The update includes many features that Microsoft added in a previous Windows 11 Insider Release Preview, but with this new build it's now enabling all of them, instead of a gradual release.

Here is the change log:

• New! This update improves several simplified Chinese fonts and the Microsoft Pinyin Input Method Editor (IME) to support GB18030-2022. You can enter and display characters from conformance level 1 or 2 using the additions to Microsoft Yahei, Simsun, and Dengxian. This update now supports Unicode Extensions E and F in the Simsun Ext-B font. This meets the requirements for level 3.
• New! This update expands the roll out of notification badging for Microsoft accounts on the Start menu. A Microsoft account is what connects Windows to your Microsoft apps. The account backs up all your data and helps you to manage your subscriptions. You can also add extra security steps to keep you from being locked out of your account. This feature gives you quick access to important account-related notifications.
• New! This update improves the sharing of a local file in File Explorer with Microsoft Outlook contacts. You now have the option to quickly email the file to yourself. In addition, loading your contacts from Outlook is better. This feature is not available for files stored in Microsoft OneDrive folders. OneDrive has its own sharing functionality.
• New! This update adds many new features and improvements to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. For more information, see Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
• New! With this update, you can now authenticate across Microsoft clouds. This feature also satisfies Conditional Access checks if they are needed.
• New! This update adds live captions for the following languages:
  • Chinese (Simplified and Traditional)
  • French (France, Canada)
  • German
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Portuguese (Brazil, Portugal)
  • Spanish
  • Danish
  • English (Ireland, other English dialects)
  • Korean
• To turn on live captions, use the WIN + Ctrl + L keyboard shortcut. You can also use the Quick Settings accessibility flyout menu. When you turn it on for the first time, Windows will ask you to download the required speech recognition support. Speech recognition support might not be available in your preferred language, or you might want support in other languages. You can download speech recognition support from Settings > Time & Language > Language & region. To learn more, see Use live captions to better understand audio.
• New! This update redesigns the in-app voice access command help page. Every command now has a description and examples of its variations. The search bar allows you to quickly find commands. The new categories provide further guidance. You can access the command help page on the voice access bar from Help > View all commands or use the voice access command “what can I say?” Note that the help page might not include all commands. Also, the supplementary information might be inaccurate. We plan to update this in the future. For a list of all Voice Access commands, see Use voice access to control your PC & author text with your voice.
• New! This update adds voice access command support for the following English dialects:
  • English (United Kingdom)
  • English (India)
  • English (New Zealand)
  • English (Canada)
  • English (Australia)

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• When you turn on voice access for the first time, Windows will ask you to download a speech model. You might not find a speech model that matches your display language. You can still use voice access in English (US). You can always choose a different language from Settings > Language on the voice access bar.
• New! This update adds new text selection and editing voice access commands. Some examples are in the table.
• New!This update adds a VPN status icon, a small shield, to the system tray. It displays when you are connected to a recognized VPN profile. The VPN icon will be overlayed in your system’s accent colour over the active network connection.
• New! You can now choose to display seconds in the clock on the system tray. To turn this on, go to the Taskbar behaviors section in Settings > Personalization > Taskbar. You can also right-click the taskbar to quickly get to taskbar settings.
• New! This update provides a copy button for you to quickly copy two-factor authentication (2FA) codes. These are in notification toasts you get from apps installed on your PC or from phones linked to your PC. Note that this feature only works for English.
• New! This update adds access key shortcuts to File Explorer’s context menu. An access key is a one keystroke shortcut. You can use it to quickly run a command in a context menu using your keyboard. Each access key corresponds to a letter in the display name of the menu item. To try this out, you can click on a file in File Explorer and press the menu key on your keyboard.
• New! This update adds multi-app kiosk mode, which is a lockdown feature. If you are an administrator, you can specify the apps that can run on a device. Other apps will not run. You can also block certain functionalities. You can configure distinct types of access and apps to run for different users on one device. Multi-app kiosk mode is ideal for scenarios in which multiple people use the same device. Some examples are frontline workers, retail, education, and test taking. Some lockdown customizations include:
  • Limit access to Settings, except certain pages, such as Wi-Fi and screen brightness
  • Show only the apps that are allowed on the Start menu
  • Block certain toasts and pop-up windows
• Currently, you can enable multi-app kiosk mode using PowerShell and WMI Bridge. To learn more, see Use MDM Bridge WMI Provider to create a Windows client kiosk and Create the JSON file. Support for Microsoft Intune, mobile device management (MDM), and provisioning package configuration is coming soon.
• New! This update introduces live kernel memory dump (LKD) collection from Task Manager. Using LKD, you can gather data to troubleshoot an issue while the OS continues to work. This reduces downtime when you must investigate an unresponsive program or high-impact failures. To learn more, see Task Manager live memory dump.
• To capture an LKD, go to Task Manager > Details. Right-click the System process. Select Create live kernel memory dump file. This captures a Full live kernel or Kernel stack memory dump. The dump will be written to a fixed location: %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\TaskManager\LiveKernelDumps. You can also go to the Task Manager Settings page to view or edit the settings for live kernel memory dumps.
• New! This update replaces the settings for Show the touch keyboard when there’s no keyboard attached. These are located at Settings > Time & language > Typing > Touch keyboard. A new dropdown menu gives you three options to control whether tapping an edit control should open the touch keyboard. The options are:
  • Never. This suppresses the touch keyboard even when no hardware keyboard is attached.
  • When no keyboard attached. This shows the touch keyboard only when you use the device as a tablet without the hardware keyboard.
  • Always. This shows the touch keyboard even when the hardware keyboard is attached.
• New!This update enables Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) to run on laptops and 2-in-1 devices. This feature dims or brightens areas of a display based on the content. It tries to strike a balance between saving battery life and providing a good visual experience. You can adjust the feature setting from Settings > System > Display > Brightness & colour. The drop-down menu gives you three options: Off, Always, and On Battery Only. For battery powered devices, the default is On Battery Only. Because the device manufacturer must enable CABC, the feature might not be on all laptops or 2-in-1 devices.
• New! This update adds a USB4 hubs and devices Settings page. You can find it at Settings > Bluetooth & devices > USB > USB4 Hubs and Devices. This new page provides information about the system’s USB4 capabilities and the attached peripherals on a system that supports USB4. This information helps with troubleshooting when you need manufacturer or system administrator support. Some features include:
  • You can view the tree of the connected USB4 hubs and devices.
  • You can copy details to the clipboard to share them.
• If your system does not support USB4 with the Microsoft USB4 Connection Manager, this page will not appear. On systems that support USB4, you will see USB4 Host Router in Device Manager.
• New! This update adds a presence sensor privacy setting in Settings > Privacy & security > Presence sensing. If you have a device that has compatible presence sensors, you can now choose the apps that can access those sensors. You can also choose the apps that do not have access. Microsoft does not collect images or metadata. The device hardware processes your information locally to maximize privacy.
• New! This update improves the performance of search within Settings.
• New! This update changes the default print screen (prt scr) key behavior. Pressing the print screen key opens the Snipping Tool by default. You can turn off this setting from Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard. If you have previously changed this setting, Windows will preserve your preference.
• New! This update introduces a limit of 20 most recent tabs in Settings > Multitasking. This affects the number of tabs that appear when you use ALT + TAB and Snap Assist.
• New! This update improves the cloud suggestion and the integrated search suggestion. This helps you to easily type popular words in Simplified Chinese using the Input Method Editor (IME). The cloud suggestion adds the most relevant word from Microsoft Bing to the IME candidate window. The integrated search suggestion gives you additional suggestions that are like what you see on a Bing search page. You can insert a suggestion as text or search for it directly in Bing. To turn on these features, select a chevron button in the upper right of the IME candidate window. Then select the Turn on button.
• New! This update improves your computer’s performance when you use a mouse that has a high report rate for gaming. To learn more, see “Reduced game stutter with high report rate mice” in Delivering Delightful Performance for More Than One Billion Users Worldwide.
• New! This update affects virtual memory ranges. They are now added to kernel-generated minidumps after a stop error. These ranges are marked by a KbCallbackTriageDumpData BugCheck Callback Routine.
• This update affects the reliability of Windows. It improves after you update the OS.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Intune push notifications. The issue stops devices that have less than 3.5 GB of RAM from getting them.
• This update addresses an issue that affects certain apps. It stops working when it tries to scan a barcode.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Narrator. The issue stops Narrator from retaining your scan mode when you switch between browsers.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Narrator. It reads the wrong state when you cancel the selection of an option button you have selected.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Teams. The issue stops Teams from alerting you about missed calls or messages.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the on-screen keyboard. The issue stops it from opening after you lock the machine.
• This update addresses an issue that affects a scheduled monthly task. It might not run on time if the next occurrence happens when daylight savings time occurs.
• This update addresses an issue that affects certain applications that use IDBObjectStore. They do not work in Microsoft Edge and IE mode.
• This update addresses an issue that affects all the registry settings under the Policies paths. They might be deleted. This occurs when you do not rename the local temporary user policy file during Group Policy processing.
• This update gives user accounts the ability to open an elevated Windows Terminal. This only works if they use an admin account that has not signed in before.
• This update addresses an issue that might affect your computer when you are playing a game. Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) errors might occur.
• This update affects the Desktop Window Manager (DWM). It improves its reliability.
• This update addresses an issue that affects certain apps. In some instances, video flickering occurs.
• This update addresses an issue that affects .msi files. A minor update is not installed. This occurs when you use the EnterpriseDesktopAppManagement configuration service provider (CSP) to distribute the .msi file.
• This update addresses an issue that affects msftconnecttext.net. It gets excessive HTTP traffic.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Spooler service. It stops working. This issue occurs when you print using a certain workspace.
• This update addresses an issue that affects devices that use the Network Protector for BitLocker. The device will not resume after it has been suspended.
• This update addresses an issue that affects a tib.sys driver. It does not load. This occurs when HyperVisor-protected Code Integrity (HVCI) is enabled.
• This update addresses an issue that affects TextInputHost.exe. It stops working.
• This update addresses an issue that affects File Explorer (explorer.exe). It stops working.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 users. You might not see the right location for a Remote Desktop session in your virtual machine or Cloud PC.
• This update addresses an issue that affects HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders. You can now set and maintain the correct default permissions for this directory path. When the permissions are wrong, Start menu, search, and Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) authentication fails.
• This update addresses an issue that affects File Explorer windows. They unexpectedly appear in the foreground.
• This update addresses an issue that affects some earbuds. They stop streaming music.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Recommended section of the Start menu. When you right-click a local file, it does not behave as expected.
• This update affects Active Directory event ID 1644 processing. It now accepts events of greater than 64 KB in length. This change truncates Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) queries contained within event 1644 to 20000 characters by default. You can configure the 20K value using the registry key “DEFAULT_DB_EXPENSIVE_SEARCH_FILTER_MAX_LOGGING_LENGTH_IN_CHARS.”
• This update addresses an issue that affects those who enable the “Smart Card is Required for Interactive Logon” account option. When RC4 is disabled, you cannot authenticate to Remote Desktop Services farms. The error message is, “An authentication error has occurred. The requested encryption type is not supported by the KDC.”

