For the most part, Firefox 107 is a smaller release though. Next to Firefox 107, a new Extended Support Release version, ESR, is also released. Firefox 102.5 ESR will become available later today as well.

Mozilla publishes updates for all development versions of Firefox around the time Firefox Stable is updated. This moves Firefox Beta and Dev to version 108, and Firefox Nightly to version 109.

Ashwin covered the big new feature of Firefox 107 for Android yesterday already.

Executive Summary

• Firefox 107 is a security update. We don't know how serious the fixes are at this point, but will update the article once Mozilla publishes information about the update.
• Firefox 108 Stable will be the last major browser release of 2022. A few point releases may be released as well to address bugs and issues.

Firefox 107 out with security fixes and Windows performance improvements

According to Microsoft, this feature will allow you to work on projects that are based across multiple repositories. Prior to this update, you needed to have a new Visual Studio 2022 window open for each repository, but now you can do it all from one instance, which should make things a lot easier to manage.

Microsoft has made a helpful video showing how you can use this feature right now:

For the time being, Microsoft will only allow you to run 10 active repositories at once so that it can monitor the impact on I/O, CPU, and UI responsiveness. The larger the repository, the more of a performance hit your computer will take. For most developers, the limit should be just fine. In a preview Microsoft ran, only 0.05% of people exceeded the limit.

The company is asking for feedback from the community about this feature. If you want to point anything out to Microsoft, you can do so by taking a survey.

Visual Studio 2022 now has multi-repository support, a highly requested feature

Direct Access is a feature that allows Windows users to access corporate networks without traditional VPN connections, providing a constant connection to organizations whenever there is working internet. Microsoft makes it clear that the bug with Direct Access does not affect the ability to use other remote access solutions, such as VPN or Always On VPN (Microsoft recommends using the latter on systems with Windows 10 and newer).

Microsoft has applied the Known Issue Rollback (KIR) tool to mitigate the problem with Direct Access feature on Windows 10 and 11. As usual, KIR requires about 24 hours to reach the affected devices on non-managed devices. Enteprise-managed computers can get the fix faster using special group policies from the official Windows documentation.

The software giant says the Direct Access bug affects client Windows 10 and 11 versions (LTSC 2019, 20H2, and newer), Windows Server 2019, and 2022. Regular home users with active VPN connections and apps for remote access are unaffected.

Microsoft confirms problems with Direct Access on Windows 11 and 10

• Domain user sign in might fail. This also might affect Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) authentication.
• Group Managed Service Accounts (gMSA) used for services such as Internet
• Information Services (IIS Web Server) might fail to authenticate.
• Remote Desktop connections using domain users might fail to connect.
• You might be unable to access shared folders on workstations and file shares on servers.
• Printing that requires domain user authentication might fail.

Microsoft says customers can check whether their systems are affected by opening Event Log on Domain Controllers. Devices hit by the bug will show a Microsoft-Windows-Kerberos-Key-Distribution-Center Event ID 14 error with the following text:

While processing an AS request for target service , the account did not have a suitable key for generating a Kerberos ticket (the missing key has an ID of 1). The requested etypes : 18 3. The accounts available etypes : 23 18 17. Changing or resetting the password of will generate a proper key.

Also, affected events will have a "the missing key has an ID of 1" text next to them. It is worth noting that the bug does not appear on home devices that are not part of an on-premises domain.

Microsoft is working on a fix, and it should be ready in the coming weeks. The company will provide extra information once it becomes available.

Microsoft confirms domain sign-in, printing, and other issues in latest Windows updates

I reviewed PicPick for the first time in 2018 and came to the conclusion back then that it was a professional-grade screen capturing tool for Microsoft Windows devices. PicPick, available as a free for non-commercial use version and a commercial version, made it to the top of our overview of screenshot apps for Windows immediately.

The developers released important improvements since then. Just recently, support for screen recording was added to PicPick.

PicPick 7.0

The new version of PicPick comes with an improved capture interface. It offers new functionality but also improvements.

PicPick 7.0 supports delayed captures. The feature was missing in previous versions. It enables users to capture the screen after three, five or 10 seconds, making it ideal for captures that require preparation or items that require interaction.

The new timed delay capture feature is available in PicPick's mini toolbar, which it displays when users activate the capture functionality. It is also available from the program's system tray icon, under Screen Capture > Time Delay, and in the program settings under Capture > Capture Options.

The time delay option is not linked to a particular capture type. Once the desired delay has been set, it becomes available for all screen capture options the program supports.

Another new capturing feature darkens the area outside of the user selection. If you select one of PicPick's capture options that let you select a region on the screen, you will notice that the area that is not inside the selection is darkened automatically.  The setting is enabled by default, but can be turned off under Capture > Capture Options

The program's screen magnifier tool displays grid lines by default now when launched. This can be disabled under Capture > Capture Options > Magnifier Window as well.

Apart from these new functions, improvements have been made in other areas. Scrolling window and fixed rectangle capture modes, and the capture options menu have been improved in the release. PicPick 7.0 has better support for the DPI values of different monitors, and the screen recorder menu is now found in the screen capture mode.

Users may also notice that the loading performance has improved, and that there is a new open recent files / folders option when opening the main screen of the application.

You can check out the full changelog and download options on the official PicPick website.

Closing Words

PicPick is an excellent screen capturing tool that gets better with every release. The program is compatible with all versions of Windows starting with Windows XP.

Now You: which screen capturing tool do you use?

PicPick 7.0: screen capturing tool launches with delayed capture support

Software Updates:   PicPick 7.0.0 Professional

To be fair, this backlash isn't surprising. Microsoft has previously been caught red-handed testing advertisements for Microsoft Editor in the File Explorer. At that time, the company quickly removed them, claiming that they were not meant to be published externally. Even then, I expressed concern that while the banner ads were published accidentally this time, the real problem here is that Microsoft is definitely playing around with this idea and there's no knowing when the tech giant decides that it's the right time to green light this initiative for the public.

And before I go into further details, I'd like to emphasize that I personally don't believe that all of these promos can be clubbed into the "ads" category. I feel that some of these actually are good recommendations, depending on how you look at it. For example, the recommendation to back up data to OneDrive is something that you can do with the 15GB of free storage too, you don't necessarily need to sign up for premium capacities. Now, should tips/recommendations be shown in the Start menu? That's another debate altogether (but "no" is my opinion).

And this is not a Windows 11-only problem either. Just to check, I opened my Start menu in Windows 10 and right at the top is a promo for Microsoft Edge, you can see it in the screenshot above.

Similarly, look what happens when I search for "Download Google Chrome" on Microsoft Edge versus "Download Microsoft Edge" on Google Chrome. Note that I do not use any ad-blockers or other enabled extensions on either of the two browsers. The widget below is a slider so use the button in the center to drag across the two experiences horizontally:

Before

After

The difference in user experiences is night and day. In fact, we also learned a few days ago that Microsoft is hiring people to build subsidized Windows experiences that recoup their investments through ads and promos for Microsoft services.

What I'm trying to emphasize here is that there is precedent for ads in Windows 11, Microsoft has been doing it for years with just the occasional pushback from users and media outlets like us. There is just some short-term outrage from consumers and then things settle down until the next round of "promotions" hit our software.

And to be fair to Microsoft, I completely understand the appeal. You are offering an OS upgrade to hundreds of millions of customers free of charge, you have to recoup your investment somehow. However, is it really a free upgrade if, as a consumer, you're almost constantly being barraged with advertisements for Microsoft services? From locking your Windows 11 PC through the Start menu to opening Microsoft Edge? Is the monetization opportunity worth deteriorating the user experience for millions of customers who just aren't interest in the upselling options?

I think Microsoft is banking on "yes" being the response for all these questions, which is why we are seeing continued effort in this space over the past few years. You could argue that many promos can be disabled through Settings, but should a customer be expected to do that just to get a vanilla experience?

How long before File Explorer turns into this?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a Microsoft customer through and through. I've only ever used Windows as my primary OS, leverage the Microsoft suite of enterprise and developer tools at work, and have been a Microsoft 365 Family subscriber for the past several years. But none of these things happened because of ads, they happened because I either loved the products (Windows) or felt a need for them (Microsoft 365).

The real problem now is that the consumer experience on a lot of Microsoft services is deteriorating to the point that I have begun to dislike and avoid a lot of them. Ads are not even contextual, I still get ads for Microsoft 365 even though I've been a subscriber for years. It's like Microsoft is shooting an arrow in the dark rather than using all the Microsoft account or telemetry data about us to show ads that might actually be useful.

Instead Microsoft's strategy seems to be that surely if you show ads for Microsoft 365 to hundreds of millions of customers, at least a million might subscribe. But what about the user experience being ruined for the other 99% or the target audience? Microsoft doesn't really care, because hey, it got a steady revenue stream from the other million who subscribed.

And that really is the thesis of my entire piece. I completely get why Microsoft is going in this direction but I also think that it's a pretty bad experience for most of its end-users. At this point, I'm wondering if Microsoft should consider spinning off another SKU of Windows. One would be the free version with these advertisements and the other would be a one-time perpetual license for an ad-free Windows experience. Would people pay for it? Only time will tell, but it'd be nice to have the option in consideration for people who are really annoyed with ads.

While I can understand from Microsoft's lens as to how this is good for revenue, I would argue that ads for upselling Microsoft services should be in relevant spaces instead of stuffing them in main UX elements. For example, OneDrive promos/recommendations should be shown in storage settings rather than in the Start menu. But until something like that happens, I fear as a consumer for what's next.

Does the current implementation of advertisements/promos/recommendations annoy you? Do you even consider them as advertisements? Would you consider paying a one-time fee to get rid of them? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

Ads in Windows 11 might make sense to Microsoft, but it's really bad for consumers

Microsoft decided to retire Quick Assist and replace it with a new Microsoft Store version. Windows users who attempt to launch Quick Assist on their devices right now get a prompt stating that there is a new version available on the Microsoft Store.

Microsoft explained back then that the new application would enable it to patch security issues and other issues more quickly in the future.

Administrators were not too happy with the change. Two main points of criticism were leveled at Microsoft. First, that the installation of the new Quick Assist required administrative privileges, and second, that one could not be sure anymore if Quick Assist was available on a user device. The latter required additional assistance to get the new version of the application on the user's device.

Microsoft released a new Windows 10 version 22H2 build and a new Windows 11 build to the Release Preview Insider channel this week; these builds add the new Microsoft Store Quick Assist application as a native app back in the operating system.

The new version will replace the classic version of Quick Assist, which can't be run anymore anyway, on the target system. Quick Assist can then be launched via the Start Menu or by using its dedicated keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Windows-Q.

Release Preview indicates that the changes will land soon in stable versions of Windows 10 and 11. Microsoft has yet to announce when this will happen though. Windows users may install the Microsoft Store application manually at any time to get access to Quick Assist right away.

You can check out the Insider Preview build announcements for Windows 10 and Windows 11 here.

Now You: have you used Quick Assist or another remote assistance tool in the past?

New Quick Assist app will soon be integrated into Windows

Using the feature is very easy, just check the details page of a film or show, or do a search for an actor by name. Clicking on the actor will bring up their profile page and if you scroll down, you’ll get a list of titles that they appear in. If you want to watch any of the titles, just tap the one you want, and you’ll be shown locations where you can view it. If you’re lucky, Plex will have the show available for free.

The new Discover Credits feature is available now on Roku, Fire TV, Smart TVs, Apple TV, Android TV, Android, iOS, and web. If you’re not sure how to update the Plex app on your device, you can find the appropriate download on the downloads page.

As a bonus, if you find a title you want to watch while you’re looking up actors, you can add them to your watchlist to view the films later when you have time. Just go to the film’s details page and click the Add to Watchlist button. You can view the Watchlist from the Plex sidebar later on.

Plex adds Discover Credits so you can easily find what films and shows actors have been in

Fast-forward nearly two months, Microsoft has finally acknowledged the issues and has confirmed that Nvidia was right in its assessment of the underlying problem. On its Windows health dashboard, the Redmond company has published details about the issue and has blocked the update on affected devices. Microsoft writes:

Some games and apps might experience lower than expected performance or stuttering on Windows 11, version 22H2. Affected games and apps are inadvertently enabling GPU performance debugging features not meant to be used by consumers.

To safeguard your upgrade experience, we have applied a compatibility hold on devices affected by this issue from being offered or installing Windows 11, version 22H2.

A workaround has also been provided, suggesting that users update their games and related applications:

Workaround: If you are already on Windows 11, version 22H2 and are experiencing this issue, you might be able to resolve it by updating your games and gaming related apps to the latest version available. If you are unsure how to update the games and apps you have installed, you will need to consult the developer of those games and apps but most will update automatically through the store they were purchased from or directly when opening them.

Finally, Microsoft has stated that it is working on a fix for the issue and has asked users not to manually update their OS:

Next steps: We are working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release. Note: We recommend that you do not attempt to manually upgrade using the Update now button or the Media Creation Tool until this issue has been resolved and the safeguard removed.

Aside from problems on Nvidia GPUs, reviewers and game testers have also been complaining of buggy performance on AMD's Ryzen CPUs. While AMD claimed it did not notice any such problems on its end, some of the testers continue stressing that the issue is indeed real, citing more tests.

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft finally acknowledges gaming performance issues on Windows 11 22H2, blocks update

And as you'd guess, after Moment 1 comes Moment 2, which is expected to be released next year in 2023, sometime in Q1. Similar to Moment 1, more features are expected to be available in Moment 2 as well, the ones that are currently going through Insider testing. Microsoft recently gave us, perhaps unwillingly, a tiny glimpse of what appears to be Moment 2 during one of its Windows Insider Webcast programs.

Following Moment 2, Moment 3 is also on the cards and we may have got our first hint of that with the recently released Windows 11 Beta channel Insider build 22623.885. Twitter user and Windows enthusiast PhantomOcean3 managed to dig up a new velocity feature apparently dubbed "MTestUx14"(ID 41655236) and the leaker believes it could be referring to Moment 3. The ID is said to be similar to the one Microsoft used for Moment 1 and Moment 2 as the latter used "MTestUx13".

*(?) indicates rumor

While Moment 3 is certainly a long way out, such early leaks aren't all that uncommon. We have had them for Moment 2 earlier this year in September. And the same happened for Sun Valley 3 or Windows 11 23H2 as well before Microsoft reportedly moved back to a three-year cycle.

Source: PhantomOcean3 (Twitter)

Leak suggests Microsoft's Windows 11 "Moment 3" update might be coming to life

In the past, Microsoft has sometimes shed light on why a build has not been rolled out, and it's mostly due to a blocking bug or other issues related to quality. However, it has just stated that a new build might arrive in the next week:

Of course, no one in the Windows Insider Program is entitled to receiving Dev builds on a regular basis, but this sort of transparency is appreciated by those who are accustomed to more frequent flights and stay online, so they can quickly install updates and dig into what's new. However, there's still the Beta build that came out just a few hours ago if you are on that channel.

Microsoft hasn't detailed what features we can expect in the next Dev build, though the screen-recording capabilities for the Snipping Tool teased recently would certainly be interesting.

What new capabilities do you want or expect in the next Windows 11 Dev Channel build? Let us know in the comments section below!

There is no Windows 11 Dev Channel build coming this week

The full release notes are given below:

• New! We provided the Quick Assist application for your client device.

• New! The search box now appears, by default, on the taskbar when the taskbar is at the top of your screen or when you turn on small taskbar button mode. You can use the search box to discover information and search your PC and the web directly from your taskbar. To configure how search appears, right-click the taskbar of your primary monitor and hover over Search.

• We fixed an issue that affected some devices that are managed by an enterprise. We improved the reliability of app installations for them.

• We fixed an issue that affected cluster name objects (CNO) or virtual computer objects (VCO). Password reset failed. The error message was, ” There was an error resetting the AD password… // 0x80070005”.

• We fixed some persistent update failures for the Microsoft Store.

• We fixed an issue that affected Microsoft Direct3D 9 (D3D9). It caused D3D9 to stop working when you used Microsoft Remote Desktop.

• We fixed an issue that affected certain printers. The print outputs were misaligned.

• We fixed an issue that might have affected applications that run on the Windows Lock Down Policy (WLDP). They might have stopped working.

• We fixed an issue that affected Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Automated investigation blocked live response investigations.

   

You can find the official blog post here.

Windows 10 22H2 Insiders get Release Preview build 19045.2301 (KB5020030)

EDIT: Microsoft blog typo. Build is not 19045.2301, it's 19045.2310. Article corrected. Thanks to @Kalju for being eagle-eyed.

Rolling back to a previous version of Visual Studio is pretty straightforward. Using the Visual Studio Installer, press the More button on the relevant product card and look for the ‘Rollback to previous version’ option. When you press that, you’ll see a pop-up warning you that you’re about to rollback Visual Studio, you can either proceed or cancel the process.

If you’re on the Release channel, you can roll back to your previously installed version if it was either 17.0.10 or higher, or 17.1.7 or higher. If you’re on the Preview channel, you can roll back to 17.2 Preview 1 or higher. You should note that any security updates you’ve installed will be removed as part of this process, so think carefully about whether you really need to roll back. Microsoft always recommends updating back to the latest version to stay secure.

As it’s a new feature, Microsoft says it wants your feedback if you decide to try it out. You can share your feedback through Developer Community.

Visual Studio 2022 17.4 lets you roll back to a previous version

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.891 and Build 22623.891 (KB5020040) to the Beta Channel.

• Build 22623.891= New features rolling out.
• Build 22621.891 = New features off by default.

Here are the changes and improvements:

Task Manager Improvements

We have a set of Task Manager improvements rolling out with this build.

• Filter processes: We are bringing process filtering to Task Manager. This is the top feature request from our users to filter/search for processes. You can filter either using the binary name, PID or publisher name. The filter algorithm matches the context keyword with all possible matches and displays them on the current page. The filter is also applied as you switch between pages. You can also use the keyboard shortcut ALT + F to focus on the filter box. This is a helpful feature if you want to single out a process or a group of processes and want to take action or just monitor the performance of the filtered processes.

• Better theme support: We have added the ability to use your preferred theme in Task Manager regardless of the active theme in Windows. You can set it in the setting page in Task Manager.

Task Manager now also supports themes for in-app dialogs. All dialog except for “Run new task” and Properties dialog now support themes and will adhere to either app specific theme or Windows theme.

• Improved Efficiency mode dialog: We are making it easy for you to apply Efficiency mode and offering the ability to opt-out of the confirmation dialog. You can make changes on the Efficiency mode dialog box by unchecking “Don’t ask me again” or you can enable/disable it the settings for Task Manager.

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

Here are the changes and improvements in Build 22623.891 :

[Input]

• We have made improvements to Emoji search for Japanese and Simplified Chinese by handling Kana/Kanji and Pinyin properly in the emoji panel.

Here are the bug fixes in Build 22623.891

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• When using the bottom right edge gesture to see Quick Settings, the taskbar should no longer get stuck in the expanded state (instead of dismissing to collapsed state).
• Fixed an issue causing the do not disturb icon to disappear while in do not disturb mode.
• The new show hidden icons flyout’s animation should now be consistent with other taskbar flyouts.
• The show hidden icons flyout background color should now align with your accent color if “Show accent color on Start and taskbar” is enabled in Settings > Personalization > Colors.
• Fixed multiple explorer.exe crashes impacting taskbar performance.

And here are the fixes for both Build 22621.891 and Build 22623.891:

• New! You can back up applicable settings to your Microsoft account. You can also sync these settings on any Windows device and in Microsoft Office.
• We fixed an issue that affected File Explorer. It failed to localize folders.
• We fixed an issue that affected the CopyFile function. It might have sometimes returned error 317: ERROR_MR_MID_NOT_FOUND.
• We fixed an issue that affected process creation. It failed to create security audits for it and other related audit events.
• 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 that affected Microsoft Defender when it was not the primary antivirus. Microsoft Defender failed to turn off passive mode. This issue occurred when you turn off Smart App Control (SAC).
• We added .wcx to the list of Dangerous Extensions that some app control policies do not allow.
• We fixed an issue that affected a computer account. Use of non-standard characters can stop the cleanup of the Out of Box Experience (OOBE) accounts.
• We fixed an issue that affected the Windows Firewall service. It did not start when you turned on the Override block rules option.
• We fixed an issue that might have affected applications that run on the Windows Lock Down Policy (WLDP). They might have stopped working.

