Here is how the new product key UI compares to the old one:

Before

After

Note that Microsoft did not announce the change, so getting it to work requires the ViveTool app and a few commands. Mind the risks of using third-party software to alter the operating System and always back up important data beforehand. Although Microsoft might soon let you enable or disable experimental features inside the Settings app, creating backups is a must-have habit when using pre-release software.

How to enable the redesigned activation UI in Windows 11 build 25281?

1. Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files in a convenient and easy-to-find folder.
2. Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
3. Switch Windows Terminal to the Command Prompt profile with the Ctrl + Shift + 2 shortcut or by clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.

    

   
4. Navigate to the folder containing the ViveTool files with the CD command. For example, if you have placed ViveTool in C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
5. Type vivetool /enable /id:42733866 and press Enter.
6. Type vivetool /enable /id:36390579 and press Enter.
7. Restart your computer.
8. Launch the Settings app and go to System> Activation > Change Product key.

If you change your mind and want to restore the ancient UI from the Windows 8 era, repeat the steps above and replace /enable with /disable in the commands on steps 5 and 6.

Windows 11 build 25281 brings redesigned activation UI, here is how to enable it

Alongside releasing cumulative preview update KB5019275 for Windows 10 to fix some existing issues and sport new storage alerts, Microsoft also placed an important advisory in the changelog. It reads as follows:

After March 2023, there are no more optional, non-security preview releases for the supported editions of Windows 10, version 20H2 and Windows 10, version 21H2. Only cumulative monthly security updates (known as the "B" or Update Tuesday release) will continue for these versions. Windows 10, version 22H2 will continue to receive security and optional releases.

It is important to note that Windows 10 version 20H2 is out of support already for most editions, but it is supported for Enterprise, Education, and IoT Enterprise customers until May 9, 2023. On the other hand, Windows 10 version 21H2 is supported for Home, Pro, Pro Education and Pro for Workstations SKUs until June 13, 2023, and up until June 11, 2024 for Enterprise, Education, and IoT Enterprise customers.

These are the two versions of Windows 10 impacted by this announcement, and they will not be receiving Microsoft's optional preview updates from March of this year. They will still receive cumulative security updates until the end of their lifecycle though.

This means that moving forward, version 22H2 is the only supported version of Windows 10 which will continue to receive optional preview updates. It remains to be seen how long Microsoft sticks with this cadence considering support for Windows 10 ends altogether in a couple of years.

Microsoft is halting some updates for older versions of Windows 10

Some of the ideas the software giant considered implementing had their roots coming from the canceled Lumia smartphones and their unconventional technology that never saw the light of day.

Windows 10's Start menu was a significant departure from the radically misfired Windows 8 and its touch-centric interfaces. While users were happy to see the return of the traditional Start menu, many found personalizing it a cumbersome process. Clicking back and forth to pin and unpin tiles, repositioning them, figuring out their perfect size—just to name a few "problems" users experienced.

Here is how Microsoft wanted to resolve the situation.

Pin in Place

Microsoft considered using the MixView UI to fix the inconvenience of long cursor travels when editing tiles. MixView would have first appeared on the canceled Lumia "McLaren" with its 3D Touch display. Hovering a finger over an app would reveal a set of smaller tiles with extra actions and shortcuts.

Microsoft wanted to use MixView to suggest installed apps, programs from the Microsoft Store, and websites when editing the Start menu on Windows 10. The operating system would place a "+" button next to a tile, allowing you to add more apps without having to go to the list of all apps.

Start Places

The idea of Start Places was to help users declutter the taskbar and turn it into a launchpad for various features, not only applications. Start Places would let customers switch between the tiles area, all apps, My People, Documents, Timeline, and other Windows features. The company also wanted to allow dragging separate places to the taskbar for faster access.

In addition to "large" features, Windows 10 developers tested smaller tweaks and changes, such as the "My Stuff" section on the Start menu with a list of frequently accessed folders, an accented hamburger button, and more.

There is no information why Microsoft ditched Pin in Place, Start Places, and other ideas. Perhaps, surveys and internal testing revealed that those features would not make the Start menu that much better or make users want to personalize it.

What do you think about Pin in Place and Start Place? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Here are several cancelled Windows 10 Start menu prototypes and ideas

While attempting to bring the Linux 5.19 kernel that shipped with Ubuntu 22.10 to Ubuntu 22.04, Canonical ran into some unexpected compiler and DKMS issues which slowed the process down. By pushing the release out by two weeks, the company hopes that it can perform a bit more testing of the new kernel to ensure stability, after all, Ubuntu 22.04 is an LTS release and users expect stability.

In addition to the kernel issues, Canonical also prepared shim 15.7 (which provides UEFI support) for upload to its archive. As this version revokes the existing keys, the company wants to get things right so existing installations continue to work properly. As part of this process, all of the kernels that will be in Ubuntu 22.04.2 need to be rebuilt. The extra time will allow this work to be done more smoothly.

All this delay means is that you’ll have to wait a bit longer for the new Ubuntu 22.04.2 ISOs to be made available. If you already run Ubuntu 22.04, just keep applying any updates that are made available to stay up to date.

Source: Ubuntu Discourse via OMG! Ubuntu!