You can check out the full blog post here.

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Spotify may have hit some recent turbulence in terms of its business. but the streaming music provider is still very popular. Today, it revealed a revamp of its desktop app experience, which is designed to give users some more info on what's playing, and what they could be playing next.

In a blog post, Spotify says the changes are due in part to better align the desktop experience with its mobile apps. While the central hub on the desktop is sticking around, there are new sections on either side of the app.

On the left-hand side of the Spotify desktop app, users will now find the My Library feature. This will let users quickly check out their saved music collections, along with their favorite podcasts.

The blog added:

On the right-hand side of the app, you’ll find the Now Playing view, which displays the current song or podcast you’re listening to. You can even find more information about the song and artist here, as well as information on tour dates and merch—making it easier to connect with your favorite artists and discover more about them. For select podcasts, you can even follow transcripts as you listen.

The blog adds that Spotify has moved the Friend Activity feed on the desktop to the "friend" icon that's next to the user's profile picture in the top right corner of the app.

Spotify recently announced it now has over 500 million active users worldwide, Even with that growth, the company is still dealing with financial bumps. Earlier this year, it laid off 6 percent of its total workforce, followed a few months later by another 200 more employees. The company is expected to launch a new and more expensive plan later in 2023, which will finally add support for lossless audio to its streaming customers.

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Firefox users may select Menu > Help > About Firefox to display the current version of the browser. The browser checks for updates automatically when the about page is opened and will download any update that it finds. Starting on June 20, 2023 in the afternoon, it should pick up the Firefox 114.0.2 update and download it.

Download and installation should be quick and Firefox should display the new version on the about page after a restart.

Firefox 114.0.2 addresses three crashes in the browser that affect some users of the browser.

The first fix addresses an issue that affects Firefox on Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system that have ESET security software installed only. Pasting from the Clipboard into Firefox causes the browser to crash. The fix addresses the issue in Firefox and prevents the crashes.

The second fix addresses an out-of-memory crash in Firefox, which seems to cause Firefox to fail during initialization.

The third and final crash fix addresses an issue that occurred since the release of Firefox 111. It affects Firefox on Windows only and seems to have been caused by the toast notifications system of Windows. Mozilla discovered that invalid UTF16 was the cause for the issue and fixed the issue in the release.

Mozilla addressed to regressions affecting native messaging in Firefox. Both issues affected WebExtensions. Mozilla notes on its Bugzilla site that the issue prevented extensions from communicating with native messaging hosts that 'have been registered with a relative path containing ".." (on Windows)'. The issue occurred on the Japanese government website https://myna.gp.jp/ and the Adobe Acrobat extension in Firefox.

