program's GitHub repository includes the following:

We have shipped an update for Windows Subsystem for Android™ on Windows 11 to the Windows Subsystem for Android™ Preview Program. This update (2308.40000.1.0) includes improvements to platform reliability and functionality improvements.

• Platform reliability improvements.

• Localhost loopback support for "Local network access" experimental feature.

• Clipboard reliability and performance improvements.

• Kernel update to improve compatibility with running ARM applications on x64 processors.

• Correctly report isInMultiWindowMode=false when an app is full screen.

As a reminder, the Windows Subsystem for Android Preview program is separate from the Windows Insider program. You can test early WSA updates on stable Windows 11 builds after signing up for the program on the official website. Microsoft also ships preview updates to Windows insiders, usually after a short delay.

If you have problems with Android apps on your machine or you want to offer a suggestion or improvement, head to Feedback Hub > Apps > Windows Subsystem for Android. Before installing WSA on your device, ensure it meets minimum hardware requirements. Users recently noticed that Microsoft had quietly lowered CPU requirements, which means more users can now officially run Android apps without resorting to hacks and third-party modifications.

In case you missed it, the most recent Windows Subsystem for Android updates introduces Vulkan API support and various stability improvements, security fixes, Chromium updates, and other maintenance enhancements. You can learn more about Windows Subsystem for Android for Windows 11 from the official documentation on the Microsoft Learn website.

Source

Bodhi Linux has been a long-time favorite operating system of mine. This is partially due to it having a desktop based on Enlightenment, but also because the development team has always delivered a rock-solid system that's as fun as it is easy to use. And although the changes to 7.0 are sometimes subtle, they come together to make this the best release yet.

For those who don't know, Bodhi Linux is an open-source operating system that is based on the latest LTS (Long Term Support) release of Ubuntu Linux, which in this case means Ubuntu 22.04. Bodhi Linux has held true to a philosophy of desktop minimalism combined with high customization. And, once again, the developers have delivered on that idea -- only this time giving users an even more seamless experience.

One of the first things I noticed with Bodhi 7.0 is that the onboarding experience has been simplified. In previous releases, upon installation users would have to answer a few questions, such as will the OS be used on a laptop or desktop. With this latest release, those questions are gone. On first login, users are simply presented with the Moksha desktop environment.

Speaking of desktops, the default Moksha theme is very green, with a beautiful (subtlety) animated background. On that desktop, pictured at the top of this story, you'll find -- clockwise from the top left -- an analog clock, the workspace pager (where you can switch between virtual desktops), a system tray, application launchers, and the desktop menu. Of course, since this desktop is based on Enlightenment, you also get access to the desktop menu by clicking any blank spot. 

When you view that desktop menu, the first thing you'll probably notice is that it's lacking some important applications. Out of the box, you'll find the Chromium Web Browser and a Web Browser Manager (which allows you to install other web browsers with ease), Leafpad (a text editor), and not much more. 

But that gap is OK because you can open the main menu, and click Applications > System Tools > Bodhi AppCenter to open the GUI tool that allows you to install plenty of software, such as LibreOffice. 

The one thing you will find missing is both Snap and Flatpack support. This gap is because neither package manager is installed out of the box. 

The Bodhi AppCenter actually opens in the Chromium web browser.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET

When you go to install snapd (as you would with any Ubuntu-based distribution), you'll find it's not possible to take this action out of the box. You can, however, enable snapd with the following commands:

sudo rm /et/capt/preferences.d/nosnap.pref
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install snapd -y

You can install flatpak out of the box with the command:

sudo apt-get install flatpak -y

Once you've installed either Snap or Flatpak, you can then add those third-party, proprietary software titles (from the command line).

Another really handy aspect of the Moksha desktop is that you can add favorite applications, which are then quickly launched from a right-click on the desktop. To do this, you must open the Settings Panel (Menu > Settings > Settings Panel), go to Apps, click Favorite Applications, select the app you want to add, click Apply, and click OK to close the window. 

Adding applications to Favorites so they are more easily accessible.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET

At this point, right-click anywhere on the desktop and you'll find the Favorites menu.

