According to the change log, the "desktop watermark is showing the wrong build number" in the latest Canary Channel release. This caused confusion among some Insiders who claimed that the desktop watermark has always been the case, going back to Windows 10, where only the "base" build number is displayed.

Regardless of how old the issue is, the good news is that Microsoft's Director of Communications for Windows + Devices, Brandon LeBlanc, has announced that the company will fix the build number in the watermark via an Enablement KB (EKB) soon:

This is definitely a welcome change, especially considering that the watermark is always visible on the Windows 11 desktop in Insider channels. For those unaware, this watermark is present on the bottom-right corner of the desktop, and it contains some metadata about the build you are currently using. See an example below:

Fixing the build number may seem like a small change, but it is definitely much needed. It's unclear when this patch will become available, but it's likely to happen sooner rather than later, considering that it should be a relatively minor fix.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 16 January 2026 at 12:24 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

The video editing software just got its first maintenance release for the 25.12 series, version 25.12.1, delivering several bug fixes and improvements.

Kdenlive 25.12 introduced a new welcome screen designed to greet new users and help them quickly set things up, with options for resolution, frame rate, orientation, and more.

In 25.12.1, the welcome screen has gotten several QoL improvements, like preventing Kdenlive from loading in the background while the screen is displayed, an issue that caused a busy cursor or a greyed-out display for Wayland users.

The update also fixes a problem where the project layout would not restore correctly if opened from the welcome screen and prevents a possible crash if you tried opening a file before the main window was fully ready.

If you were experiencing that rotoscoping bug where moving the timeline handle resets all your mask points, 25.12.1 has a fix for that. You can now scroll on the timeline without losing your work on an open shape.

Kdenlive 25.12.1 also fixes the issue where toggling the "Monitor Audio" option could crash the application. This regression bug, according to issue #2116, was triggered when users tried recording audio.

Other issues addressed include a fix for slow project opening when using an external file manager and ensuring that pasting clips correctly follows the disabled state of a track. The update also corrects a bug where copying and pasting would reset keyframe types.

For Windows users, a new AMD AMF encoding profile has been added to improve hardware encoding performance. In addition to that, the developers corrected a problem where editing a transform effect directly on the monitor would discard any opacity changes you had made. A bug that caused a crash just by copying a clip has also been squashed.

You can check out the full changelog for more information.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 16 January 2026 at 12:23 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

Windows Server 2008 was supported via the Premium Assurance program until January 13, 2026. Although this support program no longer exists, volume licensing enterprise customers were grandfathered into the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, which finally expired a couple of days ago for this particular SKU.

Although Windows Vista wasn't the most popular operating system, especially since it was sandwiched between two extremely iconic releases, namely Windows XP and Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 persisted for quite some time in enterprise environments. According to a 2019 report, 60% of Windows Server deployments were running this particular version.

In terms of what this end of support means, there are two notable things to keep in mind. For starters, Windows Server 2008 customers will no longer receive any technical support or assistance from Microsoft. More importantly, at least from a historical perspective, the Windows Vista/Longhorn codebase is no longer encouraged for production use. Do note that while Windows Server 2008 was based on Windows Vista, its immediate successor, Windows Server 2008 R2, released in the next year was based on Windows 7.

Of course, it's ideal that customers who still leverage Windows Server 2008 for some reason to migrate to modern and supported alternatives like Windows Server 2025 or 2022.

Via: @NTDEV_

Are you aware of Windows Server 2008 being used in enterprise environments? Let us know in the comments section below!

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 16 January 2026 at 4:53 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

Microsoft's $1 billion bet on OpenAI in 2019 potentially redefined the software giant's trajectory, even though co-founder Bill Gates was initially against the move. "You're going to burn this billion dollars," Gates warned Satya Nadella.

Over the past few years, the tech giant has faced significant backlash from its users, who have complained about a wide range of issues, including Windows 11's flawed user experience and design elements, as well as the company's decision to end support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025.

However, there's now a new kid on the block, which has seemingly become the pariah on the playing field. Microsoft's fixation and obsession with injecting AI across its entire tech stack has not sparked the enthusiasm and reception the company hoped for.

Starting with the first Import Function, IMPORTTEXT is a flexible tool for pulling data from text-based files like .txt, .csv, and .tsv directly into the grid. To use it in Excel, you first select the cell where you want the data to appear.

You then type =IMPORTTEXT and enter the path to your file, which can be a local path on your computer or a URL. The function's full syntax is: IMPORTTEXT(path, [delimiter], [skip_rows], [take_rows], [encoding], [locale])

This lets you specify what character separates columns, how many rows to skip or import from the file, the file's encoding, and any regional formatting. Once you press Enter, the data populates as a dynamic array.

If the file you're connecting to is on the web, you will get an authentication dialog, where you'll need to select the correct authentication method to get access.

