Note that feature updates are rolled out in waves. It is possible that it is not offered to a specific device right away.

While it may be tempting to install the latest and, hopefully, greatest version of Windows 11 right away, there are valid reasons for skipping the first wave. On the positive side, Microsoft did test the feature update for Windows 11 for months and resolved plenty of bugs in the process.

Windows 11 2022 Update includes several improvements to key areas. If you have followed our ongoing series, you know about changes to the Start Menu, taskbar, Snap Assist, File Explorer, Task Manager and gaming already.

The changes improve certain core features of the operating system, which is nice, but Microsoft fails to deliver a killer-feature that would give early-adopters an incentive to upgrade right away.

There are downsides to being a first-wave adopter. Probably the biggest is that there will be bugs that were missed during beta testing. In the past, bugs introduced in feature updates have caused all kinds of issues for users. From systems that did not boot at all anymore over data loss to apps failing to start.

Updates may fail to install. The upcoming Windows 11 version 22H2 feature update should install faster than previous feature updates for Windows 10, with the exception of the "no-feature" feature updates of Windows 10, but it will still take some time to install.

It is a good idea to create a system backup to be prepared for any of these issues that may occur after updating to Windows 11 version 22H2. Windows includes restore options, but these turned out to be less reliable than they should be over and over again.

Microsoft blocks updates on systems affected by confirmed issues. So called Safeguard Holds are designed to protect customer machines from issues. Businesses get even better protection as Microsoft will block updates on systems with "likely issues" as well. On home machines, likely issues are not reason for blocking updates.

Closing Words

It is always a good idea to wait with the installation of feature updates until the dust settles. While it may be tempting to install the latest and greatest right away, Windows 11 2022 Update does not include many features that warrant that. Windows 11 customers, who don't mind, should create a backup before they start the upgrade.

To answer the title question: no, in most cases, it is better to wait a month or two before installing feature updates.

Now You: how do you handle feature updates on Windows 10 or 11 devices?

Should you install the Windows 11 2022 Update right away?

When Microsoft launched the original version of Windows 11 last year, it promoted the operating system as the best Windows system for gaming. The statement was not just marketing, as Microsoft did introduce some new features in Windows 11 related to gaming.

In particular, Microsoft added support for Auto HDR and the DirectStorage API. Auto HDR is designed to enable HDR in games that do not support it. The technology requires a HDR compatible display.

DirectStorage was introduced on Xbox initially and then ported to Windows 11. It promises to improve the loading of games but only on devices with fast NVMe drives. Microsoft did announce DirectStorage for Windows 10 as well, so no exclusive for the operating system.

Ashwin ran some game benchmarks on Windows 10 and 11, and concluded that the performance was very similar on both systems.

In a hurry? Here are the main changes:

• Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) is available system-wide.
• New optimizations for windowed games feature.
• New Windows HDR Calibration app.
• New Xbox Controller Bar.

Variable Refresh Rate (VRR)

Variable Refresh Rate for all apps and games is another improvement over the launch version of Windows 11.  It is another graphics-related setting that can be toggled on or off by the user of the system.

When enabled, Variable refresh rate aims to improve frame rates and reduce screen tearing in games and apps that do not support the feature by default.

Windows 11 gamers find the new feature under Settings > System > Display > Graphics > Default graphics settings.

Enabling or disabling Variable Refresh Rate and Optimizations for windowed games requires a restart of games or apps that are open already.

Optimizations for windowed games

One of the main new features of Windows 11 version 22H2 is the new optimizations for windowed games feature. It is disabled by default as there may be side-effects, but games may want to play around with the setting to find out if it boosts some of the games on the Windows 11 system.

Optimizations for windowed games brings game optimizations introduced in DirectX 12 to games that run in windowed or borderless-windowed modes and use DirectX 11 or DirectX 10.

The mode may improve latency in games that benefit from the optimizations, and it unlocks Auto HDR for games running in windowed modes.

The aforementioned downside is that it may lead to screen tearing in some games. Microsoft suggests to match the game's frame rate to the monitor's display refresh rate or to enable V-Sync to avoid that.

The feature is somewhat hidden in the Settings. It is unclear if Microsoft plans to promote it in some way once Windows 11 2022 Update launches officially; if not, it is possible that most Windows gamers won't ever know about the feature.

To configure the feature, do the following:

1. Select Start > Settings to open the Settings application. You may also use Windows-I to open it.
2. Go to System > Display > Graphics.
3. Select "Change default graphics settings".
4. Toggle Optimizations for windowed games to turn the feature on or off.

Note that it is possible to disable the feature for specific apps and programs as well. This is done under System > Display > Graphics by selecting an app or game from the list and then the "don't use optimizations for windowed games" option.

Windows HDR Calibration app

Microsoft plans to release a new Windows HDR Calibration app. It is not included in Windows 11 version 22H2, but needs to be downloaded from the Microsoft Store once it is released.

Microsoft announced the app in February 2022, stating that it decided to bring the Xbox HDR Game Calibration app to Windows. The app is designed to calibrate HDR to improve the "color accuracy and consistency" of HDR displays.

Some HDR compatible displays may have a clipping effect under certain conditions, according to Microsoft.

The Windows app features three test patterns to improve the HDR experience. The tests are recommendations by the HDR Gaming Interest Group to improve the HDR gaming experience.

• Determine the darkest visible detail.
• Determine the brightest visible detail.
• Determine how bright the display can be.

Microsoft has not announced a release date for the Windows HDR Calibration app at the time of writing. Settings will become available under Settings > System > Display > HDR on compatible devices.

Xbox Controller Bar

Like the aforementioned Windows HDR Calibration app, the new controller bar is not linked specifically to the upcoming Windows 11 feature update.

Controller Bar has been in testing for some time as a component of the system's Game Bar. It provides fast access to certain games on the system that have been played recently.

Windows 11 users who use the Xbox Game Bar on the device may use the new functionality to quickly launch the three most recent games played on the device. Just last month, Microsoft teased that it added support for launching cloud streaming games directly from the Controller Bar on Windows 11 devices.

Selecting one of the cloud games launches the Xbox app where users need to active the Play button to get started. It is unclear why Microsoft did not add a direct play option to the controller bar for these games.

Closing Words

Microsoft makes gradual improvements for gamers in the upcoming feature update for Windows 11. Whether games will benefit from those depends on gaming hardware and the games that are played on devices.

Some of the features are already available under certain conditions, e.g., when playing DirectX 12 games on the Windows 11 PC. Other features depend on hardware; the Auto HDR or Windows HDR Calibration app work only if a HDR display is available.

Most gamers won't notice a difference between gaming on Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices, even with the upcoming feature updates installed. Windows 11 may have the edge if a HDR display and a fast NVMe storage device are used, but how many gamers have these setups?

Now You: do you play games on your PCs?

Windows 11 version 22H2: gaming changes

Earlier this year, Microsoft introduced a reworked tray area featuring redesigned tooltips and buttons, improved spacing, and the option to disable all icons and the "overflow" menu (the arrow-up button in the bottom-right corner of the screen). Like with the tablet-optimized taskbar, Microsoft later decided to remove the feature from Windows 11 due to negative feedback from users—customers were not happy that the redesigned system would not allow them to rearrange icons in the notification area.

Microsoft said it would go back to the drawing board to improve the feature in future updates. Months later, the redesigned tray is back with zero changes and without the option to rearrange icons. You can see how the new variant (on top) compares to the old one below.

Some users (us included) got the updated tray after installing Windows 11 build 25193, and other Insiders remain with the old variant. If you want to force-enable the feature to test it, use the ViveTool app and the ID for the tablet-optimized taskbar.

Since the new tray has no option to drag-and-drop icons, you will have to rearrange icons using the Settings app. Go to Personalization > Taskbar > Other system tray icons and toggle on or off icons you want to display on the taskbar or hide in the overflow. Turning off Hidden icon menu disables the latter, leaving a slightly cleaner tray.