The list of improvements for Bodhi 7.0

As for the main improvements in Bodhi 7.0, they include:

• A new "s76" release, which includes a kernel with "cutting-edge" performance

• Kernel updates are enabled by default

• Updated EFL and Terminology (now match the version in e-git)

• The Moksha Desktop no longer relies on deprecated libraries

• The login screen now has an upgraded greeter with a password reveal feature

• Moksha Green theme is now the default, which showcases an animated background, a refreshed splash screen, and plenty of other improvements

• Pre-installed Thunar archive plugin

• Zorin OS Browser Manager-inspired Web-browser-manager app makes it easier to install other web browsers

• A new keyboard shortcut viewer (accessible from the desktop menu)

• The iBar Module now supports application instances

• A totally restructured Notification module now supports Notification actions

Although these improvements might seem minor to the average user, when you put them all together (adding them to the already fun-to-use Moksha desktop), you'll find a desktop operating system that is considerably easier to use than previous iterations. And if you opt to use the s76 release, you'll find it performs way above your expectations.

Bodhi Linux has always had a place in my heart. With this latest release, that place is solidified as a Linux distribution that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to anyone with just the slightest bit of Linux experience. 

Would I recommend Bodhi Linux to users who've never touched Linux? Probably not. But if you're looking for a highly customizable desktop that is fun, user-friendly, and can grow with your experience, you'd be remiss if you didn't check out the latest release of Bodhi Linux. Download an ISO and install Bodhi Linux today.

Source

That's not to say AMD users are completely unaffected by bugs as there was a recent Zenbleed vulnerability found on these chips and the company shared upcoming firmware patch details.

And while the newest 12th Gen and 13th Gen CPUs users need not deal with the Downfall bug, 13th Gen Raptor Lake (RPL) owners have been experiencing a blue screen of death (BSOD) error code that says "UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR" even though it is clearly not the case. Although many consequently believed this was an issue caused by a particular set of Windows 11 and 10 KB updates as the bug was triggered by these updates, Microsoft came out in its defense to suggest the issue was elsewhere, somewhere on the hardware side.

Today, Intel has published a support article about the issue confirming that Microsoft was right as the problem was due to a recent buggy microcode update, though it did not go into detail explaining what actually triggered this problem. In the article, Intel explains:

Summary

Intel is aware of reports from end users of blue-screen hangs with error code “Unsupported Processor” when updating to August 2023 preview Updates for Microsoft Windows® 10 and Windows 11* while using the latest BIOS updates from system manufacturers on affected processors.

Description

• Intel is aware of reports from end users of blue-screen hangs with error code “Unsupported Processor” when updating to August 2023 preview Updates for Microsoft* Windows* 10 and Windows 11 while using the latest BIOS updates from system manufacturers on affected processors.
• Intel has identified an issue in recent microcode updates to system manufacturers which can cause this error code.
• The following processors are impacted by this issue:

Patched firmware is already upon us as MSI is the first motherboard vendor to release updated BIOS. Meanwhile, others like Asus or Gigabyte haven't released their firmware with the updated MCU yet.

Source

Windows 11 version 23H2 is shaping up to be quite a significant release, with lots of quality of life improvements as well as big new features to take advantage of. We've got a brand-new File Explorer design, a new Windows AI assistant along with general AI enhancements in a number of areas, lots of improvements to the Taskbar, and notable in-box app updates as well.

The good news is this update will be delivered relatively seamlessly thanks to Microsoft's servicing style update method, which will apply this release like a normal monthly security update. That means it shouldn't take too long to download and install, with only a couple of minutes of downtime. 

I'm pretty sure Microsoft has finalized the feature set of this release, but if Microsoft adds any last minute features to the update before it starts shipping, we'll be sure to update this review with the additional information. With that in mind, this is my review of the Windows 11 version 23H2 update!

Windows 11 version 23H2: What's new?

Here's a quick rundown of all the notable new features and improvements that are shipping as part of the Windows 11 version 23H2 release. I'll dive into the most notable features in-depth further down. 