The options include "Anonymous" for public files, "Windows" for resources requiring your Windows credentials, "Basic" for username and password prompts, "Web API" if an API key is needed, and "Organizational account" for corporate sign-ins.

The second Import Function, IMPORTCSV, does what you can probably already guess from the name. It is designed specifically for .csv files. This function is essentially a simplified version of IMPORTTEXT with" smart defaults", using a comma as the delimiter and UTF-8 for encoding, which means you have fewer parameters to worry about.

Here's how to use it:

• Select the cell where you want the imported data.
• Type =IMPORTCSV.
• Enter the path to your .csv file, which can be local or a URL. You can optionally specify rows to skip or a locale if needed. The full syntax is IMPORTCSV(path, [skip_rows], [take_rows], [locale])
• Press Enter, and the data from the file loads into the grid.

As mentioned earlier, this is only available to some Excel users for now. To get access, you'd need to be in the Beta Channel of the Microsoft 365 Insider program. Specifically, you must be running Windows Version 2502 (Build 18604.20002) or later.

The new functions also do not refresh automatically; you have to use the Refresh All button on the Data tab to update the imported data.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Friday 16 January 2026 at 4:49 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

The feature works with password-protected Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files stored in your Google Drive, so that you can edit them without leaving Google Drive. The search giant notes that its new feature should make life a bit easier for those users who have to download a protected file on their device and use third-party apps to remove passwords or edit password-protected MS Office files.

Google explained in a blog post that when you try to open a protected file in Google Drive, you will be prompted to enter the password with options to View or Edit the file.

If you don't have access to the password, you can click on the "Preview" option to open the password-protected MS Office file in read-only mode. When you choose the Edit option, the file opens in Docs, Sheets, or Slides, respectively, depending on its type. This process will remove the password from the file.

Google announced that the feature has started rolling out to users, and it will take about a week to complete. It will be available to all Google Workspace customers, individual subscribers, and users with a free Google account.

Time and again, Google has tried to make its apps and services interoperable with others. In recent months, it opened the gates for migrating Dropbox files to Google Drive and made Google Chat interoperable with Microsoft Teams.

Besides this, Google has also launched a new Personal Intelligence feature for Google Drive, which was among the most requested, according to the company. Personal Intelligence allows users to connect Gemini with Google Drive and other apps to get more personalized responses.

Image via DepositPhotos.com

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 15 January 2026 at 6:46 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

Windows 11 gained a must-have app last year, and now that app runs on Snapdragon X-powered PCs. FluentFlyout adds functional flyouts to Windows 11, such as enhanced media controls.

The flyouts feel natural to use, and I find them easier to get to than the built-in Windows 11 media controls that live in the Quick Settings menu. They're also customizable, allowing you to have bare-bones flyouts that just show a few buttons or fleshed-out controls with scrubbable timelines and more.

A recent update to FluentFlyout adds support for PCs powered by Arm-based chips, such as the Snapdragon X Elite and the upcoming Snapdragon X2 Plus.

But the update isn't just for those on Arm. All FluentFlyout users can now select which monitor to display flyouts and the taskbar widget.

FluentFlyout's developers shared the highlights of the update recently.

Change log

• 🖥️ Switch Monitors: Added the ability to select which monitor to display Flyouts and the Taskbar Widget!
• 🖱️ Added Title and Artist hover tooltips to Taskbar Widget and Media Flyout, allowing you to see the full title and artist name if it's cut off

Taskbar Widget updates

• 🔧 Added Taskbar Widget manual custom padding setting for customized Windows taskbars
• Fixed Taskbar Widget scaling improperly when content is long
• Fixed Taskbar Widget positioning being incorrect in some cases
• Fixed rare crash when right-clicking on the Taskbar Widget
• Other under-the-hood changes to the Taskbar Widget to make it more stable

Other updates

• 💻 Fixed trackpad scrolling speed in settings being too fast
• Fixed tray icon disappearing after Windows Explorer resets
• Removed verbose logging as it wasn't necessary in release builds
• Fixed Lock Flyout visual glitches on first flyout
• Changed Acrylic window background opacity to match Windows 11 more closely
• ARM64 configuration support: FluentFlyout will now work on ARM64 CPU architecture devices
• Updated update notification to be translatable
• Added Turkish language support for GitHub README files
• Updated translations (thanks to @bywhite0, @VeryFat123, @Tomflame-4ever, @Pigeon0v0, @yoyo435, @xsm2, @oski165, @logounet, @ysfemreAlbyrk, @Ste3798, @kek353, @weiss-rn, @avshalombegler, @tnhung2011 and others on Weblate!)

If you want the unabridged change log, it's available on GitHub.

Windows 11 has always been frustratingly inconsistent, so it's refreshing to see a developer take the time to tweak acrylic settings and make small aesthetic changes.