The second issue addresses a bug in native messaging for WebExtensions that prevented some from working correctly.

Mozilla released Firefox 114.0.1 on June 10th. The point update fixed a crash in the web browser as well. Firefox 114.0 Stable was released on June 6, 2023. It improved access to the browser's DNS over HTTPS feature and patched several security issues as well.

Closing Words

Firefox 114.0.2 will be available later today (if you are reading this on June 20, 2023). The next major Firefox release will be released on July 4, 2023.

Now You: did you run into any of these issues in Firefox?

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As usual, Linux Mint 21.2 is released in three editions: Cinnamon, MATE, and Xfce. The Cinnamon version is the “flagship” edition and gets the most attention, but all are supported equally and given attention by the Mint team.

Below, you can find links to different mirrors hosting the Beta ISOs. Use the one nearest your location for the best results (let's try not to take any servers offline!).

• Torrents: Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce
• LayerOnline (World)
• Clarkson University (USA)
• Harvard School of Engineering (USA)
• Advancedhosters.com (USA)
• AARNet (Australia)
• C3SL (Brazil)
• Dimension Data (South Africa)
• Bytemark Hosting (UK)
• NetCologne (Germany)
• Powernet ISP (Russia)
• NxtGen DataCenter (India)
• PicoNets-WebWerks (India)

The Linux Mint team usually runs beta phases for about two weeks before pushing the final release. It allows users to try out the upcoming release in the real world and uncover bugs that would have been hard for the developers to find.

Linux Mint 21.2 brings some theming improvements to the Cinnamon desktop through styles. Styles allow you to combine different accent colours and select dark, light, or mixed themes. The upcoming release also adds the Yaru theme which is used in Ubuntu, so that’s good news if you like the look of Ubuntu.

The upcoming release will be supported until 2027, just like the other releases in this series. If you decide to install the Beta, just keep installing the new updates when they are made available and by the time of the official release, you’ll automatically be off the Beta.

Please keep in mind, at the time of writing the Linux Mint project has not yet announced the Beta. It has passed the checks so there shouldn't be too much issues, but the team might have some important release notes to go along with the release so be sure to only use this Beta on testing machines.

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To demystify APIs, let's explore an analogy that brings the world of software integration to a relatable scenario: the dynamic interplay between a customer, a waiter, and a kitchen. Just as the trio works together to fulfill the customer's dining needs, APIs serve as the bridge enabling different software applications to communicate, share data, and deliver seamless experiences. Join us as we unravel the analogy and shed light on the inner workings and impact of APIs in the tech landscape.

What is an API?

In today's hyper-connected world, APIs are essential to keeping everything working together. They have changed the game for app development by letting programmers leverage existing features rather than starting from scratch. APIs provide a wide variety of building blocks that enable developers to construct new, feature-rich solutions with less time and effort, such as integrating social media sharing in an app, accessing payment channels, and leveraging location data. By leveraging APIs, companies may broaden their customer base, enhance their product's usability, and open up previously untapped income opportunities.

Imagine yourself as a customer in a bustling restaurant. You sit at the table, eager to order a meal. In this analogy, you represent an application or system that requires specific services or data. The waiter acts as the API, facilitating communication between you and the kitchen.

The waiter serves as the intermediary between you and the kitchen, taking your order and conveying it to the kitchen staff. Similarly, an API acts as a communication channel between applications or systems. It receives requests from one application, relays them to the intended destination (another application or service), and returns the response, just like a waiter taking your order and bringing back your food.

Behind the scenes, the kitchen is where the magic happens. It comprises various chefs, each responsible for a specific aspect of meal preparation. In the API analogy, the kitchen represents backend systems and services that perform specific tasks or provide data. These backend systems can range from payment gateways and user databases to external services like weather forecasts or social media integration.

As a customer, you place an order with the waiter, specifying your preferences. The waiter takes your request, relays it to the kitchen, and returns with the prepared meal. Similarly, with APIs, an application sends a request, including specific parameters and data, to the API. The API processes the request, interacts with the necessary backend systems, and returns the desired results or data to the requesting application.

The importance of application programming interfaces (APIs) in facilitating communication and integration across software programs might be better appreciated by considering how they relate to the customer, waiter, and kitchen triad at a restaurant.

APIs are the "waiters" of the IT world, bridging disparate systems together so that information and functionality may flow freely. Since modern applications rely on the cooperation and interaction of multiple components to offer novel, linked solutions, this example highlights the importance of APIs in software development. When you sit down to a satisfying dinner, think of the APIs behind the scenes that make the digital world work.

We have a firm grasp of how the API works now. If you want more advanced points, keep reading.

API types and architectures

APIs come in various flavors, catering to different needs and use cases. The two primary types are RESTful APIs and SOAP APIs. REST (Representational State Transfer) APIs follow a stateless, client-server architectural style and are widely adopted due to their simplicity and scalability. On the other hand, SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) APIs employ XML-based messaging protocols and are known for their robustness and support for more complex operations.

Additionally, APIs can be categorized as public or private. Public APIs, often provided by tech giants like Google, Twitter, or Facebook, are accessible to external developers, fostering an ecosystem of third-party applications. Private APIs, also known as internal or enterprise APIs, are utilized within organizations to enable communication between internal systems, departments, or services.

API economy

APIs have fueled the rise of the API economy—a thriving ecosystem where organizations monetize their APIs or leverage external APIs to drive innovation and create value. The API economy has transformed industries, opening up new business models and opportunities.

With the rise of platform-centric businesses, such as Airbnb and Uber, APIs have become the bedrock upon which entire ecosystems are built. These platforms expose APIs that enable developers to build applications on top of their infrastructure, fostering innovation and expanding their reach exponentially.

You can see the API economy's effect on the Reddit blackout protest.

Conclusion

In this era of unprecedented digital connectivity, APIs act as enablers, fostering collaboration, innovation, and growth across the tech industry. From mobile apps to cloud services, APIs have revolutionized the way software is developed, allowing applications to communicate and exchange data seamlessly.

The power of APIs extends beyond technology companies, permeating various sectors, including finance, healthcare, and transportation. As technology continues to evolve, APIs will remain a crucial tool in the hands of developers, propelling the connected future and enabling transformative experiences for users worldwide.

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Want to turn on live captions in Windows 11 without any hassle? We’ve got you covered. With this command, you can easily summon real-time text transcriptions for audio and video content without having to open the Settings app.

Whether you’re watching a video, participating in an online meeting, or even listening to a podcast, live captions can be an invaluable tool for a more inclusive and engaging computing experience. Additionally, live captions can aid language learners, individuals in noisy environments, or anyone seeking a visual representation of audio content.

With just a few simple steps, here’s how you can turn on live captions in Windows 11 at any time, whether you’re watching videos, playing a game, or participating in a Microsoft Teams meeting.