• Windows AI Copilot
• AI-powered file recommendations in File Explorer and Start
• AI review summaries in Microsoft Store
• A new AI Hub for AI-powered apps in the Microsoft Store
• Taskbar app labels and general improvements
• New sound output menu
• A new Settings homepage
• Native RGB peripheral controls
• A new File Explorer design with more modern interfaces
• In-box support for more archive formats like .RAR
• A new File Explorer "Gallery" feature
• A new cloud-based backup and restore feature
• Snipping Tool and Notepad improvements
• Inking directly into text boxes
• General accessibility improvements
• Account recommendations in Start and Settings
• HDR desktop wallpaper support
• New Windows Spotlight wallpaper UI
• And more!

Windows Copilot

The new Windows Copilot interface. (Image credit: Windows 11)

Microsoft's blockbuster new feature for this release is undoubtedly its new Windows AI assistant, which builds upon the already available Bing Chat AI as an in-box replacement for the old Cortana assistant Windows used to have. While Cortana is still built-in to Windows 11 by default, the app is no longer functional and is expected to be removed in a future update. 

Microsoft's new AI assistant is called "Windows Copilot" and is launching in a "preview" state as Microsoft is still building out new features and functionality for this new generative AI tool. Unlike Cortana, Windows Copilot is pinned to the Taskbar by default, and will be front and center for millions of Windows 11 users once they upgrade to the 23H2 release.

Clicking on the Windows Copilot icon will open up a sidebar on the right side of your screen, which will push over any content you've got open and load up a conversational chat interface not dissimilar to Bing Chat where you can begin interacting with the new Windows Copilot assistant. It does require an internet connection to function, and its feature set is pretty limited at this time.

Essentially, Windows Copilot can do pretty much everything Bing Chat can do today, plus a few extra "Windows-y" things to make it the Windows Copilot. Overtime, these capabilities are expected to expand and become more complex, but as of now the things Copilot can do as a Windows assistant is fairly limited.

You can use it to control basic Windows settings. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Testing a number of commands, here are the things I've found it can do successfully:

• Turn Bluetooth on and off
• Turn do not disturb mode on and off
• Turn dark mode on and off
• Take a screenshot

Any system command it does successfully understand will prompt a dialog to confirm that you want to configure said setting. It doesn't just do it, which I guess is a safety feature, but I wish you could turn that off. If I'm typing in a command, it's because I want that command done. I don't need a confirmation step slowing things down.

Also, worth noting, unlike Cortana there's currently no way to interact with the Windows Copilot using your voice. It's typing only, or nothing at all. This will likely change, as the Bing Chat UI in mobile apps already supports voice input, so it won't be hard to bring that over to desktop.

Here is a list of things I tried that it currently cannot do:

• Turn Wi-Fi on and off
• Turn battery saver on and off
• Open apps
• Analyze content on screen outside of Edge
• Configure settings outside the ones it can do above
• Organize snap layout
• Search my files

So, there's really two sides to Windows Copilot, there's the Bing Chat aspect, which is excellent and very good at internet-based search queries, content analysis in Edge, and creative writing prompts. But then there's the Windows Copilot aspect, which is barebones and not very capable at the moment. This will surely improve over time.

Windows Copilot is great as a quick access model to Bing Chat. If you need an itinerary for an upcoming vacation, a roundup of reviews for a recent product, or the contents of a webpage summarized in Edge, the Windows Copilot has you covered. In fact, I've found the most useful function of Windows Copilot is that integration with Edge to analyze open web pages.

Its most useful feature is being able to analyze web content in Edge. (Image credit: Windows Central)

This is handy for when you are reading a long story on a website in Edge, and would rather have Windows Copilot tell you the TL;DR instead. Now, currently this ability to analyze content in an app is exclusive to Microsoft Edge, meaning Windows Copilot cannot see content in other apps, and therefore is unable to do anything with them.

I will also say that the Windows Copilot is slow. Most commands and queries entered into the assistant will take multiple seconds to be processed, even commands that are intended to handle local functionality. In fact, this is the sole reason I find myself not using Windows Copilot that frequently, because it's just too slow.