Here is the changelog:

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue where selecting something from inside a folder of pinned items in the Start menu could lead to the whole folder becoming invisible in the Start menu.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue causing File Explorer to show a white flash when navigating between pages for some Insiders after the previous flight.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue where the keyboard character repeat delay in Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Keyboard was backwards from how it was set in the backend.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue that could lead to your PC freezing when attempting to run Windows Terminal elevated from a non-admin account.
• Fixed an issue where the Share dialog might unexpectedly show an option to share to Shell Experience Host.

And here is the list of known bugs:

[General]

• [NEW] The desktop watermark is showing the wrong build number.

You can find the announcement post here.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 15 January 2026 at 12:11 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

You may know that in Windows 11, you can adjust the master volume with a scroll wheel when hovering the cursor over the volume indicator. What if the same experience were available for each app on your taskbar? With this Windhawk mod, you can do exactly that. Just place the cursor over the app you want to turn down or up and scroll down or up. Upon scrolling, you will get a small tooltip showing the current volume level for the selected app.

The mod is not just about basic volume up or down features. You can also customize the volume change step for more precise or quicker adjustments. Additionally, there is the ability to mute the app by clicking it with the Ctrl key or making adjustments work only when you hold the Ctrl key.

Finally, the "Taskbar Volume Control Per-App" mod (not a particularly creative name, but as long as it works, I guess) also plays nicely with a similar mod from the same developer that expands the volume adjustment area to the entire taskbar so that you can turn the volume up or down when you place the cursor anywhere above the taskbar.

You can download "Taskbar Volume Control Per-App" using this link. The mod requires the Windhawk app to work, and you can get it from the official website. Like with every other third-party modification, always back up important data before messing with your system.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 15 January 2026 at 12:10 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

When you booted up your PC recently, you may have been met with an unfamiliar Start menu. There's a good chance that some of your apps have moved and the Start menu itself has a different size and layout than before.

The good news is that this is not a bug. A new Start menu is rolling out to Windows 11. Since the rollout is happening in waves, some people just received it despite the redesign initially shipping in October 2025.

The new Start menu will arrive on your PC after installing the KB5067036 update. If you want the new Start menu right away and don't see it yet, you can toggle the option to "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" in the Windows 11 Settings app.

You can also enable the new Start menu through ViVeTool.

I've seen several posts about the new Start menu on social media, including a Reddit post asking, "What happened to my start menu?" The change can be a bit jarring if you didn't know about it in advance.

The new Windows 11 Start menu is split into three sections and scales in size depending on your screen resolution.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

 

The new Start menu integrates with Phone Link, though that section can be collapsed.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

 

The new Start menu is better in some ways than its predecessor. The overall design is more adaptable and customizable than before, at least in some ways.

 

Somewhat surprisingly, some of the new features cannot be customized. For example, the Start menu will now adapt to a larger layout based on your screen resolution, but you cannot set the size of the Start menu.

 

Windows 11 now splits the Start menu into three sections: "Pinned," "Recommended," and "All."

 

The Pinned section shows two rows of apps by default and each of its rows can hold up to eight pins.

 

The Recommended section displays recent files and applications, but it can also show promoted apps from the Microsoft Store. It's possible to disable the Recommended section entirely.

 

Unlike the previous Start menu, the upgraded version shows the "All" menu without requiring extra clicks. Windows 11 groups apps automatically into categories, such as "Productivity" or "Developer Tools." That experience should feel familiar to people using an iPhone or certain Android devices.

 

You can switch the "All" section of the Start menu to Grid View instead of Category View. Doing so will present apps in an alphabetical list.

 

Of course, even if the Start menu were better in every way, the new one would still take some getting used to.

 

Microsoft played around with several designs before settling on the current layout. Our Mauro Huculak breaks those down in his guide on the revamped Start menu. He also has a piece on how the Start menu has evolved over 40 years.

 

The Windows 11 Start menu has improved in recent years, but some remain frustrated by its layout and lack of customization options. Third-party apps like Start11 have gained new users, while other prefer tools such as PowerToys.

 

What do you think of the new Start menu? Is it an improvement, a regression, or a mix of both? Let us know in the comments.

 

Source

---

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 15 January 2026 at 5:25 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

With the lost art of physical albums and printed photographs, everything has seemingly gone digital. Right now, you can simply take a photo on your phone and upload it to the cloud, then delete it from your phone's storage for extra space.

In a perfect world, the process should be as simple as I just described, but unfortunately, this isn't always the case. Over the past few years, multiple people have run to social media to express their frustrations after losing access to their fondest memories and even confidential work information.

In June 2025, a OneDrive user took to Reddit to express their frustrations, indicating that Microsoft had randomly locked their account without any warning. The user revealed that they lost access to their account after moving 30 years' worth of photos and work.

In an update on its Windows Release Health dashboard, Microsoft has acknowledged an issue impacting many Windows 11 and Windows Server customers. Essentially, users who install the January 2026 update (KB5074109) on affected devices will experience "credential prompt failures" when establishing Remote Desktop connections with Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) devices through the Windows App.