Ubuntu 22.04.2 delayed by two weeks over Hardware Enablement kernel, due Feb. 23

Similar to spell checkers in other programs, Visual Studio will highlight any suspected mistakes and will show a context menu when you go to address the mistake, you can also use Alt+Enter to bring the menu up. From the menu, you can replace the type with words from various dictionaries you have enabled, ignore the suggestion, or disable the spell checker.

If you’re editing C++ or C# documents and accept the spelling change for an identifier, the tool will also perform a refactor of your code to update all the other instances of the identifier so that your code doesn’t throw any errors the next time you attempt to compile it. When you choose to ignore a suggestion, Visual Studio will create an exclusion.dic file in your AppData directory and add the word, Visual Studio will then continue to ignore this word across all of your Visual Studio instances so the spell checker doesn’t begin to get annoying.

Visual Studio 17.5 Preview 3 came out a couple of days ago and is available for download if you want it. Just head over to the Visual Studio preview website and press the download button to get started. Refer to Microsoft’s blog post from earlier this week to get a comprehensive overview of the new features in this build.

New Visual Studio 17.5 preview adds a spell checker for C#, C++, and Markdown files

The only exception is Thunderbird for Ubuntu Linux, which has been distributed as a snap already.

Reason for that is a bug that affects OAuth2 authentication for Microsoft 365 Enterprise accounts.

The team plans to release a fix for the issue in Thunderbird 102.7.1 and distribute that version automatically again to all installations of the email client. The fix is in testing already internally.

Thunderbird and OAuth2 authentication

Thunderbird 102.7.0 is the first version of the email client that handles OAuth2 authentication for Microsoft accounts differently. The team had to make the change, according to a blog post on the official Thunderbird website, to meet Microsoft's publisher verification requirements.

The project switched to a new Azure application and ID. Some users who use Thunderbird may receive a notification prompt on first run of Thunderbird 102.7.0 that prompts for administrative approval.

If that is the case, an IT administrator needs to approve the client. The team provides the following information on the procedure:

"If you encounter a screen saying “Need admin approval” during the login process, please contact your IT administrators to approve the client ID 9e5f94bc-e8a4-4e73-b8be-63364c29d753 for Mozilla Thunderbird (it previously appeared to non-admins as “Mzla Technologies Corporation”).

We request the following permissions:

IMAP.AccessAsUser.All (Read and write access to mailboxes via IMAP.)
POP.AccessAsUser.All (Read and write access to mailboxes via POP.)
SMTP.Send (Send emails from mailboxes using SMTP AUTH.)
offline_access"

Thunderbird users who are affected by the issue may install Thunderbird 102.6.1 again until the fixed version is released. Progress can be followed here.

Other changes in Thunderbird 102.7.0

Thunderbird 102.7.0 is a security update, but the notes have not been published yet.

The Enterprise policies support Thunderbird-specific preferences now.

The release includes a number of fixes:

• MSF files loss experienced if too many folders were open at startup.
• Windows 7 users sometimes received the error "Another operation is using the folder" when copying emails between local folders.
• Email address pill accepted incorrectly formatted email addresses.
• Uppercase letters in the hostname prevented security exceptions for messages sent using a self-signed certificate.
• S/MIME certificate verification "was prohibitively slow".
• OpenPGP key import failed if the key block had comments with Unicode characters.
• The scrollbar was unusable in the chat conversation sidebar under certain circumstances.
• Deleting events from the Today Pane using the Backspace-key on Mac deleted the selected message instead.
• Changes to localized builds and langpacks, which now use the "comm-l10n" repository.

The full release notes are available here.

Thunderbird users may update the client manually by selecting Menu > Help > About Thunderbird.

Now You: will you install Thunderbird 102.7.0 or wait for the fix?

Thunderbird 102.7.0 requires manual updating due to a bug

Twitter officially bans third-party clients with new developer rules

What is new in Windows 11 build 22000.1516?

Here are the highlights of the update:

• New! This update combines Windows Spotlight with Themes on the Personalization page. This makes it easier for you to discover and turn on the Windows Spotlight feature.
• New! This update displays storage alerts for Microsoft OneDrive subscribers on the Systems page in the Settings app. The alerts appear when you are close to your storage limit. You can also manage your storage and purchase additional storage, if needed.
• New! This update provides the full amount of storage capacity of all your OneDrive subscriptions. It also displays the total storage on the Accounts page in the Settings app.
• New! This update improves the Microsoft Account experience in Settings. For example, you can manage OneDrive subscriptions and storage alerts.
• New! This update displays Xbox subscription details on the Accounts page in the Settings app. Xbox subscribers can also manage their subscription on that page. Users who are not subscribers can explore Xbox subscription options on the Accounts page.
• This update addresses an issue that affects some modern applications. This issue stops them from opening.
• This update addresses an issue that might occur when the Input Method Editor (IME) is active. Applications might stop responding when you use the mouse and keyboard at the same time.
• This update addresses an issue the stops the touch keyboard from opening.
• This update addresses an issue that stops you from searching for a file based on the file’s contents.