Asking it to change my system theme from light to dark can take anywhere from 10 to 20 seconds, depending on how fast you type out the command. It's literally quicker to open Settings > Personalization and select the Dark theme yourself than it is to ask the assistant, so why would you ever ask it?

In its current basic form, I think this functionality is primarily for users who may not know where to find specific settings. If you didn't know how to change your system theme, being able to ask Windows Copilot to do it is actually great. But I just wish it was faster.

This is something that will likely improve over time, and it's important to remember that Windows Copilot is launching as a "preview" feature, so there's lots of room for improvement here. 

File Explorer

A big area of change with version 23H2 comes in the form of a new File Explorer app design, which attempts to clean up the File Explorer interface while also modernizing more parts of it to align with the rest of the Windows 11 aesthetic. Additionally, the File Explorer has a couple of new features, some of which have been a long time coming.

We'll start with the UI stuff, which is immediately noticeable as soon as you open the File Explorer and arrive at the home page. The header of the app has been reorganized in a way that now represents something similar to a web browser. We have our tabs along the top like usual, then immediately below that we find the navigation controls, address bar, and search bar.

Microsoft has also taken this opportunity to update the address bar itself, and is now using a modern interface with consistent drop-down menus for navigating between directories. There's also a new "backup" button that will appear in the address bar when you're in a folder that isn't currently syncing with OneDrive.

The command buttons, such as copy, paste, delete, and share, which used to be in the header area, have been moved just below it. This small change does a lot to make the UI feel less cluttered, and I think it's a deliberate choice to make the File Explorer feel more like a web browsing experience. 

The default home page that you land on when opening a new instance of File Explorer has also been updated with Microsoft's modern UI framework. Visually, it's similar to the old home page, but is now using entirely modern technology. There are some minor UI updates to things like checkboxes, which now align with the rest of Windows 11's design language.

Microsoft has also completely redesigned the details pane, which is a UI that you don't normally see unless you manually enable it. That's still the case here, but if you do choose to enable it, you'll now see a rich, modern interface that includes things like recent edits and activity if the document you've selected is being shared with other users.

There's also new integration with Microsoft 365, where the details pane will pull in relevant comments and recent emails it thinks might be related to the document you've selected. This feature is limited to users using Windows 11 for work with an Azure AD account hooked up.

Along those same lines, Microsoft has also added some "AI" capabilities to the File Explorer, which will surface relevant files in a new "Recommended" section at the top of the home page. This is also tied to Azure AD accounts currently, so you won't see it on a PC using a personal Microsoft account. 

Elsewhere, Microsoft has added support for more archive formats as native file types within File Explorer. This means users will no longer need to download third-party apps to unpack .7zip and .RAR files. As of right now, it's not possible to create archives with these new file formats, just unpacking for now.

Here's the list of archive formats that are now supported, in addition to the ones Windows already had:

• .tar
• .tar.gz
• .tar.bz2
• .tar.zst
• .tar.xz
• .tgz
• .tbz2
• .tzst
• .txz
• .rar
• .7z

There's a new Gallery feature for viewing all your photos. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Lastly, Microsoft has built a brand-new Gallery feature into the File Explorer app, which acts as a rich viewing experience for images that are pulled in from the default Photos location, and wherever else the user chooses. Once setup, you'll be able to scroll through your entire library of photos, no matter where the photos are stored on your computer or OneDrive. The UI even has a timeline scrollbar, which lets you jump back in time quickly and easily to find older photos, assuming they're dated correctly. 

Overall, the 23H2 release brings with it a major update to the File Explorer, with even more parts of it now updated with modern code. That said, the new File Explorer is still not entirely complete. The left-hand navigation pane hasn't been touched, the file properties dialog is still from Windows 95, and the file copy dialog is still from Windows 8. Plus, those last two interfaces still don't have a dark mode. 

Furthermore, I'd go so far to say that performance has gotten a little bit worse with the new File Explorer. I've not done scientific tests, but I really feel like I'm waiting an extra beat when clicking through directories and launching the File Explorer itself. This will almost certainly be addressed in the coming weeks, but it's something to keep in mind. 