The exact scope of this issue is currently unknown, with Microsoft noting that it impacts specific Windows builds. An investigation and debugging process is currently ongoing, conducted jointly by the AVD and Windows Update team.

In the meantime, the Redmond tech giant has offered a workaround to mitigate the issue. This involves utilizing either of the following connectivity options:

• Use the Remote Desktop client for Windows to connect to Azure Virtual Desktop here
• Connect using the Windows App Web Client at windows.cloud.microsoft

Impacted platforms include Windows 11 version 25H2 and 24H2, along with Windows Server 2025, 2022, and 2019. Although this bug impacts only a subset of customers, it is worth noting that these are most likely enterprise users, who experience direct loss in productivity and an indirect loss in potential revenue due to issues like these. As such, it'll be interesting to see the turnaround time for a concrete patch.

The change log for Windows 11's latest Patch Tuesday is very curious, too. Although it seemingly fixes RemoteApp connectivity issues in AVD environments, it seems like it may have introduced new problems alongside this patch. That said, it is not yet known if there is any correlation between these two matters.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 15 January 2026 at 5:22 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

Another day, and another person exhausted with Windows. This time, it is GOG’s new owner, Michał Kiciński, who recently took control of the storefront after its split from CD Projekt Red.

Kiciński was one of the original founders of CD Projekt Red and now owns GOG outright. Like many PC gamers, he has grown frustrated with Windows, and while I still use the OS for the same reason, it is hard to disagree with much of what he says here.

In a recent interview with PC Gamer, Kiciński and GOG managing director Maciej Gołębiewski shared their views on Windows, Linux, and where the storefront is heading next. Here is what they had to say.

What Kiciński actually said about Windows

The button was first noticed by a Windows Insider tester and is currently not visible or usable by default. While inactive, its placement suggests tighter Copilot integration directly within File Explorer rather than routing interactions through the standalone Copilot app.

If enabled in future builds, the button could allow users to ask Copilot to locate specific files, identify document types, or navigate large folders using natural language queries. This would keep the interaction inside File Explorer instead of opening a separate Copilot window.

Copilot is already partially integrated into File Explorer through the context menu. Right-clicking a file and selecting "Ask Copilot" launches the Copilot app and passes the file as context. The newly discovered button appears intended to streamline that workflow by embedding AI interaction directly into the file management interface.

File Explorer search has long been criticized for slow performance and inconsistent results, especially on systems with large file collections or incomplete indexing. A context-aware AI assistant could theoretically improve discovery by interpreting intent rather than relying solely on filenames and metadata.

Microsoft has been steadily expanding Copilot across Windows 11, integrating it into the taskbar, Settings, system prompts, and Microsoft 365 apps. Many of these additions are system-level and cannot be fully removed once installed, which has drawn criticism from users who prefer a more traditional desktop experience.

At this stage, there is no confirmation that the File Explorer Copilot button will ship to stable builds. Features spotted in preview builds are often experimental and may be changed or removed before public release. Microsoft has not commented on the finding or outlined any plans for Copilot-based file management.

What are your thoughts on the integration of Copilot deeper into Windows?

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 15 January 2026 at 5:16 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

Windows 365 is a cloud-based service that runs on Azure Virtual Desktop and allows enterprise customers to stream Windows Cloud PCs to end users under Windows 365 Enterprise or Windows 365 Business subscriptions.

The incident began on Tuesday at 19:00 UTC, when users started experiencing sign-in failures and intermittent access issues to their Cloud PCs.

"We detected an issue with Cloud PC connections and sign-in through our automated service monitoring after seeing an increase in failed connection attempts," Microsoft said at the time. "We're investigating our service telemetry, including recent Windows 365 updates, to identify the underlying cause of impact and to help inform our next troubleshooting steps."

Microsoft says its automated monitoring systems detected the problem after registering an increase in failed connection attempts.

After investigating the issue, the company's engineers found that a Windows 365 update causes the access problems and are now analyzing the recent update to determine the best way to mitigate the impact.

"A recent Windows 365 update intended to further improve security functionality is causing failed connection attempts to Cloud PC sessions," it says in an incident report tracked under WP1217671.

"We're continuing with our analysis of the recent update to determine how best to mitigate impact."

Microsoft also offered two temporary workarounds while engineers work on a permanent fix, which require users to access their Cloud PCs through the Windows App Web Client at windows.cloud.microsoft or using the Remote Desktop client for Windows to connect to Azure Virtual Desktop.

While Microsoft has not disclosed what regions or how many users are affected, this ongoing issue is tagged as causing "service degradation and flagged as an incident, a term commonly used for critical service issues with noticeable user impact.

Update January 14, 07:01 EST: In a separate entry on the Windows release health dashboard, acknowledged a known issue triggered by the January 2026 KB5074109 Windows security update that causes authentication error and connection failure during Remote Desktop connections to Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365.

The list of affected platforms includes Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2, and Windows Server 2025, Server 2022, and Server 2019.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 15 January 2026 at 5:16 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

The list of affected systems is quite extensive and includes both client (Windows 10 and Windows 11) and server (Windows Server 2012 through Windows Server 2025) platforms.

According to widespread user reports over the past several months, third-party security software flagged Windows assets, including WinSqlite3.dll, a dynamic link library (DLL) included with the Windows system libraries that implements the SQLite database engine, as vulnerable to attacks exploiting a memory corruption vulnerability (CVE-2025-6965).

Microsoft confirmed the issue on Tuesday in a service alert seen by BleepingComputer and updated the WinSqlite3.dll Windows core component to address the false positive detections.

"Security scanning applications may report the Windows components WinSqlite3.dll as vulnerable. WinSqllite3.dll is included in Windows as part of core installation components and can be found in system folders. The latest version was included in Windows updates released June 2025 and later," it said.

"This issue was resolved in updates released January 13, 2026 and later. We recommend you install the latest update for your device as it contains important improvements and issue resolution."

Microsoft also noted that WinSqlite3.dll is distinct from sqlite3.dll, which is not a Windows component, and that it can be updated for Microsoft apps by installing their latest version from the Microsoft Store.

In October, Microsoft resolved a false positive issue that caused its Defender for Endpoint enterprise security platform to incorrectly mark SQL Server as end-of-life.

The bug affected Microsoft Defender XDR customers running SQL Server 2017 and 2019, even though SQL Server 2017 will reach the end of extended support in October 2027 and SQL Server 2019 is supported until January 2030.

One week earlier, it fixed another new false positive that caused Defender for Endpoint to flag BIOS firmware on some Dell devices as outdated, prompting users to update it.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 15 January 2026 at 5:15 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

If you want to win in AI — and I mean win in the biggest, most lucrative, most shape-the-world-in-your-image kind of way — you have to do a bunch of hard things simultaneously. You need to have a model that is unquestionably one of the best on the market. You need the nearly infinite resources required to continue to improve that model and deploy it at massive scale. You need at least one AI-based product that lots of people use, and ideally more than one. And you need access to as much of your users’ other data — their personal information, their online activity, even the files on their computer — as you can possibly get.

Each one of these elements is complex and competitive; there’s a reason OpenAI CEO Sam Altman keeps shouting about how he needs trillions of dollars in compute alone. But Google is the one company that appears to have all of the pieces already in order. Over the last year, and even in the last few days, the company has made moves that suggest it is ready to be the biggest and most impactful force in AI.

A lot of the necessary infrastructural work happened last year. In November, Google released Gemini 3, which is widely regarded as the best overall large language model on the market. It wins in most (somewhat dubious) benchmark tests, and most experts agree it is either at or near the top of the list for most tasks. Its reign won’t be forever, of course — we’re still very much in the “there’s a new best model every six weeks” phase of AI — but Google has proven its best work is consistently the industry’s best work.

One important factor for Gemini 3 was the way it was trained: using Google’s own TPUs, a highly specialized chip the company has been building for years for exactly this sort of purpose. Google is certainly susceptible to some of the manufacturing problems and RAM price hikes everyone else is, but unlike nearly all of its competitors, it’s not dependent on Nvidia’s supply chain. Google is able to optimize its entire system to make it better, faster, and cheaper. Nobody else has this kind of full-stack control of its AI destiny.

So what do you do when you have the tech in place? Put it in front of people and put it to work. On Monday, Google and Apple announced that Gemini will power the next-generation Siri that’s coming later this year. This is a big win for Apple, which is reportedly paying $1 billion a year in the hopes of turning Siri into an AI assistant that is actually useful for a change.

For Google, it’s just as important. Apple saying “this is the best technology available” is obviously a powerful signal to the market, but even more than that, Siri immediately becomes one of the most popular ways people will interact with Gemini. Apple’s Craig Federighi said in 2024 that Siri processes “something like 1.5 billion requests every day,” and while we don’t know the exact details of the new deal, presumably some large percentage of those will soon run through Gemini. (Here’s hoping “set a timer,” the only thing Siri continues to do well, doesn’t get a new and more complicated back end.) Compare that to ChatGPT, which Altman said last year gets 2.5 billion prompts per day. The Gemini app is growing fast yet still way behind ChatGPT, but adding Siri to the mix will help Google catch up more quickly.

A technology deal is not the same as Gemini fully usurping Siri, of course, and Google would surely like to also have Siri punt questions to Gemini the way it currently does with ChatGPT. But the deal still matters because every user matters: The more user activity and data these companies can collect, the better their models and products can be. The recent search trial was in part about this very flywheel, and it holds just as true with AI.