And here is the rest of the changelog:

• This update addresses an issue that affects searchindexer.exe. It randomly stops you from signing in or signing out.
• This update addresses a resource conflict issue between two or more threads (known as a deadlock). This deadlock affects COM+ applications.
• This update addresses an issue that affects conhost.exe. It stopsresponding.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Domain Name System (DNS) suffix search list. When you configure it, the parent domain might be missing.
• This update adds support for long URL lengths of up to 8196 characters.
• This update addresses an issue that might affect FindWindow() or FindWindowEx(). They might return the wrong window handle.
• This update addresses an issue that damages memory. The issue occurs when you use certain HD audio controller hardware.
• This update addresses an issue that affects certain systems that have firmware Trusted Platform Modules. (TPM). This issue stops you from using AutoPilot to set up those systems.
• This update addresses an issue that affects printing in landscape mode in Microsoft Edge. The print output is incorrect. This issue occurs when you use Microsoft Defender Application Guard.
• This update addresses an issue that stops explorer.exe from responding. This issue occurs when you use the play and pause buttons on your keyboard on certain devices.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Windows Server 2022 domain controllers. They stop responding when they manage Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) requests.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Resilient File System (ReFS) MSba tag. The issue causes a nonpaged pool leak.
• This update addresses an issue that affects ReFS. The issue causes high nonpaged pool usage, which depletes system memory.

If you are not jumping to the Windows 11 2022 Update with its multiple new features, KB5019274 is available for download from Windows Update and the Microsoft Update Catalog.

Windows 11 KB5019274 is out with new Spotlight theme, subscription management, more

The recently released Windows 11 build 25281 has a new and hidden volume mixer that finally lets you change the volume for specific apps, switch between output devices, and enable additional features, such as Spatial Audio. Of course, you still need an extra click to access the new volume slider, but at least Windows 11 no longer requires diving into the Settings app or using Game Bar only to make one app play a little louder.

It is worth noting that Microsoft has yet to announce the new volume mixer, so getting it to work requires enabling a hidden ID using the ViveTool app (credits for the finding go to @WithinRafael). Tinkering with the operating system using third-party software is always risky, so backup important data before proceeding. Interestingly, users might soon drop ViveTool as Microsoft reportedly works on a new Settings section for managing experimental features.

How to enable the new volume mixer in Windows 11 build 25281

1. Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files in a convenient and easy-to-find folder.
2. Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
3. Switch Windows Terminal to the Command Prompt profile with the Ctrl + Shift + 2 shortcut or by clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.

    

   
4. Navigate to the folder containing the ViveTool files with the CD command. For example, if you have placed ViveTool in C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
5. Type vivetool /enable /id:42106010 and press Enter.
6. Restart your computer.
7. Click the volume indicator and press the button next to the slider to open the new mixer.

If you change your mind and want to restore the original volume controls, repeat the steps above and replace /enable with /disable in the command on step 5.

On a side note, those new to Windows 11 might find convenient the ability to adjust the volume indicator with a scroll wheel when hovering the cursor over the volume indicator. It is one of several neat features Microsoft added to Windows 11 in 2022.

What do you think about the new volume mixer in Windows 11? Does it look enough for you to ditch apps such as EarTrumpet? Let us know in the comments.

Windows 11 Dev finally gets a much better volume mixer, here is how to enable it

It's important to note that Microsoft has stated that there will be no more optional non-security updates for Windows 10, versions 20H2 and 21H2 after March 2023:

After March 2023, there are no more optional, non-security preview releases for the supported editions of Windows 10, version 20H2 and Windows 10, version 21H2. Only cumulative monthly security updates (known as the "B" or Update Tuesday release) will continue for these versions. Windows 10, version 22H2 will continue to receive security and optional releases.

Here are the release highlights of the new KB5019275 update:

• New! This update displays storage alerts for Microsoft OneDrive subscribers on the Systems page in the Settings app. The alerts appear when you are close to your storage limit. You can also manage your storage and purchase additional storage, if needed.
• This update addresses an issue that might affect news and interests. It might flicker on the taskbar and File Explorer might stop responding.

Below is the full changelog:

• New! This update addresses an issue that affects cached Fast Identity Online 2.0 (FIDO2) authentication data. The first attempt to sign in fails. The second attempt to sign in succeeds.
• This update addresses an issue that affects searchindexer.exe. It randomly stops you from signing in or signing out.
• This update addresses an issue that affects conhost.exe. It stopsresponding.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Domain Name System (DNS) suffix search list. When you configure it, the parent domain might be missing.
• This update adds support for long URL lengths of up to 8196 characters.
• This update addresses an issue that might occur when the Input Method Editor (IME) is active. Applications might stop responding when you use the mouse and keyboard at the same time.
• This update addresses an issue that occurs when you open Task View. It causes the desktop to stop responding.
• This update addresses an issue that damages memory. The issue occurs when you use certain HD audio controller hardware.
• This update addresses an issue that affects MSInfo.exe. It reports the wrong enforcement status of the Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) user mode policy.
• This update addresses an issue that affects certain systems that have firmware Trusted Platform Modules. (TPM). This issue stops you from using AutoPilot to set up those systems.
• This update addresses an issue that affects printing in landscape mode in Microsoft Edge. The print output is incorrect. This issue occurs when you use Microsoft Defender Application Guard.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Resilient File System (ReFS) MSba tag. The issue causes a nonpaged pool leak.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Resilient File System (ReFS). The issue causes high nonpaged pool usage, which depletes system memory.
• If you installed earlier updates, only the new updates contained in this package will be downloaded and installed on your device.

and here are the Known Issues with this update.