Start & Taskbar

The Start menu will now show account "recommendations." (Image credit: Windows Central)

Microsoft has once again made several changes to the Taskbar with version 23H2, all of which I'd argue are good changes. We've even got the return of some classic functionality in the form of ungrouping app icons, something that Windows 7 through Windows 10 supported, but was removed with the launch version of Windows 11.

Now, it's back. Users who prefer having app icons ungrouped on the Taskbar can now re-enable that functionality. Additionally, users can also set the Taskbar to always show app labels, instead of just showing the app icon. This is handy for those who struggle to remember what icons are what, and prefer reading the name of an app when it's running on the Taskbar.

The notifications icon on the Taskbar has had its behavior changed too. Previously, the notifications icon on the far right would display a number depending on how many missed notifications you had. Now, Microsoft has replaced this with a simple bell icon that will light up if you've missed a notification. You no longer get a missed counter.

There are also minor improvements to the Task View interface, which will now pop up the name of a virtual desktop whenever you switch to it. It also has an improved animation when switching between desktops, though the animation still isn't perfect, and I'd argue still comes across as "unfinished." Elements on the Taskbar will pop in whenever you switch to a new desktop, instead of seamlessly appearing with the rest of the desktop.

The new sound output menu lets you control the volume levels of individual apps. (Image credit: Windows Central)

You can now show app labels on the Taskbar. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Moving on to the Quick Settings panel, Microsoft has made a couple of enhancements to the volume and casting experiences. We'll start with volume, which now has an updated mixer interface, allowing you to adjust the different volume levels of individual apps. This functionality was already part of Windows before, but it's now been modernized with version 23H2. 

The Start menu has also received a few minor updates that enhance the UI you see when hovering over files in the "Recommended" section below your pinned apps. Now, you'll see a rich thumbnail preview depending on the file in question, instead of a basic tooltip as was the case previously. 

Microsoft has also added "AI" to the Start menu, though this only works with Azure AD accounts currently. Using AI, the Start menu will now show recommended files it thinks you might want to jump into based on recent activity in shared files across Microsoft 365, similarly to the AI Microsoft has added to File Explorer.

Lastly, the Start menu now shows a little alert next to your user icon if you're using Windows 11 without a Microsoft Account, or without OneDrive set up. In these scenarios, you'll see a little dot next to your profile picture in the Start menu, and clicking on it will show a small popup asking you to set up the feature in question.

Many consider this to be an advertisement for Microsoft accounts and services, and I do agree, but as someone who normally uses Windows with both a Microsoft account and OneDrive set up, it's not something that has annoyed me in day to day usage. Luckily, if you are someone who refuses to use Windows with an online account, you can turn off these ads.

Apps & Widgets

Microsoft has made several changes and improvements to a number of in-box apps with the 23H2 update. Starting with Paint, which finally has a dark mode and centered canvas interface. These are small, quality of life changes, which I'm very happy to see being given the time of day at Microsoft. 

Microsoft Store is being updated with AI capabilities and a new AI hub for collecting Windows apps that take advantage of AI capabilities. App pages now also have the ability to generate a review summary, based on user submitted reviews. 

Snipping Tool has also been updated, now with the ability to quickly jump into Paint or Clipchamp when taking a screenshot or screen recording. It also has an updated UI that enhances the Win+Shift-S keyboard shortcut with the ability to initiate a screen recording, instead of just a screenshot. 

Microsoft has built a new app for developers that it calls "Dev Home," which will be automatically downloaded and installed on PCs that are setup as development workstations when setting up Windows during the out of box experience phase. 

This app is designed to streamline the process of setting up a new devbox with all the apps, tools, and frameworks required to build apps on Windows. Dev Home can even sync up with GitHub project repositories, and provides a handful of useful system widgets that you can pin to the Windows Widgets Board.

The Windows Widgets Board with no MSN feed. (Image credit: Microsoft)

On the subject of the Widgets Board, Microsoft says that it will be releasing an update later this year that allows users to adjust the layout of the widgets and news feed, even allowing users to outright remove the MSN feed if they wish. This hasn't yet been put into public testing, so I've not been able to try it for myself just yet.