How to turn on live captions instantly in Windows 11

1. Pres Win + Ctrl + L on your keyboard

2. Click Agree

3. A pop-up saying Ready to caption in English (United States) will show up (depending on your preferred language)

4. Additionally, you can also filter profanity by clicking the gear button ? Preferences ? Filter profanity

Additionally, the Redmond-based tech giant has also been working closely to revamp users’ experience of the live caption by releasing support for several more languages in previous builds for insiders. 

Unfortunately, though, the copy-paste functionality for live captions is currently non-functional. However, users have expressed their dissatisfaction with this issue through the Feedback hub, raising hopes for an imminent resolution and release.

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WhatsApp says that the calls that are silenced automatically will appear in the Calls tab and in your notifications. This way, you can review them later and revert back just in case it turns out to be someone important.

To use the new WhatsApp silence unknown callers feature, you need to be running the latest version of the app on your Android or iOS device. Go to Settings > Privacy > Scroll down and tap on the Calls option. On the next screen, turn on the toggle button that says Silence Unknown Callers.

Apart from that, WhatsApp has also added a new Privacy Checkup tool that features a step-by-step user interface to guide you through important privacy settings. You can use the feature by tapping on the 'Start Checkup' option on the Privacy page in the app.

The instant messaging app recently launched a privacy feature called Chat Lock that allows users to hide their confidential chats in a secured folder. It also added the long-awaited feature that allows users to edit sent messages, introduced a new Security Center, and redesigned its apps for Android and iOS.

WhatsApp also introduced the Channels feature that allows admins to send one-way messages to their followers. In another update rolled out earlier this year, users can now save disappearing messages to their devices but they need to get approval from the sender of the message.

As seen in beta releases, WhatsApp is also testing a feature where users can share their screens during video calls. On mobile devices, WhatsApp Beta allows users to send short video messages that can be of up to 60 seconds in length.

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Opera Software has launched Opera One officially today after a short beta period. Opera One is the company's reimagining of its flagship browser. It is still Opera browser at its core, but there are also core differences that Opera Software believes ready the browser for the future.

Opera Software unveiled Opera One back in April 2023 and released a development build at the time. Anyone can download the Opera One browser already, but up until now, it was a beta version.

Today's release is the first Stable release of Opera One, which is an important milestone for the company. Opera One is available for Windows, Linux and macOs devices currently, but plans are underway to ship the browser for mobile operating systems as well in the future.

The new release of the web browser looks and feels very similar to the development build that Opera released in April. The main features are the native artificial intelligence that Opera engineers baked into the browser and the modular design.

Speaking of AI; Opera calls it Aria and it is available free of charge in the browser. Engineers developed a Composer AI engine for Opera One that is using OpenAI's GPT as its core. The AI component offers additional capabilities, including accessing the web to retrieve information.

What makes Aria special is that it is aware of the entire support documentation of the Opera browser. Like Windows Copilot, Aria may help Opera users troubleshoot browser issues or make changes to the browser.

To interact with Aria, Opera users use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+/ (on Mac Cmd+/). This opens a text prompt in the browser to communicate with the AI. There is also an Aria link in the left sidebar of the browser.

Aria requires an Opera account and users need to create one or sign-in to their account before they may start communicating with the AI.

Communication is redirected to the sidebar, which may be pinned so that it is visible all the time. It takes away a bit of space from the main pane and the active website, but the width can be adjusted.

Aria helps Opera users when they run into troubles or issues when using the browser, but it also gives users access to ChatGPT's capabilities. Opera users may ask questions or instruct the AI to do something, e.g., return a list of top games for the PS5 or PC, suggest bars or hotels, or write an essay about a given topic.

Responses are not instant, but do not take too long most of the time. The response time may depend on the input.

Another new feature of Opera One is called Tab Islands. Basically, what the feature does is link related tabs together to improve manageability. It works similarly to tab groups of other browsers, and supports features such as collapsing and expanding tabs, and moving groups around easily.

The third and final major feature of Opera One is the new modular design of the web browser. Opera claims that the new architecture with multithreaded compositor improves the smoothness of navigation. The modular design allows Opera engineers to "build a more powerful and feature-rich browser that is ready for a generative AI-based future" according to the company.

One of the main ideas behind the feature is to adjust the browser's interface contextually and automatically.

Opera Software's Opera One Stable browser is now available for download on the official website.

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Twitter user Michael Reinders posted a screenshot of the updated post from the Microsoft 365 Message Center that stated:

We are reevaluating the timing and implementation of this change and will provide information shortly. Thank you for your patience.

Reinders indicated in other replies to this post that a number of Microsoft 365 customers complained about when this change would be made. On the face of it, this seems like a strange thing to complain about, as Microsoft was giving users well over a year before this transition was supposed to take place.

There's some speculation that the transition date to the new Outlook to September 2024 could be a clue that Microsoft also intends to launch Windows 12, which could have Outlook as the default mail and calendar app, in that time frame as well. However, there's no direct evidence that this is indeed the case.

In any event, It does look like Microsoft has received enough complaints about getting rid of Mail and Calendar apps to the new Outlook that we may be getting a new transition date soon that may push that September 2024 timeline behind by several months, if not longer.

Microsoft has already stated that once the move from Mail and Calendar apps to the new Outlook is made, those older apps won't be available to download anymore. They have also said that the new Outlook will let users access any email account without needing a Microsoft 365 paid subscription. The recently updated Outlook app for Mac is completely free to use already.

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It decided Microsoft should be broken up into two companies (Microsoft later made a settlement with the DOJ to keep it in one piece in 2001).

In the midst of all this, Microsoft released two Windows PC operating systems. One was Windows 2000, which was made for business customers. The other was Windows Millennium Edition, better known as Windows Me. It was, simply put, a disaster.

Windows Me went "gold" and headed to manufacturing 23 years ago today, on June 19, 2000. It started appearing on store shelves (remember when you bought OS updates at the store?) and inside new PCs a few months later, on September 14, 2000.

The OS was made specifically for individual home consumers and was developed to be a quick and fast update to Windows 98. It actually shared some parts of Windows 2000, including some of its user interface and its TCP/IP stack.

One thing the two operating systems would not share would be their underlying framework. While Windows 2000 used the Windows NT kernel, Microsoft decided to stick with the DOS framework that was in every other consumer Windows release. That may have been its undoing.

To be completely fair to Windows Me, it did have quite a few new features that would continue in some ways to other versions of Windows. One of the big ones was System Restore, which allowed users to go back a few days to an earlier version of Windows Me if something went wrong, but without deleting any important files or programs.

It also added Auto Update, which allowed the PC to download any Windows ME updates, critical or otherwise, without any human intervention.

Other features in Windows Me included an updated version of Windows Media Player, a new Movie Maker program that let users edit digital film clips and a version of its DVD player that didn't require a separate decoder card inside to play DVD movies.