The new update is available on:

• Windows 10 Enterprise Multi-Session, version 20H2
• Windows 10 Enterprise and Education, version 20H2
• Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, version 20H2
• Windows 10 on Surface Hub Windows 10, version 21H1, all editions
• Windows 10, version 21H2, all editions
• Windows 10, version 22H2, all editions

How to get the update

You can search for this update in Windows Update by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. In the Optional updates available area, you’ll find the link to download and install the update, or download the update manually from Microsoft Update Catalog here. To know more about this update, head over to the support article on Microsoft's official website here.

Windows 10 (KB5019275) is out with fix for News and Interests flickering, and more

The full release highlights are as follows:

• Improved the reliability of suspend and resume on UEFI systems when using certain display panels.
• Fixed a bug that prevented some controls in the nvidia-settings control panel from working when running an X server as an unprivileged user.
• Fixed a bug that could cause VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST when using VK_MEMORY_ALLOCATE_DEVICE_ADDRESS_CAPTURE_REPLAY_BIT to allocate memory.
• Disabled Fixed Rate Link (FRL) when using passive DisplayPort to HDMI dongles, which are incompatible with FRL.

The driver is supported by many of Nvidia’s products but some notable mentions are the GeForce RTX 40 Series, 30 Series, and 20 Series. You can find out if your hardware is supported by going over the download page and clicking the “Supported Products” tab. When you press the download button, you’ll be given a run file to download.

If you do decide to download the file, rather than wait for your Linux distribution to send out the update through its own channels, you’ll need to right-click on the run file you download and ensure that you allow it to be executed. Once you’ve done that, open up the terminal and type sudo followed by a space, then drag the file onto the terminal window or manually type the file path and press enter. Type in your password to run the file as an administrator and follow the on-screen instructions to install.

Source: Nvidia via Phoronix

Latest Nvidia driver for Linux improves suspend reliability on systems that use UEFI

The company writes in its blog post:

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.1180 and Build 22623.1180 (KB5022363) to the Beta Channel.

• Build 22623.1180 = New features rolling out.

• Build 22621.1180 = New features off by default.

Here is the full list of changes and improvements, as well as bug fixes in the new Beta builds:

Updates to your cloud storage in settings for Windows 11

With today’s build, the Settings app supports new visuals on your Accounts page to provide a visual overview of your cloud storage usage across Microsoft products. The new visuals include a consolidated cloud storage bar that shows your storage usage for each product and notifies you if you’re running low on storage. We removed the quota bar from our subscriptions card to eliminate duplication on these visuals. Outlook attachment data will be included in your cloud storage as displayed on the visual with today’s build. This change will gradually roll out starting with a small number of insiders, so not everyone will see it right away. You may see an alert regarding your storage usage; however, it does not impact your storage amount until as early as February 1st, 2023. Learn more about cloud storage here.

A consolidated storage quota bar shown on Accounts page in Settings app with a banner that will alert you if you’re running low on storage.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Settings > User Profile Account Settings.

Widgets Improvements

In the most recent update for Widgets, we are removing the sign-in requirement for the widgets board and making it available for all users. Now, you can now get weather updates on the taskbar, pin widgets from your favorite apps or access personalized dynamic feed without an account.

The widgets board without being signed into an account.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Widgets.

Fixes in Build 22623.1180

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue where right clicking on certain icons in the hidden icons flyout would make the flyout dismiss rather than bringing up the context menu for that icon.
• Fixed an explorer.exe crash which could happen when attempting to load certain app icons.
• Task view should no longer show behind the taskbar when using tablet-optimized taskbar options.
• Fixed an issue that was preventing taskbar from showing in Safe Mode when using the new search box option.

[Task Manager]

• When the Task Manager window size is small and the search box collapses to an icon, hovering over the icon will now show a tooltip.
• Fixed a few issues with how icons and labels were displayed when a contrast mode is enabled.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where Braille devices were incorrectly saying there was no screen on the latest version of Braille.

Get Help app: Troubleshoot network issues

Getting disconnected from the internet hurts productivity at work and relaxation at home. To help you get back online we’re replacing the Network Troubleshooter in the OS with a modern Get Help based experience. With new APIs that diagnose problems and offer specific recommendations to get online, the app targets the 30 most common connectivity issues. To use the new experience, you will need Get Help app version 10.2208.2551.0 or greater.

Troubleshoot network connectivity issues using the Get Help app.

You can find the official blog post here.

Latest Windows 11 Beta build (KB5022363) gets Widgets improvements, many bug fixes

The full changelog is given below:

What’s new

Improving Windows Spotlight

Starting with this build, we are beginning to try out different treatments for how Windows Spotlight looks. All treatments will continue to share existing core Windows Spotlight features such as hovering over the icon on the desktop, right-clicking on the icon on the desktop, and double-clicking on the icon on the desktop. The treatments for Spotlight will include richer UI around displaying the title and description and learning more information about the image displayed on your desktop via Spotlight. We’re also trying out different ways of switching to different pictures with previews, a full-screen experience, and a minimized experience. Insiders in the Dev Channel will see different treatments across their PCs so not everyone will see the same thing and the treatments will be shown in English only.