Lastly, Notepad has been updated with the ability to remember content without saving. This is more of a backup solution for when you lose power or the app randomly crashes, but instead of losing all your work, Notepad will now remember your last state and bring it back. 

Settings & Enhancements

Settings has a brand new landing page for common settings. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Microsoft has added a brand-new home page to the Settings app on Windows 11 with the 23H2 update, which presents a selection of most commonly used settings front and center. Instead of hunting for Bluetooth or system theme settings, you'll now see that sort of thing straight away as soon as you launch the Settings app. 

The company says this landing page "evolves and learns with you," which means it will dynamically adjust depending on which settings you access most. The interface is sorted into a selection of "cards" which are broken down into the following categories:

• Recommended settings
• Cloud storage
• Account recovery
• Personalization
• Microsoft 365
• Xbox
• Bluetooth Devices

Microsoft is unfortunately using this new surface to advertise its Microsoft 365 subscription services, providing an overview of your account if you're already subscribed, and offering quick access to subscribe if you're not. Currently, it doesn't seem possible to turn off this new home page if you don't like it.

Elsewhere in the Settings app, users will now notice a new Dynamic Lighting category under the Personalization tab. This area introduces in-box RGB peripheral support for the first time in a Windows product, allowing users to configure the lights on a keyboard, mouse, or even monitor, without needing to download a third-party app to do so.

You can control the RGB lighting on select peripherals.  (Image credit: Windows Central)

This functionality is limited to a number of Razer products currently, but I expect this will expand to more peripheral makers over time. I tried using it with my Keychron K2, but Windows 11 was not able to configure it. 

The built-in RGB controls are somewhat more limited than what you'd find in Razer's own RGB customization tool, but it still offers enough for most casual users who aren't looking for super in-depth lighting control. There are several lighting effects to choose from, including breathing, rainbow, wave, wheel, and gradient effects.

Microsoft has also added the ability to set your RGB lighting to your Windows accent colour, which means you can sync your lighting with your wallpaper if you set your accent colour to match your desktop wallpaper in Settings.

The 23H2 release also introduces native HDR support for desktop wallpapers. If you're using Windows on a PC with an HDR monitor, you can now set an HDR image as your background and Windows will correctly display it as HDR content. Surprisingly, this was not the case prior to 23H2. 

On the same line as personalization, Microsoft has rebuilt the Spotlight Wallpaper features with the 23H2 release. Now, there's a rich interface for switching between four spotlight wallpapers, which are selected weekly. Right-clicking on the spotlight icon on the desktop will show you a brief description of the image, and the ability to vote it up or down depending on your preference.

Inking directly into text fields is now possible. (Image credit: Windows Central)

A big new feature shipping in this release is the ability to ink directly into text fields. This is something iPadOS and Android has had for some time, and it's now finally coming to Windows. Pen users will no longer be forced to write into a dedicated handwriting panel to input text using a pen. Just write on the screen in the area where a text box is, and Windows will recognize it as text and input it automatically. 

Lastly, Microsoft has added a new "Dev Drive" feature to the Settings app, which lets developers create a storage volume designed to improve performance in key developer workloads. Using ReFS technology, Dev Drive is essentially a VHD that's been optimized for developer projects and tools. Users can configure the size and location of the VHD, and once setup, will appear on Windows as a native storage volume. 

You can learn more about Dev Drive on Microsoft's documentation website. 

Windows Backup & Restore

You can now backup apps and settings to the cloud. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Windows 11 is finally getting a competent cloud backup and restore solution. Starting with this release, users will find a new "Windows Backup" app in the Start menu, which will let users easily sync their Windows settings and apps to the cloud, using OneDrive, for restoration on a new or existing PC when factory reset. 

This feature works in conjunction with the Microsoft Store, which will sync the apps you have downloaded and restore them by automatically downloading them again when you set up a new PC. During the Windows setup experience, a new page will prompt the user to restore from a previous backup that was made using this new Windows Backup tool.

Those cloud backups can be restored when setting up a new Windows PC. (Image credit: Windows Central)

In fact, it will even remember your pinned app preferences, and attempt to pin the apps you had saved to your Taskbar automatically. Any app that wasn't downloaded from the Store will still be synced, but not automatically downloaded. The user will have to manually click on the icon to initiate the download by hand. 

Conclusion

The Windows 11 desktop. (Image credit: Windows 11)

Overall, I think the Windows 11 23H2 update continues the trend of improving and fixing Windows 11 for those who found it to be a functional downgrade from Windows 10, while also continuing its goal of modernizing the OS where it can. With that said, if you didn't like Windows 11 before, I don't think this release will do much to change your mind about it.

I do like the inclusion of Windows Copilot, even if it's secretly an Edge feature under the hood. It's very basic right now, but I know this will change over the year ahead. The version 23H2 update marks the first time Microsoft is starting to properly integrate AI-powered experiences into the OS, just look at how many "AI" driven features are being introduced:

• File recommendations in Start
• File recommendations in File Explorer
• Windows Copilot
• AI Hub in Microsoft Store
• AI review summaries in Microsoft Store
• Smart snap assist (coming later)

I fully suspect we're going to see much more AI functionality built into Windows with the next major version of the OS, which is expected to ship towards the end of next year. But for now, I think we can mark this version of Windows 11 as the first port of call for this AI-in-the-OS journey that Microsoft is undoubtedly planning to take us on.

Elsewhere, the new File Explorer is looking good, for the most part, and I really do appreciate the inclusion of more in-box archive formats. But the UI is still a mishmash of old and new, and performance has definitely taken a step back as a result of these changes and additions. Hopefully this is addressed in subsequent bug fixing updates.

I love the new cloud backup and restore feature, as it will make my life as a PC reviewer so much easier. I also love the new Dynamic Lighting option in Windows Settings, as I've always hated having to download Razer's heavy proprietary software just to change the colour of my keyboard keys.

The Windows 11 version 23H2 update is expected to begin rolling out in October. Microsoft will likely announce general availability during its September 21 event in New York. Once that happens, we'll update this review with any additional information that might be important to include once availability is announced.

Source

You can toggle between Build 22621 and Build 22631 by enabling "Get the latest updates as soon as they are available" in Windows Update. To leave the more experimental features of Build 22631, turn the setting off, and the next available build will update to Build 22621.

Changes and Improvements in Build 22631.2271

[Windows Ink]

• The Windows Ink improvements introduced with Build 22631.2050 that enabled inking directly onto edit fields is being temporarily disabled for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel while we fix some bugs impacting the usability of this experience.

   

Here are the Fixes in Build 22631.2271

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where the progress wheel in the tab would get stuck showing that File Explorer was loading a folder when the loading had already finished.

• Fixed an issue where rapidly opening two File Explorer windows might make explorer.exe crash.

• Fixed an issue which could make explorer.exe crash when navigating away from Home.

• Fixed an issue where trying to open Gallery after new images had been added might result in a crash.

• Made a few more fixes to help improve File Explorer launch performance, including fixing a leak which would impact performance over time.

• Fixed an issue where File Explorer sorting changes wouldn’t persist in folders after you navigated away and back.

• Fixed an issue which could cause the icons in File Explorer tabs to be incorrect.

   

[Windows Copilot]

• Fixed an issue that was causing the Windows Copilot icon in the taskbar to be flipped backwards for right-to-left languages.

   

[Input]

• Fixed a high hitting tabtip.exe crash that may have impacted the ability to type in the last couple flights.

   

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where switching search to be an icon in Taskbar Settings could cause explorer.exe to crash.

   

[Dev Drive]

• Fixed an issue where it wasn’t possible to paste a folder path to mount into the dialog when creating a new Dev Drive.

   

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue that could cause Task Manager to crash when using the end task option in the Details page recent builds.

   

[HDR Wallpaper]

• Fixed a sporadic explorer.exe crash related to the use of an HDR wallpaper.

   

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where trying to take window mode screenshots was taking screenshots of the entire screen instead of the app in focus for some Insiders.

   

And, no you are not reading it wrong, this flight did not include any new features or fixes in build 22621.2271.

You can check out the full blog post here.