Note that Microsoft has not acknowledged the return of the new tray area, so do not be quick to bash the company for restoring the feature unimproved. Perhaps, future builds will bring some enhancements to address customer feedback.

Microsoft brings back half-improved and half-crippled tray area in Windows 11 build 25193

Four months later, the tablet-optimized taskbar is back (sort of). As spotted by @PhantomOfEarth, users can enable the new mode using the Vivetool app after updating to the latest build 25193. A dedicated ID restores the option that manages the tablet-optimized taskbar on devices with touchscreens, such as tablets or hybrid laptops.

Here is how the tablet-optimized taskbar works in Windows 11:

How to enable tablet UI in Windows 11 25193?

Before you begin, it is worth noting that Microsoft has not announced the return of the tablet-optimized taskbar. That means enabling hidden features not ready for public unveiling could cripple your operating system, apps, or data. Proceed with caution and remember to back up important information before experimenting. Using third-party apps for tinkering with the operating system is risky, so beware.

Force-enabling tablet-optimized taskbar in Windows 11 25193 is similar to how you enable new animations in the Settings app:

1. Download Vivetool from GitHub and extract it wherever you like. To keep things simple, we keep it in the root of drive C.
2. Right-click the Start menu button and select Windows Terminal (Admin).
3. Switch to the Command Prompt profile.
4. Go to the folder containing Vivetool files using the CD command. For example, CD C:\Vive.
5. Type the following command: vivetool /enable /id:26008830 and press Enter.
6. Restart your computer.

After enabling the ID, go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors and place a checkmark next to the "Optimize taskbar for touch interactions" option.

It is worth noting that the option works only on touchscreen-enabled systems, and regular PCs cannot utilize it.

Windows 11 build 25193 restores new tablet UI Microsoft recently removed

Disclaimer: The survey is not 100% accurate, since participation is optional.

It is too early to predict when Windows 11 will become the most popular operating system on Steam. Still, the gap between seven-year-old Windows 10 and relatively young Windows 11 is slowly decreasing. In August 2022, Windows 10 experienced a significant decrease, going down from 73.11% to 69.06% (-4.11 points).

About 2.6% of Steam users do not care that Microsoft stopped providing support for Windows 7 almost three years ago. Moreover, the good-old Windows 7 gained 0.56 points in August 2022, thus securing the third most popular OS title.

Overall, Windows holds 96.23% of Steam users (-0.8 points). Apple's macOS has 2.5% (+0.76 points), and Linux is third with 1.27% (+0.04 points).

1. Windows 10 64-bit – 69.06% (-4.11 points)
2. Windows 11 – 23.78% (+2.66 points)
3. Windows 7 – 2.6% (+0.56 points)
4. macOS – 2.5% (+0.76 points)
5. Linux – 1.27% (+0.04 points)

Now to the second part of the report—hardware. For the first time in a very long time, six-core processors are the most popular choice. Even though multicore processors from Intel and AMD are affordable like never before, two-thirds of surveyed customers use CPUs with six and four cores. It's a similar picture with GPUs: the most popular graphics cards are mid-range and budget models from NVIDIA.

You can find more information on the official Steam Hardware & Software Survey page.

Windows 11 reaches almost 24% market share on Steam

What is new in Microsoft Edge 105?

Feature Updates:

• Enhanced security mode improvements. Enhanced security mode now supports WebAssembly for x64 Windows. Additional cross-platform support is expected in the future. For more information, see Browse more safely with Microsoft Edge.

• Improvement to the Cloud Site List Management experience for IE mode.

   

  • You can restore to one of the last 3 published versions of your site list in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. For more information, see Restore a previous version of a site list.

     

  • You can identify gaps in your enterprise site list by configuring reporting of site feedback with the InternetExplorerIntegrationCloudUserSitesReporting and InternetExplorerIntegrationCloudNeutralSitesReporting policies. You can view local site list URLs from users and potentially misconfigured neutral site URLs in the Microsoft Edge site lists experience in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. To learn more, see View site feedback on the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

     

  • You can configure session cookie sharing between Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer for IE mode on your site list in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. To learn more, see Cookie sharing between Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer.

     

• Improvements to the Cloud Site List Management experience for IE mode now available in GCC. GCC customers can now utilize the full Microsoft Edge site list experience in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

   

Like every other feature update for Microsoft Edge, version 105 brings new and changed policies, plus deprecates some older rules. You can find the complete list of policy updates in Microsoft Edge 105 in the official documentation.

The next release, Microsoft Edge 106, is currently available for testing in the Dev Channel. Next week, Microsoft will promote it to the Beta Channel for the stable release preparations on the week of October 27, 2022.

Microsoft releases Edge 105 with security and IE mode improvements

Frontpaged:   Microsoft Edge 105.0.1343.25

Edge users may want to hold off on updating the browser, as reports are coming in that some Edge installations do not start up properly anymore after the update.

Those who want to risk it may load edge://settings/help in the browser's address bar to display the installed version and update the browser.

Microsoft Edge 105 includes improves to the browser's enhanced security mode. Enhanced Security mode is disabled by default; once enabled under Privacy, search, and services in the Settings, it is providing additional protections on some, many or all sites visited in Edge. An option to add exceptions is provided.

The remaining changes are of use for organizations only.  Microsoft improved cloud site list management for the browser's Internet Explorer mode and updated several policies.

Edge 105 not starting

Edge 105 may not start properly anymore after the update to version 105. Our colleagues at Deskmodder have found a workaround for the issue. The issue seems to be caused by Registry keys that seem to have been added to the Registry by accident during the update.

Edge users who are affected by the startup issue need to delete MetricsReportingEnabled keys in the Registry.

1. Open the Registry Editor: use Windows-R to open the run box, type regedit and hit the Enter-key.
2. Confirm the UAC prompt.
3. Select Edit > Find.
4. Search for MetricsReportingEnabled.
5. Delete the one or two instances of the key in the Registry.

Microsoft Edge should start normally after the keys have been deleted.

It is unclear how widespread the issue is. Microsoft deprecated the MetricsReportingEnabled and SendSiteInformationToImproveServices policies when it released Microsoft Edge 86 and made them obsolete in Edge 89.

Cautious Edge users may want to create a system backup before updating Edge to a new version. Most users may want to wait until the issue is resolved on Microsoft's end before updating Edge.

Now You: do you use Microsoft Edge?

Workaround for Microsoft Edge 105 startup problems

Customers with Intel CPUs who missed the previous driver update should note that Intel has split its graphics driver by two. One version is available for the latest 11th and 12th Gen processors, while another provides legacy software support for 6th-10th Gen CPUs.

What is new in Intel Graphics Driver 31.0.101.3413?

This update is available for customers with 11th and 12th Gen Intel processors. The changelog includes the following:

Fixed Issues:

• A black screen or TDR may occur after launching, or during gameplay in Gears 5 (DX12).
• An application hang may be observed in Ghostwire Tokyo (DX12) in certain environments during gameplay.
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint (DX11) may experience minor shadow corruption in some areas of the
• game.
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (DX12) may experience an application crash or error message during gameplay.
• ARC Raiders (DX12) may exhibit an application crash shortly after launch.
• Redout 2 (DX12) may exhibit an application crash shortly after launch.
• Dolmen (DX12) may exhibit an application crash shortly after launch.
• Dirt 5 (DX12) may exhibit an application crash shortly after launch.
• Saints Row (DX12) may exhibit an application crash shortly after launch

And here is the list of 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 Gen Intel Core Processors:
  • Red Dead Redemption 2 (Vulkan) may experience an application crash when performing an ALT+TAB to desktop.
  • 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.
  • Minor graphical anomalies may be seen in Destiny 2 (DX11), CrossFire HD (DX9), GRID Legends
  • (DX12) (on changing lighting quality to high) and F1 2020 (DX12) when HDR is enabled.
  • 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 Gen 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 Gen 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).

What is new in Intel Graphics Driver 31.0.101.2111?

This driver is applicable to systems with 6th-10th Gen Intel Processors with integrated graphics.

Fixed Issues:

• An application crash may occur in Watch Dogs: Legion (DX11) when starting the game.

And the known issues:

• An intermittent crash or hang may occur during gameplay in Ghostwire: Tokyo (DX12).
• An error message pop-up may be observed when launching Call of Duty: Vanguard (DX12).
• 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.
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint may experience minor shadow corruption in some areas of the game.
• CrossFire (DX9) may experience an application crash and or security alert when joining a game.
• Minor graphical anomalies may be observed in Call of Duty: Warzone (DX12), Diablo II: Resurrected (DX12), Euro Truck Simulator (DX11), Farming Simulator 22 (DX12), Grand Theft Auto V (DX11), Halo Infinite (DX12), Hitman 2 (DX12), Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (DX12) and Microsoft Flight Simulator (DX11).
• An “Update driver” pop-up error message may be observed when launching Battlefield 1 after upgrading from 30.0.100.9955 or older drivers.

You can download the latest Intel Drivers from the official website.

Intel Graphics Driver 31.0.101.3413 fixes bugs in multiple games

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.590 and Build 22622.590 (KB5017846) to the Beta Channel.

• Build 22622.590 = New features rolling out.

• Build 22621.590 = New features off by default.

Although Build 22622 is supposed to receive new features, it appears that this weeks Beta build only contains fixes, which confusingly are also split between the two builds, if you're able to follow along.

Fixes in Build 22622.590

[General]

• We fixed the issue causing Control Panel to not launch from the Start menu, Search or if pinned to the taskbar in the previous flight.

• As a result of feedback from Windows Insiders, we have disabled the ability to share a local file directly to OneDrive using the built-in Windows share window that first began rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel with Build 22622.436. We hope to bring this feature back in the future after further refinement of the experience. As we’ve mentioned previously, features we try out in the Dev or Beta Channels may not always ship.

   

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue causing a small percentage of Insiders to experience repeated explorer.exe crashes after attempting to access certain folders on their systems in the previous Beta Channel build.

• As a one-time change to help people find their folders with the navigation pane updates, if the default folders pinned to File Explorer’s navigation pane had been unpinned, they will be re-pinned after upgrading.

• Fixed a recent issue where if File Explorer was open when you switched between light and dark mode, you could end up with some unreadable text / UI showing the wrong color.

• Fixed an issue where the New / Sort / View / etc buttons in the command bar could become noticeably clipped vertically after increasing your text scaling in Accessibility Settings.

• The search box background should no longer unexpectedly have a dark background sometimes when you’re using light mode.

• If you move keyboard focus to the tab row (using F6), pressing the arrow keys to move keyboard focus within the row will now include setting focus to the close button within the tab.

• If File Explorer is maximized and the taskbar is set to autohide, hovering your mouse on the bottom of the screen should now actually bring up the taskbar.

• Fixed a memory leak which was happening when closing File Explorer windows.

• Fixed a GDI objects leak when resizing the navigation pane in File Explorer, which could potentially lead to content in File Explorer not rendering correctly over time for Insiders who resized the navigation pane frequently.

   

[Taskbar]

• The taskbar overflow flyout should now follow your accent colour like the rest of the taskbar does when “Show accent color on Start and taskbar” is enabled under Settings > Personalization > Colors.

• The apps in the taskbar overflow flyout should now be in the correct order when using an Arabic or Hebrew display language.

• When the taskbar is center aligned and full, the widgets entry point will now collapse to a shorter width to give you a little more room on the taskbar.

• Fixed a couple of issues related to the taskbar overflow which could lead to sporadic explorer.exe crashes.

   

Here are the bug fixes for both Build 22621.590 and Build 22622.590:

• We fixed an issue that affects cldflt.sys. A bugcheck occurs when it is used with Microsoft OneDrive.
• We fixed an issue that affects robocopy. Robocopy fails to set a file to the right modified time when using the /IS

And finally, here are the known issues:

[General]

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

   

[File Explorer]

• [NEW] We’re investigating reports that a small set of Insiders with “launch folder windows in a separate process” are unable to open File Explorer after last week’s flight. This issue is unrelated to the issue with accessing certain folders in the same flight, which is fixed in this week’s flight.

• [NEW] 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.

   

You can find the official blog post here.

Windows 11 Beta Channel build 22622.590 contains fixes for OneDrive and Robocopy

Here's what's new in Build 25193:

Introducing Xbox subscription management in Settings

With this build, we are introducing a new Xbox subscription management experience within Windows 11 Settings app. If you are a member of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass for Console or Xbox Live Gold, you will now be able to see your subscription details via Settings > Accounts.

Like the Microsoft 365 subscription management experience, you will be able to view your billing recurrence, payment method and the games and benefits associated with your Xbox subscription.

In addition, you will also be able to manage and upgrade your subscription, redeem gift card tokens and be up to date on any actions required to continue your subscriptions without any disruptions.

Xbox subscription management in Settings.

If you don’t own any Xbox subscriptions, you can learn more about the games and benefits associated with Xbox subscriptions, by clicking the Learn more link on the card.

[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 Settings > User Profile Account Settings.

Support for new Braille displays in Narrator

We are excited to announce support for new Braille displays and new Braille input and output languages in Narrator. Some of the new braille displays we support include: the APH Chameleon, the APH Mantis Q40, the NLS eReader and many more. Refer to the detailed documentation to learn more about the new displays and languages that we support.

Prerequisites:

You must remove Narrator’s current braille support if it is already installed by following the steps below:

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to Apps > Optional features > Installed features.
3. Search for Accessibility – Braille support.
4. Expand Accessibility – Braille support and uninstall the feature.

Install new narrator braille support:

1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Narrator > Braille.
2. Select the more button.
3. Download braille from this new window by selecting the Download and install braille button.
4. After braille is installed, restart your computer and return to Settings > Accessibility > Narrator > Braille.
5. For Braille display to continue working seamlessly while switching between Narrator and third-party screen readers, select the braille display driver used by your third-party screen reader from the “Braille display driver” option. See the note below for customers that use the JAWS for Windows screen reader. This only needs to be done once. Refer to the detailed documentation to learn more about the braille driver solution.

Note: If you have the JAWS for Windows screen reader installed from Freedom Scientific and are using a version released in April 2022 or later along with a Focus braille display then there is no need to select the braille display as noted above.

Additional Resources:

Please refer to the Narrator User Guide for additional information on braille functionality in Narrator.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Accessibility > Narrator.

Here are all the changes and improvements in the new build:

[General]

• As a result of feedback from Windows Insiders, we have disabled the ability to share a local file directly to OneDrive using the built-in Windows share window that first began rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel with Build 25163. We hope to bring this feature back in the future after further refinement of the experience. As we’ve mentioned previously, features we try out in the Dev or Beta Channels may not always ship.

Here are the fixes in Build 25193:

[General]

• Fixed an issue causing enabling .NET Framework 3.5 from the Windows Features dialog to not work in the previous build.

[Taskbar]

• Made a fix so the taskbar overflow will now use the same accent color as your taskbar.
• Fixed a couple of issues which were leading to sporadic explorer.exe crashes related to the taskbar overflow.
• Fixed an issue related to the widgets entry in the taskbar which was causing the taskbar icons to appear to drift around sometimes in the previous flight.
• Fixed an issue for Insiders with at least two monitors, where if the monitors had different DPI, the taskbar overflow could appear before it was needed or end up overlapped with the date and time on the secondary monitor.
• Fixed an issue where the taskbar overflow flyout might appear floating away from the taskbar if you opened it after a display scaling change.

[Start]

• Fixed an issue that was causing unexpected characters to show instead of an apostrophe in the tooltip for the Sleep option in the Power menu.
• Fixed an issue which could lead to Start menu crashing on launch for some people when Search Highlights was enabled.