To enable Windows Spotlight on your PC today, right-click on your desktop and choose “Personalize” and then choose the new Spotlight theme. Additionally, you can directly enable Windows Spotlight but going to Settings > Personalization > Background and choosing the option under the “Personalize your background” dropdown.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Windows Spotlight.

Changes and Improvements

[Settings]

• Aligning with the new Windows 11 design principles, we’ve redesigned the graphics settings page under Settings > Display > Graphics to help you get to graphics configurations such as ‘GPU preference’ and ‘Auto HDR’ with greater ease. The functionality of these settings remains unchanged from prior versions of Windows, but we now have a more streamlined visual appearance. For more on all the graphics settings in Windows 11 – check out this blog post on the DirectX Blog.

   

• When removing a paired Bluetooth device from Settings > Bluetooth and Devices, it will no longer pop up a prompt to confirm before removing it.

   

Fixes

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Updated the printer icon in the system tray when printing something, so it better aligns with other modern icons.

• When navigating the taskbar using WIN + T and arrow keys, the position of the app icon should now be called out by Narrator (for example, File Explorer might say “one out of fifteen”, if it’s in the first position and there are 15 app icons on your taskbar).

   

[File Explorer]

• Updated the error dialog when network discovery is off so that it points to the correct location to enable it.

• Fixed an explorer.exe crash which could happen when closing File Explorer.

   

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue where SSID wasn’t being populated on the properties page for your Wi-Fi in Network & Internet Settings.

• In the scenario where you are prompted with the UAC dialog when switching a network between private and public, that UAC dialog should now come to the foreground rather than being behind other windows.

• Fixed an issue where Quick Settings might not be able to re-open after going to the Wi-Fi section and closing the flyout.

   

[Windowing]

• Right clicking a snap group in Task View and selecting “show this group on all desktops” shouldn’t crash explorer.exe anymore.

   

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where Narrator wasn’t announcing when the @ mentions window popped up in Outlook.

• Fixed an issue that could cause some app uninstalls to get stuck and fail the uninstall in the last few builds.

• Fixed an issue which was causing the Windows print queue window to crash sometimes in recent builds.

• Fixed an issue which could cause SQL Server Management Studio to fail to launch.

   

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

[General]

• Using Windows Hello to sign in with facial recognition may not work on Arm64 PCs. A workaround for this is to use the Hello PIN path.

• Some users are experiencing longer than expected update times installing recent builds. We are actively investigating this issue.

• We’re investigating reports that some Insiders are experiencing freezes when using the browser and certain other apps after the previous Dev Channel flight.

   

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• The taskbar is sometimes cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar. You may also see this issue on secondary monitors.

   

[Search on the Taskbar]

The following known issues only apply for Windows Insiders who received one of the different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar that began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25252:

• There is an issue where you will be unable to change taskbar search box to show as icon only via taskbar settings in some cases. To work around this issue, first change to a different option and then after, you should be able to choose to show as icon only.

   

[Task Manager]

• Some dialogs may not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page.

• The data content area of the Processes page may flash once when theme changes are applied in the Task Manager Settings page.

   

For developers

You can download the latest Windows Insider SDK at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk.

SDK NuGet packages are now also flighting at NuGet Gallery | WindowsSDK which include:

• .NET TFM packages for use in .NET apps as described at aka.ms/windowsinsidersdk

• C++ packages for Win32 headers and libs per architecture

• BuildTools package when you just need tools like MakeAppx.exe, MakePri.exe, and SignTool.exe

   

Find the official blog post here.

Microsoft tweaking Windows Spotlight experience in Dev Preview build 25281, and more

The bug seems to be a consequence of conflicts with Barco's ClickShare app's Calendar integration, an issue first documented last year. ClickShare is pretty popular among users and IT admins due to its wireless conferencing capabilities. The Belgian firm has updated its previous public advisory regarding the issue. The firm has confirmed that the Redmond giant is now investigating the problem and the issue has been assigned an internal tracking number "41322218".

On its advisory, Barco writes:

Important

The issue is under investigation with Microsoft Windows team but it still is good to take up contact directly with Microsoft Windows team to flag this issue. Make sure to mention for ticket submission the tittle "unresponsive start menu or task bar” and refer to Microsoft internal bug number: 41322218

However, Barco insisted that the bug is triggered due to changes on Microsoft's end as its ClickShare app only reads the Outlook Calender via the Outlook API. On its advisory Barco explained:

More investigation has shown that the windows taskbar issue occurs when the User Shell Registry has been modified for some reason (e.g. windows update, change password, any Apps using Microsoft Outlook API or other).

We have analyzed possible relations with the ClickShare App more in-depth and we can confirm that ClickShare does not modify Windows Registry values or permissions from the App. The ClickShare App only reads Microsoft Outlook Calendar via the Microsoft Outlook API for the One Click Join feature.

The problem with the unresponsive Windows taskbar, therefore, is not a ClickShare App issue. It is related to Microsoft and it can be triggered by any application using the Microsoft Outlook API.

As a workaround for the issue, Barco has recommended that users disable the "Calendar Integration" option inside ClickShare App settings.

You may find more details about the issue on Barco's official website.

Via Borncity

Microsoft investigating unclickable Windows Start, Taskbar and Office bugs due to ClickShare

As initially reported by PCWorld, the U.S. pages for Windows 10 Home, Professional, and Workstation now include a text that reads:

"January 31, 2023 will be the last day this Windows 10 download is offered for sale. Windows 10 will remain supported with security updates that help protect your PC from viruses, spyware, and other malware until October 14, 2025."

The message also includes a link to Windows 11.

This means that after January 31, Microsoft will only sell Windows 11 licenses on its website. However, this doesn't mean that you can no longer buy Windows 10 licenses anywhere else. You can still buy these at third-party retailers like Newegg and Amazon. You might also find physical copies of Windows 10 in brick-and-mortar stores.

There's also the option to install Windows 10 on your machine without paying for it, but you will lose the ability to personalize your PC. There will also be a watermark on your desktop asking you to activate Windows.

It seems like Microsoft is trying its best to get as many users as possible to use Windows 11. And while that's not necessarily a bad thing as Windows 11 is a decent OS, many people prefer Windows 10, and it's perfectly fine if that's what they want to use for the time being.

Source: PCWorld

Microsoft to stop selling Windows 10 licenses by the end of January

The new feature is rolling out with the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25281 to the Dev Channel.

"With this update, we are introducing support for multiple tabs—a top requested feature from the community—where you will be able to create, manage, and organize multiple files in a single Notepad window," said Dave Grochocki, a Principal Product Manager Lead at Microsoft.

You can also continue to work with files across multiple windows by dragging a tab out into its own window, and a new app setting lets you customize whether files open in new tabs or a new window by default."

Redmond has also added support for keyboard shortcuts for managing Notepad tabs and some management improvements for unsaved files.

"There are also new keyboard shortcut keys to support managing tabs as well as some improvements to managing unsaved files, like automatically generating the file name/tab title based on content and a refreshed unsaved changes indicator," Grochocki added.

Microsoft is already aware of issues affecting this new feature and has warned users that they might experience issues while using keyboard shortcuts.

Those who encounter problems while testing the new Notepad with tabs support can file a report through the Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Notepad.

Today's Dev channel build also adds some Windows Spotlight improvements and updates the graphics settings page to match Windows 11's visuals better.

After upgrading to Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25281, Insiders will see a richer title and description UI in Windows Spotlight content displayed on their devices' desktops.

In a separate blog published today, Microsoft Program Manager Wendy Ho shared more info on the user interface changes today's Dev channel build brings with the redesigned graphics settings page.

"In the settings app, the graphics page lets you adjust settings related to 'GPU Preference,' 'Auto HDR,' 'Optimizations for windowed games', and more to get the most out of your graphics experience on your PC," Ho said.

"Aligning with the new Windows 11 UI design, we've redesigned the graphics settings page to help you get to the settings you want faster."

The new user interface brings features from the 'Default graphics' settings to the update page, as well as advanced graphics settings and custom settings for applications.

Source

Instagram now lets you pause notifications with Quiet Mode

Fortunately, not all apps are affected by the problem. According to an official post on the Microsoft Support website, the bug breaks first and third-party applications that use the MSIX Windows app
package format (Notepad, Paint, Office, Cortana, Terminal, etc), resulting in one or several of the following symptoms:

• An error message “This app can’t open” is displayed instead of the app starting.

• The app might have multiple entries on the Start menu.

• An app may not respond when you try to start the app.

• An I/O error may occur, followed by the app not responding, and then the app crashes.

• If you try to start the app again, the app now runs.

   

Microsoft says affected customers should try the following to mend the broken apps:

• Open the app again
• Reinstall the app from the Microsoft Store or the original source
• Install available Windows updates

Users can also resort to other methods mentioned in the official documentation that describes how to repair broken apps on Windows.

Microsoft confirms System Restore points break apps on Windows 11 22H2

However, the option does not work at the moment and hence the leakster speculates that the new option may be a way to toggle features that may not work best with the A/B feature testing, something which Microsoft introduced last year in June.

PhantomOcean3, another prolific Windows leaker, also noticed the feature, dubbed "AllowExperimentalFeatures" in recent Windows 11 Dev builds. This means the option should manifest in its full form in upcoming Dev channel builds.

The Experimental Features option isn't the only Dev channel-related change that Microsoft is working on at the moment. The company is also actively investigating why many users are complaining about slow download and install speeds for the recent builds.

Microsoft working on a new "Experimental Features" for Windows 11 Insiders

Windows admins have told BleepingComputer that their users have been reporting issues not seeing the Windows Start Menu when clicking, not being able to launch modern apps, and that the Windows Search feature is broken.

Others have also reported encountering issues while trying to log into Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) to activate Office 365 apps. 

Similar issues have happened in the past, too, with Microsoft MVP Rudy Ooms linking them in June 2022 with the ClickShare app (a tool that helps share a Windows device's screen wirelessly) corrupting User Shell Folders registry permissions.

However, Microsoft sent a statement two months later acknowledging that its own software was breaking permissions for the affected apps and causing unresponsiveness and connection issues.

"While this initially appeared to be an issue with the 3rd party app, it now appears to be Microsoft code (profapi.dll) which breaks the permissions thinking they need to be recovered," Redmonds told Ooms.

"This may occur when an x32 third-party process (like ClickShare) uses Office APIs on a machine where Office is deployed using Office ClickToRun, because of a bug in AppvIsvSubsystem32.dll registry hooks. 

"In this case, profapi.dll will start recovering the ACLs, but after a second failure, it won't write the All Application Packages ACLs, causing issues (crashes & registration failures) with packaged apps."

Script to fix corrupt registry permissions

Today, Barco (ClickShare's developer) has updated an advisory it initially issued in July 2022 to share a helper Diagnostic PowerShell script provided by Microsoft Support that would allow affected users to repair the corrupted User Shell Folders registry permissions.

"Although the app is not causing the problem, we still want to offer our ClickShare App users a possible intermediate solution," Barco said.

"In most cases it has been possible to recover by using the recovery tool from Microsoft: the recovery tool FixUserShellFolderPermissions."

The script can be downloaded from the Downloads section at the end of Barco's recently updated advisory.

If the issue is not addressed after running the helper script, you should manually disable the Calendar Integration feature from ClickShare's Settings dialog.

"Please contact Barco Support for more details on an dedicated APP version (4.25.2) to prevent the issue from happening until a final solution can be offered," the company added.

Issue under investigation

While Microsoft is yet to acknowledge this issue publicly, Barco said that Redmond's Windows team is investigating it and advises affected customers to reach out to Microsoft to file a report of their own.

"The issue is under investigation with Microsoft Windows team but it still is good to take up contact directly with Microsoft Windows team to flag this issue," Barco said.

"Make sure to mention for ticket submission the tittle "unresponsive start menu or task bar" and refer to Microsoft internal bug number: 41322218."

A Microsoft spokesperson was not immediately available for comment when contacted by BleepingComputer earlier today.

H/T Günter Born

Microsoft investigates bug behind unresponsive Windows Start Menu

Windows 11 22000.1515 adds the Spotlight Theme to the Personalization page and the new tools for subscriptions. Insiders can now manage OneDrive and Xbox subscriptions on the Accounts page, plus receive OneDrive storage limit alerts. Some users will be more excited to receive fixes for a bunch of annoying bugs preventing opening specific apps, damaging the memory, and breaking the touch keyboard.

Here is the complete changelog for Windows 11 build 22000.1515:

• New! We combined Windows Spotlight with Themes on the Personalization page. This made it easier for you to discover and turn on the Windows Spotlight feature.
• New! We improved the Microsoft Account experience in Settings. For example, you could manage OneDrive subscriptions and storage alerts.
• New! We provide the full amount of storage capacity of all your OneDrive subscriptions. It also displayed the total storage on the Accounts page in the Settings app.
• New! We displayed storage alerts for Microsoft OneDrive subscribers on the Systems page in the Settings app. The alerts appeared when you were close to your storage limit. You could also manage your storage and purchase additional storage, if needed.
• New! We displayed Xbox subscription details on the Accounts page in the Settings app. Xbox subscribers could also manage their subscription on that page. Users who are not subscribers could explore Xbox subscription options on the Accounts page
• We fixed an issue that affected searchindexer.exe. It randomly stopped you from signing in or signing out.
• We fixed an issue that stopped you from searching for a file based on the file’s contents.
• We fixed a resource conflict issue between two or more threads (known as a deadlock). This deadlock affected COM+ applications.
• We fixed an issue that affected conhost.exe. It stopped responding.
• We fixed an issue that affected some modern applications. This issue stopped them from opening.
• We fixed an issue that affected the Domain Name System (DNS) suffix search list. When you configured it, the parent domain might have been missing.
• We added support for long URL lengths of up to 8196 characters.
• We fixed an issue that might have occurred when the Input Method Editor (IME) was active. Applications might have stopped responding when you used the mouse and keyboard at the same time.
• We fixed an issue that might have affected FindWindow() or FindWindowEx(). They might have returned the wrong window handle.
• We fixed an issue that damaged memory. The issue occurred when you used certain HD audio controller hardware.
• We fixed an issue that affected certain systems that had firmware Trusted Platform Modules. (TPM). This issue stopped you from using AutoPilot to set up those systems.
• We fixed an issue that affected printing in landscape mode in Microsoft Edge. The print output was incorrect. This issue occurred when you used Microsoft Defender Application Guard.
• We fixed an issue the stopped the touch keyboard from opening.
• We fixed an issue that stopped explorer.exe from responding. This issue occurred when you used the play and pause buttons on your keyboard on certain devices.
• We fixed an issue that affected Windows Server 2022 domain controllers. They stopped responding when they managed Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) requests.
• We fixed an issue that affected the Resilient File System (ReFS) MSba tag. The issue caused a nonpaged pool leak.
• We fixed an issue that affected ReFS. The issue caused high nonpaged pool usage, which depleted system memory.

Changes and fixes in Windows 11 22000.1515 will arrive in the upcoming non-security cumulative updates. Those staying away from the Windows Insider Program will not have to wait too long to get those sweet new features and improvements. You can find Microsoft's announcement post on the official Windows Blogs website.

Microsoft backports some of Windows 11 22H2 features to the original release

Browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge will no longer be supported either on Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 devices. Chrome 109 and Edge 109 are the last supported versions, but what does that actual mean? And what about other browsers, such as Firefox?

Note: the following test was run on a virtual machine.

The latest supported versions

The latest supported versions for Windows 7 and 8.1 are Google Chrome 109 and Microsoft Edge 109. These run and install fine. Both browsers display an end of support notification at the top. It can be dismissed for the session, but it is displayed each time the browser is started.

Another issue that users will notice is that updating has been disabled in both browsers. When you visit the update pages, chrome://settings/help in Chrome and edge://settings/help in Edge, you receive an out of support message and no option to run a check for updates.

Firefox, on the other hand, works without any of those issues currently. Mozilla has not yet announced an official end of support for Windows 7 and 8.1.

Installing development versions

The development channels of Chrome and Edge have versions that are not supported anymore on Windows 7 and 8.1. These are versions 110 and newer. There is no Stable version that is not supported right now, but this will change with the February release of Chrome 110 Stable and Microsoft Edge 110 Stable.

Google is making it difficult already to download Chrome Beta, Dev or Canary installers on the unsupported platforms. Neither the web installers nor the Chrome offline installers are provided when the download pages are opened on a Windows 7, and likely also a Windows 8.1, device. Microsoft Edge and Firefox can be downloaded without issues.

Here is what happens when you try to install these development editions on the unsupported versions of Windows.

Chrome 110 Beta installs fine, but it throws a kernel issue when you try to run it. The error message was not new, and it is possible that the virtual machine had something to do with it.

The installation of Chrome 111 Dev fails with an odd error message. It states that Google Chrome requires Windows 7 or higher. It is possible that Google has not changed the error message yet.

Installation of Chrome Canary fails with the error message "no update is available".

Microsoft Edge threw another error message on the test system. The offline installer for Edge Dev displayed a prompt stating that a problem was detected with the Windows installer package.

All Firefox channels installed and ran just fine on the Windows 7 system.

Closing Words

Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and likely many other Chromium-based browsers will stop working on Windows 7 once the stable versions reach Chromium 110. The browser makers won't provide installers anymore, and if installers are copied from other devices or mirrors, they will not run or the installed browser will refuse to run.

Firefox, on the other hand, does not have any restrictions right now. These may be introduced at a later point in time, once Mozilla makes a decision regarding end of support. For now, Firefox is one, if not the, best option to run a browser on Windows 7 or 8.1.

Now You: what is your default browser?

Here is what happens when you try to install and run unsupported browsers on Windows 7

As reported by Borncity.com, printers with special characters in their names, such as the German Ü (umlaut), are causing Edge's print interface to hang and crash after pressing Ctrl + P or selecting the Print option. Affected users can work around the bug by using Windows's native print interface (Ctrl + Shift + P) or removing special characters from the printer. Other customers say enabling Internet Explorer mode for the pages they want to print fixes the issue. For most users, though, renaming the problematic printer will be the best solution:

1. Open the Settings app and go to Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.

    

   
2. Click the printer containing special characters.

    

   
3. Select Printer properties.

    

   
4. Click Change Properties and rename the printer.

    

   

Interestingly, the bug does not affect other Chromium-based browsers, such as Google Chrome.

Special characters break printing in Microsoft Edge 109, here is how to fix

The new search functionality is aptly being called "All-in-One Search" because it basically combines all search functionalities in a single interface. This includes searching for code files, classes, methods, features, and options. The rationale behind this is that it will lead to more productivity as developers will no longer have to look for the correct search interface for whatever it is they are looking for.

That said, it is important to note that All-in-One Search is currently in active development and is only available as a preview feature through Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features > New Visual Studio Search Experience. You need to be on preview version 17.5.0 of Visual Studio to leverage this capability.

Once you enable All-in-One Search, it will be available in the Search button on the title bar. You can also use Ctrl + T and Ctrl + Q to launch Code Search and Feature Search respectively.

That's not all, though. You can also use "f:", "t:", and "m:" prefixes in the search to filter by files, types, and members. In fact, when you get a code snipped as a search result, you can even directly edit it in the preview window instead of manually navigating to that specific section.

You can check it out in action below:

It's currently unknown when All-in-One Search will become generally available in Visual Studio.

Microsoft is working on a better search functionality for Visual Studio

Here are the key changes in ShareX 15 beta:

• A new dark theme (the old variant was renamed to "Night").
• A new "Pin to screen" tool that lets you place a screenshot on display and keep it there. You can move, resize, minimize, and copy pinned images. Also, ShareX 15 beta allows changing pinned screenshots' opacity.
• Improved hotkey settings window with new drop-down menus that allow changing tasks without opening the task settings window.
• A new "Cout out" tool in the image editor with four different effects: no effect, sawtooth, torn edges, and wave.
• A new "Freehand arrow" annotation tool.
• The screen recorder now allows pausing the ongoing recording and moving the region when on pause.

The complete release notes are available on the official website, where you can also download the latest ShareX 15 beta build (users can get the app on GitHub, Steam, and Microsoft Store).

ShareX is available for free, and those willing to support the development can donate using GitHub Sponsor, Patron, and cryptocurrencies.

ShareX 15 Beta is out with new tools, better UI, and other improvements