While Windows Me was based on DOS, Microsoft decided to restrict access to that OS, so it would boot up faster. People who owned it would not see the DOS command line when Windows ME started, and would not see it exit to DOS when they decided to shut down or reboot their PC.

The initial reviews for Windows Me were a bit mixed but were mostly positive. Back in 2000, Paul Thurrott, writing for ITProToday, called the OS a "must-have upgrade for most Windows users." He cited the System Restore and Auto Update features, along with making the OS easier to use with networking features, and more.

CNET's review was a bit more guarded, as it liked the faster boot times and some of its multimedia tools. However, its review claimed that some Windows applications ran slower on Me than on the older Windows 98. As a result, it said that it had some nice features, but it wasn't an essential upgrade option compared to Windows 98.

As it turned out, Windows Me would hit a big barrier once it reached the real world of consumers. Many people reported they were unable to get it installed. If they were lucky to accomplish that task, some reported having problems with running software on the OS, or connecting it to other hardware.

In short, the released version was a mess. How big of a mess was it? PC World named it one of the worst tech products of all time, calling it Windows Mistake Edition.

Microsoft knew it had a turkey on its hands, and the company didn't even bother with things like service packs for Windows Me to add new features. Instead, they moved on to Windows XP, which launched in the fall of 2001 with a Home and Professional Edition, both with the Windows NT kernel.

Many, if not most, Windows 98 users just upgraded to Windows XP without even bothering with Windows Me. Support for both Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows Me ended on July 11, 2006.

While other Microsoft Windows releases like Vista, and especially Windows 8, have their detractors, many feel Windows Me was not only the worst version of Windows ever made, but it was also so unnecessary.

Microsoft could have just updated Windows 98 again with a few new features and launched Windows XP a year later, without even bothering with a version of the OS. It had a few nice additions, but the rush to get it to consumers ultimately did it in.

Source

On Wednesday, the company confirmed user reports that the Google Chrome user interface would no longer show up after deploying this month's Patch Tuesday cumulative updates.

The conflict with Google Chrome is caused by Malwarebytes' anti-exploit module blocking the web browser from loading or crashing after installing the KB5027231 update.

Customers affected by this known issue were advised to toggle off Chrome's entry from the list of protected applications in their Malwarebytes product as a temporary workaround.

Malwarebytes has now fixed the conflict with the Chrome web browser on up-to-date Windows 11 systems.

"This fix enables Chrome as a protected application for all Windows 11 devices but does not apply our Anti-exploit code to all Chrome processes," the company says.

"Update to Component version: 1.0.2047 and Malwarebytes version: 4.5.31.270 to receive this fix. This update is automatic over time. To manually update, open Malwarebytes, click Settings > About > Check for updates."

Malwarebytes says the update will be automatically applied to new installations and advises customers who used the workaround to re-enable the anti-exploit protection for Chrome after the fix is installed.

Enabling Chrome as a protected app (Malwarebytes)

To re-enable Chrome as a protected application in your Malwarebytes product, you have to :

1. Open Malwarebytes.
2. On the top right, click the Settings wheel.
3. Click the Security tab.
4. Under Exploit Protection, click Manage protected applications.
5. Toggle on Google Chrome (and plug-ins).
6. Click Done.

As BleepingComputer further reported last week, the same Windows 11 update would also break Google Chrome on systems protected by Cisco and WatchGuard EDR and antivirus solutions.

Based on user reports and as WatchGuard staff confirmed, the web browser wouldn't open if the Cisco Secure Endpoint and the WatchGuard exploit prevention engines were enabled after installing KB5027231.

"We deploy Secure Endpoint 8.1.7 to our few thousand devices, and we started getting a mountain of reports this morning that Google Chrome would not appear on the screen after attempting to open it," one Windows admin said.

"With a little trial & error, I found that killing the Secure Endpoint service or uninstalling Secure Endpoint will allow Chrome to open again."

While a fix is yet to be released by Cisco and WatchGuard, affected customers are advised to toggle off anti-exploit protection or set Chrome as the default web browser from Settings > Select Default Browser to revive the web browser on impacted Windows 11 systems.

Microsoft and Cisco spokespersons are yet to reply to requests for more details regarding this issue.

Source

There are separate lists for both Windows 11 21H2 and 22H2 even though the system requirements of Windows 11 haven't changed (much) since the original 21H2 announcement. So if anyone hopes that their currently unsupported hardware could suddenly appear on the supported list, that is simply not going to happen. (In related news, Linux users running older 1st Gen Ryzen CPUs can expect support and even performance boosts soon.)

Regardless though, people have been running unsupported systems on Windows 11 22H2 as well, just like they were doing with the 21H2 version. Some users were even so impressed by their old hardware that they even exclaim it "runs like magic".

Microsoft has in the past also erroneously offered Windows 11 feature updates on unsupported systems as well. The most recent incident happened earlier this year in February and Microsoft did acknowledge the bug itself. And something similar happened last year as well, in June.

Among the new Intel SKUs, the 6GHz Core i9-13900KS makes an entry. Other Intel Raptor Lake mobile CPUs like the i5-1334U, 1335U, 1335UE, 13500HS, among others, have also been added. The full list is available on Microsoft's website.

The AMD side is definitely where things are far more interesting. The chips with 3D V-cache on-board have been added. These include the AM4-based 5800X3D as well as the newer AM5-based 7950X3D, 7900X3D, and 7800X3D. Other AM4 SKUs include the Ryzen 3 4100, Ryzen 5 4500, 5500, and 5600. Meanwhile, for AM5, we have the non-X Ryzen variants like the Ryzen 7 7700 and Ryzen 5 7600. Some older gen SKUs have also been added to the list of CPUs.

Over on the mobile side, we have the Ryzen 5 5625U and also the 5625C (a Chromebook edition part), the Ryzen 3 5425U, and more. Many AMD 7000U series processors have also been added, which happens to be one of the most confusing naming AMD has ever released on its CPU side. Some of these are the 7530U, 7440U, and more (Not to be confused with AMD's Mendocino which sport Zen 2 and RDNA 2 integrated graphics). The full list of AMD CPUs is available on this page on Microsoft's site.

Finally, we have the Qualcomm CPU list which now has the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 and the Microsoft SQ3. Full list is available on Microsoft's website, though, expectedly, it is nowhere as big as the one for x86 chips from AMD and Intel's.

Source

The application displays all updates in chronological order, includes filtering and search options, displays the event information and links to support pages.

Windows Update Viewer is available for Windows 10 and 11 systems only. It does require the Microsoft .NET Framework 6.0 and comes as a portable package and one that can be installed on the device.

Note: Windows' SmartScreen security feature may display a prompt when the WUView.exe is run on the device. The executable file has a clean sheet on Virustotal, and SmartScreen displays its warnings for new files as well.

Windows Update Viewer

Windows Update Viewer displays all installed Windows updates in chronological order. The interface supports themes and displays in the selected system colour theme by default. Users can change that in the application's settings.

The top half of the main pane displays the updates. Each update is listed with its KB ID, title and result. There is a filter field at the top to find particular updates quickly, e.g., by entering 2023 to display only updates from 2023 or by entering failed to only display failed updates.

The View menu has an option to change the large view to a small one. The smaller view uses a smaller font and displays more content on the screen at the same time. A tap on F5 refreshes the updates list and there are options to hide the details pane and to display user-hidden updates.

The details pane displays information about the selected update. It has a link to the official support page and lists all entries of the event viewer, which may be useful for troubleshooting.

Data can be exported to CSV or Text files. The File menu contains a link to Windows Update and an option to edit the exclude list. It accepts strings, one per line, and is used by the application for filtering. Any update that matches a string is now shown by default.

The string Defender is listed by default to exclude any Windows Defender updates from the list of updates.

A Settings visit displays a number of options to customize the application. Windows Update Viewer displays all updates by default, but this can be limited to a certain number of recent updates there. Other options include changing the data format or changing the size of the UI even more, e.g., to smallest or largest.

Verdict

Windows Update Viewer is a useful administrative tool for Windows administrators who want to check certain updates quickly. The event viewer information about the update is useful and the link to the support page is useful as well.

Now You: how do you troubleshoot or manage Windows updates? (via Deskmodder)

Source

In a blog post, Microsoft has revealed details about the attack in the beginning of June that caused disruption to its services and took almost 15 hours for the company to mitigate. According to the Redmond giant, the company identified a surge in traffic against some of its services and opened an investigation into the DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attack.

Microsoft further noted that the threat actors used multiple Virtual Private Servers (VPS), proxies, rented cloud infrastructure as well as DDoS tools to execute the attack. While the attack was sophisticated, Microsoft confirmed that customer data was not accessed or compromised.

This recent DDoS activity targeted layer 7 rather than layer 3 or 4. Microsoft hardened layer 7 protections including tuning Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) to better protect customers from the impact of similar DDoS attacks.

Microsoft also shared the technical details surrounding the attack. As per the company, the threat actor Storm-1359 used a collection of botnets and tools to launch the attack on the company's servers. These included HTTP(S) flood attack to overload the system and exhaust the resources through a high load of SSL/TLS handshakes and HTTP(S) requests. In Microsoft's case, the attacker had sent millions of HTTP(S) requests from IP addresses around the globe to overload the system.

Not only that, but the attacker also used Cache bypass to skip the CDN layer and overload the original system with a series of queries. Lastly, the attacker had used Slowloris wherein the client requests a resource from the server but fails to acknowledge the receipt of the resource, forcing the server to keep the connection open and the resource in its memory.

Microsoft assessed that Storm-1359 has access to a collection of botnets and tools that could enable the threat actor to launch DDoS attacks from multiple cloud services and open proxy infrastructures. Storm-1359 appears to be focused on disruption and publicity.

Microsoft ended the post with a series of tips and recommendations for Azure customers to protect them against Layer 7 DDoS attacks in the future. The company, however, did not disclose details related to the damage or any financial impact it had to incur due to the attack.

Source

The update addressed security issues, among other bugs, and as is often the case, there are major bugs affecting it as well. On Windows 11, Patch Tuesday was causing Malwarebytes to go a bit haywire and block Google Chrome. Meanwhile, users reported that Windows 10 update is having installation issues.

While at the time of writing this article, Microsoft is yet to confirm and document either of these bugs, the company has announced that a kernel patch that was released on all versions of Windows, both 10 and 11, has the potential to break the OS. This issue was being tracked under ID "CVE-2023-32019". The patch notes on the update read:

This update addresses an issue that affects the Windows Kernel. This issue is related to CVE-2023-32019.

Microsoft gave additional information about the issue on a knowledge base support document on its website. However, since the release of the update, the company has added a portion to the support page which adds that the change has been disabled by default with an option added to enable it.

The company explains:

IMPORTANT The resolution described in this article introduces a potential breaking change. Therefore, we are releasing the change disabled by default with the option to enable it. In a future release, this resolution will be enabled by default. We recommend that you validate this resolution in your environment. Then, as soon as it is validated, enable the resolution as soon as possible.

Here is a summary of the vulnerability as provided by Microsoft:

An authenticated user (attacker) could cause an information disclosure vulnerability in Windows Kernel. This vulnerability does not require administrator or other elevated privileges.

The attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could view heap memory from a privileged process that is running on the server.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to coordinate the attack with another privileged process that is run by another user in the system.

You can find the support document on Microsoft's site under KB5028407.

Source

The new feature will allow users to record and share up to 60 seconds of video with others directly in the chat. This works similar to the voice note option that let users send voice recordings to others in the chat. The new feature is rolling out to both Android and iOS users with WhatsApp Beta version 2.23.13.4 and version 23.12.0.71 respectively. Unfortunately, it is currently available to selected users and is rolling out in phases so you may not see the option available even if you have the aforementioned beta version installed on your phone.

If you are keen to try it out, the best way to check if you have the feature is to tap on the mic icon beside the chat bar. If the icon changes to video then the feature has been enabled for you. To use it, you just need to hold the video icon and it will start a three-second timer post which the app will start recording. Like with voice notes, WhatsApp gives a lock option so you don't have to continue holding the video button to record the message. Once you are done recording, you can tap the red button in the bottom middle of the screen to stop recording. You can then playback the video recording before you decide to send it. WhatsApp also gives a delete button on the bottom left corner so you can delete the video if you don't like it and start over again. Once you are satisfied, you can tap send to share the video with the other person.

As mentioned, the feature is currently rolling out to WhatsApp Beta for Android and iOS. There is no official word on when the company plans to roll it out to the public. WhatsApp has been testing several new features lately, to keep up with the competition from the likes of Telegram. Recently, WhatsApp introduced Channels, a broadcast like feature for businesses and admins. The company also started testing the ability to share your screen when on a call as well as the ability to edit messages, both on the desktop and the mobile version of the app.

Source

Jones caught first whiff of this elusive but replicable Linux booting bug when some server software tests with nbdkit (a protocol for accessing block devices over a network) seemed to be "randomly hanging" when used with libguestsfs (a tool for accessing and modifying virtual machine disk images.) Though we know the looping testing phase was a measly 21 hours long (even though there were an astronomical 293,612 boot processes initiated) Jones says that getting to this point "took many days." The Linux developer recounts that a painful bisection between Linux v6.0 and v6.4-rc6 helped him narrow down the boot hang culprit. That culprit is claimed to be a regression in the printk time feature. Reverting this code commit "fixes the problem," asserts Jones.

A clue to the cause was that the bug always appeared at the same early stage of the booting process, when booting the latest qemu. If you follow this link you will see the easiest way to replicate the hanging issue is to run a guestfish command in a loop, with many instances in parallel, parsing the output to detect when there was a boot hanging event. Usually he ran the guestfish loop 10,000 times, as a workable threshold to gather useful log data.