Google’s other announcement this week is an even bigger flex. It announced an opt-in feature called “Personal Intelligence,” which connects Gemini to the vast ocean of information Google has about you in order to give you better responses. Every time you ask it a question, Gemini can now answer it by looking at your recent searches, the videos you watch on YouTube, your emails, your photos, your files, your Chrome history, and more. You really can’t overstate how big a deal this is: Google no longer has to ask you to give it lots of context, hope you provide excellent and detailed prompts every time, or build out complicated custom instruction systems. Google already knows a scary amount about you, and now Gemini does, too.

Right now, Personal Intelligence is in beta for a subset of paying AI customers. Eventually, Google plans to bring it to everyone, everywhere. And it plans to bring it to the most important Google product of all, the most popular webpage on the planet: its search engine. AI Mode in Search is for now still just a tab to the side of the general search results, but Google very clearly sees it as the future of Search. And it wants to turn Gemini into a portal to all of Google’s data about you, the internet, and the world.

In 2022, when ChatGPT launched, it was clear that Google had been caught flat-footed. But credit where it’s due: For a company not exactly known for its ability to focus on a coherent product strategy, Google managed to marshal its considerable resources in a single direction. Now, if chatbots are in fact the future — and most of the AI industry continues to bet that they are — there is simply no other company currently set up to truly compete with Google. Google has the models. It has the resources to improve them. It now has the distribution necessary to get people to use its bots, and the data required to make them uniquely personal and useful. At least for now, ChatGPT has the brand power, and the daily active users. But Google has almost everything else. Even the iPhone.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 15 January 2026 at 5:14 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

The most notable change you’ll see after updating is the redesigned Music Album and TV Series screens. The information you get from the screen remains the same, but they have been rearranged, making them look a lot better. Additionally, there are new options for Recently Added Music, including Go To Genre and Play Instant Mix.

Here is the TV Series screen before the update:

And here it is after the update:

This update also delivers more customization settings such as new user and library settings to change poster orientation and a new toggle to automatically return to the next episode’s detail screen after playback ends. New media improvements are also present including added genre links and Cover Art Zoom to the Album screen. It also introduces the ability to dismiss all “Skip Segment” buttons and localized translation for these buttons.

Regarding bug fixes and stability improvements, this update resolves issues with .strm playback and incorrect playback reporting on the server admin dashboard. It also fixes several crash scenarios, including those related to library option menus, null user data in collections, and server version detection failures.There is also a bug fixed where the screensaver was disabled on the audio player screen.

Back in November, Plex announced that it will require a Remote Watch Pass or a Plex Pass to stream remotely or in its Roku app. The decision has not been popular among users so some will likely be moving over to alternatives like Emby and Jellyfin.

Let us know in the comments if you have switched over to Jellyfin from Plex.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 15 January 2026 at 5:11 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

These are practical tweaks that improve day-to-day use without installing apps or changing how you watch content.

1. Turn off the full-screen profile picker

Recent tvOS versions show a profile selector every time Apple TV wakes. That makes sense in shared households, but it slows things down if you usually stick to one profile.You can disable it from Settings > Profiles and Accounts by turning off Choose Profile on Wake. Profiles remain available, just not forced on startup.

2. Remap the TV button to go Home

By default, pressing the TV button opens the TV app instead of the Home screen. Holding the button goes Home, which feels backwards.Go to Settings > Remotes and Devices > TV Button and switch the behavior to Home Screen. One press now does what most people expect.

3. Disable auto-playing previews

Auto-playing previews are distracting and noisy. You can disable them system-wide for the TV app from Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Auto-Play Video Previews.Other streaming apps require changes on their websites, but it's worth doing once to stop constant background playback.

4. Make the remote easier to use

The clickpad supports swipe gestures, which many people accidentally trigger. If kids or guests struggle with navigation, switch it to button-only mode.Go to Settings > Remotes and Devices > Clickpad and select Click Only.

5. Use your iPhone or Apple Watch as a remote

If the physical remote goes missing, you don't need to panic. iPhones and Apple Watches can fully control Apple TV.On iPhone, add the Apple TV Remote to Control Center. On Apple Watch, open the built-in Remote app. Both work as long as the devices are on the same network.

6. Set HomePods or AirPlay speakers as default audio

You can permanently route Apple TV audio to HomePods or compatible AirPlay speakers.Go to Settings > Video and Audio > Audio Output and select your speakers as the default. This avoids switching outputs every time you watch something.

7. Pair AirPods for private listening

AirPods integrate tightly with tvOS. Once paired through Settings > Remotes and Devices > Bluetooth, they'll automatically appear as an audio option when you put them on.This is especially useful for late-night viewing.

8. Force-quit misbehaving apps

If a streaming app stutters or loses audio sync, force-quitting usually fixes it.Double-press the TV button, swipe to the app, and swipe up to close it. Relaunching often resolves playback issues instantly.

9. Reduce motion to speed things up

On older Apple TV models, animations can feel sluggish.Enable Reduce Motion under Settings > Accessibility > Motion to make transitions faster and the interface more responsive.

10. Disable unnecessary notifications

Apple TV can show FaceTime calls, Home alerts, and fitness notifications while you're watching something.Go to Settings > Notifications and turn off anything you don't want on your TV screen. You can also enable Do Not Disturb from Control Center.

None of these tweaks change what Apple TV can do, but together they remove small annoyances that add up over time, especially if you use the device every day.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Thursday 15 January 2026 at 5:10 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

• [Drivers] This update removes the following modem drivers: agrsm64.sys (x64), agrsm.sys (x86), smserl64.sys (x64) and smserial.sys (x86). Modem hardware dependent on these specific drivers will no longer work in Windows.
• [Secure Boot] Starting with this update, Windows quality updates include a subset of high-confidence device targeting data that identifies devices eligible to automatically receive new Secure Boot certificates. Devices will receive the new certificates only after demonstrating sufficient successful update signals, ensuring a safe and phased deployment.
• [WinSqlite3.dll] Fixed: The Windows core component, WinSqlite3.dll, has been updated. Previously, some security software might have detected this component as vulnerable.

You can find the support document for KB5073724 here. Microsoft says there are no known issues in today's update.

As usual, your PC will install Patch Tuesday updates automatically in the background, but you can speed things up by heading to Settings > Windows Update. Alternatively, KB5073724 is available for manual installation in the Microsoft Update Catalog.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Wednesday 14 January 2026 at 12:06 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

The changelog is given below:

• [Compatibility] This update removes the following modem drivers: agrsm64.sys (x64), agrsm.sys (x86), smserl64.sys (x64) and smserial.sys (x86). Modem hardware dependent on these specific drivers will no longer work in Windows.

   

• [Networking (known issues)]

   

  • Fixed: This update addresses an issue where mirrored networking in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) could fail causing “No route to host” errors and preventing access to corporate resources over VPN connections, even when the Windows host remained connected. This might occur after installing KB5067036.

     

  • Fixed: This update addresses an issue where you might experience RemoteApp connection failures in Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) environments. This might occur after installing KB5070311.

     

• [Power & Battery] Fixed: This update addresses an issue where devices with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) might stay powered on when idle. This could affect power performance.

   

• [Secure Boot] Starting with this update, Windows quality updates include a subset of high confidence device targeting data that identifies devices eligible to automatically receive new Secure Boot certificates. Devices will receive the new certificates only after demonstrating sufficient successful update signals, ensuring a safe and phased deployment.

   

• [Windows Deployment Services (WDS] This update introduces a change in behavior in which WDS will stop supporting hands-free deployment functionality by default. Detailed guidance for IT administrators is available in Windows Deployment Services (WDS) Hands‑Free Deployment Hardening Guidance.

   

• [WinSqlite3.dll] Fixed: The Windows core component, WinSqlite3.dll, has been updated. Previously, some security software might have detected this component as vulnerable.

   

  Note: WinSqlite3.dll is a separate component from sqlite3.dll, which is found in application-specific directories and is not a Windows component. If security applications continue to detect sqlite3.dll as vulnerable, contact the developer of the app using sqlite3.dll for an update. If sqlite3.dll is being used by a Microsoft app, install the latest version of the app from the Microsoft Store.

   

Microsoft notes a single known issue in this update and has provided a workaround for it. The company confirms it is working on a resolution:

• After installing the August 2025 non-security preview update (KB5064081) or later updates, you might notice that the password icon is not visible in the sign-in options on the lock screen. If you hover over the space where the icon should appear, you’ll see that the password button is still available. Select this placeholder to open the password text box and enter your password. After entering your password, you can sign in normally.

Individuals using Windows Home or Pro editions on personal devices are very unlikely to experience this issue. This issue primarily affects enterprise or managed IT environments.

Workaround

This issue is mitigated using Known Issue Rollback (KIR).

For enterprise-managed devices managed by IT departments that have installed the affected update and encountered this issue, IT administrators can resolve it by installing and configuring the Group policy listed below. The special Group Policy can be found in Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > <Group Policy name listed below>.

Group Policy downloads with Group Policy name:

• Download for Windows 11 version 24H2, Windows 11 version 25H2: Windows 11 24H2, Windows 11 25H2 and Windows Server 2025 KB5072033 251202_18051 Known Issue Rollback

   

Important: You will need to install and configure the Group Policy for your version of Windows to resolve this issue. You will also need to restart your device(s) to apply the group policy setting. Note that the Group Policy will temporarily disable the change causing this issue.

These updates will be available from Windows Update and should install automatically in most cases. If you would like to download these updates for offline installation, you can get them from the Microsoft Catalog website. You can find the update for 25H2/24H2 at this link and for 23H2 at this link.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Wednesday 14 January 2026 at 12:03 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

Starting with the new features, users who prefer a compact view now have an option to "Show Full Path" in the folder pane. Mozilla also changed how special folders are localized, restricting the translation to a specific set of names. To go along with this, the company added a new preference, mail.useLocalizedFolderNames, which lets you toggle this localization on or off if you are not a fan of the change.

Moving on to the bug fixes, the action for compacting multiple folders, which previously failed, now works as intended. You might also notice that unified archive subfolders no longer show incorrect names or empty message lists.

There was a bug reported in Thunderbird 128 where the "Open and Show" button for an OpenPGP-signed message attached as a .eml file did not work. Thankfully, Thunderbird 147 fixes this.

Other fixes include:

• Selected status and priority was not displayed in search widgets.
• Japanese locale users could not create message filters.
• The search for "Attachment" in the Settings menu did not find the "Files and Attachments" section.
• The Account Hub did not show an error message on failure when creating an OAuth2 EWS account.
• SMTP sending could hang when multiple messages were queued for sending.
• Calendar did not alert the user for connection issues.
• It was not possible to create tasks with a Start or Due date.

Mozilla has been working on a suite of services called "Thunderbird Pro" to challenge ecosystems from Google and Microsoft. A central part of this project is a new email service called Thundermail.

When it is ready, you'd be able to get your own email account with something like a "@thundermail.com" domain. Thunderbird Pro will also launch with "Appointment", a scheduling tool that lets people book meetings directly on your calendar, and "Send", an end-to-end encrypted file sharing service.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Wednesday 14 January 2026 at 12:02 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix

WhatsApp dumped its native app for Windows in favor of a web wrapper earlier this year. The new version of WhatsApp uses a tremendous amount of RAM and does not perform as well as its predecessor.

The move to a web wrapper allows the developers of WhatsApp to maintain a single code base across platforms. That should — at least in theory — result in an up-to-date and feature-rich application.

While the new WhatsApp uses more RAM, it also has some features the native version lacked. For example, the Status and Community sections of WhatsApp are more robust and fleshed out on the web wrapper version.

With RAM prices so high, I'd prefer to use an app that's light on system resources, but you could argue that the increased RAM usage is worth it if you get the latest features more quickly.

So, imagine my disappointment when WhatsApp rolled out an update that added support for Group Member Tags and Text Stickers, only for me to realize the features are currently exclusive to mobile devices.

Here's what's new in WhatsApp, at least on the mobile side of things:

• Member tags: We all wear different hats, and sometimes you want to give that more context in a group chat. Now you can give yourself a tag that tells the group what your role is, and can be customized for each group you’re in. So you can be “Anna's Dad” in one group, and “Goalkeeper” in another.
• Text stickers: For the messages you want to really stand out, you can now turn any word into a sticker by typing your text into Sticker Search. You can also add newly created stickers directly to your sticker packs instead of having to send them in a chat first.
• Event reminders: Now when you create and send an event in your group chat you can set custom early reminders for your invitees. This helps everyone remember to commute to the party you’re hosting or hop on the call at the right time, depending on the event type.

I'm in a bunch of group chats — too many, really. In addition to chats with family, I am in several group chats for the various American football teams I'm involved with.

It's not every day that I get to write about Office 97, but when an Easter egg is found in an ancient piece of software, I get the privilege. Recently, X user "Albacore" (@thebookisclosed) revealed an Easter egg that has gone unnoticed for decades.

If you perform a specific sequence of tasks within Office 97, you'll see a special treat. Specifically, a series of movements and key presses while using Microsoft Word will show a whole set of development credits.

To get the Easter egg to appear, you need to set your system date to 1997 or later. Then, you need to hold Control and grab the standard toolbar.

You then need to move the toolbar to the left, down, right, and up — each time with a release and hold of the Control key between each direction.

After doing all that, you need to search "This is not a contest." inside Clippy. The period has to be included with the search text.

Windows Report has noticed a warning for Edge customers leveraging the Dev Channel which reads: "Collections is being retired. You will no longer be able to add new items to Collections. To keep your saved content, you can export it, or move all pages to your Favorites before removal."

This essentially means that Edge users only have two options. If they click on Move to Favorites, Edge will automatically create a new CollectionsExport folder in Favorites, but the drawback is that only web pages are relocated here, not images and notes. The other option is to export, which does exactly what it says on the tin and sends the data in an offline CSV format to your PC.

For those unaware, Collections in Microsoft Edge were launched back in 2020, and they have been updated with new capabilities several times over the past few years. Collections are very similar to Favorites, but different in other ways. They enable users to save web pages, notes, and images in Edge, which can be useful when planning trips or making shopping lists. These collections can be accessed from the omnibar on desktop, and they can be synced across devices where Edge is installed with the same Microsoft Account logged in.

It is important to note that Microsoft has not publicly announced the discontinuation of Collections in Edge, and the documentation hasn't been updated to reflect this change in strategy either. We could not reproduce this change in our Edge Dev copy, but the report does seem legitimate because there have been hints in the past about this deprecation too, as spotted by Windows Central. The retirement of Collections in Edge will likely infuriate customers who use them heavily, especially since no proper alternative is in place.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Wednesday 14 January 2026 at 4:14 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix