Here is another hidden change we have discovered in the latest Windows 11 Dev build: those using virtual desktops can finally change the desktop background on all desktops simultaneously. Previous Windows 11 builds, including stable releases, allow changing the wallpaper only for the current desktop, leaving others with the previous one. Swapping the desktop background thus becomes a tedious chore, and it cripples wallpaper apps, such as the recently updated WinDynamicDesktop. The latter has to rely on unsupported and unstable APIs to sync wallpapers across virtual desktops.

Although Microsoft has not mentioned the change in the release notes for Windows 11 build 25197, it appears that it is available for all users with the latest update. Unfortunately, the company is yet to fix the annoying bug where the Settings app will not let you set a new wallpaper for a specific monitor if you use more than one virtual desktop. Users with multi-monitor setups can learn how to set different wallpapers on different monitors in our dedicated guide.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that the option to set per-desktop wallpaper is still here, meaning users can have different backgrounds for each virtual desktop.

Windows 11 build 25197 finally lets you change wallpaper on all desktops at once

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.598 and Build 22622.598 (KB5017390) to the Beta Channel.

• Build 22622.598 = New features rolling out.
• Build 22621.598 = New features off by default.

Here are all the changes in the Beta builds 22621.598 and 22622.598:

Changes and Improvements in Build 22622.598

[Settings]

• For the time being, you will no longer be able to uninstall apps with inter-dependencies (e.g., Steam and gaming apps running on Steam) or repair Win32 apps under Settings > Apps > Installed apps. You will still be able to modify and uninstall Win32 apps without inter-dependencies.

Here are the fixes in Build 22622.598:

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue leading to a small set of Insiders with “launch folder windows in a separate process” not being able to launch File Explorer in the last two flights due to an explorer.exe crash.
• Fixed an issue where you couldn’t interact with the top part of File Explorer (with the address bar) when File Explorer was full screen (F11).
• Fixed an issue where command bar items like copy, paste, and empty recycle bin may unexpectedly not be enabled when they should be.

Here are the fixes for BOTH Build 22621.598 and Build 22622.598:

• We fixed an issue that creates a duplicate print queue. Because of this, the original print queue stops working.
• We fixed an issue that affects Roaming User Profiles. After you sign in or sign out, some of your settings are not restored.

Finally, we have the known issues:

[General]

• [NEW] Clicking the network icon on the Lock screen does not work and will crash the Lock screen and may require you to reboot to login. After logging in, you can switch between wireless networks as needed.

You can find the official blog post here.

Windows 11 Beta build 22622.598 (KB5017390) blocks uninstalling apps with dependencies

Here is another batch of modified stock Windows 11 wallpapers. In addition to the macOS Ventura-inspired modifications, users can try new extra-dark variants provided by u/jeezburger69. Windows 11 already has a dark-themed stock wallpaper, but the new mod offers an alternative take with a much more noir tone.

The new wallpapers have 3840x2400 resolutions and are available in two variants: with and without noise for extra drama. If you are not a fan of such grim wallpapers, check out new Windows 365 backgrounds, a set of AI-generated Windows "12" wallpapers, or the WinDynamicDesktop app that recently received an update with the macOS Ventura stock wallpapers.

In case you missed it, the latest Windows 11 Dev build makes it much easier to change wallpapers for those using virtual desktops. The operating system now applies the new wallpaper to all desktops instead of retaining the current one.

Gallery: Windows 11 dark wallpapers

Do you like these new extra-dark Windows 11 stock wallpapers? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Here are some beautiful dark Windows 11 stock wallpapers

The story was quite different back in 2021 though when Intel released its 12th Gen Alder Lake CPUs that were based on the Performance Hybrid architecture consisting “Big” E-cores and “Bigger” P-cores. Microsoft and Intel worked together to optimize the Windows 11 scheduler for the new kind of architecture. As such, the Intel Core i9-12900K was found to perform significantly better on Windows 11 compared to Linux. Kernel version 5.16 was also found to be not quite ready for the new design, as it was also handily beaten by Windows 11.

However, as mentioned above, things are starting to turn around. Tests conducted back in July found Linux no longer trailing Windows. The comparison was conducted using Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, and it was actually ahead of Windows 11. Using a mobile Alder Lake Core i7-1280P CPU, Microsoft was still ahead, though the performance gap had shrunk significantly. And things may get even worse for Windows as patches reveal further optimizations are being made on Linux for hybrid x86 processors like Alder Lake and its succeeding Intel architectures.

Over on the AMD side too, where hybrid CPU designs have not materialized yet, performance comparisons have found the gap between Windows 11 and Ubuntu to be slim as the two operating systems are seen trading blows with one another.

A few days ago, Phoronix did a follow-up testing using an eight core Ryzen 7 5800X3D, which is AMD's first processor launched with 3D V-cache on-board. The results are something Windows fans wouldn't like looking at. In the 89 tests conducted in total, Ubuntu 22.04.1 has won 81 or 91% of the tests. Windows 11 on the other hand has won just 9% or 8 tests.

As you can see above, the biggest performance differences are seen in Renaissance benchmark Instance Metadata Service (IMDS) test, followed by DaCapo Tradesoap. Interestingly, Windows 11 wins the other DaCapo test which is Tradebeans, though by a much smaller margin. Overall, the Geometric Mean reveals Ubuntu was about 10% faster on average, which is pretty impressive considering that there were close to 90 tests in this comparison.

It will be interesting to see how the performance varies on a non-X3D chip like the Ryzen 7 5800X, or how the two OS would fare in a comparison using the upcoming the Zen 4-based Ryzen 7000 series chips. Reports suggest the Zen4X3D SKUs aren't too far off either.

Source and images: Phoronix

Windows 11 gets bloodied and battered by Linux (Ubuntu) on AMD's 8 core Ryzen 5800X3D

Users who have PhotoDemon installed on their devices already may get the update automatically, depending on their preferences under Tools > Options > Updates. Select Help > Check for Updates to run a manual update check and install the update on the device.

PhotoDemon is a portable application that is provided as a ZIP archive. You may run the photo editor after you have extracted the ZIP archive to the system. Note that Windows may throw a SmartScreen warning because of the freshness of the new version. VirusTotal returns two hits by lesser known antivirus engines, which are (likely) false positives.

PhotoDemon 9.0

One of the main improvements of the new PhotoDemon is that it uses less resources than the old version.  On cold start, for instance, it is using 12% less memory than the previous version.

Users who upgrade from an earlier version of PhotoDemon to version 9 may notice the revised interface right away. Tools have moved, and popular settings appear directly on the toolbar, with the rest appearing as flyout panels. According to the developer, the new user interface takes up "less than half of the vertical space of the old design" without sacrificing functionality.

The UI is still designed to work with different display resolutions, including classic resolutions such as 1024x768. The redesign gives more room for photos that are opened in the editor.

The photo editors selection tools have worked well in previous versions. The new release introduces support for multiple selections. Selections may be combined using Add, Subtract and Intersect, and the last selection remains editable even when multiple selections are active.

Another new feature is the content-aware fill tool, which is also called smart object removal or inpainting. Users may select Edit > Content-aware fill, or Select > Heal selected area, to use it. The tool works automatically but includes preferences and tweaking options to customize the operation.

The tool does not require an Internet connection or artificial intelligence. In fact, running the tool multiple times may produce better results because of that.

PhotoDemon 9.0 adds support for new image formats. The new release has import and export support for PSP images, AVIF and animated WebP images. AVIF support is available, but the required encoder and decoder apps do not ship with the program because of their sizes. First time a user loads or saves an AVIF file, the required data is downloaded. Import support is now available for XCF (GIMP), SVG and SVGZ images.

Last but not least, PhotoDemon 9.0 supports lossless JPEG (JPEG-LS), comic book archives (CBZ), Symbian images (MBM and AIF), and lossless "quite OK" (QOI) images.

The latest release includes an optimized automatic GIF optimizer, which the developer calls best-in-class. Image formats that rely on palettes benefit from the new neural-network color quantizer.

Other improvements in PhotoDemon 9.0:

• Image Resizer supports 12 advanced resampling modes with live interactive previews.
• Built-in support for Adobe Photoshop plugins (8bf).
• Full support for 3D LUTs (three dimensional Look-Up Tables).
• New Effects: Bump Map, Droste, Truchet Tiles, Animation menu and Gradient Flow.
• Improved Stained Glass and Crystallize tools.
• New Dehaze tool to recover photos "marred by haze or fog".
• Curves tool performance improvements and new user interface.
• Photo Filter tool has been redesigned to "better match Photoshop's implementation".

A full list of changes, with lots of examples, is available on the official PhotoDemon website.

Closing Words

PhotoDemon 9.0 is a massive update for the photo editor. It adds support for new formats, improves the user interface and reduces the program's resource usage.

Now You: which photo editing software do you use, if any?

Open Source Photo Editor PhotoDemon 9.0 released

Instead, Sun Valley 2 will be similar to Windows 10 Anniversary Update, so you can expect minor improvements and a few new features.

The version 22H2 will contain a number of improvements and it will be offered as a full feature update rather than an enablement package.

Start Menu improvements

Microsoft is testing a new feature that will allow you to pin more apps or activities in the recommendations section of the Start Menu.

Additionally, you can soon force the Start Menu recommendations tab to open files in Office web only if your device doesn't come with full desktop apps.

There's a possibility that Start Menu features will be released using 'Windows Feature Experience Packs,' which is a new way to update and improve the OS without major feature updates.

Taskbar

Microsoft is restoring the drag and drop capability. This means you can finally drag your files onto apps pinned to the taskbar. Or you can also drag apps to the taskbar to create shortcuts.

Task Manager

22H2 will refresh Task Manager with a new design based on Fluent UI and WinUI. 

Like the current version of Task Manager, the new version can also display the same set of screens, such as Processes, Performance, App history, Startup apps, Users, Details, and services. However, there are a few noticeable changes.

As you can see in the below screenshots, Task Manager will now use a new sidebar or hamburger menu to display processes and performance options. This would make the Task Manager easily accessible on touchscreen devices.

Additionally, Task Manager's top bar now displays the brand and name of the device, its model (if available), a picture of the device, and CPU or RAM being used.

New flyout design

Microsoft is refreshing the design for the hardware indicators like sound and brightness.

Media controls that appear on the Lock screen when playing music in a supported app are also getting a new look.

The updated flyout matches the design shown for the media controls across the operating system and Microsoft's vision for WinUI.

Interestingly, the media controls will use a dark theme to complement the rest of the Lock Screen visual style.

Microsoft also noted that updated media controls reflect the Windows 11 design principles, and more flyouts will be updated in future preview releases.

New snapping experience

Microsoft has updated the experience of resizing app windows in snap layouts by overlaying the relevant app icon on top of the acrylic background.

Snap some windows using the snap assist, resize the snapped window layout using the buffer and watch the other snapped windows go out-of-focus overlaid with their app icon.

Tablet-optimized taskbar

Microsoft is adding a new taskbar state that’s specifically designed to optimize the taskbar for tablets and make you feel more confident and comfortable using your device as a tablet.

There are two states of this taskbar

• Collapsed state: The taskbar gives you more screen space, and prevents you from accidentally invoking the taskbar.
• Expanded state: The taskbar is optimized to be easier to use with touch, but common options remain on screen.

Windows Update leverages renewable energy

Windows Update will use data from partners electricityMap or WattTime to perform update installations to lower carbon emissions. Windows 11 will try to install updates in the background at times when greater amounts of clean energy sources are available.

You can still install updates immediately by navigating to Settings > Windows Update and choosing “Check for Updates”.

File Explorer

File Explorer getting support for tabs in Windows 11 version 22H2.

With tabs support, you'll be able to manage folders/directories with ease and the experience will be similar to tabs in Microsoft Edge.

Microsoft is also working on a new modern sidebar called 'Home' and it will house options like This PC. The update will also improve OneDrive integration in File Explorer, thus making it easier to find what you’re looking for, allowing you to see all files in one centralized place.

You can pin files and make files as favourites similar to Microsoft 365 or OneDrive.

Additionally, Microsoft is also testing the contextual suggestions feature. This will allow users to easily share files with their contacts.

Windows Spotlight

Microsoft is trying out new Windows Spotlight on desktop and it's similar to the existing Spotlight feature for lockscreen.

Memory integrity

Memory integrity is designed to prevent attacks from inserting malicious code into high-security processes. This feature can be found in Windows Security under Device Security > Core isolation and it's a new feature exclusive to new hardware.

How to try these changes today

If you're interested, you can download and install the preview update today as these changes are currently available in Windows Insider Beta channel

If you're a member of the Windows Insider Program, head to the Windows Update page, click on the Windows Insider program settings, and select Beta Channel to install the update.

Windows 11 22H2: Here are the new features coming later this month

If you read my review of Windows 11 nearly a year ago or my Closer Look column on Microsoft Teams integration in the OS, you probably know by now that I'm not a biggest fan of this feature. I've talked about how the shoehorned implementation is bare-bones, buggy, and has a lot of missing functionalities.

But hey, that sounds quite similar to Windows 11's Taskbar as well, so why is my article not about that? The reason is that Taskbar is actually getting some attention from Microsoft. Of course, there are complaints that it's too little, too late, but at least Microsoft is adding and returning capabilities to it. On the other hand, we've barely seen any movement on the Teams front, and that is what I have an issue with considering that the app sits front and center in the Taskbar by default.

There have been little to no updates to the Teams experience in Windows 11 in the past year. Almost all my complaints about the lack of context menus, functionalities, and bugs still stand. The only relatively major improvement I've seen in the past year in Teams is support for Snap Layouts. However, even that isn't a slam dunk because this is something that should have been present since launch.

Then, there's also the problem of Teams' horrendous performance. Although Microsoft has talked before about how the migration from Electron and AngularJS to Edge WebView2 and React should result in lower memory consumption and "scale up for the client", all of this sounds like mumbo jumbo when I open a Teams chat window and see RAM usage jump to anywhere between 400-600MB.

Even with Windows 11 version 22H2 arriving later this month, Teams is only getting a couple of relatively minor OS-level functionalities. These are the ability to mute the mic from the Taskbar and the option to share an open window when you hover it over an app in the Taskbar. Considering that Windows 11 has been out for almost a year, this does not sound that exciting for an app that sits at the center of the OS' Taskbar by default.

But perhaps the most telling aspect of Microsoft's apparent lack of interest in Teams on Windows 11 is the fact that the company barely talks about it. It makes up for footnotes in Windows 11 Insider build changelogs. Heck, Microsoft even partnered up with Disney for a Windows 11 ad (video above) featuring She-Hulk and while we saw Snap Layouts, Office apps, and even virtual desktops, Teams was a no-show. Considering that Teams work users in Windows 11 can now interact with both personal and external accounts, I would have figured that marketing this capability would have been a natural fit to show an attorney's usage of the OS in this ad, but nope.

Of course, just because Teams is not featured in an ad doesn't immediately mean that it's a low priority for Microsoft. But consider the fact that Microsoft has not shared any stats about Teams usage on Windows 11 at all. We know Teams has millions of monthly active users overall but how many actually use the built-in integration with Windows 11? No idea.

The comparison that immediately came to my mind when thinking of this topic was Cortana. Microsoft consistently advertised its (arguably) failed digital assistant's capabilities, including publishing statistics about how users had asked it 18 billion questions since launch. On the other hand, we are yet to find out if Teams is gaining any traction at all.

Of course, this is not really a matter of my productivity being impacted or my workflows being affected. I could easily hide the app from the Taskbar and never think about it again. But considering that Microsoft has been pushing Teams' personal usage for the past few months, seeing the app in its current stagnant state just feels wrong to me.

I know tons of people who use and like Windows 11 but none of them have intentionally opened the Teams app more than once. Whether that is due to Microsoft's lack of development focus and marketing of the feature when it comes to Windows 11 or due to the possibility that people have better alternatives to communicate with personal connections online is something that is still unclear. If it's the former, the situation can be remedied but if it's the latter, it's remarkable short-sightedness of vision and strategy from Microsoft.

I am an active Teams customer at my workplace and I really like the communication app despite its flaws. Microsoft wants Teams Personal to be the FaceTime of Windows 11, but it has shown no effort to actually complete this vision. A bundled operating system app deserves better, Teams deserves better.

What do you think of Teams integration in Windows 11? Are you satisfied with the implementation? Let us know in the comments section below!

Teams integration in Windows 11 continues to be Microsoft's abandoned child

In order to cater to and collect all these requests, Microsoft has various and dedicated portals for almost all its mainstream software. In the past, we have taken a look at the most demanded capabilities for Windows 11, Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, Word, the Microsoft Store, and Widgets. Today, we will be listing the top 10 features that the public is requesting for the Redmond tech firm's latest browser, Microsoft Edge.

As usual, we will only be listing issues that are "open", sorted by upvote count on the Feedback portal. Also note that this list may cover multiple platforms and does not only include Windows. This time, we have added snippets of more details in each line item about what a particular request entails, Microsoft has not officially responded to any of the feedback pieces.

With that out of the way, let's begin!

1. Extension support on Edge mobile
   It would be good to be able to use extensions on the mobile browser, in my case, that is Android. In particular, the ad blocking built into edge does not work as well as the alternative I use in the desktop browser, in my case Windows - Matthew S
2. Navigate back within PDF after clicking link
   PDFs can have links that lead to other pages within the document. When I click on such a link, I would like to be able to navigate back to place in the document where I was when I clicked the link, either using the browser back button or a special button for this purpose - Marin Mlinarević
3. Sign PDF document with electronic signature / image
   Like Adobe Reader (free) has option to insert image as electronic signature to the PDF document. Microsoft Edge should also have a such option to put image as electronic signature - Hrvoje Kusulja
4. Improve touchscreen support
   Windows tablets such as Microsoft's own Surface need a browser which works well with touch. They had one with Edge Legacy, but since you've replaced it with the Chromium-based version, there isn't one - Marin Mlinarević
5. Make Microsoft Edge password manager to work with work or school accounts and not just personal Microsoft accounts
   (No details) - Ryan Scott
6. Bring back EPUB support
   I know that Microsoft has declared that there are no plans to bring EPUB support back but I think this deserves a review. Though there are alternatives for opening EPUB, there is no free alternative that provides similar user-friendly UX while reading EPUBs - Mohamed Darwish
7. OCR function for Edge
   It would be nice, to implement OCR-function for PDFs. A new button could be possible. After a click on that button, the text in the (scanned) PDF will be provided as OCR-text. The function is implemented in OneNote and hopefully it is possible to implement it in Edge - David Retzmann
8. Scrollable horizontal tab strip
   Vertical tabs are great, but I sometimes still want to use horizontal tabs, and when I have many of them open, I would like tabs to have a minimum width and to be able to scroll through them horizontally, as in Edge Legacy - Marin Mlinarević
9. Multiple profiles on mobile
   The mobile version of Edge, like the desktop version, should allow users to add multiple profiles besides just one personal and one work/school account. And each profile should be able to be pinned to a user's home screen or app drawer for easy access. Some of us use multiple profiles for different tasks. On desktop I personally use three profiles: one for personal, one for work, and one for my small business. This currently is unachievable on mobile unless the user installs separate versions of Edge (i.e., Stable, Beta, Dev, or Canary) and logs in with a separate profile on each, which is unnecessarily burdensome - Shawn I
10. Adobe InDesign-created interactive PDFs don't work in the browser
    We currently use Adobe InDesign to create Interactive PDFs for learning purposes and the interactivity within them doesn't work in the edge browser forcing individuals to download documents from SharePoint to local drives in order to review them - Toni Wilbourne

The requests are certainly interesting, especially considering that some are not really niche. For example, extension support and multiple profiles on mobile could benefit a significant number of users.

That said, it's a bit disappointing as usual to see that Microsoft hasn't responded to any open feedback item. The company appears to be a lot more active over on the Microsoft Edge Insider forums but that's not really a dedicated portal for feature requests. Feedback portal should be the central place for interactive feedback about Edge, but the company appears to be mostly ignoring it.

Do you use Microsoft Edge? What more functionalities would you like to be added to the browser?

Top 10 features people want in Microsoft Edge

Most expect a September 2022 release of the update, but Microsoft has yet to announce the release date officially. You can check out all previous released guides in the Windows 11 News section here on this site.

Focus Assist and Quick Settings are not new features, but Microsoft improves them in the upcoming Windows 11 release. These gradual adjustments are typical for Microsoft, as is the long development period before improvements land in stable versions of the Windows operating system.

In a hurry? Here are the main changes:

• Focus Assist accessibility improved to highlight the feature to more users.
• Quick Settings improvements to Bluetooth to discover and connect to devices.
• Flight Mode remembers WiFi and Bluetooth connections that are turned on after enabling Flight Mode.

Focus improvements

Microsoft introduced Focus Assist, a feature to help Windows users focus on the task they are working on, in Windows 10. Back then, Focus Assist was controlled via the Action Center and Settings app. It blocked notifications and incoming calls when active.

Microsoft changed how Focus Assist worked in Windows 11. The company integrated the feature in the clock app, improved automated rules and added new features, such as Spotify support to the app.

The Focus Assist feature gets several improvements in the upcoming feature update for Windows 11. Microsoft made the decision to rename it to Focus in Windows 11 version 22H2.

The most important one, probably, is that its visibility is improved.

Up until now, it was difficult to even find the feature, due to it being integrated into the clock app. If you never opened the clock and never browsed all Settings pages, you may have never come into contact with Focus Assist on Windows 11.

Now, when you click on the clock in the system tray area, you find a new Focus option underneath the calendar. A click on the Focus button starts a Focus Assist session right away on the system.

Focus sessions have the following effect when active:

• The clock app displays a Focus timer on the screen.
• Do not disturb is enabled, which mutes notifications on the system.
• Taskbar apps do not flash during focus sessions.
• Badge notifications are disabled for apps on the taskbar.

Microsoft changed the Focus preferences in the Settings application. Apart from being named Focus instead of Focus Assist, the company has split the settings.

When you open Focus in the Settings, which you find under System > Focus, you notice that the preferences look different. There, you may set the duration of the focus session and start it, and define the rules described in the bullet list above. All are enabled by default, but may be turned off individually.

If you don't need the Focus timer, for example, you may turn if off.

The automatic rules section has been moved to System > Notifications > Turn on do not disturb automatically. These rules are not linked to Focus anymore and may be configured individually.

Windows users may enable do not disturb for a specific duration, when playing games or duplicating the display, when using fullscreen apps, or for the first hour after a Windows feature update (which won't really happen that often anymore).

Focus is still part of the Clock application and may be configured there as well, just like before. Options to set the duration, skip breaks, if available, use Spotify and pick a Microsoft To-Do task to work on, are all provided.

Quick Settings improvements

Quick Settings is another feature that is not new. A click on some of the system tray icons, like volume or network icons, opens the Quick Settings panel.

It resembles that of mobile quick toggle panels, giving users access to certain features of the device that they may toggle on or off, or adjust.

There, users may connect to a different network, enable flight mode, night light, change the volume, and a number of other features. Only some options are displayed by default, but there is an option to add and remove items to customize what is displayed.

Windows 11 displayed a simple on/off toggle for Bluetooth in the launch version. The Windows 11 2022 Update introduces improved controls to the section.

Windows 11 displays a small icon next to the icon. Activation of it displays all available Bluetooth devices and an option to open the Bluetooth preferences in the Settings. The available Bluetooth apps may be selected to establish connections directly from the Quick Settings section.

Other improvements

Flight Mode has seen an improvement as well. Windows 11 disables all Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections when Flight Mode is activated. Windows 11 users who enable a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection after entering Flight Mode will notice that Windows 11 remembers that.

Next time Flight Mode is enabled, the previously enabled Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection remains enabled by default. It is a small change, but may be useful for Windows 11 users who fly frequently and use the Windows 11 device during the flight.

Closing Words

Windows 11 version 22H2 makes Focus more discoverable. Some users may still prefer to turn off notifications entirely on the system, but those who don't, may use Focus to supress them during work sessions.

The improved visibility may increase the number of users who use Focus on Windows 11 devices.

The Bluetooth improvements in Quick Settings improve the handling of Bluetooth devices, as it is now possible to connect to devices with just a few clicks.

Now You: do you use Focus or Quick Settings on Windows?

Windows 11 version 22H2: Focus Assist and Quick Settings improvements

Likewise, in the preceding build 25193, the company brought back Tablet mode UI, that was later officially released in 25197. Today, Twitter user PhantomOcean3 uncovered another piece of a new feature in an earlier build 25193, whereby it looks like Microsoft will soon be adding a Windows 10-style search directly into the Taskbar in Windows 11. Back with Dev channel build 25158, Microsoft added, among other things, new taskbar search styles. There were five variants of it back then and we published a guide on how to enable them. This one becomes the sixth variant and should work in a similar fashion.

As you can see in the image above, the highlights of the day are also displayed, but it can be turned off by disabling search highlights (via PhantomOcean3 on Twitter).

Traces of Windows 10-style Search have been unearthed in Windows 11

Office Insiders on Windows are getting a new Sensitivity toolbar that prevents data leaks. Powered by Microsoft Purview Information Protection, sensitivity labels are displayed alongside the filename in the app’s title bar. The new toolbar also appears while saving new documents or renaming existing ones. It is available in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.

Excel users will be able to use another important feature rather than the new Sensitivity toolbar, and that is the ability to upload Excel documents to OneDrive. Also, Excel now gives alerts when there are some issues with PivotTable compatibility. Apart from these new functionalities, Microsoft introduces some notable bug fixes for issues found in Excel, Outlook, and Word.

Changelog

Microsoft is currently testing these changes with Office Insiders, so the general public cannot see them right now. The good news is that they will eventually be available for all Office users. Meanwhile, Beta Channel Insiders on Windows will get another new Office Build next Friday, and we are hoping the company will introduce exciting new features with the latest update.

In other Office news, Microsoft recently released a plethora of new features for Current Channel subscribers on Windows, including better messaging regarding PivotTable compatibility, 14 new text and array functions to Excel to help you supercharge your spreadsheets, more insights into people in your organization with LinkedIn data in Outlook, and more. The updated Outlook will now show the public LinkedIn profile information where available, and the best part is that it does not need you to connect your accounts to do that.

To update the Microsoft Office Insider Preview Build to the latest version, open any Office program and go to File> Account> Update Options> Update Now.

Office Version 2209 (Build 15629.20058) for Windows introduces a ton of new features

Check out my review of KeePass if you are new to the application. It has been my password manager of choice for a long time. Main reasons for that are that it is a local application with optional cloud syncing support, extensible through a ton of extensions and apps, well designed and more secure than online password managers.

KeePass 2.52 is available as a download from the official project website. You may get an update notification in the program itself, but need to download and install the update manually.

KeePass 2.52: the changes

You may check out the full release notes here. It is a long list. Check out the key improvements in KeePass 2.52 below:

• New Copy Initial Password option in the Entry dialog under Tools. Activation copies the password that was active when the Entry dialog was opened to the clipboard. Entry allows users to change passwords, but KeePass keeps track of the password history.
• The number of attachments is now displayed in the Attachment menu when multiple entries are selected.
• The History tab of the entry dialog displays the time a password was last changed.
• Firefox placeholder supports the Microsoft Store versions of Firefox now.
• Support for importing passwords from 1Password, Key Folder, Sticky Password, Steganos Password Manager and Bitwarden improved.
• KeePass checks the configuration file in the new version and displays warnings if issues are detected.
• Improvements to the plugin system (load header of a database file easier, and subscribe to a master key change event).
• Saved Attached File(s) To renamed to Save File(s) To and moved to Attachments submenu under Entry. Command is only visible if at least one attachment is detected.

Closing Words

KeePass 2.52 makes small adjustments to the password manager, which improve some key features of the application. The new version does not introduce a killer feature in the app, but since it worked well for so long, it may be difficult to come up with new features that would improve the password manager further.

Now You: which password manager do you use?

Password Manager KeePass 2.52 is out

Frontpaged:   KeePass 2.52

Today Microsoft announced that the ISO for build 25197 is also available to download on the official website. An ISO file lets you install the newest Dev update without updating an existing installation, the prerequisite to download is simply having your Microsoft ID registered as a Windows Insider. It is a convenient way to get to the bleeding edge of the Windows Insider program on a virtual machine or another PC.

You can download Windows 11 build 25197 ISO file from the official website. As previously mentioned, you need to be a Windows Insider and log in with your Microsoft account to get the required download link. Another thing to remember is that Windows 11 preview versions require activation with a genuine Windows key, just like the stable release.

The full release notes for build 25197 are available in our dedicated post. It also contains the known issues of the update we recommend checking out before diving in.

Microsoft releases ISO for Windows 11 build 25197 from the Dev channel

You can invoke the new Spotlight UI by right-clicking the "Learn more about this picture" shortcut on the desktop (it is available when you set Spotlight as your desktop background). The panel lets you quickly switch between wallpapers, get brief information about the current image, and use Bing to find similar pictures. Also, you can minimize the panel and turn it into a small bar with fewer buttons.

Currently, the panel looks and feels raw, with many unfinished parts and animations. Microsoft clearly is not ready to test it publicly, but you can take a look by enabling the new feature using the ViVeTool app and three IDs (kudos to @PhantomOfEarth for their findings).

Important: Back up mission-critical data before experimenting with your Windows installation. Using ViVeTool to enable experimental and raw features could result in all sorts of software nastiness and bugs, so beware. Only you are responsible for your computer and the data stored on it.