The known issues are:

[General]

• We’re looking into reports that audio stopped working for some Insiders in recent Beta Channel builds.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• The taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture.
• The taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture.

[Task Manager]

• [NEW] Filtering by publisher name does not match correctly on the Processes page.
• [NEW] Some services may not show in the Services page after filtering is applied.
• [NEW] If a new process is starting while a filter is set, then that process may appear for a split second in the filtered list.
• [NEW] The delete key and tooltip are not working on the filter input box.
• [NEW] Some dialogs may not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page.
• [NEW] The data content area of the Processes page may flash once when theme changes are applied in the Task Manager Settings page.
• [NEW] There’s an issue we’re investigating where Task Manager isn’t displaying light and dark content correctly, leading to unreadable text. This happens when you have your mode in Settings > Personalization > Colors set to Custom – as a workaround for the time being, please switch it to Light or Dark.

You can find the official blog post here.

Microsoft releases Task Manager search, new themes on Windows 11 Beta (KB5020040)

Broadly speaking, here are the major changes in PowerShell 7.3.0:

• Improved error handling

• Session and remoting improvements

• Tab completion improvements

• Updated cmdlets

   

You can find more details about these features on Microsoft's official website. There are also a bunch of experimental features and breaking changes:

Experimental Features

PowerShell 7.3 introduces the following experimental features:

• PSExec - Adds the new Switch-Process cmdlet (alias exec) to provide exec compatibility for non-Windows systems. In PowerShell 7.3-preview.8, this feature became mainstream.
• PSCleanBlock - Adds clean block to script block as a peer to begin, process, and end to allow easy resource cleanup. In PowerShell 7.3-preview.8, this feature became mainstream.
• PSStrictModeAssignment - Adds the StrictMode parameter to Invoke-Command to allow specifying strict mode when invoking command locally. In PowerShell 7.3-preview.8, this feature was removed.
• PSNativeCommandErrorActionPreference - Adds the $PSNativeCommandUseErrorActionPreference variable to enable errors produced by native commands to be PowerShell errors.
• PSAMSIMethodInvocationLogging - Extends the data sent to AMSI for inspection to include all invocations of .NET method members. In PowerShell 7.3-preview.8, this feature became mainstream.
• Remove PSNativePSPathResolution experimental feature.

Breaking Changes and Improvements

• In this release, Windows APIs were updated or removed for compliance, which means that PowerShell 7.3 doesn't run on Windows 7. While Windows 7 is no longer supported, previous builds could run on Windows 7.
• PowerShell Direct for Hyper-V is only supported on Windows 10, version 1809 and higher.
• Test-Connection is broken due to an intentional breaking change in .NET 7. It's tracked by #17018
• Add clean block to script block as a peer to begin, process, and end to allow easy resource cleanup (#15177)
• Change default for $PSStyle.OutputRendering to Ansi
• Make Out-String and Out-File keep string input unchanged (#17455)
• Move the type data definition of System.Security.AccessControl.ObjectSecurity to the Microsoft.PowerShell.Security module (#16355) (Thanks @iSazonov!)
  • Before this change, a user doesn't need to explicitly import the Microsoft.PowerShell.Security module to use the code properties defined for an instance of System.Security.AccessControl.ObjectSecurity.
  • After this change, a user needs to explicitly import Microsoft.PowerShell.Security module in order to use those code properties and code methods.

You can download and find more details about PowerShell 7.3 on GitHub as well as on Microsoft's site. You can also download it from the Microsoft Store.

Source: Microsoft

.NET 7-powered PowerShell 7.3 now available to all, no support for Windows 7

The 526.86 driver also brings several bug fixes which are listed below:

• [Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II] Flashing corruption can be seen randomly while playing the game. [3829010]
• [Call of Duty: Vanguard] Game may randomly crash after extended gameplay [3841398]
• VTube Studio crashes to black screen after driver update [3838158]
• GPU may get stuck in P0 state after exiting certain games [3846389]
• [Anvil Engine Games] Environment flickering [3843932]
• Drop in 8K60 AV1 decoding performance on RTX 4090 [3835745]
• [Forza Horizon 5] Some PC configurations may see rainbow-like artifacts in game after extended gameplay [3685123]

And here are the issues that remain unresolved:

• Toggling HDR on and off in-game causes game stability issues when non-native resolution is used. [3624030]
• [DirectX 12] Shadowplay recordings may appear over exposed when Use HDR is enabled from the Windows display settings. [200742937]
• Monitor may briefly flicker on waking from display sleep if DSR/DLDSR is enabled. [3592260]
• Maxon - Cinema4D + Redshift3D vidmemory allocations cause TDR or Driver Crash [3659104]
• RedCine-X Pro potential crash while working with effects during video playback [3809401]
• Desktop Window Manager (dwm.exe) service may report higher GPU usage on some RTX 30-series configurations [3830387]
  Workaround: disable Hardware-accelerated GPU Scheduling from the Windows Settings
• [Daz Studio] Application crashes after updating to latest driver when trying to run simulation [3838022]

You can read the full Release Notes here (PDF) and Nvidia's announcement here.

To download this driver, you can use your current GeForce Experience app or opt for a manual download. The links are provided below:

Desktop GPUs:

• GeForce Game Ready Driver Download: Windows 11, 10 – DCH (812 MB) [US version]

Notebook GPUs:

• GeForce Game Ready Driver Download: Windows 11, 10 – DCH (812 MB) [US version]

Latest Nvidia 526.86 driver offers improved support for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

Thunderbird Supernova, that is the name of the next major version of the email client, will reinvent the email client according to the development team. While that is often cause for concern for long-standing users of a software, it appears that this should be less of a concern for Thunderbird users.

The new version features a modernized interface, but also features that many existing users found missing in the current version. Besides the ability to sync data between different Thunderbird installations, courtesy of Firefox Sync, it is the Android version that needs to be mentioned specifically. Thunderbird is a desktop only email client at the time, which means that users need to use a different app on their mobile devices.

The built-in calendar is getting a new design as well. The team highlighted some of the changes scheduled for the Supernova release in a new blog post on the official Thunderbird website.

The team notes that the highlighted design has been made to look busy on purpose, that there will be options to change the density, that many visual changes will be customizable, and that everything should be considered in development at this point.

One of the interesting changes of the redesign is that users may select to collapse certain days of the week in monthly and weekly view; this is done to increase the space for the important days. A work week may be from Monday to Friday, and users may want to collapse Saturday and Sunday in the views to get more space for the important days of the week.

Thunderbird's development team promises lots of customization options. These include, among others, the ability to hide color and icons, collapse or completely remove weekends, or swap colors.

The event view is getting a modernization as well.

Details such as location, attendees or date/time have a better visibility in the new dialog. It takes one click to open the preview screen, and another to edit it. Customizations will be available to change the click behavior, e.g., to go to the edit screen with a single click, effectively skipping the preview window altogether.

Closing Words

It will take some time before the next major version of Thunderbird is released. It looks as if the team is focusing on modernizing the client, adding community-requested features, and all of that without forgetting customization options and user choice in the process.

Now you: what do you expect from the upcoming Thunderbird release?

This is Thunderbird's upcoming redesigned Calendar

Alongside the Patch Tuesday for Windows 10, the company also put out a reminder for the impending EOS status for version 21H1(Windows 10 May 2021 update). The announcement says:

IMPORTANT All editions of Windows 10, version 21H1 will reach end of service on December 13, 2022. After December 13, 2022, these devices will not receive monthly security and quality updates. These updates contain protections from the latest security threats. To continue receiving security and quality updates, we recommend that you update to the latest version of Windows.

Mabel Gomes, Senior Communications Program Manager at Microsoft, published an article on the Microsoft Tech Community forum today reminding users of the same. While such Windows 10 21H1 devices will automatically be updated to the latest supported Windows version (unless they are being blocked by user input somehow), Microsoft also reminded people that Windows 11 is available for upgrade in case of eligible devices. The company mentioned its new Windows 11 22H2 feature update quite a few times throughout the post as it seems to want more Windows 10 users to get on the Windows 11 train. It says:

We will automatically update devices nearing end of servicing to the latest version of Windows 10, but you can opt to upgrade eligible devices to Windows 11.

[..] Windows 11, version 22H2 – also known as the Windows 11 2022 Update – is available to you on eligible Windows devices.

There is a good reason why Microsoft keeps reminding users of Windows 11. The latest data suggests that only 15% of people have upgraded to Windows 11 from Windows 10. The strict system requirements for Windows 11 have kept many users away. For organizations, it's a big challenge and even a whole year later, only about half the systems are Windows 11-ready according to data from a massive scale survey.

Microsoft nudges you to upgrade to Windows 11 22H2 as Windows 10 21H1 nears EOL

What is new in Edge Dev 109.0.1481.0?

New Features:

• Added Open this page in Compatibility view toggle in the Add a page prompt for Internet Explorer mode pages.
• Added open in new tab button on the Sidebar games.
• WebView2
  • Added support for File Upload in UWP (#1639)
  • Added IDL validator tool.

Improved Reliability:

• Fixed Autofill account selection menu not entering credentials.
• Fixed the browser crash with Autofill dialog when navigating to the cross button using an arrow key or pressing Tab or Shift + Delete keys while the focus is on the cross button.
• Fixed the browser crash while using Find in Page in the PDF viewer.
• Fixed Sidebar issue that causes the browser to crash.
• Fixed the browser crash when signing out your profile in Workspace.
• Fixed a crash related to Sidebar.
• Fixed the browser crash that’s related to HDR video.
• Fixed a crash when navigating to certain websites.
• Fixed the browser crash issue when clicking on the performance button after closing Kids mode window.
• Fixed the browser crash when entering or exiting Full screen.
• Fixed a crash related to recommended update.
• Fixed the browser crash related to Assistance Home button.
• Fixed a crash when interacting with visual search results

• iOS

   

  • Fixed browser crash when launching.

  • Fixed browser crash related to notifications.

     

• Android

   

  • Fixed browser crash when enabling Bold text in Android setting.

     

• macOS

   

  • Fixed the browser crash related to account sync.

     

• WebView2

   

  • Fixed crash when clicking on the thumbnail view in the taskbar and moving focus to the WebView2 window.

  • Fixed visual hosting crashes with Windows 10 Anniversary Update and older.

     

Other Changes:

• Fixed STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION error message on certain websites.

• Fixed picture profile in Microsoft Edge icon on the taskbar.

• Fixed Allow extensions from other stores toggle not reflecting change in the Extensions page.

• Fixed incorrect colors on pictures when turning off Enhance Image.

• Fixed the double Sort by name buttons after invoking it in Collection.

• Fixed HEVC video playback issue.

• Fixed Find on Page issue not scrolling to the first highlighted match term.

• Fixed Edge bar Search bar not scaling correctly when it’s on Search only layout.

• Fixed The Pinning Wizard not loading content.

• Fixed Favorites from opening a new tab while on a New Tab Page.

• When clicking on a join Workspace link, the initial New Tab no longer stays open.

• Fixed an issue with installing and uninstalling PWA.

   

• iOS

   

  • Fixed missing icons on top sites.

  • Fixed Sign in not working correctly.

  • Fixed the Open external app dialog not showing up.

  • Fixed black screen when launching.

  • Fixed sync invalid token pop-up when sync is disabled by policy.

  • Fixed history not displaying when tapping on the address bar.

  • Fixed data loss when upgrading from an older version of Microsoft Edge.

     

• Android

   

  • Fixed the NTP search box not responding.

  • Fixed blank Feedback submission issue.

  • Fixed browser crash related to Tracking prevention.

     

• WebView2

   

  • Fixed the blank PDF toolbar issue when hiding three of the buttons. (#2866)

     

• Xbox

   

  • Fixed HEVC MP4 video playback in WebView2.

     

• HoloLens

   

  • Fixed DRM media playback.

     

You can download Microsoft Edge Dev from the official Edge Insider website. The browser is available on Windows (7, 8, 8.1, 10, and 11), macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS (closed testing). Microsoft plans to release Edge 109 to the general public on the week of January 12, 2023.

Latest Edge Dev update improves Sidebar, WebView2, Internet Explorer mode, more

The release notes are as follows:

Resolved issues

OneNote

• We fixed an issue when scrolling with touch.

Word

• We fixed an issue when using Admin Managed Plugin and utilizing Group Policy "Block all unmanaged add-ins", registry key name was case-sensitive.

You can find information about each of the security updates here:

Excel

• CVE-2022-41104
• CVE-2022-41106
• CVE-2022-41063

Word

• CVE-2022-41061
• CVE-2022-41060
• CVE-2022-41103

Office Suite

• CVE-2022-41105
• CVE-2022-41107

For the last two months, Microsoft has been pushing two updates a month to the Current Channel. The first one tends to be less flashy and focuses on resolving issues, like the most recent build. Later on in the month is when Microsoft has been releasing new features.

Build 15726.20202 released to the Microsoft 365 Current Channel with several fixes

As noted by Windows Central, Microsoft is informing customers of some changes that it is making to Outlook and OneDrive. At Neowin, we haven't received communication about these modifications yet.

After November 30, 2023, it will not be possible to associate new personalized email addresses to your Outlook account. It is important to understand that existing personalized email IDs will continue to function as is for the foreseeable future, but it will not be possible to add new ones. Similarly, if you remove such an email ID after the November 30 deadline, you will not be allowed to add it back.

The other modification also involves OneDrive. Basically, Outlook attachments will count towards your OneDrive storage after February 2, 2023 as well. So if your OneDrive capacity is close to being full already, you should probably consider deleting some unnecessary content from your storage before the deadline. However, Microsoft is offering some leeway by providing 50GB of extra storage for one year after February 2 in order to make the transition easier for customers.

The OneDrive change is likely to impact more customers than the Outlook personalized emails modification. However, it is good that Microsoft has given what seems to be ample time to prepare for the changes before they kick in after a few months.

Source: Windows Central

Some major changes and limitations are coming to Microsoft 365

When you attempt to create a Teams meeting in Outlook Desktop you find that the option is missing on the ribbon.

This issue can occur if the Teams Meeting add-in becomes disabled.

Here is how the workaround works which shows you how to enable the Teams Meeting add-in in case it has become disabled:

To work around the issue, you can turn on the Teams Meeting add-in from Outlook.

To turn on the Teams Meeting add-in:

1. In Outlook select File > Options > Add-ins > Manage, select “Disabled items”, and then Go.
2. If you see Teams listed under Disabled Items select it, and then select Enable.
3. Restart Outlook and confirm if the add-in is working.

Microsoft has also shared a registry tweak to prevent the add-in from getting disabled by Outlook again:

If you want to prevent the Teams Meeting add-in from being disabled by Outlook, add this registry key:

1. Open Registry editor
2. Go to Registry Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Resiliency\DoNotDisableAddinList
3. Create a new DWORD (32-bit) value

• Name: TeamsAddin.FastConnect
• Value: 1

You may find more information on the support document on Microsoft's website here.

