As noted by FireCube, the new Mica Alt material is generally meant to be used for Tabbed instances and Microsoft's guidance document sort of confirms it too. Microsoft talks about this in its App layering section of the guidance:

App layering with Mica Alt

Mica Alt is an alternative to Mica as a foundation layer in your app's hierarchy with the same features like inactive and active states and subtle personalization. We encourage you to apply Mica Alt as the base layer of your app when requiring contrast between title bar elements and the commanding areas of your app (e.g. navigation, menus).

A common scenario for using Mica Alt is when you are creating an application with a tabbed title bar.

In terms of requirements, Microsoft says that the new Mica Alt material can be used "in apps that use Windows App SDK 1.1 or higher".

Microsoft adds new "Mica Alt" Windows 11 UX material

What is new in PowerToys 0.62?

Highlights:

• New utility: Screen Ruler is a quick and easy way to measure pixels on your screen.
• New utility: Quick Accent is an easy way to write letters with accents.
• New utility: Text Extractor works like Snipping Tool, but copies the text out of the selected region using OCR and puts it on the clipboard.
• PowerToy Run ships with a new Plugin letting you search in past query results.

Note that the new utilities come with a list of known issues:

• The Text Extractor utility fails to recognize text in some cases on ARM64 devices running Windows 10.
• After installing PowerToys, the new Windows 11 context menu entries for PowerRename and Image Resizer might not appear before a system restart.
• There are reports of users who are unable to open the Settings window. This is being caused by incompatibilities with some applications (RTSS RivaTuner Statistics Server and MSI AfterBurner are known examples of this). If you're affected by this, please check the linked issue to verify if any of the presented solutions works for you.

And here is the rest of changes, improvements, and bug fixes in PowerToys 0.62:

Always on Top

• Fixed a bug causing the border to linger when closing an Outlook popup window.

Color Picker

• Fixed the HSB color format to correctly track HSV instead of HSL.
• Fixed an issue where the zoom factor wasn't reset when reopening the zoom window.

FancyZones

• Removed the button to open Settings from the FancyZones Editor, as it was opening behind the overlay.
• Changed the Highlight distance control to a slider in the FancyZones Editor, to address accessibility issues with screen readers.
• Fixed an issue where the FancyZones Editor would duplicate or edit the wrong layout.
• Fixed an issue that caused canvas layout width/height to be changed without even opening the layout in FancyZones Editor.

File explorer add-ons

• Quality of life improvements to Developer Files preview, including a progress bar while loading, performance improvements, an improved dark mode, and logs.
• Fixed possible WebView related vulnerabilities in the SVG and Markdown handlers.
• Fixed some race conditions in Developer Files preview causing the loading bar to hang.
• Added localization support to the Developer Files preview messages.
• It's now possible to configure default color for Stl Thumbnails.
• Added an option to format JSON and XML files before rendering.

PowerRename

• Fixed an issue that was generating a silent crash when the context menu was triggered when not selecting any file or folder. (This was a hotfix for 0.61)
• Improved performance when loading a big number of files.
• Fixed a specific case in which PowerRename tried to rename a file to an empty string.
• The UI now shows when a file can't be renamed due to its name being too long or containing invalid characters.

PowerToys Run

• Added a fix to the VSCodeWorkspaces plugin to better support portable installations.
• The Folder plugin now expands %HOMEPATH% correctly.
• Fixed a case where a previous result was being activated when searching for new results. Added a setting to better control input throttling.
• Added support for port numbers in the URI plugin.
• Fixed query errors when the search delay option was turned off.
• New History plugin to search for old search results.
• Changed the default TimeDate activation keyword to ), as queries starting by ( are expected as Calculator global queries, and added information in Settings so users know that some activation keywords may conflict with normal usage of some plugins when trying to do a global query.
• The Unit Converter plugin updated its UnitsNet dependency and now supports plural units.
• Improved the validation logic in the Calculator plugin.

Runner

• Improved: Clean up old install folders and logs at startup.

Settings

• Image and phrasing adjustments.
• Icon and image updates for the new utilities.

Shortcut Guide

• Fixed the Narrator shortcut to include the newly added Control key.

Installer

• Fixed a regression that was causing the PowerToys shortcut to be deleted on update. (This was a hotfix for 0.61)
• Updated the .NET dependency to 6.0.8.

Documentation

• Fixed wrong links to installers in README.

Development

• Removed FXCop leftovers.
• Added version number to missing binaries and added a CI script to verify that all binaries have their version numbers set correctly.
• Updated a dependency to fix building on Visual Studio 17.3 C++ tools.
• Fixed and reactivated the CI unit tests for FancyZones.
• Cleaned up and removed dead code from PowerRename code base.
• Added a script for verifying the solution targets match the expected CPU architectures.
• Obsolete package Castle.Core was removed.
• Language typos were corrected across the PowerToys assets.