How to enable the new Spotlight UI in Windows 11 build 25197

• 1. Download ViVeTool from its repository on Github and extract the files whenever you like. For example, in the root of drive C.
• 2. Right-click the Start menu button and select Terminal (Admin).
• 3. Switch Terminal to the Command Prompt profile using the arrow-down button on the tab strip.

• 4. Navigate to the folder containing Vive files using the CD command. Here is an example: CD C:\Vive.
• 5. Execute the following commands one after another:
  • vivetool /enable /id:39710659
  • vivetool /enable /id:40268500
  • vivetool /enable /id:39880030
• 6. Restart your computer (optional).
• 7. Open the Settings app and go to the Personalization section.
• 8. Click the Windows Spotlight theme.

  

   

• 9. Alternatively, go to Background and select Windows Spotlight.

• 10. Return to the desktop and right-click the "Learn more about this image" shortcut

That is how you invoke the new Spotlight panel in Windows 11 build 25197. Note that double-clicking the shortcut launches Bing, which currently feels slightly counter-intuitive.

What do you think about the new Spotlight "hub" on the desktop in Windows 11 build 25197? Do you like the idea? Share your thoughts in the comments.

How to enable the new Spotlight UI on desktop in Windows 11 build 25197

In one of the earlier builds 25188, a hidden "live kernel dump" option inside the Task Manager was noticed. Kernel dump files create a snapshot of kernel memory which allows their analysis when troubleshooting app crashes, driver errors, and Windows BSODs, among others. Live kernel dump files are similar except they don't require a system reboot in order to create a dump. Hence, this is useful since it doesn't disrupt the system in case of a non-fatal error.

The option to create live kernel dumps is now active in the new Windows 11 build 25197. As you can see in the image below, choosing the live kernel dump option opens a dialog box denoting the location of the dump file created.

If you tried to use the live kernel dump option on previous builds, like for example, in build 25193, the following error message would pop up stating that the operation could not be completed:

You can read about the rest of the changes in build 25197 that include new animated icons in Settings and a Media Player update, among others, in this article.

Source: Xeno (Twitter) via PhantomOcean3 (Twitter)

You can now use the Task Manager live kernel dump feature with Windows 11 Dev build 25197

The introduction of Manifest V3 is just one example of that. With Google's stronghold on Chromium development, all Chromium-based browsers face a tough decision: either follow Google's lead and drop support for Manifest V2, or invest resources in keeping Manifest V2 supported. Manifest V3 changes core APIs that extensions have used for a long time. Especially privacy improving and content blocking extensions are impacted by this, and some have suggested that the change is a deliberate move by Google to strengthen its advertising business.

Only some browser makers have the resources to do something about it. Microsoft with its Edge browser is an example, but it seems that Microsoft Edge will support Manifest V3 only going forward. There are plenty of Chromium-based browsers that offer more than Chrome. Vivaldi offers plenty of integrated customizations and a mail client, Brave has a good content blocker and a different business model than many other browser makers, and Opera maintains a browser focused on gaming.

As far as non-Chromium browsers are concerned, there is Firefox, which relies on its own codebase, and Safari, which is maintained by Apple. Firefox will continue to support Manifest V2 but also Manifest V3; this means, that Manifest V2 extensions continue to be supported for the foreseeable future.

Most Ghacks regulars do not use Chrome as their main browser. Some may use it for web development or the rare site that only works in Chrome, but the majority uses a different browser. It is no coincidence that the majority of Ghacks visitors are the go-to people when it comes to tech-related questions.

In the past, many may have suggested to install Chrome instead of Internet Explorer or the first version of Edge. Some may have installed other browsers such as Firefox right away. Now, it is a good time to get less-savvy computer users to use a different browser.

Whether that is going to be Firefox or another Chromium-based browser depends on personal requirements. Chromium-based browsers may offer better web compatibility in some cases, while Firefox is less dependent on Chromium as a whole and will likely maintain better add-on support going forward.

Why it is time to move away from Chrome

• Chrome is one of Google's most powerful data gathering tools.
• Chrome's dominance gives Google a lot of weight when it comes to establishing new web standards. Being an advertising company, Google's interest is not always aligned with the interests of its users.
• The move to Manifest V3 makes it more difficult to run content blockers and privacy extensions in Chrome. While some users may not notice a difference, users who use multiple extensions or add custom filter lists may run into artificial limitations set by Google.

Here are some browser suggestions

• Firefox -- not-based on Chromium. continues to support Manifest V2 and will support Manifest V3, includes better privacy controls and options than Chrome.
• Vivaldi -- based on Chromium. Comes with a content blocker, lots of customization options, a built-in Mail client and more. Announced that it won't follow Google's strict reliance on Manifest V3.
• Brave -- based on Chromium. Has a good content blocker and privacy protections. Brave will attempt to keep supporting Manifest V2, but may drop it if the cost is too high.

All three browsers and companies are not perfect, and they may be criticized for certain things. Mozilla, maker of Firefox, makes strong political statements from time to time, and a few sites may not work properly in Firefox because of Chrome's dominance. Brave is financed by cryptocurrencies for the most part, and Vivaldi may be too feature-rich for some.

All in all though, these browsers are better options for the vast majority of Internet users.

Now You: which web browsers do you use and suggest that others use?

Opinion: it is time to switch from Chrome to another browser

Before online music streaming became prominent, people would rip song tracks from CDs and play them on a computer or portable MP3 media players.

One of the most popular MP3 players was Winamp, mainly due to animated visualizations and skins that users could use on the media player. As a result, Winamp achieved a massive following, with many users extolling how it "really whipped the Llama's ass" (yes, that's its slogan).

Winamp ceased development after version 5.666 was released in 2013. However, in October 2018, Winamp 5.8 was leaked online, with the developers announcing that they would continue developing the media player.

Winamp 5.9 final released

Today, Winamp 5.9 Final Build 9999 was released after four years of development since version 5.8 was leaked online.

"This is the culmination of 4 years' work since the 5.8 release. Two dev teams, and a pandemic-induced hiatus period inbetween," reads the release notes for Winamp 5.9 Final.

The most significant change in Winamp 5.9 is the porting of the application from Visual Studio 2008 to Visual Studio 2019. However, this change caused plugin issues in earlier Release Candidates for users who did not have the Visual Studio 2019 Redistributable installed.

With this final release, the Winamp installer will check for the required Visual Studio 2019 files and prompt users to install them if necessary.

The Winamp changelog states that this release brings improved support for Windows 11, HTTPS:// streams playback, a new podcast directory, and support for hi-res playback.

While this release fixed many bugs, the developers state that quite a few known issues are earmarked to be fixed in version 5.9.1.

These known issues include bugs in the About dialog, Milkdrop, AVS Editor, ml_wire Podcasts, the Bento skin, and more.

However, those requiring the NSV VP3 decoder are out of luck, as the feature is now deprecated.

"We can't find the old On2 VP3 source code anywhere so we are officially declaring this format deprecated / EOL," the developers explain in the release notes.

The Winamp devs also plan on some new features for version 5.91, listed below:

Still ToDo (5.9.1 and beyond)
- Add native support for more formats (e.g. opus, ogv/ogm, TS, dash/iso6, H.265, HLS, VP9, etc.)
- Replace old Gracenote features (CDDB, Autotag, etc) with e.g. MusicBrainz or MusicStory
- Maybe restore a working NowPlaying service ?
- Add more default services to ml_online view (Lyrics, Jamendo, Hotmix, YT, Bandcamp, Spotify, etc.) ?
- More multithreading & progress dialogs for "Send To" features (e.g. send large ML view to a Playlist)
- Config for in_mod & out_wasapi
- View File Info dialog for in_mod
- Tons more 🙂

For those interested, the Winamp developers have posted a complete list of changes from the 5.9 Release Candidate to the Final version in this changelog.

The homepage continues to point to the wrong version of Winamp, but the final release can be downloaded from here for now.

Winamp 5.9 Final released and it still whips the Llama's ass

FIXED ISSUES:

• Stray* (DX12) may experience an application crash or error message during gameplay.
• Vampire The Masquerade Blood Hunt* (DX12) may exhibit an application crash during game launch.
• Marvel’s Spider-Man* (DX12) may exhibit lighting corruption when looking towards the Sun.
• Marvel’s Spider-Man* (DX12) may exhibit a soft lock when attempting to take a picture of the Empire State Building.
• Marvel’s Spider-Man* (DX12) may exhibit missing lens flare effects with certain light sources.

KNOWN ISSUES:

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive* (DX9) may experience a game crash when changing shadow quality settings in game.
• Destiny 2* may exhibit display signal loss or display flashing during gameplay when HDR is enabled.
• Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin* may experience an application crash during gameplay
• An “Update driver” pop-up error message may be observed when launching Battlefield 1* after upgrading from 30.0.100.9955 or older drivers.
• [12th Generation Intel Core Processors]:
  • Red Dead Redemption 2* (Vulkan) may experience an application crash when performing an ALT+TAB to desktop.
  • Color corruption may be observed in Total War: Warhammer III within the “realm of chaos” environment.
  • Lighting corruption may be observed in the Halo Infinite* (DX12) multiplayer menus.
  • Grid Legends* (DX12) may experience lighting corruption when lighting quality is set to high in the games settings.
  • CrossFire HD* (DX9) may experience an application crash when task switching during gameplay.
  • Chorus* may experience an application crash in some interior areas of the game such as the ship hangar.
  • Sniper Elite 5* (DX12) may experience a game crash or TDR with an error dialog pop-up message.
  • Red Dead Redemption 2* (DX12) may experience lower than expected performance when the game API is set to DirectX®12 with VSync enabled.
• [11th and 12th Generation Intel Core Processors]:
  • Minor graphical anomalies may be seen in Gears 5* (DX12).
  • A game crash or hang may occur when changing resolution in NBA 2K21* (DX12).
• [11th Generation Intel Core Processors with Intel Iris Xe graphics]:
  • Minor graphical anomalies may be seen in Elex* (DX11), MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries* (DX12), Strange Brigade* (DX12) and The Ascent* (DX12)

The new 31.0.101.3616 beta driver is compatible with all products based on Xe LP, ie, Intel 11th Gen and newer processors as well as Iris Xe desktop card (DG1). To download the driver, head over to Intel's official website via this link.

Intel issues first WDDM 3.1 beta driver 31.0.101.3616 for 11th and 12th Gen chips

"After installing KB5016691 and adding a new Microsoft account user in Windows, you might be unable to sign in for a brief time after the first restart or sign out. The issue only affects the newly added Microsoft account user and only for the first sign in," Microsoft explained.

"This issue only affects devices after adding a Microsoft account. It does not affect Active Directory domain users accounts or Azure Active Directory accounts."

Microsoft says it addressed this issue via Known Issue Rollback (KIR), a Windows capability designed to revert buggy Windows non-security fixes pushed through Windows Update.

Once rolled out, KIR-issued fixes usually reach all consumer and non-managed business devices within a day. Affected users can also get the fix after restarting any impacted Windows devices.

As a workaround, those experiencing this issue can wait for the lock screen to appear again, as it will resolve itself after some time, allowing users to log in as expected. 

Group policies available for enterprise

As an IT admin, you must install and configure a KIR Group Policy to resolve this known issue on affected enterprise-managed devices.

"The special Group Policy can be found in Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> KB5016691 220722_051525 Known Issue Rollback -> Windows 11 (original release)," Microsoft added.

You can download this Rollback Group Policy for Windows 11, version 21H2, from here.

To deploy the Known Issue Rollback via Group Policy, you have to go to the Local Computer Policy or the Domain policy on your domain controller using the Group Policy Editor to choose the Windows version you need to target.

Detailed information on how to deploy and configure KIR Group Policies can be found on Microsoft's support website.

In July, Microsoft issued another emergency fix via Known Issue Rollback (KIR) to address an issue causing the Windows 11 start menu to malfunction after installing recent updates. 

Microsoft rolls out emergency fix for blocked Windows logins

Here's what's new in Build 25197:

Tablet-optimized taskbar

We’re re-introducing the touch-optimized taskbar that’s designed to make you feel more confident and comfortable using your device as a tablet. Your taskbar will automatically transition to this optimized version when you disconnect or fold back the keyboard on your 2-in-1 device. This feature only works on devices that can be used as tablets. It does not work on laptops or desktop PCs.

As a reminder, there are two states of this taskbar: collapsed and expanded. In the collapsed state, the taskbar gets out your way, gives you more screen space, and prevents you from accidentally invoking the taskbar when you’re holding your tablet. In the expanded state, the taskbar is optimized to be easier to use with touch. You can easily switch between the two states by swiping up and down on the bottom of your device.

Tablet-optimized taskbar in both collapsed and expanded states.

If this feature is available, you will see a new setting at Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors called “Optimize taskbar for touch interactions when this device is used as a tablet” that will be set to on by default.

[We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn’t available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]

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

System Tray Updates

This update introduces updates to the System Tray that affect all device types — not just 2-in-1 devices. With this change, users will see a rounded focus and hover treatment on all icons in the lower right, due to the continued modernization of this experience.

You may also notice that it is not possible to drag and drop or rearrange your system tray icons with this change. We heard your feedback on this change earlier this year and are working to address this in a future Insider Preview build.

[We are beginning to roll this feature out, so it isn’t available to all Insiders just yet as we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.]

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

Here are the changes and Improvements in Build 25197:

[Settings]

• We are beginning to roll out animated icons and illustrations in the Settings app. With the animated icons in the navigation bar, we continue growing our motion design principles to transform these familiar interactions from something purely functional to something that is also delightful.

Delightful new animated icons in the navigation bar of the Settings app.

[Input]

• We are making the small tweak that began rolling out with Build 25179 to improve the key repeat rate for the traditional touch keyboard layout, as well as the default touch keyboard layout, so it feels more responsive available to all Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Now it has the rate of 20 keys per second (for example, when holding down the delete key).

Here are the bug fixes in Build 25197:

[System Tray Updates]

NOTE: These fixes will only show if tablet-optimized taskbar with System Tray updates is enabled on your device. Please see above for details on the tablet-optimized taskbar and System Tray updates, which is beginning to roll out to Windows Insiders and not yet available for everyone.

• The taskbar should no longer flash because of changes in the system tray in non-tablet-optimized scenarios.
• Fixed an issue that was causing parts of the taskbar or its icons like search to get stuck in the wrong theme’s colors when switching between light and dark themes.
• Date and time should no longer get stuck cutting off on the side of the screen from system tray changes.