Source

The launch day for the cards is today and as such, AMD has released a new WHQL Windows driver for the new RX 7800 XT and the 7700 XT cards. The new Adrenalin driver edition is 23.9.1 (Driver Version 23.20.02 and Windows Driver Store Version 31.0.22002.14). The full release notes are given below:

New Product Support

• Support for Radeon™ RX 7700 and 7800 Series Graphics.

New Feature Highlights

• AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag+ - Takes responsive gaming to the next level by introducing per-game profiling to intelligently pace frames further reducing input lag on RDNA 3 based Radeon GPUs. For more information about game support click HERE.
• AMD Radeon™ Boost – Now supports AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag+ and improves image quality through awareness of mouse sensitivity, reducing the image quality impact of dynamic resolution switching during motion—typically seen with high-DPI mice.
  • AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 23.9.1 introduces AMD Radeon™ Boost support for Resident Evil™ 4 Remake and Ghostwire™: Tokyo, which delivers extra performance and increased responsiveness with little perceived impact to quality.
• AMD HYPR-RX – Introducing a new driver experience that allows users to optimize their games using AMD Software features for their RDNA 3 based Radeon GPUs, achieving increased performance and lower latency with ease.
  • AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 23.9.1 introduces the ability to intelligently combine AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag+, Boost, and Radeon Super Resolution to achieve improved performance and latency reduction than these features can achieve on their own.
• For more information: https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/software.

What’s Next?

• AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag+ - Initially supporting 12 games, new game support for AMD Radeon™ Anti-Lag+ will be released through AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition updates in the coming months.
• AMD HYPR-RX - The HYPR-RX experience will continue to grow, including support for AMD Fluid Motion Frames to boost FPS using frame generation for DirectX® 11 and 12 games in Q1 2024.

Known Issues

• Performance Metrics Overlay may report N/A for FPS on various games.
• Audio may intermittently become out of sync with video when recording from AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition with AV1 codec.
• Display may not reach correct brightness with certain games on select SAMSUNG™ FreeSync Premium Pro monitors or TVs with local dimming setting enabled.
• Intermittent application crash may be observed while playing Baldur's Gate 3™ with Vulkan® API set.
• Intermittent application crash or driver timeout may be observed while playing F1 2023™.
• Intermittent application crash may be observed while playing Outer Worlds Spacer's Choice Edition™ with Screen Space Global Illumination enabled.

As you may have noticed in the notes above, AMD has also shared details about its HYPR-RX technology and that it will also work with Fluid motions frame or FSR 3 technology. HYPR-RX essentially combines Radeon Boost, Radeon Anit-Lag, and Radeon Super Resolution into a one-click solution.

You can download the driver from AMD's official website here.

Source

MSI has published an article detailing the latest BIOS update for the affected 600 and 700 Series motherboards. According to the post, the UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR error code happens due to a certain Intel Hybrid Architecture firmware setting on systems with only 13th Gen Intel Core i9 processors. Moreover, despite Microsoft's previous claims, MSI says the issue appears on systems with the latest Windows 10 and 11 upgrades, namely KB5029351, KB5029332, and KB5029331.

To resolve the problem, MSI has released a new set of BIOS updates for its 600 and 700 Series motherboards.

The new BIOS coming will include an update on the Intel CPU uCode which will prevent any more messages regarding the "UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR" issues. This upcoming update will correspond to both 13th-generation and newer ones. There will be more BIOS available to download on MSI's official website for all Intel 700 and 600 Series models this week and all BIOS release will be available by the end of September.

You can update your MSI motherboard using the links below:

Head to the official MSI website to learn more.

Source

While over on Steam the Linux numbers did dip over the last month, it still remaining above macOS which is interesting from a gaming standpoint but general desktop use is quite different.

The latest from Statcounter shows:

• January - 2.91%

• February - 2.94%

• March - 2.85%

• April - 2.83%

• May - 2.7%

• June - 3.07%

• July - 3.12%

• August - 3.18%

The Windows share only dropped slightly this month, with the macOS share also dropping. However, ChromeOS, which is also technically a Linux distribution, rose from 3.24% to 3.34%. So if we included that Linux would actually be on around 6.52%.

What are your thoughts? Be sure to leave a note in the comments!

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