Microsoft is slowly but surely starting to roll out Secure Boot security fixes to more and more machines.

I’m therefore lowering the MS-DEFCON level to 4. The May updates include not only the Secure Boot fixes but also a variety of other security-related patches.

Start by installing KB5089549 for Windows 11 and KB5087544 for Windows 10 (for those enrolled in the Windows 10 ESU).

Microsoft is also fixing CVE-2026-41091, CVE-2026-45498, and CVE-2026-45584. These fix the Defender security vulnerabilities called RedSun and Undefend. These updates were included in the latest S/V platform 4.18.26040.7 and Engine 1.1.26040.8. By the time you read this, Microsoft will already have rolled out the update to you.

Microsoft also fixed a few other issues that have triggered headlines. One I’ve recently seen in the news was described as a fix for a “Windows Update bug blocking security patches since March 2026 due to download timeout changes.” However, many news sources failed to go into the details, specifically that this issue didn’t occur in all situations. It occurred only on some devices under certain network-restricted environments, resulting in the inability to download further Windows updates.

That missing nuance means that this is an issue that won’t be seen by the vast majority of Windows users. It will be seen only on Internet-restricted networks. If you’re a consumer and have seen the headlines that there is a bug whereby Windows update won’t download updates, this isn’t the reason.

Microsoft has proactively fixed an issue where the May updates might fail to install with an error. Unfortunately, and frustratingly, Microsoft posts some information only to the admin center, which is not accessible to the general public. I’ve transcribed some of Microsoft’s notes in our Forum post Some devices fail to install updates after upgrading Windows. For one:

After encountering this issue, devices cannot install monthly Windows updates. When you go to Settings then Windows Update then Update history, you might see that Windows updates fail with error 0x80073712/0x800f0993. CBS logs might show error 0x800f0993 (PSFX_E_REBASE_HYDRATION_CANDIDATES_MISSING) or 0x80073712 (ERROR_SXS_COMPONENT_STORE_CORRUPT) when attempting to install updates.

Consumer PCs were proactively fixed:

No new devices in these categories should be affected by this issue starting from May 19, 2026, 6:30 p.m. PT. Restarting the device might allow the resolution to apply sooner. No other action is required beyond a device restart.

I find it extremely annoying that this important information is so inaccessible.

Consumers — Windows

I’m still seeing some confusion about this, so bear with me as I issue another reminder. If the Secure Boot updates are not in place on a consumer PC, the machine will still boot. So, don’t panic. These updates are much more important in a business environment, which is why we have spent so much digital ink on the matter. However, the Secure Boot certificates must be updated for all PCs eventually. As I’ve mentioned before, one of the best write-ups about how to check whether the updates have been installed is the Dell support article How To Check Secure Boot Certificates.

The May updates showcased that, once again, we are still suffering from the OEM issue where systems were installed with a small EFI system partition. This lack of space triggered issues with installing updates with an error code of 0x800f0922. Microsoft has documented the workaround by adding a registry key and then restarting the system and rebooting the computer. The recommended workaround is to run the following command from an elevated command prompt:

reg add “HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Bfsvc” /v EspPaddingPercent /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Then restart the device and try installing the update again.

Consumers — Apple

Apple released a lot of updates recently. After an update, I often feel that my phone acts somewhat more sluggish and drains the battery a bit more before settling down and going back to what I consider to be normal battery drain during the day. To make sure your device is charging properly, follow these best practice guidelines from the Apple community and check your daily usage in Settings.

Businesses — Windows

For businesses, Microsoft added a folder in your computer that is hiding scripts to assist the IT professional in rolling out Secure Boot. Microsoft MVP Johan Arwidmark explains this in his post Secure Boot Rollout Scripts added in May 2026 Security Update at Deployment Research. This looks like a work in progress, so we may see more scripts released as we get closer to the June expiration date for these certificates.

The Secure Boot updates may trigger a BitLocker recovery key request, so I will once again remind everyone that whenever you have BitLocker enabled, you must know where your recovery key is located. In businesses, that is either in a proper repository or backed up via Entra ID in the cloud. Whenever encryption is involved, there is a responsibility for maintenance.

The GitHub problem

Those of you in business who rely on downloading files from GitHub may have heard about two recent events that showcased risks to the code repository. On May 19, a breach was detected as a result of a malicious Visual Studio Code extension. Team PCP hacking group alleged they had gained access to GitHub source code. In an X post, GitHub indicated:

Our current assessment is that the activity involved exfiltration of GitHub-internal repositories only. The attacker’s current claims of ~3,800 repositories are directionally consistent with our investigation so far.

In a separate newsworthy item impacting GitHub, an employee at the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) left the credentials for both US government AWS accounts and internal CISA systems in a GitHub repository. This was remedied, but both events showcase that anytime you place trust in an external system, you run the risk of security issues.

Review your security practices, where you store your credentials, and which extensions you install. I’ve even seen some developers considering other locations to store their code. This is a time to review your options — especially how you handle software repositories.

Resources

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Tuesday 26 May 2026 at 6:04 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Last week, Neowin reported that Linus Torvalds, the founder of Linux, was getting a bit annoyed about developers using AI to find issues in the kernel and then not submitting a corresponding bug fix, essentially dumping extra work on a few people. This week, he is complaining again that many of the “fixes” being submitted are not really addressing regressions and do not need to be submitted this late in the kernel cycle.

Torvalds said that this release candidate is unsurprisingly bigger than RC5’s have historically been. However, he said he is “not entirely happy about it” because the bloat is being caused by “totally trivial stuff”. He said that he doesn’t think the churn is worth it at this point in the cycle and is now insisting that developers look more closely at their pull requests to see if they’re submitting a fix for a regression, or whether it shouldn’t just be included in the next cycle.

For those who are unaware, a Linux kernel cycle usually consists of seven release candidates, after which the new kernel is released ready for distribution maintainers to provide to their users. If things get delayed, we can see an eighth release candidate. This is why Torvalds is complaining about the size of RC5; at this stage he is expecting things to have quietened down, but that’s not happening thanks to the use of AI tools.

Going forward, the Linux founder says he will “start being a bit more hardnosed” about this unnecessary churn this late in the cycle. He said that at this point in the development, the objective is to look for regressions, not non-critical fixes to long-standing issues that should have been submitted earlier in the cycle.

In terms of the fixes this week, there are a bunch of file systems, graphics cards, memory management, networking, security and stability, and hardware. In the hardware fixes, there are bug fixes for the HP Pavilion Plus 14, ASUS Armoury, and the Lenovo Yoga 7 14AGP11.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Monday 25 May 2026 at 3:35 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

From wedding speeches to music videos, from DIY tutorials to movie clips, from celebrity interviews to remote wilderness adventures, it's all on YouTube. Per YouTube's official figures, more than 20 million videos are uploaded every day to the platform.