[File Explorer]

• If the taskbar is set to auto-hide and File Explorer is maximized, hovering your mouse on the bottom of the screen to invoke the taskbar should work now.
• Fixed an issue when dragging and dropping a folder to pin it to the navigation pane, that the line indicating where it would be inserted didn’t have enough contrast in dark mode.
• We fixed an issue where the search box background in File Explorer might be the opposite color of your current mode (for example dark in light mode).
• Fixed an issue where File Explorer would appear to open, close, and re-open before it finished drawing after being launched from certain places (for example when opening the location of a downloaded file from Microsoft Edge).
• Fixed an issue where certain files couldn’t be unpinned from the Favorites section of Home after you’d pinned them.
• Made another fix to help address UI issues when switching between dark and light mode if the File Explorer window was open when you switch.
• Fixed a GDI objects leak when resizing the navigation pane in File Explorer, which could potentially lead to content in File Explorer not rendering correctly over time for Insiders who resized the navigation pane frequently.
• Made some improvements to help the performance of loading Home when using a cloud storage provider, like OneDrive, to back up your files in File Explorer.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue causing the Storage page in Settings as well as Disk Cleanup to crash in the scan phase for some people.
• Fixed an issue where URIs to open pages under the Accounts section of Settings weren’t working for some people – Settings would open, but not navigate to the correct page. This impacted the link to open Sign-in Options in the Start menu.
• Fixed an issue leading to app icons not displaying correctly under Privacy & Security > Voice activation.
• Fixed a Settings crash when uninstalling apps using Apps > Installed apps.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue which could sometimes cause a ShellExperienceHost.exe crash when you stopped casting to another display or switched to duplicate your display.
• Added a warning to findstr if Unicode input is detected, to make it more clear if that’s why results aren’t returned for certain files.
• Fixed an issue in recent flights causing lines to not be included when printing tables from certain apps.
• Fixed an issue in recent flights which could lead to hangs in certain apps.

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:

[General]

• Some games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.
• 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.
• [NEW] We’re investigating reports that Insiders are experiencing bugchecks when moving their mouse in certain games
• [NEW] We’re investigating reports that some Insiders are seeing OneDrive setup asking for permission to set up every time their PC reboots.

[File Explorer]

• [NEW] We’re investigating reports that a small set of Insiders with “launch folder windows in a separate process” are unable to open File Explorer after last week’s flight.
• [NEW] 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.

[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.
• [NEW] We’re investigating reports that the weather isn’t displaying correctly in the taskbar for some Insiders, with missing text and the weather icon raised too high.

You can find the official blog post for Build 25193 here.

Windows 11 Dev build 25193 fixes Start Menu and Explorer crashes, Taskbar overflow issues

Microsoft has added a new sidebar to its Edge browser with buttons that let you see information about a site, check your email, access Microsoft Office, and even strip the essential elements of a recipe out of an overly long post (via Windows Central). The new feature seems to build on the “Search in sidebar” function added to Edge in 2020, but it adds even more multitasking abilities.

The sidebar includes some small but useful panes, like the one that lets you search the web and quickly read articles, or the one that includes a variety of widgets, such as a calculator, dictionary, internet speed test, and unit convertor. Some of the panes are more fully featured; the Outlook one, for example, lets you read and send emails, as well as see your calendar (as long as you’re logged into your Microsoft account, of course).

  Gif: Microsoft

Unfortunately, the Microsoft Office pane isn’t as useful. It does give you quick shortcuts to recent documents, as well as to apps like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, but clicking on them just opens them in a new tab. While that could help some people work a tiny bit faster, I was personally hoping I’d be able to open a mini spreadsheet next to whatever site I was browsing. The games sidebar is similar — it’s just shortcuts to web games.

Then there’s the “Discover” sidebar pane, which promises to add “contextually relevant info for any page.” From my testing, that can include information about a news site that ranks how reliable and accurate it is and shows info on what countries people visit it from. It also does its best to add context for specific articles on those sites, or for other things you’re reading, usually with information from Wikipedia (funnily enough, that’s sometimes the case even when you’re reading a Wikipedia article).

Perhaps one of the Discover pane’s most useful tricks, though, is when you’re on a recipe site, where the sidebar will automatically pull out the list of ingredients, potentially saving you from having to scroll through paragraphs about the writer’s favorite singer — though I will note that you may still have to do that if you want to read the actual instructions on what to do with those ingredients.

Discover can pull out some essential recipe information.

It can also add rudimentary context to some articles, usually with info from Wikipedia.

In this case, that wasn’t particularly helpful.

That’s a little better, though.

The sidebar itself is somewhat customizable. You can hide or show it using a keyboard shortcut (Control + Shift + / by default), and can choose which buttons you want to appear on it. Microsoft says it plans on adding “new features to the sidebar in the future,” but for now there’s enough there that it’s probably worth giving it a shot if you’re an Edge user.

If the sidebar doesn’t show up automatically, make sure you’re on the latest version of the browser, and then click the “···” menu in the top right. You should see a “Show sidebar” button. If you don’t, go to Settings > Appearance, and scroll down to the Customize toolbar section, where there’s a “Show sidebar” toggle.

PS: Here’s the obligatory Opera / Vivaldi / [insert your browser of choice here] did it first.

Microsoft Edge’s new sidebar banishes recipe stories, shows you email

Google Chrome remains the most popular choice, with a 67.33% share. In August 2022, the browser gained 1.19 points, leaving competitors in the dust.

Microsoft Edge holds second place with 10.91%. Like in previous months, Edge experienced a modest market share increase, gaining just 0.05 points.

Apple's Safari closes the top 3 desktop browsers with 8.83% and -0.14 points in August 2022. Finally, Firefox is fourth, holding 7.4% (-0.67 points).

1. Google Chrome - 67.33% (+1.19)
2. Microsoft Edge - 10.91% (+0.05)
3. Apple Safari - 8.83% (-0.14)
4. Mozilla Firefox - 7.4% (-0.67)
5. Opera - 2.86% (-0.21)

On the mobile market, things are similar, minus Microsoft Edge, which lies somewhere in the "Other" section. Google Chrome is first (65.04%, -0.12 points), Apple Safari is second (24.59%, +0.36 points), and Samsung Internet is third (4.81%, -0.05 points). Opera, UC Browser, Android, and all the other mobile browsers split the remaining 5.56% of the market.

Source: Statcounter

Edge gains modest ground on desktop browser market

The new 'Your Microsoft account' settings page within Windows 11's Settings was rolled out by the Windows Insider team starting in October 2021.

The end goal behind this effort is to provide users with all the info they need on their Microsoft accounts (including but not limited to Microsoft 365 subscriptions) from within the OS, thus eliminating the need to sign in on the web.

"With this build, we are introducing a new Xbox subscription management experience within Windows 11 Settings app," Microsoft's Amanda Langowski and Brandon LeBlanc said today.

"If you are a member of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Xbox Game Pass for Console or Xbox Live Gold, you will now be able to see your subscription details via Settings > Accounts."

Windows 11 users can check the payment method, billing recurrence, and any games and benefits linked to their Xbox subscription. 

"In addition, you will also be able to manage and upgrade your subscription, redeem gift card tokens and be up to date on any actions required to continue your subscriptions without any disruptions," Langowski and LeBlanc added.

You can now access this info (previously only available in your console's guide menu or via the Services & subscriptions page on the Microsoft account management page) in Windows by going into Settings > Accounts.

This new feature is rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel, who have installed Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25193.

Microsoft added information about Office subscriptions linked to the user's Microsoft 365 account to the Windows 11 account settings page in May for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.

In today's Windows 11 dev build, Microsoft also introduced support for new Braille displays and new Braille input and output languages in Windows Narrator.

New braille displays supported starting with this release include the APH Chameleon, the APH Mantis Q40, the NLS eReader, and many others.

Windows 11 Settings now lets you manage Xbox subscriptions

The security update addresses several vulnerabilities that may overcome the built-in remote content blocking mechanism.

Thunderbird 102.2.1 is already available as an in-client update and as a separate download from the official project website. Existing users may select Help > About Thunderbird to display the current version. The program runs an automatic check for updates at this point to download and install any new version that is found during the check.

Thunderbird 102.2.1

The official security advisories page lists four different security issues that are patched in the new email client version. One issues is rated high, the other three are rated moderate.

• CVE-2022-3033: Leaking of sensitive information when composing a response to an HTML email with a META refresh tag
• CVE-2022-3032: Remote content specified in an HTML document that was nested inside an iframe's srcdoc attribute was not blocked
• CVE-2022-3034: An iframe element in an HTML email could trigger a network request
• CVE-2022-36059: Matrix SDK bundled with Thunderbird vulnerable to denial-of-service attack

The security issue rated high addresses the following issue. Emails that contain a meta tag with the http-equiv="refresh" and content attribute specifying an URL, could bypass the remote content block of the email client when a user replied to these emails.

The attacker could abuse it to run JavaScript code in "the context of the message compose document", which allowed the threat actor to read and modify the content of the message compose document; this could include the decrypted content of an encrypted message, and this data could be transferred to another server.

Two of the three remaining vulnerabilities address remote content blocking bypass issues as well. The second vulnerability loaded remote objects in an HTML email that contained an iframe element and used a srcdoc attribute to define the inner HTML document. Remote content, such as images or videos, could be loaded that way from remote locations.

The third addresses an issue with HTML emails that specified to load an iframe from a remote location. The request was sent but Thunderbird never displayed the document.

The fourth vulnerability corrects an issue in the Matrix chat protocol, which could make Thunderbird vulnerable to denial of service attacks.

Other changes

The official release notes lists several non-security improvements and fixes in the email client. The only new feature in Thunderbird 102.2.1 is the -calendar startup parameter to load the Calendar on start of the email client.

The only change displays a button now during account setup to connect automatically discovered address books and calendars.

More than a dozen fixes are listed. They address a whole range of issues, including Pop email retrieval issues after network errors and recoveries, issues when exporting a profile, or issues when updating mail quota colors.

Now you: Thunderbird 102, still the previous version, or something else entirely for emails?

Thunderbird 102.2.1 launches with important security fixes

Frontpaged:   Mozilla Thunderbird 102.2.1

Super Resolution, that is the name of the feature, is currently being tested. Some Edge Canary users may see the HD icon in the address bar, others may not.

Microsoft announced the integration of the feature in Microsoft Edge and on Bing Maps in July. The full name of the feature, Turning Image Super Resolution, was cut in Edge to just Super Resolution.

Turning Image Super Resolution was created to improve low-quality photographs and images, The technology was developed by Microsoft and uses artificial intelligence to improve poor-quality images.

Microsoft's end goal with the feature is to "permanently eliminate low-resolution images off the internet via Turning Image Super Resolution".

Some Edge Canary users may have experienced the automated image enhancing feature for months. A relatively new feature is the display of the HD icon in the Edge address bar. It highlights that super resolution was applied to then images on the active webpage.

A click on the icon provides a short description of the feature and an option to turn it off. A similar setting has been available in the Edge Privacy settings for some time.

Edge users may load edge://settings/privacy in the browser's address bar and scroll down to Services to find the option there. Called Enhance images in Microsoft Edge, Microsoft describes it as "sharpens images and improves color, lighting and contrast".

The option has a simple on/off toggle. The HD icon that is displayed in the address bar makes the toggling more comfortable.

Super Resolution is an all or nothing feature at this point. It is either enabled, and will be applied to all images that the algorithm considers low quality, or disabled, in which case it is not applying its optimizations to images.

Since the feature is in testing, it is possible that Microsoft could add options to it, including a block or allow list, or finer controls.

Closing Words

Edge users who browse websites with low quality images regularly may find the feature useful, as it seems to improve the quality on average of poor quality images.  Whether that is enough to bring more users over to Edge remains to be seen.

Now You: super resolution, is that something for you?

Microsoft Edge: Super Resolution now with HD icon

What is new in Microsoft Edge Dev 106.0.1363.0?

 Added

•  Added a tooltip display on thumbs up/down so it is read aloud by Narrator
•  Updated the policy for Efficiency mode support

 Improved reliability:

•  Fixed an issue where Web Select doesn’t copy some images
•  Fixed an issue with Bluetooth focus on Duo devices

Changed behavior:

•  Fixed orientation issue with printing
•  Fixed an issue where certain keyboard keys like the arrow keys do not work in text fields
•  Fixed missing smart explore icon on certain videos

Microsoft Edge 106 will arrive in the Beta Channel for final testing before the public release on the week of October 4, 2022. Microsoft plans to release Edge 106 to all users on the week of October 27, 2022.

Microsoft Edge Dev is available on all supported platforms: Windows (down to now-deceased Windows 7), macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS (invite-only). You can download the browser from the official Edge Insider website.

Source

The Redmond tech giant has stated that it is migrating its Xbox storefront infrastructure from Azure Service Fabric to Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). As a part of this process, it has chosen Mariner as the host OS. The move is being led by Microsoft's Creator Platforms and Experiences (CPE) group.

For those unaware, CBL-Mariner is an open-source Linux distro that has been developed by Microsoft to power various cloud services on Azure. It's the base container image for Azure services, and powers the graphical components of Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL), and Azure Sphere OS, among many other things.

Microsoft says that it picked Mariner because of its roadmap focusing on reducing its footprint and increasing security and compliance. Brian Wentz, Principal Software Engineer at CPE also noted that:

 CPE is in the final stages of migrating from Service Fabric to AKS, and as part of that transition, we’ve chosen to move to Mariner as our host OS. In less than a month, we scaled to 12k cores on Mariner. Once the transition is complete, Mariner will be the only Linux distro powering CPE.

 [...] Looking ahead, we want to reduce our servicing costs at the container level as well, and plan to move to Mariner base container images in the next 6 months. Longer term, we also plan to utilize Mariner distroless containers.

This is not the first initiative of this kind from Microsoft, though. Prior to this, it migrated PlayFab - a company that it acquired in 2018 - to Mariner as well. PlayFab powers the backend platform for many live service games and also offers analytics and LiveOps. It hosts more than 2.5 billion player accounts spread across 5,000 games.

PlayFab's successful migration to Mariner has given the CPE team the confidence to do the same for Xbox storefront infrastructure. The group plans to migrate all Microsoft Gaming services to Mariner by the end of this calendar year.

Source

Over the time since we launched, our set of services has become much more complicated. With that complexity we have developed policies around how we handle abuse of different Cloudflare features. Just as a broad platform like Google has different abuse policies for search, Gmail, YouTube, and Blogger, Cloudflare has developed different abuse policies as we have introduced new products.

We published our updated approach to abuse last year at:

https://www.cloudflare.com/trust-hub/abuse-approach/

However, as questions have arisen, we thought it made sense to describe those policies in more detail here.

The policies we built reflect ideas and recommendations from human rights experts, activists, academics, and regulators. Our guiding principles require abuse policies to be specific to the service being used. This is to ensure that any actions we take both reflect the ability to address the harm and minimize unintended consequences. We believe that someone with an abuse complaint must have access to an abuse process to reach those who can most effectively and narrowly address their complaint — anonymously if necessary. And, critically, we strive always to be transparent about both our policies and the actions we take.

Cloudflare's products

Cloudflare provides a broad range of products that fall generally into three buckets: hosting products (e.g., Cloudflare Pages, Cloudflare Stream, Workers KV, Custom Error Pages), security services (e.g., DDoS Mitigation, Web Application Firewall, Cloudflare Access, Rate Limiting), and core Internet technology services (e.g., Authoritative DNS, Recursive DNS/1.1.1.1, WARP). For a complete list of our products and how they map to these categories, you can see our Abuse Hub.

As described below, our policies take a different approach on a product-by-product basis in each of these categories.

Hosting products

Hosting products are those products where Cloudflare is the ultimate host of the content. This is different from products where we are merely providing security or temporary caching services and the content is hosted elsewhere. Although many people confuse our security products with hosting services, we have distinctly different policies for each. Because the vast majority of Cloudflare customers do not yet use our hosting products, abuse complaints and actions involving these products are currently relatively rare.