[Start]

• Fixed a crash that users were seeing when using Start’s recommended section.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue leading to a small set of Insiders with “launch folder windows in a separate process” not being able to launch File Explorer in the last two flights due to an explorer.exe crash.
• Did some work to help improve the performance of deleting files via File Explorer (when emptying the recycle bin or using Shift + Delete) in the case where there are a large number of files being deleted at once.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue causing ctfmon.exe crashes for some Insiders in recent flights when words were added to your spelling dictionary.
• Dragging the voice typing window to another monitor which has a different scaling than the originating monitor should work now instead of bouncing back.
• Fixed a sporadic crash in recent builds when using the input switcher.
• Fixed an issue which could lead to voice typing and other input features hanging on initialization.
• Fixed an issue with displaying certain Sinhala words, where they were unexpectedly overlapping.

[Settings]

• Updated the design of the lists displayed Apps > Startup Apps and Apps > Advanced App Settings > App Execution Alias pages to be more consistent with other Settings pages.
• Fixed an issue which could lead to Settings crashing when removing devices.
• Updated the Personal Dictionary section under Privacy & Security > Inking & Typing Personalization to now say “Custom word list”.

[Widgets]

• Fixed an issue which was making the weather icon in the taskbar draw too high and with no text in recent flights.

[Windowing]

• Clicking the title bar portion of a preview thumbnail in Task View should now actually switch to that app, instead of just closing Task View.
• Fixed a sporadic explorer.exe crash which could happen when using ALT + Tab or Task View.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue impacting Task Manager reliability.
• If graphs have been hidden on the Performance page, the circles used to identify each of the different sections should be less blurry now.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue which could lead to hangs in certain apps when attempting to print if an IPP printer took too long to respond to the print request.
• Fixed an issue where EnumPrinters wasn’t always returning the correct size for pcbNeeded, which could lead to hangs in certain programs.
• Fixed a typo in the dialog displayed when Smart App Control blocked an app.
• Fixed an issue where certain characters were missing in the boot environment when using the Chinese (Simplified) or Korean display languages, leading to square boxes in the text.

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

Finally, we have the known issues list below for the new build:

[General]

• We’re looking into reports that audio stopped working for some Insiders after upgrading to the latest flights.
• We’re investigating reports of a few different apps having started crashing in recent builds.
• We’re investigating reports that Insiders are experiencing a bugcheck when moving their mouse in certain games
• We’re investigating reports that some Insiders are seeing OneDrive setup asking for permission to set up every time their PC reboots.

[File Explorer]

• We’re working on the fix for an issue where command bar items like copy, paste, and empty recycle bin may unexpectedly not be enabled when they should be.

[Settings]

• [NEW] We’re investigating some issues where uninstalling certain apps using Settings > Apps > Installed apps isn’t working correctly.

[Tablet-optimized taskbar]

• [NEW] The taskbar sometimes flashes when transitioning between desktop posture and tablet posture.
• [NEW] The taskbar takes longer than expected to transition to the touch-optimized version when switching between desktop posture and tablet posture.
• [NEW] Using the left or right edge gestures can result in the Widgets or Notification Center (respectively) to overlap with or look truncated by the taskbar.
• [NEW] When using the bottom right edge gesture to see Quick Settings, the taskbar sometimes stays stuck in the expanded state, instead of dismissing to collapsed state.
• [NEW] When there are no running windows on the desktop, the taskbar can sometimes collapse, when it should be expanded.

[Widgets]

• Notification badge number may appear misaligned on the taskbar.
• In some cases, the notification banner for some badging will not appear in the widgets board.

There are a couple of app updates too:

We are rolling out the following app updates to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.

Calculator (Version 11.2208.1.0): We have added native Arm64 support to Calculator. You’ll see faster and better performance when you use the app on Arm64 devices.

Media Player (Version 11.2208.22.0): We have added the ability to edit video files in Clipchamp with a new “Edit with Clipchamp” action available when you right-click a video in your library and in the lower-right corner of the video player UI under more options (…) when playing a video file.

The “Edit with Clipchamp” option under the more options (…) button in Media Player.

You can find the official bug post here.

Windows 11 Dev build 25197 introduces buggy Tablet-optimized taskbar

Do you like happiness? Or would you prefer to gaze deeply into the existential horror that is news headlines curated by algorithms? If you choose the second thing I don’t understand you, but good news: All you have to do is click the widget area on a Windows computer and you’ll be flooded with bad vibes.

Here’s the bad news. As useful as the weather widget is, there’s no way to keep it and not see Microsoft’s demonic news curation. Hopefully, Microsoft will fix this—lots of people want to disable news—but until then, here’s how to disable the widget area and replace the weather feature.

How to Hide Widgets (and Replace the Weather)

The simplest thing to do is to disable the widget area entirely. On Windows 11 you can do this by right-clicking the taskbar, then clicking Taskbar Settings. From here you can disable widgets.

 

Microsoft via Justin Pot

On Windows 10 you need to right-click the taskbar, then click News and interests > Turn off. Now that the widget bar is disabled, you’ll need a new way to see the current temperature at a glance. I recommend Weather Bar, an open source application that lives in the system tray.

Microsoft via Justin Pot

You’ll notice a few things in this screenshot. First, the application shows the current temperature as a tray icon—but you can see an icon representing current conditions instead. Second, you’ll notice that I wrote this article during a bad heat wave, which Oregon really isn’t set up for but is becoming more routine.

WeatherBar is the best weather app with a tray icon I found for Windows, but if it’s not to your liking, check out WeatherMate. This one dates back to 2005, but it’s a very lightweight tool for adding the temperature to your taskbar.

Hide News in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft via Justin Pot

Annoying news content also shows up in the new tab page in Microsoft Edge (which is pretty good otherwise). You can mostly hide it by clicking the arrow beside the word Content visible, then clicking Headings only. This will obscure all headlines unless you scroll down.

Alternatively, you could install Momentum, which will replace the new tab page in Edge with a pretty picture, a clock, and an inspirational quote. If that isn’t enough for you, you could just replace Edge with Chrome or Firefox.

How to Block Topics (Sort Of)

I’m going to be honest: I started off believing I could find some way to disable the news without disabling widgets. Wouldn’t that be neat? My first attempt was to open the Manage interests button, which opens a settings page on MSN.com in your browser.

Microsoft via Justin Pot

From here you can block topics. My idea was to block everything newsy.

Microsoft via Justin Pot

The problem is that blocking topics doesn’t seem to work. When I refresh the page, everything I’ve blocked is unblocked again. It’s maddening. I’m a little bitter because I thought I’d get to share a cool hack with all of you. Alas, Microsoft really wants to show me angry headlines about Nancy Pelosi.

This whole widget thing is a huge mess, and I can’t believe one of the most valuable companies on earth not only intentionally created it but also stuck it on the Windows taskbar, which is easily some of the most valuable real estate in all of tech. At least it’s possible to turn it off (for now.)

How to Hide the News Widgets in Windows 10 and 11

(May require free registration to view)

AMD has released today its latest FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) version 2.1. This is a major update as it addresses one of the biggest problems that FSR 2.0 exhibited. While the latter significantly improved image quality over FSR 1.0 as a result of incorporating temporal up-scaling over spatial up-scaling, a clear artefact in the form of ghosting was present in images that were up-scaled using FSR 2.0. Such ghosting issues have been eliminated and improvements to the overall color range has been made in FSR 2.1.

AMD details the changes that were made in FSR 2.1 and their impacts below:

AMD also adds that there are other small bug fixes in the release.

FSR 2.1 is currently available in Farming Simulator 22 which was released with the recent patch version 1.7.1.0. In the image comparison below you can see the improvement FSR 2.1 brings. The before image is upscaled using FSR 2.0 while the after image is done using FSR 2.1:

Before

After

In case the above before/after image fails to load properly, here is another example with the two images side by side:

Lastly, AMD adds that the Unreal Engine (UE) plugins for FSR have also been updated so that FSR 2.1 can now be added to games using UE versions 4.26, 4.27, and UE 5. You can find more details on GPUOpen's official website here.

AMD FSR 2.1 fixes ghosting issues bringing image quality closer than ever to Nvidia DLSS

Revealed by Gabriele Svelto on Twitter, Firefox on Windows will soon run into fewer out-of-memory situations that result in crashes.

The linked bug report on Bugzilla, Mozilla's bug tracking website, offers insight on what Mozilla did to achieve this. Opened more than a year ago, work on it has completed in late August of 2022.

On Linux we have a way to instruct the OOM killer to reap the content processes before the main process when the memory is tight. While we don't use this yet it's something that's feasible. On Windows however there's no such mechanism because there's no overcommit support nor an OOM killer, and we'll be crashing processes on our own when memory gets tight.

The main idea behind the improvement is to delay the killing of the main Firefox process when the browser is running out of memory. With the patch in place, content processes will likely be killed to free up memory before the main process is touched. It is still possible that there is not enough memory that can be freed by killing content processes, but the chance that the main process is touched is reduced thanks to the improvement.

With the main process surviving more the out-of-memory situation, Firefox itself won't crash completely in those situations. A content process, which may be a website open in a browser tab, may be killed, but it is easy enough to reload it when it needs to be accessed again. Mozilla is offloading crashes to content processes whenever possible when the Windows system is running out of memory.

The number of out-of-memory crashes on Windows dropped significantly in Firefox Nightly after the patch was introduced. Content processes, on the other hand, crashes more, but that was to be expected.

Beta and Stable data will likely be similar, but it is too early to tell. Still, if Firefox 105 Stable sees a similar reduction as the Nightly version of Firefox, crashes on Windows that are caused by low memory situations will be reduced significantly.

Now You: when was the last time you experienced a browser crash?

Firefox 105: number of out-of-memory crashes significantly reduced

According to Microsoft, users get locked out briefly after the first restart or sign-out. The problem appears only once and for a short time on devices using a Microsoft account, while Active Directory domain users and Azure Active Directory accounts remain unaffected. Also, it happens only on systems running the client version of Windows 11 21H2.

Those experiencing problems with signing into their accounts in Windows 11 21H2 should not do anything to fix the situation. The operating system will let users sign in after a few minutes, plus Microsoft resolved the issue using the Known Issue Rollback system. The latter automatically undoes problematic changes without any action required from the end user.

In case you missed it, Microsoft recently notified Chilean Windows customers about potential problems due to the Daylight Saving Time change. The company says users need to manually tweak their time and date settings to avoid issues with notifications, incorrect system time, and other head-scratchers. Fortunately, this bug does not apply to customers outside Chile.

Microsoft confirms Windows 11 may not let you sign in after adding Microsoft account

Microsoft began to replace the classic Control Panel management tool of Windows with the Settings application in Windows 10. Some controls were moved over to the Settings application, but the Control Panel remained an important tool.

Microsoft migrated some Control Panel tools to the Settings application over the years, but the Control Panel remained an essential tool when it released Windows 11 last year.

In Windows 11, Microsoft moved a few sections of the Control Panel to the Settings app, continuing its slow-paced replacement of the Control Panel.

Now, with the upcoming release of Windows 11 2022 Update, come additional changes to the Control Panel and Settings app. The two major changes are a new Advanced Sharing Settings page in the Network settings and the ability to uninstall Windows updates in the Settings app.

In a hurry? Here are the main changes:

• Updates are now uninstalled in the Settings app.
• New Advanced Sharing Settings option in Network & Internet.

Windows Updates uninstallation

The Windows Update section of the Settings app in Windows 11 controls the updating on most Home systems that are powered by the operating system.

Updates do get installed automatically on most Windows devices, but Windows 11 users get some controls right in the settings. Besides running manual checks for updates or pausing updating for a short period, the Settings app is offering advanced options and the history of updates.

The Update history section lists successful and failed update installations on the device; these are sorted into groups, such as Quality Updates, Driver Updates, or Definition Updates. The usefulness of the listing was diminished by the fact that it lacked uninstallation options.

Users are redirected to the Control Panel application in the release version of Windows 11 when they activate the "uninstall updates" option in the Settings.

With the release of Windows 11 version 22H2 comes the integration of update uninstalls.

1. Open Start > Settings, or use the keyboard shortcut Windows-I to open it.
2. Open Windows Update.
3. Select Update history on the page that opens.
4. Activate the "uninstall updates" option.
5. Locate the update that you want removed from the system and activate the uninstall link next to it.

There you find listed some of the installed updates, but not all of them. Cumulative updates are displayed, but you won't find driver updates or "other updates" listed in the section. Most administrators may want to uninstall Windows updates from the command line, anyway, as it is quicker and gives them access to all installed updates.

The Settings application listing of installed updates lacks features that the Control Panel applet section offered. The installed updates section of the Control Panel displayed the data in a table. Users could click on a column to sort the updates listing accordingly. Options to add more data points to the table or remove those that are not needed were also supported. These options are missing in the Settings app.

The same issue affects the application listing in the Settings app, which does not offer the sorting option or the option to add more data points as well.

Networking: Advanced Sharing Settings

Advanced Sharing Settings is a new section under Networking.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Select Network & Internet.
3. Activate Advanced network settings.
4. Select Advanced sharing settings.

The settings page divides the options into the three groups private networks, public networks and all networks.

Here are the available options and what they do:

• Private Networks: Network Discovery -- enabled by default. The PC and other devices may be found on the same network.
• Private Networks: Set up network connected devices automatically -- enabled by default.
• Private Networks: File and printer sharing -- disabled by default. Allows other devices on the network to access shared files and printers on the device.
• Public Networks: Network Discovery -- disabled by default.
• Public Networks: File and printer sharing -- disabled by default.
• All networks: Public folder sharing -- disabled by default. Other devices on the network may read and write files to public folders.
• All networks: File sharing connections -- Set to 128-bit encrypting for devices that support it. May be lowered to "40- or 56.bit encryption".
• All networks: Password protected sharing -- enabled by default. Only people with a user account and password may access shared files, printers and Public folders on the PC.

Network and Internet is still available in the Control Panel, but some of the tools in the applet link to the Network section of the Settings app. The activation of "change advanced sharing settings" in the Network and Sharing Center opens the Advanced sharing settings of the Settings app in the new version.

Changes that may not make it into Windows 11 Version 22H2

Some changes that Microsoft announced won't likely be included in the upcoming feature update. They may be introduced as part of a Moments update. Moments are smaller updates that drop new features into the operating system. The first Moments update is planned for October already, but there will be more.

Considering that Microsoft will likely switch to a 3-year release cycle for major Windows updates, it is clear that most improvements will land via Moments updates.

One of the main upcoming changes improves the Apps section of the Settings application. The section is limited in the release version of Windows 11 and Microsoft has plans to change that.

App management includes support for repairing and modifying Win32 applications, and also for programs with inter-dependencies, e.g. apps or games installed via Steam and other stores. It seems likely that Microsoft will remove the "uninstall a program" section from the Control Panel in the process, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

Closing Words

Microsoft continues its slow-paced migration of the Control Panel to the Settings app. With each Windows 10 and 11 feature update, one or two options were moved from the Control Panel to the Settings app. It seems unlikely that the migration is picking up pace in the coming years.

Now You: what is your take on the Settings app?

Windows 11 version 22H2: Control Panel and Settings changes