Microsoft shares workaround for Teams Meeting option missing in Outlook

Visual Studio 2022 17.4 brings support for .NET 7 as well. In terms of improvements over its predecessor, .NET 7 offers better performance, enhancements to .NET MAUI, built-in container support for the .NET SDK, Microsoft Orleans 7.0, and observability integrations, along with updates to C# 11 and F# 7 to make them more developer-friendly.

The other interesting aspect of this release is native support for Arm64. This should go well with Microsoft's Windows Dev Kit 2023 (also known as Project Volterra). The Redmond tech giant has emphasized that it is building a complete toolchain for Arm-native development, making this just a stepping stone in the process. Along with vastly improved performance, the Arm64 version of Visual Studio 2022 17.4 offers the following workloads in general availability:

• .NET desktop development
• NET and web development
• Desktop development with C++
• Universal Windows Platform development
• Visual Studio extension development
• Game development with C++
• JS development

That said, it is important to understand that Windows 11 is the minimum OS required to get the Arm64 version of the IDE. It is offered via a single Visual Studio installer (available here). Side-by-side installations of x64/x86 and Arm64 Visual Studio are not supported, so you will need to ensure that you remove any previous installations before you download the new one.

Meanwhile, the Mac update contains UI upgrades, as well as enhancements to the editor and the debugger, among many other things.

Of course, all of this is just the tip of the iceberg, so if you're interested in more granular details about each release, check out Microsoft's dedicated blog posts listed below:

• Visual Studio 2022 17.4 is now available
• Visual Studio for Mac 17.4 is now available
• Arm64 Visual Studio is officially here
• .NET 7 is available today
• Download Visual Studio 2022 17.4

Furthermore, Visual Studio 2022 17.5 Preview is also available for download. In terms of enterprise support, Visual Studio 2022 17.4 is available for long term servicing channel (LTSC) customers and will continue to be supported until July 11, 2024.

Visual Studio 2022 17.4 for Windows x64, Mac, and Arm64 is now available, .NET 7 in tow too

Today's reminder comes after two other warnings issued since September that this Windows version will reach its retirement date on December 13, 2022.

Windows customers should upgrade to the latest release as soon as possible to avoid exposing their devices to attacks exploiting unpatched security vulnerabilities since Windows 10 21H1 will no longer receive security updates.

"To help keep you protected and productive, Windows Update will automatically initiate a feature update for Windows 10 consumer devices and non-managed business devices that are at, or within several months of reaching end of servicing," Microsoft said.

"This keeps your device supported and receiving monthly updates that are critical to security and ecosystem health. For these devices, you will be able to choose a convenient time for your device to restart and complete the update."

The complete list of Windows 10 21H1 editions reaching their end of service includes:

• Windows 10 Enterprise, version 21H1
• Windows 10 Enterprise multi-session, version 21H1
• Windows 10 Education, version 21H1
• Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, version 21H1
• Windows 10 Home, version 21H1
• Windows 10 Pro, version 21H1
• Windows 10 Pro Education, version 21H1
• Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, version 21H1

Windows 10 22H2 is rolling out to eligible devices

Microsoft announced the availability of Windows 10 22H2 (aka the Windows 10 2022 Update) on October 18, now rolling out to all eligible devices. 

This feature update can be installed via Windows Update by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and clicking the "Check for updates" button.

Enterprise admins can deploy it through Windows Server Update Services (including Configuration Manager), Windows Update for Business, and the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC).

The Windows 10 2022 Update is only being offered to customers with systems running Windows 10, version 20H2 and later.

Users with Windows 11-compatible devices can also upgrade to Windows 11 22H2, given that the latest Windows version is now available to all seekers on eligible devices.

You can check if your device is eligible and can be upgraded to the latest Windows 11 version by comparing your system's specs with Windows 11's list of requirements or using the PC Health Check app.

You can follow this guided walk-through or use this support document to fix any errors while upgrading to the latest Windows version.

Microsoft provides additional details regarding end-of-service dates for supported versions of Windows in the Windows Lifecycle FAQ, the Windows 10 Servicing Frequently Asked Questions, and the Lifecycle Policy search tool.

Microsoft: Windows 10 21H1 reaches end of service next month

Starting from today, the new Gmail UI will become the default experience. While Google is taking away the ability to revert to the original interface, it has assured users that they can still customize the theme, inbox type, and more in order to make themselves more comfortable with the revamped design.

For those unaware, the idea behind the new Gmail is to offer an integrated view that allows you to quickly access other Google apps like Chat and Meet directly from a single interface. Applications are neatly tucked away in the left pane whereas options for labels and emails are now shown in full next to them too. With the applications being in their new position, you don't need to switch between tabs or windows in order to use Chat or Meet, you can do that directly in the same browser window. Notification bubbles will also be shown for each application.

You can have a look at Google's sizzle reel for the evolution of Gmail's interface below:

Since this is a staggered rollout, it may take up to 15 days for the new interface to become your default view, along with the axing of the rollback option.

The new Gmail interface is becoming mandatory from today, no option to roll back