Our decision to disable access to content in hosting products fundamentally results in that content being taken offline, at least until it is republished elsewhere. Hosting products are subject to our Acceptable Hosting Policy. Under that policy, for these products, we may remove or disable access to content that we believe:

•  Contains, displays, distributes, or encourages the creation of child sexual abuse material, or otherwise exploits or promotes the exploitation of minors.

•  Infringes on intellectual property rights.

•  Has been determined by appropriate legal process to be defamatory or libelous.

•  Engages in the unlawful distribution of controlled substances.

•  Facilitates human trafficking or prostitution in violation of the law.

•  Contains, installs, or disseminates any active malware, or uses our platform for exploit delivery (such as part of a command and control system).

•  Is otherwise illegal, harmful, or violates the rights of others, including content that discloses sensitive personal information, incites or exploits violence against people or animals, or seeks to defraud the public.

We maintain discretion in how our Acceptable Hosting Policy is enforced, and generally seek to apply content restrictions as narrowly as possible. For instance, if a shopping cart platform with millions of customers uses Cloudflare Workers KV and one of their customers violates our Acceptable Hosting Policy, we will not automatically terminate the use of Cloudflare Workers KV for the entire platform.

Our guiding principle is that organizations closest to content are best at determining when the content is abusive. It also recognizes that overbroad takedowns can have significant unintended impact on access to content online.

Security services

The overwhelming majority of Cloudflare's millions of customers use only our security services. Cloudflare made a decision early in our history that we wanted to make security tools as widely available as possible. This meant that we provided many tools for free, or at minimal cost, to best limit the impact and effectiveness of a wide range of cyberattacks. Most of our customers pay us nothing.

Giving everyone the ability to sign up for our services online also reflects our view that cyberattacks not only should not be used for silencing vulnerable groups, but are not the appropriate mechanism for addressing problematic content online. We believe cyberattacks, in any form, should be relegated to the dustbin of history.

The decision to provide security tools so widely has meant that we've had to think carefully about when, or if, we ever terminate access to those services. We recognized that we needed to think through what the effect of a termination would be, and whether there was any way to set standards that could be applied in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory way, consistent with human rights principles.

This is true not just for the content where a complaint may be filed but also for the precedent the takedown sets. Our conclusion — informed by all of the many conversations we have had and the thoughtful discussion in the broader community — is that voluntarily terminating access to services that protect against cyberattack is not the correct approach.

Avoiding an abuse of power

Some argue that we should terminate these services to content we find reprehensible so that others can launch attacks to knock it offline. That is the equivalent argument in the physical world that the fire department shouldn't respond to fires in the homes of people who do not possess sufficient moral character. Both in the physical world and online, that is a dangerous precedent, and one that is over the long term most likely to disproportionately harm vulnerable and marginalized communities.

Today, more than 20 percent of the web uses Cloudflare's security services. When considering our policies we need to be mindful of the impact we have and precedent we set for the Internet as a whole. Terminating security services for content that our team personally feels is disgusting and immoral would be the popular choice. But, in the long term, such choices make it more difficult to protect content that supports oppressed and marginalized voices against attacks.

Refining our policy based on what we’ve learned

This isn't hypothetical. Thousands of times per day we receive calls that we terminate security services based on content that someone reports as offensive. Most of these don’t make news. Most of the time these decisions don’t conflict with our moral views. Yet two times in the past we decided to terminate content from our security services because we found it reprehensible. In 2017, we terminated the neo-Nazi troll site The Daily Stormer. And in 2019, we terminated the conspiracy theory forum 8chan.

In a deeply troubling response, after both terminations we saw a dramatic increase in authoritarian regimes attempting to have us terminate security services for human rights organizations — often citing the language from our own justification back to us.

Since those decisions, we have had significant discussions with policy makers worldwide. From those discussions we concluded that the power to terminate security services for the sites was not a power Cloudflare should hold. Not because the content of those sites wasn't abhorrent — it was — but because security services most closely resemble Internet utilities.

Just as the telephone company doesn't terminate your line if you say awful, racist, bigoted things, we have concluded in consultation with politicians, policy makers, and experts that turning off security services because we think what you publish is despicable is the wrong policy. To be clear, just because we did it in a limited set of cases before doesn’t mean we were right when we did. Or that we will ever do it again.

But that doesn’t mean that Cloudflare can’t play an important role in protecting those targeted by others on the Internet. We have long supported human rights groups, journalists, and other uniquely vulnerable entities online through Project Galileo. Project Galileo offers free cybersecurity services to nonprofits and advocacy groups that help strengthen our communities.

Through the Athenian Project, we also play a role in protecting election systems throughout the United States and abroad. Elections are one of the areas where the systems that administer them need to be fundamentally trustworthy and neutral. Making choices on what content is deserving or not of security services, especially in any way that could in any way be interpreted as political, would undermine our ability to provide trustworthy protection of election infrastructure.

Regulatory realities

Our policies also respond to regulatory realities. Internet content regulation laws passed over the last five years around the world have largely drawn a line between services that host content and those that provide security and conduit services. Even when these regulations impose obligations on platforms or hosts to moderate content, they exempt security and conduit services from playing the role of moderator without legal process. This is sensible regulation borne of a thorough regulatory process.

Our policies follow this well-considered regulatory guidance. We prevent security services from being used by sanctioned organizations and individuals.

We also terminate security services for content which is illegal in the United States — where Cloudflare is headquartered. This includes Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) as well as content subject to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA). But, otherwise, we believe that cyberattacks are something that everyone should be free of. Even if we fundamentally disagree with the content.

In respect of the rule of law and due process, we follow legal process controlling security services. We will restrict content in geographies where we have received legal orders to do so. For instance, if a court in a country prohibits access to certain content, then, following that court's order, we generally will restrict access to that content in that country. That, in many cases, will limit the ability for the content to be accessed in the country. However, we recognize that just because content is illegal in one jurisdiction does not make it illegal in another, so we narrowly tailor these restrictions to align with the jurisdiction of the court or legal authority.

While we follow legal process, we also believe that transparency is critically important. To that end, wherever these content restrictions are imposed, we attempt to link to the particular legal order that required the content be restricted. This transparency is necessary for people to participate in the legal and legislative process. We find it deeply troubling when ISPs comply with court orders by invisibly blackholing content — not giving those who try to access it any idea of what legal regime prohibits it. Speech can be curtailed by law, but proper application of the Rule of Law requires whoever curtails it to be transparent about why they have.

Core Internet technology services

While we will generally follow legal orders to restrict security and conduit services, we have a higher bar for core Internet technology services like Authoritative DNS, Recursive DNS/1.1.1.1, and WARP. The challenge with these services is that restrictions on them are global in nature. You cannot easily restrict them just in one jurisdiction so the most restrictive law ends up applying globally.

We have generally challenged or appealed legal orders that attempt to restrict access to these core Internet technology services, even when a ruling only applies to our free customers. In doing so, we attempt to suggest to regulators or courts more tailored ways to restrict the content they may be concerned about.

Unfortunately, these cases are becoming more common where largely copyright holders are attempting to get a ruling in one jurisdiction and have it apply worldwide to terminate core Internet technology services and effectively wipe content offline. Again, we believe this is a dangerous precedent to set, placing the control of what content is allowed online in the hands of whatever jurisdiction is willing to be the most restrictive.

So far, we’ve largely been successful in making arguments that this is not the right way to regulate the Internet and getting these cases overturned. Holding this line we believe is fundamental for the healthy operation of the global Internet. But each showing of discretion across our security or core Internet technology services weakens our argument in these important cases.

Paying versus free

Cloudflare provides both free and paid services across all the categories above. Again, the majority of our customers use our free services and pay us nothing.

Although most of the concerns we see in our abuse process relate to our free customers, we do not have different moderation policies based on whether a customer is free versus paid. We do, however, believe that in cases where our values are diametrically opposed to a paying customer that we should take further steps to not only not profit from the customer, but to use any proceeds to further our companies’ values and oppose theirs.