Perhaps of some interested to hardware fans, Jones remarks that this weird boot hang issue occurs less often on Intel systems than AMD systems. Whatever the case, hopefully the exposure and pinpointing of this bug means that will be squashed, never to return.

Source

With each release, Microsoft is trying to make its OS more modern without breaking its core features or upsetting customers with unnecessary changes, which often results in old features being removed or notably reworked. That is precisely what is happening in the latest Windows 11 preview build from the Dev Channel.

Windows 11 build 23481 removes several legacy File Explorer settings. Microsoft says the affected options have been around for ages and are no longer regularly used by Windows 11 customers. Therefore, Windows developers decided that the active File Explorer redesign presents a good opportunity for a cleanup. Here are the features Microsoft wants to delete:

• Hide Folder Merge conflict.
• Always show icons, never thumbnails.
• Display file icon on thumbnails.
• Display file type information on Folder tips.
• Hide protected OS files.
• Show drive letters.
• Show popup description for Folder and Desktop items.
• Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in colour.
• Use sharing wizard.

Windows has a massive user base, with more than one billion people using the OS for their daily needs, so it is evident that some will be upset about the change. If you are one such customer, good news: the removed features are still accessible, but turning them on or off now requires more time and effort.

How to enable missing Folder Options in Windows 11 build 23481?

Note that the following steps will take effect in your current Windows profile. Also, accessing Windows Registry Editor requires administrator privileges. Back up important data before proceeding since editing the wrong registry keys may result in catastrophic software damage.

Press Win + R and type regedit, then navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced. Now open one of the listed below values and change its value data from 0 to 1 to enable a feature or 1 to 0 to turn it off.

If a key is missing, click File > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value and rename the value accordingly.

• Hide Folder Merge conflict - HideMergeConflicts
• Always show icons, never thumbnails - IconsOnly
• Display file icon on thumbnails - ShowTypeOverlay
• Display file type information on Folder tips - FolderContentsInfoTip
• Hide protected OS files - ShowSuperHidden
• Show drive letters - ShowDriveLettersFirst
• Show popup description for Folder and Desktop items - ShowInfoTip
• Show encrypted or compressed NTFS files in colour - ShowEncryptCompressedcolour
• Use sharing wizard - SharingWizardOn

Note that you might need to restart your computer after changing data for a specific value in Windows Registry Editor.

Are you upset that Microsoft wants to remove parts of Folder Options in Windows 11? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Windows 11 removes several File Explorer options, here is how to restore them

The new work includes an expanded colour palette with warm tones to complement our Windows blue & coding-inspired textures throughout the visuals for added depth.

Today, the Microsoft Design team announced on Twitter that its new creations for Dev Home have been adapted and can now be used on your PC desktop in a new series of wallpapers.

You can head to the Microsoft Design wallpaper site to download the 16 new wallpapers, or you can download the ZIP file directly.

All of the wallpapers are in 4K and, as the Microsoft Design team mentions, all of them continue the Windows 11 wallpaper design theme with some new colour choices, some new wave shapes, and some images that suggest code is embedded in them.

You can check out the Microsoft Design Wallpapers page for a ton of other downloads of great Windows wallpapers, including some recent ones made for Pride Month 2023.

Microsoft loves to keep making new wallpapers, and also loves to revisit some older ones. A recent official 4K version of the classic Windows XP "Bliss" wallpaper was recently launched. Also, a leaked version of an upcoming Windows 11 update was discovered to have a hidden new wallpaper design. Make sure you also check out some recent generative AI-assisted versions of Windows 11 and Windows XP wallpapers as well.

Get these great looking wallpapers Microsoft Design made for the new Dev Home

Now it looks like there's a timeframe for the switch to the new Outlook for Windows. The good news is that Microsoft is giving businesses and personal Windows users a lot of time to make that transition.

The company revealed its plans in a message on the Microsoft 365 Message Center (via M365Admin) that's only viewable to the admins. Microsoft stated it would begin replacing the current Mail and Calendar apps with the new Outlook for Windows "starting in September 2024."

The interesting terminology indicates that the September 2024 date may not be set in stone and that Microsoft could give businesses and organizations even more time to make any changes before the transition is complete.

The message also added that while no one needs to make any changes right now, users of the Mail and Calendar apps might see a MailTip notification that will inform them of the upcoming change. It may also encourage them to start using the new Outlook for Windows app.

Microsoft does say that once the change is ultimately made, three things will happen:

• Users will no longer be able to use or download the Mail and Calendar apps.
• Users with a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription with access to the Microsoft 365 desktop apps can use the new Outlook for Windows.
• Users will be able to use the new Outlook for Windows with any personal email account (Outlook.com, Gmail, etc) even without a subscription.

Again, there's a long way to go before this switch takes place, but with a final-ish date now in sight, you might want to check out the new Outlook for Windows app now if you have not yet done so yet by joining the Microsoft 365 Insider program.

The new Outlook for Windows will start to replace the Mail and Calendar apps in Sept. 2024

Both of the drivers add support for EA's new racing sim game F1 23. However, the AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 23.10.01.37 version is being released just for people who have the AMD Radeon RX 7600 Series GPUs. They also have different known issues:

• Certain virtual reality games or applications may encounter suboptimal performance or occasional stuttering.
• Intermittent application crash or light corruption may occur when using Blender

If you have the Radeon RX 7600 Series GPU inside your PC, you can download the new driver update at the AMD site.

The AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 22.40.57.06 drive is for all the other desktop and notebook Radeon GPUs that the company currently supports. In addition to the new F1 23 support, it has the following known issues:

• High idle power has situationally been observed when using select high-resolution and high refresh rate displays on Radeon RX 7000 series GPUs.
• Certain virtual reality games or applications may encounter suboptimal performance or occasional stuttering on Radeon RX 7000 series GPUs.
• >Application crash may be intermittently observed while playing RuneScape™ on some AMD Graphics Products, such as the Radeon RX 5700 XT.
• Application crash or driver timeout may be observed during playback of AV1 video content using DaVinci Resolve Studio.
• Intermittent corruption may be observed after switching windows while play Nioh 2 on some AMD Graphics Products, such as the Radeon RX 6800 XT.

If you have any other Radeon GPU other than the RX 7600 series, you can download the new Adrenalin Edition driver update at AMD's website. Hopefully, this is just a one-off and that AMD will release the next driver update for all of its GPUs at once.

AMD releases two versions of its Adrenalin driver that adds support for F1 23

As a bit of background, Canonical releases a Long Term Support (LTS) version of Ubuntu every two years in April. In between these releases, it pushes out a new version of Ubuntu every six months.

The LTS versions are supported for five years each but the interim releases are only supported for nine months. Ubuntu 22.10 is an interim release so July is when it reaches end of life.