You can download PowerToys 0.62 from the Microsoft Store or the app's GitHub repository.

PowerToys 0.62 is out with three brand-new tools

Firefox 104.0.2 will be released later today. Most installations will be updated automatically, thanks to the browser's built-in updating functionality. Some users prefer to update manually instead. Firefox can be downloaded from the official Mozilla website once the new release is published.

Firefox 104.0.2

Firefox 104.0.2 addresses four non-security issues in earlier versions of Firefox. The first fixes a crash issue that has been affecting 32-bit builds on Windows since the release of Firefox 102.

According to the bug report on Mozilla's bug tracking site and the changed code in Firefox, it appears that the issue was caused by reporting data specs, which could be "arbitrarily long".  The issue is also fixed in an upcoming Firefox 102 ESR update.

Two of the issues fixed in Firefox 104.0.2 address video and playback issues in the browser. Both affected the playback of video and audio content in Firefox sometimes, according to Mozilla.

The issue occurred video and audio playback loaded via "a cross-origin frame src attribute" or with "Content-Security-Policy:sandbox".  Both issues prevented playback of media and had similar causes. Firefox reused responses from the initial document in both cases for optimization. While that worked well for many use cases, it prevented the playback of media. Firefox users should not experience the described issues anymore after installation of the new version on Stable or ESR.

The fourth and final issue addresses an issue that affected touch-device and stylus users. The bug prevented touch and stylus users from dragging the scrollbar on pages.

Firefox 104.0.2 is the second point release. Mozilla released Firefox 104 in late August, and pushed out Firefox 104.0.1 to address a playback issue on YouTube.

The next major stable version of Firefox is version 105. Mozilla plans to release it on September 20, 2022.

Now You: were you affected by any of the described issues?

Firefox 104.0.2 fixes a crash, media playback and touch issues

Frontpaged:   Mozilla Firefox Browser 104.0.2

On August 9, 2022, the Chilean government announced that the country's official time would advance 60 minutes on September 10 instead of September 4. As a result, computers running Windows could show the following symptoms:

•  Time shown in Windows and apps will not be correct.
•  Apps and cloud services which use date and time for integral functions, such as Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Outlook, notifications and scheduling of meetings might be 60 minutes off.
•  Automation using date and time, such as Scheduled tasks, might not run at the expected time.
•  Timestamp on transactions, files, and logs will be 60 minutes off.
•  Operations that rely on time-dependent protocols such as Kerberos might cause authentication failures when attempting to logon or access resources.
•  Windows devices and apps outside of Chile might also be affected if they are connecting to servers or devices in Chile or if they are scheduling or attending meetings taking place in Chile from another location or time zone. Windows devices outside of Chile should not use the workaround, as it would change their local time on the device.

Here is what customers from Chile should do to avoid bugs and other problems caused by the DST change:

• You can mitigate this issue on devices in Chile by doing either of the following on September 4, 2022 and undoing on September 11, 2022:
•  Select the Windows logo key, type "Date and time", and select Date and time settings. From the Date & time settings page, toggle Adjust for daylight saving time automatically to Off.
•  Go to Control Panel > Clock and Region > Date and Time > Change time zone and uncheck the option for “Automatically adjust clock for Daylight Saving Time”.

To mitigate this issue in the Santiago time zone, after 12:00 a.m. on September 11, 2022, and for those in the Easter Islands time zone, after 10:00 p.m. on September 10, 2022, follow the steps below to re-enable automatic DST adjustments and ensure accurate time switching with future DST transitions. This can be done by doing either of the following:

•  Select the Windows logo key, type "Date and time", and select Date and time settings. From the Date & time settings page, toggle Adjust for daylight saving time automatically to On.
•  Go to Control Panel > Clock and Region > Date and Time > Change time zone and check the option for “Automatically adjust clock for Daylight Saving Time”.

The workaround mentioned in the official documentation applies only to customers living in Chile, and Microsoft says users from other countries should not change their Daylight Saving Time settings. The company plans to release an update to support the new DST settings in Chile, but it needs more time to build, test, and ship such updates. Microsoft will not make it before the change goes into effect, so users need to tweak their systems manually this year.

Source

We have looked at the improvements in the first feature update for Windows 11, and continue the Windows 11 version 22H2 article series until we have covered all of the improvements and changes.

So far, we have reviewed Start Menu, taskbar, Snap Assist, File Explorer, Task Manager and gaming changes in the Windows 11 2022 Update already. Most users may not want to install the update right away, to avoid running into potential issues that have not been detected in the beta test.

What is happening after the release of Windows 11 version 22H2

Microsoft has not revealed its plans officially at this point. In fact, the company has yet to announce the official release date for the first feature update for Windows 11. Most expect that the company plans to release the Windows 11 2022 Update on September 20, 2022.

Microsoft could move to a three year release cycle for the operating system, away from the one feature update per year release cycle. The next major update would not be released before 2025. Whether that is going to be another major Windows 11 update or the release of Windows 12 remains to be seen.

In the three years in-between, Microsoft plans to release smaller feature drops. Called Moments, these updates introduce new features to the operating system without requiring the installation of major updates.

We are aware of two Moment updates for Windows 11, with the first update expected in October 2022 already. According to Albacore, who is well informed usually, Moment 1 will introduce new features such as tabs in File Explorer in Windows 11. The Moment 2 update won't be released until next year according to Albacore.

Additional Moment updates are likely, and will be released whenever Microsoft considers features to be ready for final release.

Closing Words

The new release process improves update management for users and administrators. Instead of having to install a feature update every year, and risk major issues, features will be introduced as smaller cumulative updates that have a smaller risk of major issues.

Now You: what is your take on the release process?

Here is what is going to happen after the release of Windows 11 2022 Update

More and more sites implement paywalls as part of subscription services. Some sites allow guests to view a small number of articles before the paywall is erected, others may ask guests to subscribe right away. The main reason for doing so is to get users to sign-up and pay for the access privilege.

While sites and organizations may do as they please, more and more users are irritated by paywalled sites. Search for a topic on a search engine or stumble upon a link on a social site, and you may be directed to an article that you can't read unless you subscribe first. This user experience is frustrating.

Bypass Paywalls Clean is a browser extension that bypasses paywalls on more than one hundred sites. One of the main ideas behind the browser extension is to give everyone access to news. The developer has this to say about the extension's purpose:

Not everyone is able to afford multiple subscriptions on many different news sites, especially when they just want to read a single article (from Twitter) without being enrolled in a monthly/yearly membership.

The extension works right after installation. You should be able to read articles on the supported sites without configuring anything beforehand.

The extension's settings list all supported sites. There you may enable or disable individual ones, and check the preferences. Note that the extension has a daily user counter enabled by default, which you may disable here as well.

Bypass Paywalls Clean supports custom news sites, which you may add to the extension; this requires technical understanding of how bypasses work, on the other hand. Just select custom sites to get started and fill out the relevant values to add a bypass for a custom site.

Options include blocking JavaScript, using regular expressions for blocking, changing the user agent or referrer, and other parameters.

New sites that get added by the extension developer are enabled automatically once the extension picks them up; this can be disabled in the preferences. There, you also find an option to check for updated rules on startup, which is disabled by default.

Closing Words

Bypass Paywalls Clean worked well during tests. We did not experience any issues using it, but some interruptions may occur when sites make changes and rules are not updated right away. As long as rules do get updated, bypasses should continue to work though.

Landing page:   https://github.com/iamadamdev/bypass-paywalls-chrome

Now You: how do you handle sites with paywalls?

Bypass Paywalls Clean browser extension review

Last month, multiple reports began surfacing that the launch was slated for September 20. They also added that more features would be added later via a new “Moment” update which would happen after the Windows 11 22H2 GA, rumored to be Build 22621.382.

Now tidbits of upcoming Insider builds related to the Moment update may have begun surfacing as “Build 22940” has been spotted in a PowerShell issue opened back in July. According to Twitter user Albacore, who also happens to be a pretty famous Windows leaker, the Build 229xx range belongs to the 2nd Moment update.

Albacore adds that the 1st moment update also has its own set of Insider builds under the range 228xx, and the updates are apparently getting back-ported to the recent Windows 11 Beta channel builds that have been happening under 22622.

References to the Windows 11 22H2 Moment update (build 22940) have begun to surface

A few days ago, in a follow-up discussion related to the topic, Jensen Harris showed off what was meant to be the original Windows 8 Start button right click context menu.

The idea behind the Start button context menu, dubbed "Command Center" then, was to make it much more useful for power users and was planned to be customizable via Registry tweaks or other power user-based applications.

Sadly, however, the Command Center project was dropped as there was a lack of time to complete the whole thing and it was also a difficult task to balance the needs of power users and less experienced ones all within the ambit of the same UI experience. Hence, the additional power features, like the ability to be tweaked via Registry edits, never made it to final version.

Ex-Windows UX guru reveals concept behind Windows 8 Start "Command Center" context menu

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