For instance, when a site that opposed LGBTQ+ rights signed up for a paid version of DDoS mitigation service we worked with our Proudflare employee resource group to identify an organization that supported LGBTQ+ rights and donate 100 percent of the fees for our services to them. We don't and won't talk about these efforts publicly because we don't do them for marketing purposes; we do them because they are aligned with what we believe is morally correct.

Rule of Law

While we believe we have an obligation to restrict the content that we host ourselves, we do not believe we have the political legitimacy to determine generally what is and is not online by restricting security or core Internet services. If that content is harmful, the right place to restrict it is legislatively.

We also believe that an Internet where cyberattacks are used to silence what's online is a broken Internet, no matter how much we may have empathy for the ends. As such, we will look to legal process, not popular opinion, to guide our decisions about when to terminate our security services or our core Internet technology services.

In spite what some may claim, we are not free speech absolutists. We do, however, believe in the Rule of Law. Different countries and jurisdictions around the world will determine what content is and is not allowed based on their own norms and laws. In assessing our obligations, we look to whether those laws are limited to the jurisdiction and consistent with our obligations to respect human rights under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

There remain many injustices in the world, and unfortunately much content online that we find reprehensible. We can solve some of these injustices, but we cannot solve them all. But, in the process of working to improve the security and functioning of the Internet, we need to make sure we don’t cause it long-term harm.

We will continue to have conversations about these challenges, and how best to approach securing the global Internet from cyberattack. We will also continue to cooperate with legitimate law enforcement to help investigate crimes, to donate funds and services to support equality, human rights, and other causes we believe in, and to participate in policy making around the world to help preserve the free and open Internet.

Source

The redesigned Start menu is arguably one of the most divisive features in Windows 11. However, Microsoft believes that it is a great piece of engineering and provides an amazing user experience, something that it regularly advertises to consumers. However, it is interesting to know that a former Microsoft executive who is quite authoritative in this domain isn't a fan of Windows 11's Start menu either.

As spotted by WinFuture.de, Microsoft's ex-Director of User Experiences Jensen Harris - who spent five years in this role out of the over 16 years he spent at the company in total, leaving in 2014 - has slammed the UX of Windows 11's Start menu on Twitter, saying that he is "shocked" by the design:

The Twitter thread is quite long and if you want, you can view it in full by clicking the embedded tweet above. However, we will explain some of his grievances directly in this article.

Harris claims that the banner advertisement for the Bing Wallpaper app looks like a virus, has a dated background color choice, and the text is misaligned too. Additionally, the left side of the banner has a rounded corner while the right has straight edges. The former executive went on to say that:

The bigger issue here though: why are there banner ads in the Start menu? Is the amount of $ made by this wallpaper app worth cheapening the experience people have in this very high-touch piece of UI? It erodes trust—I wasn't even searching for "wallpaper." Which brings me to:

Great UI should help people achieve a task with minimum friction. But the next section down (referring to the "Switch to the browser recommended by Microsoft" section) is expressly designed to introduce friction into my experience. It's the largest UI in the Start menu, and it's designed specifically to distract me away from achieving my intended task.

Moreover, the "Open results in browser" hovering button at the bottom is covering two buttons below it. There are other inconsistencies that Harris has highlighted too:

Harris then dived into the history of the Start menu and how the previous iterations were built with so much thought and effort put into the intricacies of the design:

Design matters. Details matter. Especially in UI as iconic as the Windows Start menu. I remember the team creating a special ligature in the Segoe UI font (used in Windows) to make "S" and "t" align beautifully for the word "Start". That's how important Start was to Microsoft.

Microsoft has many brilliant designers who care deeply about the work they do—I worked with many who are still there! It just comes down to a question of what you prioritize. User experience needs to be architected with as much intensity as you architect your tech investments.

Finally, Harris has concluded his thread by saying that he's not a fan of the Start menu being moved to the center too as it also goes against the recommendations of Fitt's Law. That said, our readers should know that you can left-align the Taskbar/Start menu, if you want.

Overall, it's clear that Harris isn't a fan of the revamped Start menu and he is making his feelings known to the public. Obviously, he doesn't hold a position at Microsoft anymore so he can't directly influence the design process at the company, but it's interesting to see that a person who is more of an authority on Windows 11's design than regular consumers isn't a fan of the new UX either.

Do you agree with Harris or do you think that the Windows 11's Start menu isn't as bad as he claims it is? Let us know in the comments section below!

Via: WinFuture.de

Microsoft's ex-User Experience chief is "shocked" by poor design of Windows 11's Start menu

Mozilla Firefox 104.0.1 is now available on supported platforms with a single fix in the changelog:

• Addresses an issue with Youtube video playback that was affecting some users.

Like every other modern browser, Firefox updates itself in the background without requiring any action from the user. If you need to force-update Firefox to version 104.0.1, open the About Mozilla Firefox window (Open the main menu and go to Help > About Firefox) and wait for the browser to download and apply available updates.

In case you missed it, Mozilla released Firefox 104 a week ago. The update improves energy consumption by throttling the browser's user interface when minimized or not in focus. Our recent tests revealed that Firefox lags behind its competitors in terms of energy efficiency, so improvements in this area are welcome.

You can learn more about all changes in Firefox 104 in our dedicated coverage.

Firefox 104.0.1 is out, fixes YouTube freezing issues

Frontpaged:  Mozilla Firefox Browser 104.0.1

Chrome 105 packs a lot of changes on the backend. One of those is User Agent Client Hints which is an API that exposes information about device activity and conditions so that developers can make their webpages respond to various hardware dynamically. With the release of Chrome 100 back in March, Google cautioned web developers that they had until March 2023 to migrate to this Client Hints API instead of depending on user-agent strings.

As such, the criticism of the Clients Hints API is not new but Chrome 105 makes some changes to it where developers can request information about the height of the browser window displaying the content. Previously, this API only exposed width information of the viewport, but Google believes that fetching the height would be useful as well to make sure that height-constrained images on webpages display properly. The syntax for Client Hints delegation is being changed too, in response to developer feedback.

Google has highlighted a thread dating back to 2020 where Apple's WebKit team has cited concerns with the Client Hints API being used to fingerprint users. Excerpts from the thread are attached below:

I may be misreading the spec, but as written getHighEntropyValues seems to give access to all of the high entropy client hints to third-party scripts in the first party context, and scripts running in third-party iframes, regardless of which ones the site has opted into via the relevant HTTP header.

[...] We’re currently deeply skeptical of implementing any of the other client hints due to their expansion of fingerprinting surface, so I don’t feel particularly compelled by that precedent. That said, it’s likely the other client hints have this same problem, where they expose fingerprinting surface way more widely than they may be intending to. That would be a huge problem, as it would grant a lot of active fingerprinting surface unnecessarily.

[...] My understanding is that feature policy applies at the frame level, and therefore could not be used to control what happens when a third-party script in a first party context calls the API. Even for third-party iframes, it seems like Feature Policy could only default-deny this JS API entirely, and would not be able to filter the results down to the set delegated via HTTP headers (or otherwise). Maybe you intend a feature policy per individual high entropy hint, but first of all that seems like overkill, and second, the spec is clearly not written to support such filtering. So no, it would not address the concerns. I think the best approach is to limit the hints to those opted into (or, in case of a third-party frame, delegated). That or remove the script API entirely. The origin-based delegation model that works well at the HTTP level is not well aligned with the widespread practice of including third-party scripts in the top frame. The spec does not even allow denying the request entirely as written. A non-normative Note suggests that is allowed, but I can’t find any step in the algorithm that would ever reject the promise.

In case you're wondering why Apple's thoughts on Chrome are even important, that is because web developers ideally want to write code that is consistent and compatible across all browsers. As such, when it comes to a new feature, a buy-in from major browser vendors is important. A rejection of a feature from a vendor would mean that developers would either ditch the feature completely or write specific code for that browser to ensure compatibility and behavior across platforms.

There are other notable changes too, though not quite so controversial. The use of WebSQL in non-secure contexts is being deprecated because it's a legacy spec from 2009 that Apple abandoned in 2019 and Mozilla didn't even implement it. Other removed features in Chrome 105 include Gesture Scroll DOM events which were never meant to be released and the ability to use the "default" CSS keyword in custom identifiers.