Over the years, YouTube has added a bunch of extra features to improve the viewing experience for its users, but you can enhance it even further with some well-chosen browser extensions. No matter how you use YouTube, there should be something that you can benefit from here.

We've focused on extensions for Google Chrome here, which should also work on Microsoft Edge and any other browser based on Chromium (including Opera and Vivaldi). We're also going to steer clear of extensions based primarily around blocking ads, in the spirit of supporting content creators on YouTube.

Improve YouTube

Improve YouTube is one of the most comprehensive and longest-running YouTube extensions, and it brings with it a host of features. For a start, you can use it to change the look of the YouTube site in a variety of ways: Hide the sidebar or video thumbnails for a cleaner look, for example, or change the color of the progress bar and other elements.

Other tweaks you can apply include new tabs for search results (so you can find new videos without losing your place in the current one), the option to hide YouTube Shorts, and a reverse option for your playlists. You can also have videos pause when you switch tabs, and use the extension to set up custom keyboard shortcuts. There's a lot here.

Enhancer for YouTube

This is another extension with a lot of strings to its bow. Enhancer for YouTube gives you quick and easy access to playback speed, quality, and volume, and more granular control over videos than the built-in YouTube options. The extension can also transform the look of YouTube with custom themes, like a bespoke dark mode look that offers dozens of variations.

You're able to show and hide all kinds of on-screen furniture, and there are pop-up and mini players that you can customize. You can even also set up your own keyboard shortcuts for easier YouTube control. Everything is managed through a busy console of controls that includes space to load in your own custom code if you want to take the tinkering further.

PocketTube

PocketTube is all about your YouTube subscriptions. By default, the way that YouTube handles the channels you're subscribed to is a little rudimentary. But PocketTube lets you create groups and subgroups for your subscriptions, and even give them custom icons. You've also got auto-generated playlists to handle all the videos in each group.

PocketTube is not only very useful, but also neatly designed, too, fitting into the YouTube experience seamlessly—if you didn't know otherwise, you wouldn't think there was an extension involved. There's lots more to explore, including a Deck mode that arranges YouTube in columns and extra filtering and sorting options for your video lists.

Turn Off the Lights

Turn Off the Lights gives you a way of transforming the YouTube viewing experience in your browser. It dims the area around the video that's currently playing, so you're not distracted by comments, recommended videos, or anything else on screen. You really need to give the extension a try to understand how much of a difference it can make.

There are more customization options than you might expect, too, because you're able to change the opacity of the dimming and the color of the darker layer, and add soft glowing effects around the video you're watching. There are some useful extras, such as video filters and an option to change the audio volume with the mouse scroll wheel.

DeArrow

YouTube extensions don't have to pack in lots and lots of features to be worthwhile: DeArrow simply concentrates on improving the titles and the thumbnails of the videos you see on the platform. These two key elements of videos, so often manipulated to be sensational or baiting, are instead crowdsourced by DeArrow users to be more informative.

It's an interesting experiment and highlights just how much titles and thumbnails are tweaked to game the YouTube algorithm. If there are no crowdsourced suggestions for the videos you're watching, you can default to random thumbnails and titles with emoji removed. You can also contribute title and thumbnail suggestions of your own.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Monday 25 May 2026 at 8:31 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Some of you may know that I like to explore Windows utilities that are not always visible or advertised to the user. Some examples of this are Problem Steps Recorder, Character Map, and Phone Dialer. I have discovered most of these either by chance, or while researching for an article, or while simply browsing some online forum. Once again, this is because most of these obscure tools aren't really advertised to regular consumers for one reason or the other. Now, imagine my surprise when I found out that Windows actually has an entire dedicated section for native utilities integrated in the OS.

I came across the "hidden" Windows Tools interface while browsing the r/windows11 subreddit. The "hidden" is in quotation marks because it's not actually hidden; it's just not actively surfaced to consumers. If you type Windows Tools in Search or navigate to Control Panel\System and Security\Windows Tools, you'll be able to open it with ease. I did not know about this at all, but it's apparently been present in older versions of Windows too. A Redditor has a screenshot from Windows 2000 Professional when Windows Tools was dubbed Administrative Tools.

While I was initially excited that I had discovered some legacy UI to explore once again, it's primarily just a section that hosts shortcuts to a bunch of tools. I have listed the items present in my installation below:

• Character Map
• Command Prompt
• Component Services
• Computer Management
• Control Panel
• Defragment and Optimize Drives
• Disk Cleanup
• Event Viewer
• iSCSI Initiator
• Local Security Policy
• ODBC Data Sources (32-bit)
• ODBC Data Sources (64-bit)
• Performance Monitor
• Power Automate
• Power Automate Troubleshooter
• Print Management
• Recovery Drive
• Registry Editor
• Remote Desktop Connection
• Resource Monitor
• Run
• Services
• Steps Recorder
• System Configuration
• System Information
• Task Manager
• Task Scheduler
• Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security
• Windows Fax and Scan
• Windows Media Player Legacy
• Windows Memory Diagnostic
• Windows PowerShell
• Windows PowerShell (x86)
• Windows PowerShell ISE
• Windows PowerShell ISE (x86)

As I scrolled through the list, I realized that I was aware of most of the Windows utilities listed already. However, there were a few surprises. For example, I have no idea what iSCSI Initiator is, and while I can guess what Local Security Policy does, I confess that I've never seen or used it before.

Additionally, the software hosted in this Windows Tools interface does not appear to be exhaustive. And despite searching, I have not been able to find concrete documentation about the criteria that a software must pass in order to be listed here. It most definitely has to be a first-party software and likely needs to have some administrative purpose, but it's unclear what other requirements are mandated. For example, Group Policy Editor, which meets both of the assumed requirements above, is not listed here.

Overall, it's an interesting section that I wasn't aware of at all, but most of the utilities listed are quite common and accessible. There are some unknown variables in there for me, but I'll try and dig a bit deeper into this over the coming days and will share my findings here on Neowin if I come across anything interesting. In the meantime, if you have some fascinating tidbit to share regarding this interface, sound off in the comments below!

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Sunday 24 May 2026 at 12:48 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Following a lot of criticism from the community, Microsoft seems to finally be making some much-needed improvements on the OS in terms of performance, both on the hardware as well as the software front.

While that is a welcome recent development, many have already been looking at third-party alternatives which offer better features or more performance. For example there is "Files" which is a file manager alternative to File Explorer.

Similarly, a new Windows 11 utility called "TaskSlinger" (download link below) is drawing attention among Windows enthusiasts and power users who have been seeking a "faster, cleaner replacement" of the traditional Windows Task Manager.

For anyone who might not be familiar, Task Manager is a very useful tool that helps users monitor the resource usage of their systems, ie, CPU, RAM, GPU utilizations, among others, and also helps to deal with apps that run when Windows starts. Task Manager also has an "Open Resource Monitor" option which provides greater insight into system monitoring.

While the official app itself has gotten several upgrades in recent times including support for NPU, better SSD info, and more, many users could feel that it is sluggish, or just not as useful as it could be. Currently available in open beta, the new TaskSlinger app has been designed as a high-performance alernative monitoring tool focused on speed, responsiveness, and detailed real-time system insights.

TaskSlinger is built natively in C++ with a custom UI framework and Direct3D rendering and hence is said to be light and snappy. As such the app is claimed to be highly responsive and more than capable of handling rapid tab switching and live monitoring with minimal delay. What could make TaskSlinger particularly interesting is its promise of snappiness despite carrying an interface that looks modern and sleek.

User privacy is another area highlighted by the dev as the project states that it does not collect or store telemetry data. The beta version currently supports Windows 10 and Windows 11 x64 systems and is free for all to use. It remains unclear for now what will happen when it's production-ready.

Since it's so new the developer has encouraged users to provide feedback, report bugs, and suggest features during the beta testing phase. You can download the beta from this page on TaskSlinger's official website.

Source: Thomas Klemenc (X)

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Sunday 24 May 2026 at 12:47 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

On Windows 11, the Taskbar is finally getting some major upgrades, including support for repositioning and resizing. However, these aren't exactly new capabilities, since they were already available on Windows 10 and earlier versions of the operating system.

As part of the Windows K2 initiative, Microsoft is addressing some of Windows 11's biggest pain points in an effort to regain users' trust, and several of those improvements are coming to the Taskbar experience.

In the latest Windows 11 preview build from the Experimental channel for version 25H2, Microsoft is restoring the ability to place the Taskbar on any edge of the screen. The company is also introducing an option to shrink the Taskbar.

Windows 11 regains position for the Taskbar

When the company released Windows 11, it introduced a redesigned Taskbar that, despite its modern appearance, removed several basic capabilities, including the ability to change its position on the screen.

Now, after years of user complaints, Microsoft appears to be acknowledging that many of the Taskbar features available on Windows 10 were the right approach after all.

Starting with build 26300.8493, users can place the Taskbar at the top, bottom, left, or right edge of the screen.

In the past, we have discussed many concepts created by enthusiasts, including one for Windows 11 and others for fictional versions of the operating system, like Windows 26, Windows 12.2, and Windows Classic Remastered. Naturally, some of these designs are controversial, but they do spark interesting conversations around what a piece of software could potentially look like. Now, we have another concept to share, this time focused on Windows File Explorer.

Although File Explorer is an integral part of Windows, it does have its fair share of issues. While you can improve the overall experience a bit by yourself, some people tend to resort to third-party alternatives to get the job done. Now, an enthusiast by the name of Zee-Al-Eid Ahmad (@zeealeid on X) has shared a concept for File Explorer that introduces a couple of interesting functionalities.

One of these is the ability to select multiple items from different folders. Right now, Windows 11 allows you to select multiple items either by dragging your cursor over them, or by holding down the Ctrl button and clicking items, or by simply toggling the checkbox when you hover over items. However, this action is limited to items in the current directory only. There is simply no easy way to multi-select tiems from different folders.

Ahmad's concept works around this problem by allowing you to select multiple items and by introducing a panel at the bottom of the File Explorer showing you the files that you have selected so far and their respective locations. Ahmad does not explain how these items are selected, but he does have a "x" icon next to each file, allowing you to de-select it.

Meanwhile, the other idea is a relatively simple concept that allows users to pin the file transfers dialog to the top, so that it is always visible. This likely solves an annoyance related to this particular dialog box going to the background each time you change focus.

Of course, there are some more radical changes present in this concept too. File Explorer looks very different with lots of transparency effects, new icons, and groupings. However, the designer doesn't focus on them, and personally, we are not fans of the aesthetics either.

As always, just because a concept looks good on paper doesn't necessarily mean that it will be good in practice as well. While Ahmad's design certainly introduces features that many will love, perhaps there are performance- or UX-related reasons for why they have not been implemented by a multi-trillion dollar company like Microsoft. That said, if you like concepts like these, perhaps you would like to compare it against another one that envisions a File Explorer for Windows 12.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Sunday 24 May 2026 at 7:45 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

In addition to two new builds for Windows Insiders in the Experimental and Beta Channels, Microsoft dropped two builds in what used to be the Canary Channel. In the Experimental (26H1) Channel, build 28020.2149 is out with a bunch of general fixes, storage improvements, and font changes, while the Experimental (Future Platforms) build 29595.1000 only contains general improvements and bug fixes.

Here is the changelog:

[General]

• Improved reliability of explorer.exe when closing the input switcher, and when switching between multiple desktops.

[Storage]

• We’ve updated the dialog when creating a Dev Drive to now support specifying the size in GB instead of only MB. This has also been added when changing the size of volumes under Settings > System > Storage.

[Fonts]

• The Times New Roman font family is updated to improve the rendering of combining diacritical marks across Greek and Cyrillic scripts. This update provides more accurate and visually consistent text by addressing mark positioning issues. As a result, readability is improved, rendering inconsistencies are reduced, and support for global language users working with Greek and Cyrillic text is strengthened.

Here is the only known issue in build 28020.2149:

[Reset PC]

• [Fixed] Resetting your PC may get stuck when using "Reset this PC." To complete the reset successfully, choose the cloud download option (Cloud PBR) instead of local.

You can find release notes for build 28020.2149 here and for build 29595.1000 here. It is also worth noting that Microsoft recently released updated Windows 11 Insider images, allowing users to access recent builds much faster by clean-installing them or performing in-place upgrades.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Saturday 23 May 2026 at 8:21 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Another Friday is here, and that means Windows Insiders have new Windows 11 preview builds to test. In the Experimental channel (formerly Dev), Microsoft is rolling out build 26300.8497, while the Beta Channel is offering build 26220.8491. These updates bring new accessibility features, printing improvements, and bug fixes.

Here is the changelog, with what is new:

[Narrator]

Braille displays now connect instantly with Narrator

We're making refreshable braille displays easier to use in Windows. Narrator now supports displays that use the HID standard — an open industry standard for braille displays. If your display supports HID, simply connect it via USB and start reading — true plug-and-play with no additional setup required. For Bluetooth, pair your HID braille display in Settings > Bluetooth & devices just like any other accessory, and you can work wirelessly without being tethered to your PC.

Compatible HID displays include models like the Orbit Reader 20, Orbit Slate 340, Freedom Scientific Focus 40, and APH Mantis Q40.

HID braille displays now work during the initial Windows setup experience (OOBE) over USB — meaning users who are deaf-blind can set up their PC independently, right from the first screen. You can customize braille input and output options anytime in Settings > Accessibility > Narrator > Braille.

[Accessibility]

New accessibility setting: Screen tint

We're introducing screen tint, a new accessibility setting that applies a color overlay across your entire display, softening its intensity so it's easier on your eyes throughout the day. If bright, saturated screens leave you with tired or sensitive eyes by the end of a long session, screen tint can help.

To get started, open Settings > Accessibility (or press Win + U) and look for screen tint under the Vision section. From there you can:

• Pick from six preset colors or choose a custom color of your own.
• Adjust the tint strength slider from a subtle wash to full intensity.

Night light warms your display to reduce blue light that can interfere with sleep. Screen tint reduces overall screen intensity to ease eye fatigue and light sensitivity during the day. They tackle different problems and you can use both at the same time, one working on warmth and the other on intensity.

Note that turning on screen tint will disable color filters, and vice versa. If you currently rely on color filters, you may need to keep screen tint turned off.

[Magnifier]

Touch bars for panning in Magnifier are now off by default. Hiding them gives you a cleaner, less distracting magnified view on touchscreen devices.

If you use a touch screen device and prefer on-screen bars for navigating your magnified view, you can turn them back on anytime in Settings > Accessibility > Magnifier.

[Windows Ready Print]

Last month, we introduced a change where new printer installations use IPP by default when supported to simplify setup and improve reliability (see our third-party driver deprecation timeline: End of Servicing Plan for Third-Party Printer Drivers on Windows). This month, we're adding a new toggle in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners > Default install printers using Windows Ready Print to give you control over this behavior.

When enabled, Windows installs supported printers using IPP by default. When turned off, Windows may use other available installation methods.

This experience is part of our modern print platform, now called Windows Ready Print, designed to deliver a more consistent, reliable, and simplified printing experience.

[Voice Access] - Also available in the Beta Channel

Voice Isolation in Voice Access

We're introducing Voice Isolation, a new option in Voice Access that helps it focus on your voice, even when others are speaking nearby. Whether you're in a shared office, an open floor plan, or at home with family around, Voice Isolation filters out other voices and background noise so Voice Access can better understand you. All processing happens privately on your device.

Voice Access now offers three speech recognition modes under Voice Access settings > Improve speech recognition:

• Voice Isolation — Filters out other speakers and background noise (one-time voice setup required).
• Remove background noise only — Filters out non-speech sounds like typing or door slams. No additional setup needed.
• No filtering — Default microphone input with no additional processing.

To set up Voice Isolation, select it from the menu and follow the short, guided setup where you'll read a brief paragraph aloud so Voice Access can learn your voice. It only takes a minute, and your voice data never leaves your device.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue in the previous flight causing the IME candidate window not to display for some Insiders when typing in Japanese or Chinese.

[Other]

• [Also in Beta] - If you were experiencing a cyclical explorer.exe crash after the previous flight (which may have looked like the screen or taskbar blinking and repeatedly refreshing), that should be resolved after updating to this build.
• [Also in Beta]- Fixed issue causing the Energy Saver quick setting to show twice for some Insiders in recent flights.
• Fixed issue causing Win + X / right-click on Start in Taskbar to not work for some Insiders in the previous flight.
• [Also in Beta] - Fixed an issue resulting in the audio volume being unexpectedly muted on certain devices in recent flights.
• This update improves the reliability of Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP) notifications to help prevent the service from becoming unresponsive.
• Improved reliability of running dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth command.

Known bugs include only one issue:

[Reset PC]

• Resetting your PC may get stuck when using "Reset this PC." To complete the reset successfully, choose the cloud download option (Cloud PBR) instead of local.

You can find the release notes here.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Saturday 23 May 2026 at 8:19 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Back in November 2025, Microsoft announced plans to change Windows in a major way by evolving it into an "agentic OS" to cater to the AI era. Naturally, this statement received a lot of backlash from frustrated Windows 11 users, who lamented that Microsoft should fix the basics of its OS before making such ambitious plans. Windows chief Pavan Davaluri eventually acknowledged this sentiment, and as we know, Microsoft is currently working on a "Windows K2" initiative to tackle these concerns. However, it seems like plans for an agentic OS haven't been binned just yet. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Business Insider spotted an internal Microsoft memo that revealed that Microsoft veteran Yusuf Mehdi is departing the company after spending 35 years there. For those unaware, Mehdi is an Executive Vice President at the firm, a member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), and also leads product marketing initiatives for Copilot, AI, Windows, Surface, Microsoft 365, Bing, and Edge.

Perhaps the most revealing part of the memo is the section in which Mehdi says that he'll be transitioning to a new role for the next fiscal year, where he'll be focusing on "reimagining" Windows for the agentic era, among other things, before eventually departing. An excerpt from the memo reads:

[...] In alignment with Satya and Takeshi, I will work through the next fiscal year to help reimagine Windows for the agentic era, grow Microsoft 365 services, and bring our One Copilot vision to life.Those of you who know me, know this means I'll be fully engaged, likely more intensely than ever! I've always believed the right way to finish is the same way I've always tried to lead: with urgency, ambition, and a commitment to leave things stronger than I found them.There will be time later to reflect and celebrate, but for now, it's full speed ahead on our mission.

The aforementioned statement may rub some the wrong way, especially considering the general disdain against Copilot and other AI initiatives at Microsoft. It also highlights an interesting approach at Microsoft where the company is publicly emphasizing that it is being more mindful about introducing AI experiences in its products, but internally, the end goal is to ensure that Windows is ready for the AI era.

It's something that we have talked about before: the fact that the Redmond firm understands the dislike for the Copilot brand, but knows that it can integrate AI experiences with relatively little resistance by simply rebranding them. Over the next few months, it'll be important to understand the scope and impact of Mehdi's vision, along with consumer sentiment surrounding the evolution of Windows.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Saturday 23 May 2026 at 8:18 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Microsoft Teams is Redmond's premier online communication and collaboration tool, primarily used in work, government, and school environments. Although it's not perfect, Microsoft continually makes refinements to it in order to retain and appease its existing customers, while attracting new ones. To that end, it has now announced a major revamp for Teams.

In a message on its Admin Center, Microsoft has informed IT admins that Teams is getting a redesign which will simplify the overall UX. It has acknowledged that since Teams regularly gets new features, the meeting control toolbar and the share panel have become too cluttered, which overwhelms users and leads to accidental clicks. It already talked about this a bit last month, when it mentioned that it would be regrouping the button used to raise hands in order to prevent misclicks.

However, the upcoming Teams redesign is much bigger than just that. Once it lands, meeting controls will be center-aligned, while the leave button will be placed on the far-right, so you only click on it intentionally. Microphone, camera, and share buttons will be grouped together, while other items like record, captions, polls, and more, will be grouped under a "More" overflow menu accessible via the three-dot icon. Customers will also be able to customize this toolbar to drag-and-drop and pin items according to their preferences. You can check out the first look below:

Moreover, the share panel is getting a major makeover too. It will show live previews of screens and windows on the right, and a tabbed layout differentiating between Screens and Apps, Interactive Files, and More options on the left. Additionally, the sharing option will follow a two-step confirmation process in order to prevent accidental sharing. All of this may seem overwhelming right now, but people will likely get accustomed to it eventually, check it out below:

The rollout schedule for this revamp is as follows:

• Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out in early July 2026 and expect to complete by late July 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in early August 2026 and expect to complete by late August 2026.
• General Availability (GCC, GCC High): We will begin rolling out in early September 2026 and expect to complete by late October 2026.
• General Availability (DoD): We will begin rolling out in early October 2026 and expect to complete by late November 2026.

There are a few things to consider, though. Users who opt in this UX early during preview will be able to toggle back to the old view, but once rollout completes, this will be the default view that cannot be disabled at the tenant-level. Moreover, existing app pinning policies for the toolbar will continue to be honored, but new policies will support the pinning of only two apps, with other apps being moved to the "More" overflow menu.

Once the redesign launches, there will be a few known limitations as well. Customization of the toolbar will persist across all meetings only on the current device, cross-device sync is planned for a later date. Additionally, the opt-out toggle won't be available at the tenant-level, only for individual users. It will ultimately be removed in a future release of Teams.

It's certainly an interesting update, which will likely receive both appreciation and criticism. For its part, Microsoft has emphasized that its redesign is based on customer feedback and telemetry signals. We'll be able to gauge public sentiment more accurately once the revamp starts becoming available in July 2026 for Windows, Mac, and the web. It's important to note that the mobile, Linux, and consumer version of Teams are not in scope at this point.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Saturday 23 May 2026 at 8:16 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Earlier today Mozilla officially confirmed Firefox's new redesign for 2026 called "Nova" as it shared details about it. While it's not out yet, you can try it out on the newer Nightly updates.

Speaking of updates, the firm also released the latest stable (Release channel) version with 151.01 fixing a crash affecting some Intel Raptor Lake systems, mainly desktops. The issue has been under investigation for roughly a year since the first crashes were observed in Firefox Nightly builds of the time.

Mozilla engineers traced them down to failures in a zlib-rs compression routine where a 16-bit dist value appeared incorrect which consequently led to index out-of-bounds crashes. However, the team suspected the underlying cause involved Intel Raptor Lake CPU bugs specifically the RPL050 and RPL060 issues related to incorrect load behavior. Mozilla noted however that Intel’s newer 0x12c microcode appeared to reduce the crashes greatly.

For anyone wondering, according to Intel's own documentation RPL050 describes a scenario where one logical CPU core may fail to observe the latest data written by another core, while RPL060 involves incorrect data being returned from certain split-load memory operations spanning cache lines.

As a refresher, Raptor Lake had already been under fire from the press as well as other companies due to its instability issues. Mozilla's Gabriel Svelto had warned previously about issues like overheating that had the potential to make things far worse. He said: "If you have an Intel Raptor Lake system and you're in the northern hemisphere, chances are that your machine is crashing more often because of the summer heat. I know because I can literally see which EU countries have been affected by heat waves by looking at the locales of Firefox crash reports coming from Raptor Lake systems. ... Raptor Lake systems have known timing/voltage issues that get worse with temperature. Things are so bad at this time that we had to disable a bot that was filing crash reports automatically because it was almost only finding crashes from people with affected systems."

If that was the condition in Europe then the situation was likely far worse at places around the Indian subcontinent, which is closer to the Equator and hence much warmer. Regardless it is good to see that the fix is finally available for all users. The changelog for Firefox 151.01 is given below:

• Fixed a crash experienced by users with Intel Raptor Lake CPUs.
• Fixed an issue on Windows where some websites using WebSerial to flash device firmware could fail unexpectedly.

To download the update head over to this page on the official Firefox website.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 22 May 2026 at 6:08 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Although many of our readers may be familiar with the native version of PowerShell available in Windows, Microsoft offers the task automation solution for macOS as well. There have been a few longstanding issues with PowerShell for macOS, and Microsoft has now announced that it is finally fixing them.

With its next release, PowerShell package and tarball for macOS will be properly notarized by Apple. What this means is that you won't receive annoying notifications from your operating system informing you that PowerShell comes from an unidentified developer. In addition, the PowerShell libraries and binaries are being hardened so that they meet Apple's "security entitlements for distributed software" and also comply with Microsoft's internal requirements. Finally, the next release will also include a bugfix that properly sets the file permissions on files in the tarball.

Microsoft has highlighted that it had been receiving feedback about these issues for a long time, which means that the next maintenance release of PowerShell 7.4 (or higher) will please a lot of customers. They won't need to figure out wonky workarounds for GateKeeper warnings, modify security settings, run special commands, or explain to other users the process to reliably install PowerShell on macOS.

Earlier in the year, Microsoft had emphasized that 2026 is an important year for PowerShell as the firm is planning big changes for the software. This includes the development of PowerShell 7.7, which potentially introduces a breaking change in design, along with other improvements. However, above all, it noted that security will always take a precedence over flashy new features. To that end, it also retired the MSI package for PowerShell installation on Windows, in favor of MSIX. It explained that MSIX is a modern format that offers reliability and predictability compared to MSI, which is a legacy format that depends a bit too much on custom scripts which can lead to inconsistent behavior during deployment.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 22 May 2026 at 6:07 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Earlier this year, we learned of a major Firefox UI and UX redesign Mozilla was working on. Today, the firm officially confirmed that's the case as it shared details in a new blog post. The aim is to make the browser feel faster, cleaner, and more adaptable while also keeping privacy and customization at paramount importance.

The update is internally known as “Project Nova” and is expected to roll out later this year. The Firefox UX team has described the redesign as a “renewal, not a replacement.” The company said the project was envisioned so as to keep pace with the rapidly changing internet and evolving user expectations for modern browsers.

The new design is meant to focus heavily on privacy tools and easier navigation, and hence, features such as the browser’s new built-in VPN and private browsing mode will become more visible within the interface. This can be great for new users who may not be familiar with the Firefox UI.

Firefox will adopt softer tab shapes, updated icons, and a warmer color palette inspired by “the feeling of fire,” and the basic idea is to feel modern without becoming distracting. As such, UI and UX elements such as menus, panels, and controls are being standardized to create a more consistent look across desktop and mobile devices.

The company is also redesigning the Settings menu to make privacy controls easier to understand and manage. Users will be able to disable AI-related features entirely with the kill switch, while Enhanced Tracking Protection settings will offer clearer choices between privacy and usability.

The redesign also wants to improve performance, as this is something we have found it to be lagging in our own testing, too, compared to Chromium browsers like Chrome and Edge. Mozilla says that you should be able to "feel the speed" as Firefox is said to have improved load times for key page content by 9% over the past year. The company has argued that blocking trackers not only protects privacy but also helps pages load faster.

New workflow improvements will make tools such as tab groups, split view, and vertical tabs easier to access. The company is also bringing back Compact mode after receiving feedback from users who preferred a denser interface.

Customization, as mentioned above, is said to remain a central part of Firefox’s identity. With that in mind, the company plans to introduce new themes and wallpapers, while also exploring more advanced personalization options in the future. Accessibility is another major focus as the redesign will be paying close attention to readability, keyboard navigation, contrast, and visual comfort, especially for users who rely on dark mode or other accessibility settings.

Mozilla also stressed that Firefox development will continue to happen openly with feedback from its community. As such, the company has encouraged users to keep sharing opinions as the redesign evolves.

Users who are interested in seeing Nova for themselves will have to download one of the latest Nightly versions, access the Advanced Preferences page via the Configuration Editor (about:config), and add a new "browser.nova.enabled" preference. Set this from false to true and restart. Keep in mind, though, that Nightly builds are experimental and, as such, you could run into stability issues.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 22 May 2026 at 9:05 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

A week ago, AMD released the second driver update of May in the form of Adrenalin Edition 26.5.2. Now, the company has a brand-new release available, but you will find that this one has the same version number. The difference here is that this version of the AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.5.2 driver is only aimed at a couple of generations of graphics cards from its past: Polaris and Vega.

It doesn't look like the driver doesn't carry any of the new game support features or fixed issues from the last version. Instead, a single bug fix is included, and it's aimed at a crash that's affecting Apex Legends players that are using Radeon RX 400 and RX 500 series graphics cards.

Here's the full changelog:

Fixed Issues

 

• Intermittent application crash may be observed while playing Apex Legends on Radeon RX 400/500 series graphics products.

No known issues are listed in this release.

AMD officially stopped supporting Polaris and Vega graphics architectures in 2023, but has been releasing driver updates once in a while to fix critical issues.

This version of the Adrenalin Edition 26.5.2 is supported on Radeon RX 400, RX 500, Radeon Pro Duo, RX Vega, and Radeon VII discrete cards alongside Radeon 600 Series Graphics on laptops. The compatible operating systems are Windows 10 64-bit version 1809 and later as well as Windows 11 version 21H2 and later.

The AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.5.2 for Polaris & Vega driver is now available for download from the AMD Software app on supported devices. A standalone download link can also be found on the official changelog page of the release over here.

The first release of this driver, with support for modern Radeon graphics cards, can be found over here instead.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 22 May 2026 at 9:04 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Outlook is one of Microsoft's premier apps, following Windows. However, it is no secret that there often are problems or bugs that arise in them. While software issues are not uncommon, it seems like Outlook and Windows often stumble into fairly major hurdles. For example, Microsoft recently admitted that some users were blocked from downloading Windows 11 updates.

And the is case with Outlook too wherein the company finally acknowledged after several months that Quick steps, a very useful feature, had been broken. While that's thankfully fixed now another major bug has now popped its head up once again affecting a useful and basic Outlook capability. Microsoft has confirmed that currently images are not being displayed correctly or at all in emails, newsletters and signatures. This could be quite annoying to users again considering the fact that it's a basic feature which people expect to work.

Microsoft writes: "When you include an image in an email or a newsletter or as part of a signature, you find that the image is not displayed. The image may include a red x and an error but not in all cases. This issue starts occurring with Version 2604 Build 19929.20164+. An error on the image may display with the following: “The linked image cannot be displayed. The file may have been moved, renamed, or deleted. Verify that the link points to the correct file and location.”"

In order to confirm you are having this problem Microsoft recommends checking the content ID (cid) of the image and see if it appears as XML elements. Essentially they tell Outlook to display an embedded image that is stored inside that mail and how to wrap the image alongside the text.

To do so:

1. Open the email in classic Outlook.
2. On the ribbon, select Move > Actions > Other Actions > View Source.
3. Search the email for cid and try and locate XML tags that should appear like code.

Microsoft says it is investigating the issue and for the time being as a workaround it has encouraged users to avoid setting images with Wrap Text with Top and Bottom.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 22 May 2026 at 9:03 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

As part of the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft released several preview builds of Windows 11 in early May 2026. Although these releases didn't introduce many new experiences, the company dedicated most of the work to improving existing features.

In the first half of May, the software giant rolled out a new version of the Run dialog with a modern design, File Explorer has received several improvements, the Widgets experience introduced new defaults to reduce distractions, and brought back the ability to relocate the Taskbar anywhere on the screen.

In addition, there are new touchpad gesture controls, an updated version of the Task Manager, and Microsoft now provides free upgrades from Windows 11 Home to Pro Education at no extra cost for organizations.

In the Experimental track, we've seen builds 26300.8493, 28020.2134, 29591, 28020.2075, 29585, 26300.8376, 28020.1921, 29580, and 26300.8346, and builds 26220.8270 and 26220.8283 have been released in the Beta Channel, which is still in the legacy channel.

Also, the company released build 26300.8276 in the Dev Channel, build 26220.8271 in the Beta Channel, and builds 28020.1863 and 29570 in the Canary Channel.

In this recap, I'll highlight the latest and most interesting changes available through the Windows Insider Program.

Biggest improvements from the Windows Insider Program in May 2026

These are the most significant changes Microsoft has unveiled since the last roundup.

1. Taskbar position settings

Microsoft is bringing back the ability to change the location of the Taskbar with the release of build 26300.8493 in the Experimental channel.

This change allows users to place the Taskbar at the top of the screen, as well as at the left or right edges of the screen, rather than being limited to the bottom.

The setting appears on Settings > Personalization > Taskbar, under the "Taskbar behaviors" section. The setting is called "Taskbar position."

Microsoft recently released big updates in the Insider program, finally giving Windows 11 users some long-anticipated features and upgrades. If you want to try them out on a virtual machine, a spare device, or perform an in-place upgrade, you can download the latest Windows 11 images from the official website. Microsoft has published new ISO files, allowing users to get the latest builds without using Windows Update.

If you head to the official Windows Insider website, you can download the latest builds from three channels:

• Experimental Future Platforms (former Canary): 29591.1000 (released on May 15)
• Experimental (former Dev): 26300.8493 (also released on May 15)
• Beta (still Beta): 26220.8474 (released on May 15, alongside the Experimental build)

To download these ISO files, you must sign in with your Microsoft Account that is registered in the Windows Insider Program. After that, you can "burn" the downloaded image to a USB device or install it as a virtual machine using apps like the recently updated VMware Workstation Pro 26H1. These images also support in-place upgrades for those who want to update their existing Windows 11 installations.

As for the Release Preview channel, Microsoft currently offers three builds for Windows 11 version 24H2, 25H2, and 26H1. These builds preview changes and features that Microsoft plans to release as a non-security update later this month. Today, Microsoft pushed new builds with fixes for audio issues and notification bugs. You can find more details about the update here.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 21 May 2026 at 6:12 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Today, Stardock released DeskScapes 2026, an application that makes it easy to personalize your desktop with animated pictures and video is adding the ability to generate desktop wallpapers on your device. No tokens or cloud needed, DeskScapes 2026 makes it easy to create, restyle, and upscale images with a few simple clicks.

Desktop wallpapers are the center of the desktop customization experience and with the new image generation technology built into DeskScapes 2026, you can create wallpapers on your device with the only limiting factor being your creativity. Because the process runs on your local hardware and not on a cloud service, there are no tokens or hidden costs, allowing you to fully tap into the power of your CPU and GPU to generate high resolution images.

And it’s not just about generating new images but also repurposing existing wallpapers. AI Restyle, which takes any existing image and reimagines it in a new artistic style, makes it easy to apply filters and effects to wallpapers you have already downloaded. When paired with the new upscaling option that lets users bring lower-resolution images up to desktop-quality standards, DeskScapes 2026 is the complete solution for managing your wallpaper collection.

DeskScapes 2026 ships with a new Hybrid Dream editor for building animated backgrounds and the effects library has grown significantly as well. "DeskScapes has always been the easiest way to keep your desktop wallpaper organized and customized with unique visual effects," said Brad Sams, General Manager of Stardock Software. "DeskScapes 2026 takes that further by bringing AI-powered creation directly to your desktop, running entirely on your own hardware, so you can generate something new, restyle a favorite image, and have it all managed in one place."

DeskScapes 2026 is available on Windows 11 for $6.99 (MSRP $9.99) during the launch period and is supported on up to five devices. The application is also included in Stardock's Object Desktop suite.

Object Desktop includes programs such as Fences, Start11, Groupy, SoundPackager, DeskScapes and Multiplicity.

Disclaimer: Neowin's relationship to Stardock

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 21 May 2026 at 6:11 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Vivaldi's latest update is a rather big one. Today, the company announced version 8.0, a major update that offers a big design overhaul, something the developers call "the most significant design overhaul in the browser history."

With Vivaldi 8.0, the browser receives a new "unified design," giving users more ways to customize their browsing experience. Now, each user interface element, such as tabs, toolbars, panels, and content, exists as part of a single, unbounded design. As such, themes span from edge to edge of the window for a more seamless user interface.

After updating to version 8.0, Vivaldi will present you with the ability to select one of the six pre-built styles. You can select a minimal edge-to-edge theme, one with the UI fully hidden for focused work, or a power user variant with everything on the screen. The update comes with a built-in collection theme, and users are free to select one of over 7,000 community themes available on the official website.

Vivaldi says that while other browsers were busy adding questionable AI features, it focused on "a foundation that no other browser can match" with flexible tab management, built-in productivity tools, and advanced customization. At the same time, Vivaldi does not force the new design onto its users, so those who prefer the previous user interface can go back to it at any moment in settings. Vivaldi's CEO and co-founder said the following about the release:

“With 8.0, we have done something we have been working toward for a long time: we have given the browser itself a visual system worthy of everything it can do. With this update Vivaldi feels like one considered, coherent tool.”

Vivaldi 8.0 is now available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. You can download it from the official website using this link.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 21 May 2026 at 6:09 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

For those unfamiliar, Unraid is a NAS operating system that is designed to allow for flexible and easy storage expansion. It allows running applications and services in Docker containers and virtual machines, making it popular with the self-hosted crowd.

The team over at Unraid has been off to a busy start this year with a host of releases and updates for their popular NAS operating system. As of late last week, they announced that Unraid 7.3.0 is now stable and is available for existing users to update to. For Unraid users, this is a big deal.

Unraid has, since its first release, always required a USB stick as its primary and only way to boot the OS. As this is a NAS operating system with the primary goal of giving you the maximum value from your storage as possible, not needing to dedicate a drive for the OS could be seen as a plus.

Unfortunately, the downside to this is that USB sticks tend to be anything but reliable and certainly aren’t speedy, and have often ended up becoming a single point of failure.

Gallery: Unraid 7.3.0 Onboarding

 

 

 

 

 

With the release of Unraid 7.3.0, this has now been addressed, finally giving users the option to ditch their single USB boot stick and providing them with a more modern and resilient approach to system boot.

Now that internal booting is available, you’ll also have the option to take it a step further and set up a mirrored boot pool using a ZFS mirror, giving you greater resilience should a drive fail.

Along with this key update, Unraid 7.3.0 comes with several important critical security patches. Docker, too, has been upgraded, bringing some nice quality-of-life improvements and fixes. They added a friendly onboarding user interface for new and returning users.

ZFS sees improvements to the visibility of file issues directly from the pool status, and previously buried ZFS settings have been moved directly into the native Disk Settings.

The update also includes performance enhancements for File Manager and improved Virtualization, Networking, and the addition of a dedicated Tailscale stub page in settings. Head over to the Unraid blog and check the release notes for further details.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 21 May 2026 at 6:07 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

LibreOffice developer, The Document Foundation (TDF), has historically had an ax to grind with Microsoft, which isn't at all surprising considering that the two offer competing products and champion different standards. LibreOffice leverages the open-source OpenDocument Format (ODF) for productivity documents, while Microsoft Office relies on the "open" OOXML format. TDF regularly calls out the Redmond tech giant for forcing customers to use Office formats, and now, it has bashed the company once again in a lengthy blog post.

TDF claims that ODF ensures digital sovereignty since it is an open-source format that cannot be controlled by a single vendor. Any document created in this format remains the sole property of the author since no vendor can independently change the format and inconvenience users. It emphasizes that this is very different from Microsoft's OOXML structure used in Office documents, which it says is only "open" on paper, but proprietary in practice.

LibreOffice's developer notes that OOXML was developed behind closed doors at Microsoft, and it is actually an insult to the community since it isn't transparent and discourages consultation, especially considering that its explainer document is over 7,500 pages long. TDF has highlighted that OOXML is not versioned and does not rely on independent standards. In fact, it alleges that Microsoft utilizes proprietary formats whenever possible.

The developer has also taken a dig at Microsoft's handling of dates with OOXML. It says that OOXML is so absurd in complexity that it cannot even handle the Gregorian calendar. Excel, in particular, gets dates wrong frequently, incorrectly identifies the year 1900 as a leap year, and when it "gets dates wrong, no other software does it worse."

TDF highlights that the only reason that so many people use Microsoft Office and OOXML today is that Microsoft employed a bait-and-switch strategy in a calculated and nefarious manner. It convinced the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), politicians, and, by extension, the world, that OOXML is a transitional format that will become strict, non-proprietary, and standard after 2010. That never happened, which brings us to where we are today, where Microsoft enjoys a monopoly on user-created documents. TDF claims that Microsoft lobbied with its partners like SAP to lock people into OOXML to the point that:

The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee was forced in 2020 to rename dozens of human genes – including SEPT1 and MARCH1 – because Excel kept silently converting their symbols to dates. Rather than going to Microsoft and demanding a bug fix, scientists preferred to throw years of established nomenclature down the drain to avoid upsetting Redmond. A revealing precedent.

The LibreOffice developer says that it's simply not enough for products to support ODF, they have to make it the native option, otherwise, digital sovereignity is "provisional at best". It has emphasized that it is actually OOXML that needs to be the interoperability format that should be used for document exchange with customers who continue to use the proprietary standard out of convenience or ignorance. The firm ends its detailed blog post by highlighting that any option other than the one described by it is false digital sovereignty.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 21 May 2026 at 6:06 pm AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Yesterday we reported on a small but useful change Microsoft has introduced with the newest Windows 11 Patch Tuesday (May 2026) update, wherein the company now has a centralized folder for all the necessary Secure Boot update scripts. These updates are crucial for the proper and secure booting of all Windows PCs, as the older ones are set to expire very soon.

While that's great for those who are able to install new updates, Microsoft has confirmed that's not the case for everyone. The issue first started when users began noticing online that they were unable to download the March 2026 Patch KB50794373. As such, consecutive updates, including the emergency out-of-band updates, KB5086672 and KB5091157, also did not install, and neither did the April and May Patch Tuesday updates. Essentially, the Windows Update button inside the Settings app does not proceed with the update and ends up with a 0x80010002 error message.

Hence users who were encountering this problem have not had the latest security updates for a few months, plus they are missing the aforementioned critical security update for Secure Boot as well as updated certificates that are also being delivered via the Windows Update channel. Those who hate Windows though, will probably view it as a good thing, for humorous reasons.

At long last Microsoft has finally acknowledged the issue and has confirmed it is a bug on its end, not the user PCs' fault. Essentially the company has admitted that a recent change in download timeout requirements is what messed it up. It explained the following in a support service alert: "Affected devices might be able to download the February monthly Windows security update, but then become unable to use the Windows Update settings to download Windows updates released in March, April, or later months. This issue results from recent changes in download timeout requirements when starting download operations. It is not related to device integrity or the device's ability to install Windows updates, only to its ability to download updates from the internet via the Windows Update page under Settings."

Those who have access to the Admin center portal can view the message here on Microsoft's official site (spotted by Susan Bradley on AskWoody). A known issue rollback (KIR) could fix the issue.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Wednesday 20 May 2026 at 7:06 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Later this month, Microsoft will release the May 2026 non-security updates containing new features and bug fixes for supported Windows 11 versions (24H2 and 25H2). A preview of these updates was released last week, and now, Microsoft is pushing newer builds with a few additional fixes.

If your PC is enrolled in the Release Preview Channel, you can download builds 26100.8521 (24H2) and 26200.8521 (25H2). These updates contain two important fixes for bugs with muted audio on certain devices and Windows Push Notification issues, causing apps to fail to launch or send any notifications.

Here is the changelog:

Updated: 19 May 2026 - Updated build numbers, fixing a few issues impacting Insiders in Release Preview after the previous flight, including:

 

• Fixed an issue resulting in the audio volume being unexpectedly muted on certain devices
• Fixed a Windows Push Notification service (WPN) hang, which could lead to some apps not launching and notifications not working.

The rest of the changelog is identical to the previous two builds, with features such as shared audio support, improved magnifier, better NPU tracking in Task Manager, wallpaper reliability improvements, and more. You can find the complete changelog in our dedicated post here.

As for Windows 11 26H1 users, Microsoft also pushed a new Release Preview build (28000.2175), but there are no details on what exactly this build improves over the previously released build 28000.2173.

You can expect Microsoft to release the May 2026 non-security updates in the last week of May. These updates will be optional, as usual, and all the changes and improvements will arrive as part of the mandatory June 2026 Patch Tuesday updates on June 9, 2026.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Wednesday 20 May 2026 at 7:05 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix

Following the release of a new graphics driver that adds official Forza Horizon 6 support, AMD pushed a new chipset driver for supported motherboards with Windows 11 and 10. Version 8.05.04.516 is now available for download, offering users bug fixes and new drivers for the recently announced Ryzen AI 400 processors.

Here is the changelog:

• Bug fixes included.
• New Program Support added.

And here is the list of all new drivers:

AMD adds that the driver has a few known issues, some of which could be fixed with workarounds:

• After installing the AMD Chipset Installer version “7.xx.xx.xx”, users cannot install version “6.xx.xx.xx” or earlier. Workaround:
  • Uninstall the latest version of the AMD Chipset installer (version 7.xx.xx.xx or later).
  • Delete the “Qt_Dependencies” folder located at "C:\Program Files (x86)\AMD\Chipset_Software\".
  • Install any older version of the AMD Chipset installer (version 6.xx.xx.xx or earlier).
• On a non-English OS, some driver names may appear in English. 
• Yellow bang on the AMS Mailbox driver on the AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper™ 9000 Series Processors [AMD WRX90] on Win10 OS.

You can download the latest AMD Ryzen chipset drivers for Windows 10 and 11 from the official support article. Full release notes are available on the same page. The driver is available on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 systems with mobile and desktop Ryzen, Threadripper, and 7th-gen A-Series processors.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Wednesday 20 May 2026 at 7:04 am AEST (my time).

News posts: 2023 5,800+ | 2024 5,700+ | 2025 5,700+ | 2026 (to end of April) 1,700

RIP Matrix