Upgrading your Ubuntu desktop to version 23.04 is straightforward and shouldn’t take long to complete, especially if you have a good internet connection. To perform the upgrade, follow these official instructions:

1. Run the update-manager application.
2. In Update Manager, click the Settings... button, and enter your password to start the Software Sources application.
3. Select the sub menu Updates from the Software Sources application.
4. Confirm the "Notify me of a new Ubuntu version:" option is set to "For any new version", and change it if otherwise.
5. Close the Software Sources application and return to Update Manager.
6. In Update Manager, click the Check button to check for new updates.
7. If there are any updates to install, use the Install Updates button to install them.
8. Run update-manager.
9. A message will appear informing you of the availability of the new release.
10. Click Upgrade.
11. Follow the on-screen instructions.

If you are on Ubuntu 22.10 and find nine months too short a period to keep performing an upgrade, you’re best sticking to an LTS release. New versions arrive every two years but you’re under no obligation to upgrade for five years; this can let you focus on just getting work done instead of doing upgrades all of the time.

Ubuntu 22.10 Kinetic Kudu dies on July 20, upgrade now

Perhaps some of those issues might be resolved with compatibility updates Microsoft also released alongside those. These compatibility updates are available for all supported versions and editions of Windows 10 and 11. They are meant to improve Windows recovery.

The updates are available under the following KBs:

• KB5027573

• KB5027572

• KB5027389

• KB5027385

   

The release notes are given below:

KB5027573: Compatibility update for installing and recovering Windows 11, version 22H2: June 13, 2023

Summary

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

[..]

KB5027572: Compatibility update for installing and recovering Windows 11, version 21H2: June 13, 2023

Summary

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery features for Windows 11, version 21H2.

[..]

KB5027389: Compatibility update for installing and recovering Windows 10, version 20H2, 21H2, and 22H2: June 13, 2023

Summary

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery features for Windows 10, version 20H2, 21H2, and 22H2.

[..]

KB5027385: Compatibility update for installing and recovering Windows 10, version 1507: June 13, 2023

Summary

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery features for Windows 10, version 1507.

The update will be downloaded and installed automatically but users can also choose to manually download the update. To do so, head over to the Microsoft Update Catalog website and search up the update KB.

Compatibility updates (KB5027573, KB5027572, KB5012419, KB5027385) for Windows 11/10 out

The full changelog is below:

• New! This update adds many new features and improvements to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. For more information, see Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
• New! This update improves several simplified Chinese fonts and the Microsoft Pinyin Input Method Editor (IME) to support GB18030-2022. You can enter and display characters from conformance level 1 or 2 using the additions to Microsoft Yahei, Simsun, and Dengxian. This update now supports Unicode Extensions E and F in the Simsun Ext-B font. This meets the requirements for level 3.
• This update affects the Default Terminal settings. It adds “Let Windows Decide” as a default option.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Narrator. The issue stops Narrator from retaining your scan mode when you switch between browsers.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Intune push notifications. The issue stops devices that have less than 3.5 GB of RAM from getting them.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the on-screen keyboard. The issue stops it from opening after you lock the machine.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Narrator. It reads the wrong state when you cancel the selection of an option button you have selected.
• This update addresses an issue that affects a scheduled monthly task. It might not run on time if the next occurrence happens when daylight savings time occurs.
• This update addresses an issue that affects certain applications that use IDBObjectStore. They do not work in Microsoft Edge and IE mode.
• This update addresses an issue that affects all the registry settings under the Policies paths. They might be deleted. This occurs when you do not rename the local temporary user policy file during Group Policy processing.
• This update affects the Desktop Window Manager (DWM). It improves its reliability.
• This update addresses an issue that affects .msi files. A minor update is not installed. This occurs when you use the EnterpriseDesktopAppManagement configuration service provider (CSP) to distribute the .msi file.
• This update addresses an issue that affects msftconnecttext.net. It gets excessive HTTP traffic.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Spooler service. It stops working. This issue occurs when you print using a certain workspace.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Network Protector for BitLocker. It will not resume after it has been suspended.
• This update addresses an issue that affects a tib.sys driver. It does not load. This occurs when HyperVisor-protected Code Integrity (HVCI) is enabled.
• This update addresses an issue that affects TextInputHost.exe. It stops working.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 users. You might not see the right location for a Remote Desktop session in your virtual machine or Cloud PC.
• This update addresses an issue that affects HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders. You can now set and maintain the correct default permissions for this directory path. When the permissions are wrong, Start menu, search, and Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) authentication fails.
• This update addresses an issue that affects those who enable the “Smart Card is Required for Interactive Logon” account option. When RC4 is disabled, you cannot authenticate to Remote Desktop Services farms. The error message is, “An authentication error has occurred. The requested encryption type is not supported by the KDC.”

You can check out the full blog post here.

Windows 11 (original release) gets new Release Preview build 22000.2121 for Insiders

Have you ever run into a situation where your game or applications stopped responding? It is not a common issue these days as it used to be on older versions of Windows, where you may be stuck, and are unable to access anything else. That's not to say crashes and freezes never happen in Windows 11. One thing that you may want to try if you find yourself stuck with an unresponsive program, is to open the Task Manager (using Ctrl + Shift + Esc) to end the process that is causing the problem. But what if the built-in utility is not opening?

In that case, the only option is to perform a hard reset, some desktop towers have a reset button that you can press to force a reboot. Most modern computers don't have that, so you will have to hold the power button to turn the computer off, and press the button again to boot it up.

If your PC hasn't frozen up completely, an alternative is to try accessing the Power Options from the Ctrl + Alt + Del screen, which sends a system interrupt signal. This screen displays various options including the ability to Shut Down or Restart the computer. A normal shut down or restart of Windows may take longer as the operating system goes into the "Restarting" screen and all that. It may not work at all, if the system has frozen. Windows 11's Emergency Restart option makes this task easier and faster, and it just takes a couple of clicks. It might come in handy when your programs are acting up.

How to use Emergency Restart in Windows 11

1. Press the Ctrl + Alt + Del keys together.

2. Windows will display a black screen with the following options: Lock Windows, Switch User, Task Manager.

3. Don't click on any of these options. Instead, hold down the Control key and click on the Power button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

4. This will display the Emergency Restart screen.

5. Click on OK to restart your computer.

Warning: You should only use this option as a last resort. Why is that? Because, Emergency Restart option forcibly reboots the PC without any warnings whatsoever, so any documents or files that you were working on will not be saved. But if your computer wasn't responding in the first place, you don't really have a choice, do you?

If you cannot use the mouse on the screen, you can use the Tab key to jump between the options i.e. to select the Power button. Once it has been highlighted, hold the Ctrl key down and hit Enter (Return key) to confirm your selection. Hit Enter once again to initiate the Emergency Restart.

The Emergency Restart option isn't exclusive to Windows 11, it is also available on Windows 10 and prior versions of the operating system including Windows 8, 7, Vista, it was even available on XP. (via Betanews)

How to use Emergency Restart in Windows 11