A global event handler called "onbeforeinput" has been introduced too, and it has support from Apple, Mozilla, and web developers. In the same vein, another new feature that enjoys support from developers is explicit marking of resources that should be blocked from rendering.

Other capabilities shipping with Chrome 105 are Container Queries for more consisting styling for elements, two pseudo class selectors (1, 2), a way to access the TransformStreamDefaultController class more easily, and some new methods for navigation classes (1, 2), along with some behavioral changes for fixed elements during overscrolling.

Another thing that will make developers using the File System Access API very happy is the ability to get a writable directory in the same prompt as the readable directory. Previously, this only returned the latter which caused confusion and permission fatigue for the user. In the same vein, a fetch upload streaming method has been introduced so developers don't have to write messy code on the WebSocket to achieve the same purpose. Additionally, an MVP version of the Sanitizer API is being shipped as well, it enables developers to build XSS-free web applications in an easier fashion by transferring some maintenance burden to the platform.

Major changes are being made to the audio input and output mechanisms. Streaming and video conferencing applications should now explicitly request to receive non-system audio. There is also a new method to resolve imported URLs, and a Media Source Extensions (MSE) API, described as follows:

Web authors have consistently requested that MSE be available from Worker contexts. In the absence of such mechanisms, web authors are forced to perform all operations on the MSE API on the main Window context. Especially when the main context is busy servicing other application logic, these restrictions can significantly impair the user experience. For example, even if an app uses Worker contexts to fetch media to feed to MSE, such feeding must still occur on the main context, resulting in delayed media playback start and recurring playback stalls in extreme cases when the playback reaches points in the presentation timeline for which the app has been unable to buffer enough media.

The original proposal included text to support "early open" using a new MediaSourceHandle object. The subsequent discussion, simplification and experimental implementation drop "early open" and MediaSourceHandle from this initial work since those are both significant complexities that can be decoupled and incubated in follow-on features.

Furthermore, it's now easier to create a JSON response. Worklet loading is now reported to Resource Timing for more transparency too.

While that is all for generally available features, there are quite a few capabilities locked behind developer flags as well. These include throttling all timers (including DOM timers) to 125Hz, which should encourage developers to migrate to better and more power-efficient alternatives. Other interesting capabilities include anonymous iframe objects (read all the technical details here), removal of the merchant identity from the "canmakepayment" service worker event, and exposing the WebHID API to extension service workers.

In addition to being available on Android already, Prerender 2 for Desktop is now being implemented for the sake of feature parity too. Those who play games on their Android handset using gamepads will be very happy to know that the Gamepad API will be able to take advantage of haptic feedback options like trigger-rumble and dual-rumble (Android 12+ only). Finally, Chrome 105 also has an implementation of TLS Encrypted Client Hello (ECH) for improved privacy behind a flag, similar to Microsoft Edge.

As you might have surmised by the length of this article, Chrome 105 is a major update. It will start rolling out in the later hours of today. If Chrome does not automatically update to version 105 for you throughout the course of the day, head over to Help > About Google Chrome to trigger the update once it becomes available. Next up is Chrome 106 which will hit the Beta channel on September 1, and will land on Stable on September 27.

Google Chrome 105 is shipping today despite Apple's privacy concerns

Frontpaged:   Google Chrome 105.0.5195.54

Here is the official changelog for CPU-Z 2.02:

• AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, Ryzen 9 7900X, Ryzen 7 7700X, Ryzen 5 7600X.
• AMD X670E/B650 chipsets.
• AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT (Navi 21 KXTX), RX 6750 XT (Navi 22 KXT), RX 6650 XT (Navi 23 KXT) and RX 6400 (Navi 24 XL).
• Preliminary support of AMD EXPO memory overclocking profiles.
• Intel Z790 platform.
• Intel Xeon Platinum, Gold and Silver "Ice Lake-SP" (10nm, FCLGA4189).

@momomo_us uncovered in the CPU-Z files several unannounced processors from the Ryzen 7000 line-up. According to the finding, AMD is preparing non-X variants of the Ryzen 9 7950X and Ryzen 9 7900X.

Besides displaying information about the hardware inside your computer, CPU-Z has a built-in benchmark for measuring single and multi-thread CPU performance. According to AMD, Ryzen 7000 processors deliver up to 1% instruction-per-clock uplift compared to the Zen3-based models. Perhaps, the updated version of the CPU-Z can show more impressive results.

You can download CPU-Z 2.02 from the official CPUID website.

CPU-Z 2.02 adds support for AMD Ryzen 7000 Series alongside some unannounced models

Frontpaged:   CPU-Z 2.02

Intel Wi-Fi driver version 22.160.0 is now available from the official website. The latest release supports Windows 10 and 11 (no Windows 7 and 8 support since version 21.50.1) on systems with the following Intel Wireless Adapters: Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 6, 9000, 8000, and 7000. Here is the changelog:

• Driver package 22.160.0 has been validated to support Microsoft Windows 11 22H2.

Fixed bugs:

• Throughput performance occurs after resuming from hibernate when using Intel® Wi-Fi 6 wireless adapters.
• When using a PC with an Intel® Wi-Fi 6 wireless adapter in hotspot mode, some Android devices might experience degraded downlink throughput performance.
• When roaming from a 2.4 GHz network to a 5 GHz network with a different SSID, the PC may fail to obtain an IP address.

For now, only the Wi-Fi driver has received Windows 11 22H2 support, but you can expect Intel to provide the same treatment for its Bluetooth driver.

Intel is not the only company preparing its drivers for the Windows 11 22H2 update (rumored to arrive on September 20). AMD recently released a new chipset driver optimized for the latest operating system from Microsoft too.

Intel releases Wi-Fi drivers optimized for Windows 11 22H2

One of the key features highlighted by Microsoft is the integration of flagged emails, which automatically generates a Flagged email list within To Do and the email can be opened directly from the task to keep the items linked together. If this isn't automatically visible, it can be enabled through To Do Settings > Connected Apps > Turn on Flagged email toggle.

Furthermore, To Do will also support integration with Microsoft Planner, allowing all assigned tasks to show in the Assigned to me list. To Do also integrates with the different theming options within Microsoft 365, and dark mode can be enabled by setting the Outlook theme to Black.

To Do will be available in the following versions of the Microsoft 365 Current Channel:

• Current Channel Version 2201 (Build 14827.200000) or later: available through enabling the Coming Soon toggle in the top right.
• Current Channel Version 2207 (Build 15427:20000) or later: available by default - some users may need to enable the Coming Soon toggle in the top right until the feature has fully rolled out).

Users with an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription who have a license for the Microsoft To Do app will be able to access it directly from the vertical menu bar along the left of the folder pane alongside the email and calendar icons.

Microsoft To Do is now rolling out to Outlook for Windows

Every bit of information I provide for people I do so with the lowest common denominator in mind. It's a common misconception that everyone who joins or browses a tech site is a techie. Some people are just looking for guidance. That is why for some, these tech tips may seem a bit too simplistic but they are educational for others.

In Windows 7, 8, 10, and Windows 11 (off by default in 10 & 11) there is a feature called “Aero shake”.

Aero Shake allows you to hold down the left mouse button as if you were going to drag a window but instead quickly shake the window back and forth.

Doing so will minimize all the windows displayed on the screen(s). Shaking it again restores all the windows.

Windows 10

For Aero Shake to work in Windows 10, "Snap Windows" must be enabled. Here is how to check to make sure it's enabled.

Click Start > Settings > System > Multitasking > On the right look under "Snap Windows" and make sure it's enabled.

Windows 11 also has this feature but it’s off by default, if you wish to try it here is how you turn it on.

In Windows 11 Click Start > Settings > System > Multitasking and then turn on “Title bar window shake”

Happy Computing!

If you learned something today, great! If not, maybe share your own tech tip in the comments below!

Do the “Aero Shake” on Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday