AMD Radeon Software 22.6.1 focuses on fixing a single Windows 7-related bug:

• AMD Radeon™ Software may fail to install on some AMD Graphics Products such as the Radeon™ RX 6900 XT.

The company also warn users about two known issues in driver 22.6.1:

• Enhanced Sync may cause a black screen to occur when enabled on some games and system configurations. Any users who may be experiencing issues with Enhanced Sync enabled should disable it as a temporary workaround.
• Radeon performance metrics and logging features may intermittently report extremely high and incorrect memory clock values.

Note that today's release is available only for systems with Windows 7. The most recent update for computers with Windows 10 and 11 is version 22.5.2.

• Download AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 22.6.1 Driver for Windows 7 64-bit
• Download AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 22.6.1 Driver for Windows 7 64-bit (AMD Radeon RX 6400 and Radeon RX 6500 XT only)

AMD releases driver 22.6.1 to fix a single issue on Windows 7

What's new in the iWork 12.1 Update

Keynote

The presentation app in the suite, Keynote, has some new themes that support dynamic backgrounds. These have an animation effect, they are not too fancy. The styles are quite subtle, like a wave of colors flowing gently, or shifting from side to side. The effects are also available in other themes, but you have to manually toggle the background to use the dynamic ones.

You may switch between the various backgrounds and the app will display a motion preview of the selected effect. The preview can be disabled, if you find it distracting. If you have a group of collapsed slides, you can now choose to skip or unskip all of them.

Pages

It's finally here, the Pages app now supports Mail Merge. The feature was removed when Pages 5.0 was released in 2013. (refer: Wikipedia).

It's back in Pages 12.1, and you can use the word processor to create personalized documents for multiple recipients. The app has new templates that you may pick from the New Document screen. These templates allow you to create letters, cards, envelopes, event invitations, etc. Pages will request access to your contacts list, if you choose to use one of the templates. This permission is used for adding a recipient to the document quickly.

You can edit the images and text in the themes, and replace them with your own content to give it a bit of a personal touch. There is a new Technical Certificate template that can be useful for educational institutions, tutors, etc. This template style requires some additional fonts that you will need to download.

This may seem like a trivial feature for many, but one that some might appreciate, the Pages app now allows you to export documents in the TXT format. The Pages app on macOS has supported plain text files without the formatting, but this is something new for iOS and iPadOS devices. This can be very useful for editing text in other apps, and even across platforms and non-Apple devices.

Numbers

Numbers is the only app in the iWork suite that did not gain a new feature in the 12.1 Update. Instead, the new version of the spreadsheet app has gained an optimization. The performance of the app should now be improved when you insert new rows and columns in large tables. That can be important given how spreadsheets can be pretty huge.

It took a while for the updates to show up on my Macbook, but I got them today. The iWork 12.1 Update for Pages, Numbers and Keynote is available on the Mac App Store, and the iOS App Store.

Overall, the update might seem a minor one, but it brings some useful features to the table. It seems a little odd that it took so long for Apple to add a basic feature like Mail Merge to Pages.

Have you installed the updated versions of the iWork suite?

iWork 12.1 update for Pages, Numbers and Keynote released

A message about Windows 8.1 soon reaching its end of life will include options to receive notification later, receive it after January 10, 2023, and learn more. The latter will guide the users to a dedicated support article, where Microsoft explains what end of support means and what users can do.

Interestingly, Microsoft says it currently does not offer free upgrade paths from Windows 8.1 to Windows 11 and 10, which means users need to consider buying a license for a newer release. The company also notes that those sticking to Windows 8.1 should consider purchasing a new computer that supports Windows 11 or 10 because those built for Windows 8.1 "are designed with technology that is about 10 years old."

Windows 8.1, released on October 17, 2013, was Microsoft's attempt to fix what it broke with the initial release of Windows 8. It brought back the traditional Start menu button alongside the option to boot directly into the desktop instead of the radically redesigned Start menu. Windows 8.1 also included Internet Explorer 11 (rest in peace), improved integration with OneDrive, and other tweaks.

Fun fact: Windows 8.1 was the only major Windows update Microsoft allowed you to download from the Microsoft Store, similar to how Apple updates macOS.

Windows 8.1 reached the end of mainstream support on January 9, 2018. Unlike its beloved predecessor, Windows 8.1 does not support the extended security updates program that allows companies to pay Microsoft for additional patches after January 10, 2023.

Microsoft will start warning Windows 8.1 users about upcoming end of support

Microsoft though is aware of the issues and it has confirmed that the problem stems from the Windows 11 Beta Channel.

The company provided a temporary workaround of switching over to the Release Preview Channel. However, that probably won't be necessary as a patch has been deployed and will be rolling out soon.

Are you developer on the Windows 11 Insider channel affected by this issue? Let us know in the comments below if the performance patch works for you.

Microsoft confirms Visual Studio, .NET broken for Windows 11 Insiders, fix incoming

The recently-released Edge Dev 104.0.1293.1 comes with an improved loading time of “Read Aloud” for mobile, improvements to the logic for image enhancement, and another browser improvement that ensures changing between light and dark themes is smoother. Aside from that, the latest version of Edge Dev includes several bug fixes.

You can learn more about what’s new in the latest update by checking out the complete official changelog below.

Changelog

If you want to try these new features before Beta and stable channel users, you can download Microsoft Edge Dev here from the Official Edge Insider website. To update to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Dev Channel users need to navigate to Help and feedback > About Microsoft Edge. You will see the update here. You need to download and install and then restart the browser to complete the installation.

If you’re using Edge Dev, which features do you love the most? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Microsoft Edge Dev 104.0.1293.1 adds no new features

What is new in Microsoft Edge 103

According to the changelog available in the official documentation, Edge 103 brings the following feature updates:

• Ability to control automatic profile switching. The GuidedSwitchEnabled policy lets Microsoft Edge prompt the user to switch to the appropriate profile when Microsoft Edge detects that a link is a personal or work link.
• Client Certificate Switcher. This feature will offer a way for users to clear the remembered certificate and resurface the certificate picker when visiting a site requiring http certificate authentication. Switching can be done without manually quitting Microsoft Edge.
• More reliable web defense. Browse the web with more reliable protection thanks to the rewritten Microsoft Defender SmartScreen library for Microsoft Edge on Windows. The NewSmartScreenLibraryEnabled policy will allow enterprise customers to continue using the legacy version of the library until it’s deprecated in Microsoft Edge version 105.
• Work Search Banner in the Microsoft Edge address bar. This banner helps you stay in the flow of your work by narrowing your search focus to work-only results. To see work focused results from your organization, select the banner at the beginning of your search. To be directed to your organization's workplace search results page, select the banner at any point of your search. Use the AddressBarMicrosoftSearchInBingProviderEnabled policy to turn this feature on or off.

There are also several policy changes and updates:

• GuidedSwitchEnabled - Guided Switch Enabled
• InternetExplorerZoomDisplay - Display zoom in IE Mode tabs with DPI Scale included like it is in Internet Explorer
• LiveCaptionsAllowed - Live captions allowed
• OriginAgentClusterDefaultEnabled - Origin-keyed agent clustering enabled by default

Microsoft Edge will update itself automatically, but you can force-install Edge 103 by navigating to edge://settings/help.

If you are disappointed with the lack of more consumer-facing features, check out some of the improvements Microsoft is currently testing in the Dev and Canary channels:

• Built-in launcher for quick commands.
• A bunch of built-in tools, such as a calculator, unit converter, and speed tester.
• The ability to close a tab with a double click.

Edge 103 is now available with certificate switcher and improved security

This cumulative update is part of Microsoft's scheduled June 2022 monthly "C" updates that enables Windows customers to test upcoming fixes before they're released for all users on July 12th as part of the next Patch Tuesday.

Unlike regular Patch Tuesday updates, scheduled Windows non-security preview updates are optional and only provide bug fixes and performance improvements.

Cumulative updates released today include:

• KB5014668 (Windows 11)
• KB5014669 (Windows 10, version 1809)

"The preview update for other supported versions of Windows 10 will be available in the near term," Microsoft said.

To install today's preview updates, you have to go to Settings > Windows Update and manually click the 'Check for updates' button. Windows will not install them until you also click 'Download now' because they're also optional updates.

You can also manually deploy them from the Microsoft Update Catalog by searching for KB5014668 or KB5014669 and installing the appropriate package for your platform.

KB5014668 fixes upgrade issues, game crashes

Today's Windows 11 optional update comes with fixes for issues that may cause some games to crash when using specific audio technology.

As Microsoft explained, KB5014668 "addresses an issue that causes certain games to stop working if they use the XAudio API to play sound effects."

This cumulative update also patches up a race condition "that might cause an upgrade to Windows 11 (original release) to fail."

It also fixes a bug that could prevent Bluetooth from reconnecting to some audio devices after a device restart.

Last but not least, KB5014668 addresses an issue that might cause Windows 11 (original release) to stop working when installing applications without network connectivity.

What's new in today's Windows update

After installing the KB5014668 cumulative update preview, your Windows 11 installation will change the build number to 22000.778.

The Windows 11 update preview includes even more quality improvements and fixes, including:

• Search highlights that will roll out to Windows 11 customers over the next several weeks
• Adds support for Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.3 in Windows client and server Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) implementations.
• Addresses an issue that fails to hide the Windows Sandbox startup screen after Sandbox starts to run.
• Addresses an issue that causes Microsoft NTLM authentication using an external trust to fail.
• Updates the Start menu to display Windows PowerShell when you right-click (Win + X) the Start button after uninstalling Windows Terminal.

You can find a complete list of all improvements and bug fixes and detailed explanations of known issues in the KB5014668 support bulletin. 

Windows 11 KB5014668 update fixes upgrade fails, game crashes

For starters, Microsoft is adding a new homepage dedicated to gaming. This will include news, guides, livestreams, and highlights from tournaments, among other things. It also has integration with Xbox so if you sign in with your Xbox account, you'll see content related to your recently played games. In fact, if you have an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership, you'll even be able to launch games directly in the browser. This new homepage is accessible as a tab on the Microsoft Edge homepage.

Furthermore, Clarity Boost, which was introduced in Edge Canary way back in November 2021, is finally hitting the Stable Channel. It basically results in a better and sharper image quality which means that you'll be able to see more details when streaming games through Xbox Cloud Gaming. The technology utilizes client-side scaling to make the stream quality more crisp. You can enable it for a title by clicking the three-dots icon on the top-left of a game.

Microsoft is also introducing a new configuration in Efficiency mode that will minimize browser resource usage when you are playing PC games. As soon as you exit the game, resource usage will revert to normal levels. You can enable it through the Performance settings in Edge.

Finally, Microsoft has formally announced the gaming hub for casual titles in Edge. This Games menu will be baked right into Edge's three-dot (more options) menu and will give you immediate access to classic lightweight titles like Microsoft Solitaire, Jewel, Mahjong, and more. Microsoft has been testing this hub since December 2021.

Although the new gaming capabilities might be useful for a subset of Edge users, they will likely once again spark debate about whether this should be considered bloatware or not. Many believe that niche features should be implemented via extensions that you can optionally install rather than having them being baked natively into the browser.

What's your stance on this topic? Let us know in the comments section below!

Microsoft says Edge is the "best browser for gamers", reveals new features

Meanwhile, support for 7th Gen Kaby Lake chips has been removed though it wouldn't have mattered much since Windows 11 does not officially support most of the Kaby Lake lineup.

In terms of feature addition, the new XTU version has optimizations related to Thermal Velocity Boost (TVB) for future platforms, likely indicating 13th Gen Raptor Lake support. The full changelog for XTU 7.8.0.21 is given below:

Changes

• Future Platform(s) Support:
  • Added per-core OC TVB support
  • Added package OC TVB support
  • Added Efficient TVB support
• Undervolt protection, Core Isolation Memory Integrity, Virtual Machine State, and Hyper-V state detection and notification updates
• Dynamic Intel Speed Optimizer feature optimization
• Support for Windows 11 22H2 SV2
• Removed support for Kabylake platforms

Known Issue(s):

• In certain system configurations, Core Isolation Memory Integrity, Hyper-V, and Virtual Machine State are incompatible with XTU. In these cases, XTU is unable to function when these features are enabled.
• When Windows Smart App Control feature is enabled, installing and/or running XTU may result in a notification or error from Windows. In these cases the user may reboot the system and rerun the XTU installer or application. We are working with Microsoft to resolve this issue.

You can download XTU 7.8.0.21 on Intel's official website here.

Intel XTU 7.8.0.21 brings overclocking to Windows 11 22H2, adds Raptor Lake support

What is new in the June 2022 firmware update for the Surface Book 2?

• The update improves system stability and fixes scenarios causing a blue screen of death.

   

• The update improves graphics performance and overall stability.

   

Here is the complete list of drivers in the latest firmware for the Surface Book 2:

You can install today's patches from Windows Update or the official website on every configuration of the Surface Book 2 with Windows 10 19H1 and newer. According to Microsoft, the update contains no known issues.

What is new in the June 2022 firmware update for the Surface Laptop 2?

• The update improves graphics performance and stability plus addresses a critical security vulnerability.
• The update fixes an issue when the Camera app was taking photos with HDR disabled.

The June 2022 firmware update is available for all configurations of the Surface Laptop 2 with Windows 10 20H1 and newer. You can download available patches from Windows Update or the official Surface Firmware website.

Here are other Surface devices Microsoft updated this month:

• Surface Duo
• Surface Duo 2
• Surface Laptop Go 2
• Surface Pro X SQ1
• Surface Pro X SQ2

Microsoft updates Surface Book 2 and Surface Laptop 2 with new drivers and bugfixes

Open source body the Linux Foundation has kicked off a bid to foster standards for the electronics tipped to modernize data center network architectures.

The OPI (Open Programmable Infrastructure) Project is intended to create an ecosystem for vendors building smart technologies developed from network interface cards. SmartNICs, also known as DPUs and IPUs, can allow for more flexible network infrastructure, but the Linux Foundation wants to make sure any APIs (application programming interfaces) are open and standards-based to enable fast adoption of the technology.

Founders of OPI include Dell, F5, Intel, Keysight, Marvell, Nvidia, and Red Hat

Making SmarNICs smarter

SmartNICs, also known as DPUs and IPUs, enable programmable network infrastructure, so applications can perform better and be more portable. The group is looking for more members, including silicon and device manufactures, ISVs, test and measurement partners, and OEMs to end users.

"When new technologies emerge, there is so much opportunity for both technical and business innovation but barriers often include a lack of open standards and a thriving community to support them," said Mike Dolan, senior vice president of projects at the Linux Foundation. "DPUs and IPUs are great examples of some of the most promising technologies emerging today for cloud and data center, and OPI is poised to accelerate adoption and opportunity by supporting an ecosystem for DPU and IPU technologies."

By streamlining networks and making them more flexible DPUs and IPUs can enable new ways to utilize resources such as storage and GPUs accelerators. Essentially making the network so intelligent that these resources can be used inline reducing the management bottleneck of requiring everything to be managed by the CPU.

The OPI project will try and standardize the definition. While Nvidia, and new players like Fungible, talk of DPUs (data processing units), Intel has a broadly similar product called the IPU (infrastructure processing unit). It will also set out vendor-agnostic frameworks to enable different DPUs and IPUs to work with software stacks across hardware and applications.

The group should also be well placed to ensure any DPU standards work integrates well with other open source projects such as DPDK, SPDK, OvS, P4, and the Linux kernel itself.

There are already several working groups, aiming to produce an Infrastructure Programmer Development Kit (IPDK) which includes drivers and APIs for infrastructure offload running on a CPU, IPU, DPU, or switch.

Nvidia has offered to donate DOCA, an open source software development framework for its BlueField DPU.

"Data center operators across multiple industry segments are increasingly incorporating DPUs as an integral part of their infrastructure processing to offload complex workloads from general-purpose to more robust compute platforms," says Cary Ussery, VP software and support, processors, at Marvell. "Marvell strongly believes that software standardization in the ecosystem will significantly contribute to the success of workload acceleration solutions. As a founding member of the OPI Project, Marvell aims to address the need for standardization of software frameworks used in provisioning, lifecycle management, orchestration, virtualization, and deployment of workloads."

"The fundamental architecture of data centers is evolving to meet the demands of private and hyperscale clouds and AI, which require extreme performance enabled by DPUs such as the Nvidia BlueField and open frameworks such as Nvida DOCA," added Kevin Deierling, vice president of networking at Nvidia. "These will support OPI to provide BlueField users with extreme acceleration, enabled by common, multi-vendor management and applications."

Source

Getting access to some of the most popular online tools for Microsoft Edge should soon be easier than ever thanks to a new update.
The company has revealed it is working on an upgrade for its browser that will give users quick access to their favorite tools directly in the Microsoft Edge sidebar.

The update means you'll no longer be hunting around for the likes of Calculator, Internet speed test, and Unit converter when you need them most.

Microsoft Edge top tools

The entry for the update on the Microsoft 365 roadmap (opens in new tab) doesn't contain a lot of information on how the update will work, or even what it will look like, so we'll have to stay tuned for more details soon.

However, Microsoft has set a goal of general availability by August 2022, so we may not have too long to wait. The company says the update will initially only be available for web users, so hopefully a mobile version might also be along soon.

The launch will be the latest in a long series of updates to Edge as Microsoft looks to make sure the browser stays useful for users across the world.

This includes a recent addition that will allow users to pause all extensions from running on specific websites with a single click, giving them greater control over extensions running on risky or sensitive websites.

Microsoft recently introduced redesigned context menus that appear when a user right-clicks somewhere in a window, following complaints from users that it was far too large when it appears, and is cluttered with a huge list of options that are not particularly useful.
Recent Statcounter figures showed Microsoft Edge has either lost or failed to gain market share in four of the last six months.

It put Edge at a 4.05% share of the market (across both desktop and mobile platforms), which equates to an estimated 200 million users - a long way shy of both Google Chrome (64.34%) and Apple’s Safari (19.16%), but ahead of Firefox (3.41%).

Source

The outline of Broadcom's plans appeared in a Wednesday blog post by Broadcom Software president Tom Krause.

The post opens with blandishments about Broadcom meeting with VMware customers "to tell them more about how this combination will deliver compelling benefits to them."

Those benefits center on "greater choice and flexibility to build, run, manage, connect and protect traditional and modern applications at scale across diversified, distributed environments."

Krause's definition of "choice" hinges on the intention that Broadcom Software's existing businesses – Symantec and CA – will operate under the VMware name once the deal is done. VMware customers will therefore be able to choose Symantec and CA products.

VMware customers are, it should be noted, free to make that choice today.

Krause added that the combination of VMware and Broadcom software will "help enterprises build, manage and secure a wide variety of applications – from mainframe to client server to cloud-native via Kubernetes – and more securely deliver amazing end user experiences to any device anywhere."

That's a slightly stronger statement, as the combined Broadcom Software and VMware will indeed have expertise on many platforms. But the post makes no mention of integration plans that might link the combined companies' portfolios more elegantly.

The post does state: "A key pillar of the combined company's innovation roadmap will be to retain and support VMware's engineering and R&D talent."

Broadcom Software has previously stated it prefers to focus R&D on the needs of its very largest customers, and that doing so saves money because the largest customers are also the stickiest and most lucrative.

It's even gone so far as to discourage smaller customers from persisting with its products – using price hikes and a cold shoulder to buyers and channel partners alike to make it plain they can do better elsewhere.

The company has already said VMware's channel will get to do the heavy lifting for smaller customers, and Krause re-stated that plan.
"We recognize the central role that VMware's deep customer relationships play in its success. Broadcom wants to preserve and grow these relationships," he wrote, adding "we'll be investing in both the direct sales force across all key verticals as well as the partners that support the broader customer base."

"VMware is an iconic software company with a vibrant ecosystem, including hyperscalers, system integrators and channel partners. We don't want to change any of that, and in fact, we want to embrace those relationships."

Before you feel too warm and fuzzy, note that the post also hedges by pointing out that Broadcom Software is yet to get a look inside VMware – so it can't offer detailed plans.

"We are approaching the post-closing planning phase of the transaction process with an open mind, while drawing from the lessons learned from our previous acquisitions of CA and Symantec Enterprise," Krause wrote. "This means that we'll be working in close coordination with VMware to learn more about their go-to-market, product portfolio, approach to innovation, engineering talent, partner network and, of course, strong customer footprint."

A reminder: when Broadcom Software acquired CA and Symantec it made swingeing cuts to headcount and sales and marketing expenses. While retained staff tell The Register Broadcom Software is a pleasant and supportive place to work, they cannot deny they have many fewer colleagues than before their previous employers were acquired.

Those cuts may be why jobs boards like The Layoff and Blind have, of late, featured questions from folks who have been offered jobs at VMware and wonder if Broadcom Software's takeover might make their tenures unpleasantly short.

One element of Krause's post that appears notable is his mention of delivering experiences to any device anywhere. Your correspondent has encountered many comments questioning whether VMware's end user computing products are a good fit for Broadcom Software's focus on infrastructure. Krause's post might ease those doubts.

Overall, however, Krause's post offers almost no specific information on how Broadcom Software plans to work with VMware.

The acquisition was announced on May 26, along with a 40-day go-shop provision under which VMware could solicit rival offers. At the time of writing no such bids have emerged, or been rumored. ®

Source

A long time ago, Google added a neat feature to Chrome that lets you access various browser features using quick commands. For example, you can invoke the search bar and type "clear history" to delete history without diving into the browser's settings. Now the same feature is available in Edge Canary and Dev.

For now, the quick commands feature in Microsoft Edge hides behind an experimental flag you need to enable manually. Navigate to edge://flags/#edge-devtools-toaster and set DevTools Toaster to Enabled. Restart the browser, and then you can press Ctrl + Shift + Space to invoke the launcher. Another way to open the quick commands bar is to open the main menu and select More Tools > Quick Commands.

The quick commands bar does not support every feature or setting in the browser, so you still need to use search in Settings to navigate around. Still, it is enough to perform routine tasks with much fewer clicks. Also, given the experimental nature of the feature, you can expect Microsoft to improve it in future updates.

In case you missed it, Microsoft recently introduced a new accessibility feature that lets you close tabs using a double click. It was one of the most popular feature requests, and it is good to see Microsoft finally implementing it, albeit in the Canary channel only.

Source: Leopeva64-2 on Reddit

Edge Dev and Canary receive built-in launcher for quick commands

Although Microsoft has not updated the official tool to check for Windows 11 compatibility, like the PC Health Check app, you can still use a trick that involves digging into the Windows registry to find out if your system is ready to take Windows 11 22H2 (Sun Valley 2) or not.

The information is available in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software hive where the "TargetVersionUpgradeExperienceIndicators" subtree reveals details on whether your PC is 22H2 ready or if something is blocking its compatibility and its ability to upgrade to Sun Valley 2 (SV2).

The full address for the subkey is:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\TargetVersionUpgradeExperienceIndicators\NI22H2

Inside this folder, the "UpEx" and the "UpExU" values should be set to "Green" in the case of a system that is ready for Windows 11 22H2. Alongside that, the "RedReason" value should be "None". On the opposite spectrum, for an incompatible system, those values should be "Red" instead of "Green", and the RedReason should list the reasons that make it incompatible, like missing TPM 2.0 or Secure Boot.

Here is an example of an incompatible system with an unsupported CPU and TPM posted by Twitter user Panu Saukko. The screenshot was taken on a Windows 10 version 20H2 system which is why the upgrade experience indicators of Windows versions 21H1, 21H2, CO21H2 and NI22H2 are present.

More details about compatible or incompatible specifications are available in the "CompatMarkers/NI22H2" folder just above this.

Source: SMSagent via Panu Saukko (Twitter)

Cool registry trick reveals if your PC is Windows 11 22H2 (Sun Valley 2) ready or not

Microsoft says august updates for Edge will add "your favorite tools" to the Microsoft Edge sidebar.

Easily access commonly used tools while you browse the web, including Calculator, Internet speed test, and Unit converter.

If you use Microsoft Edge Canary to test early updates and features before Microsoft ships them to the general public, you can already access the new utilities from the sidebar. In Edge Canary 105, it offers a world clock, calculator, dictionary, translator, unit converter, and Internet speed test.

It is easy to understand why users bash Microsoft for bloating its Edge with features not everyone needs. Microsoft Edge is so full of niche capabilities and features that its context menus no longer fit on one screen (Microsoft is working on fixing that). Still, having popular tools on the native level will prevent less tech-proficient users from downloading shady third-party extensions.

What do you think about having a calculator, unit converter, and an internet speed test in Microsoft Edge?

Edge will soon receive a built-in calculator, speed tester, and unit converter

The new build adds plenty of new changes and improvements on top of bug fixes. The full changelog for Build 25145 is given below:

What’s new in Build 25145

Narrator Braille Driver Solution

Braille devices will continue working while switching between Narrator and third-party screen readers as narrator will automatically change Braille drivers.

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, then return to Settings > Accessibility > Narrator > Braille.
5. Select the braille display driver used by your third-party screen reader from the “Braille display driver” option. This only needs to be done once.

Refer to the detailed documentation to learn more about the braille driver solution.

Additional Resources:

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

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

Bringing OneDrive storage alert and subscription management in Settings

In March, we enhanced the Microsoft 365 subscription management experience in Windows 11 Settings and added the ability to view your payment method on your Microsoft 365 subscription in Accounts within Settings.

The OneDrive Standalone 100GB subscription management experience is live on Accounts page in Settings.

Starting with today’s build, we have begun enabling OneDrive Standalone 100GB subscriptions in the Accounts page within Settings, similar to the Microsoft 365 subscriptions. This will allow you to view your recurring billing, payment method, and OneDrive storage usage within Windows 11. Additionally, if you are close to or above your OneDrive storage limit, you will be informed on the same page.

Banner shown on Account settings page alerting you about your storage usage.

[We are beginning to roll those features out, so the experience 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 > Settings Homepage.

Local Administrator Password Solution

The legacy Local Administrator Password Solution product (aka “LAPS”) is now a native part of Windows and includes many new features:

Easily manage the new LAPS group policy settings via Group Policy Editor.

Feature documentation is not yet available, however if you have used the legacy LAPS product then many of the features in this new version will be familiar to you. Here is a short how-to to help you get started on the basic Active Directory domain-joined client scenario:

1. Extend your Active Directory schema by running the Update-LapsADSchema cmdlet in the new LAPS PowerShell module.
2. Add the necessary permissions on your computer’s OU by running the Set-LapsADComputerSelfPermission cmdlet.
3. Add a new LAPS Group Policy object and enable the “Configure password backup directory” setting and configure it to backup the password to “Active Directory”.
4. The domain-joined client will process the policy at the next GPO refresh interval. Run “gpupdate /target:computer /force” to avoid waiting. (The Invoke-LapsPolicyProcessing cmdlet may be used for this same purpose.)
5. Once the domain-joined client has backed up a new password (look for the 10018 event in the event log – see below screenshot), run the Get-LapsADPassword cmdlet to retrieve the newly stored password (by default you must be running as a domain administrator).

To get to this new Group Policy, open the Group Policy editor and navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > LAPS.

You can retrieve detailed status via the new built in event logging:

Easily track the outcome of all LAPS operations in the event log.

Note: the feature is fully functional for Active Directory domain-joined clients, but Azure Active Directory support is limited for now to a small set of Insiders. We will make an announcement once Azure Active Directory support is more broadly available.

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Security and Privacy > Attack Surface Reduction.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• Every Microsoft customer should be able to use our products knowing we will protect their privacy and give them the information and tools needed to audit all usage of their private resources. The new App usage history features, which began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25140, gives users a 7-day history of resource access for Location, Camera, Microphone, Phone Calls, Messaging, Contacts, Pictures, Videos, Music library, Screenshots and apps through the Settings experience. You can find this new information under Settings > Privacy & security > App permissions (simply click on one of the app permissions categories such as microphone and look at “Recent activity”).

[Suggested Actions]

• Suggested Actions, which began rolling out with Build 25115, is now available to all Windows Insiders in the in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

[File Explorer]

• Middle clicking a folder in the body of File Explorer will now open it in a new tab.

Here are the bug fixes in Windows 11 Build 25145:

[General]

• Fixed an issue causing Windows Insiders on Surface Pro X devices to hit a black screen when attempting to resume from hibernate.
• Fixed a bugcheck that some Insiders were experiencing with SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED related to USBs.
• Fixed a bugcheck with error 0x1CA SYNTHETIC_WATCHDOG_TIMEOUT that could happen sporadically on some PCs after left idling for some time. This could happen when a laptop lid was closed, making it appear that the laptop had rebooted while sleeping.
• Fixed an issue from the last two builds that was leading to InventorySvc consuming an unexpectedly high volume of memory the longer it was running.

[File Explorer]

• The row of tabs should now be included in the keyboard focus cycle when pressing Tab or F6. Once focus is in the tab row, you can use left or right arrow keys to navigate through them.
• Fixed an issue where the tab order when using CTRL + Tab would be wrong if you’d rearranged the tabs in File Explorer.

[Start]

• Narrator will now read the dialog that opens when uninstalling an app from its context menu in Start and those options correctly.
• The animation when selecting the More button in Start’s Recommended section in right-to-left (RTL) languages should now appear correctly.

[Taskbar]

• When dismissing notification center using your keyboard, its closing animation will now show correctly.

[Settings]

• Typing a number in the Settings search box when using an Arabic display language should no longer show boxes.
• Fixed an issue causing Settings to crash when going to Bluetooth & Devices > Printers & Scanners in the last few builds.
• Fixed a couple crashes that some Insiders were experiencing in the last few builds when opening the Wi-Fi section of Quick Settings, or after connecting or disconnecting from networks in the Wi-Fi section in Quick Settings.
• Fixed an issue that was causing the Wi-Fi option in Quick Settings and the Wi-Fi section in Settings to sometimes take a few seconds to appear.
• Using touch to rearrange the items in Quick Settings when in edit mode should no longer lead to Quick Settings unexpectedly dismissing sometimes.

[Input]

• Added the SOM currency sign (U+20C0) to the Courier New font family.

[Task Manager]

• Pressing CTRL + Page Up and CTRL + Page Down should work again now to navigate through pages in Task Manager.

[Other]

• Fixed a rare issue that could lead to certain apps to sporadically crash on launch.

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.

Here are the known issues in Windows 11 Build 25145:

[General]

• We are investigating reports that the Mica material and Acrylic blur effect is not rendering correct in OS surfaces like the Start menu, Notification Center and other areas.
• We’re investigating reports that shutting down via the Start menu isn’t working for some Insiders and is unexpectedly rebooting instead.
• Some games that use Easy Anti-Cheat may crash or cause your PC to bugcheck.

[File Explorer]

• The up arrow is misaligned in File Explorer tabs. This will be fixed in a future update.
• We’re investigating reports that launching File Explorer in certain ways when using dark mode (for example, from the command line) is showing the body of File Explorer unexpectedly in light mode.

[Widgets]

• We’re working on the fix for an issue causing Widgets preferences (temperature units and pinned widgets) to unexpectedly get reset to default.

[Live captions]

• Certain apps in full screen (e.g., video players) prevent live captions from being visible.
• Certain apps positioned near the top of the screen and closed before live captions is run will re-launch behind the live captions window positioned at top. Use the system menu (ALT + Spacebar) while the app has focus to move the app’s window further down.

You can find the official blog post here.

Windows 11 23H2 Dev build 25145 brings OneDrive alert, local admin passwords, and more

Microsoft has announced some nifty improvements to the 3D View tool that is part of the Development Tools (Dev Tools). The tool is getting quite a few performance enhancements that should help Web Developers spot, address, and improve multiple elements which collectively make a website.

The 3D View tool has been very useful while visualizing and solving common web development challenges such as DOM complexity, unwanted scrollbars, or z-index stacking issues. The 3D View tool, as well as the DevTools, are obviously not meant for the average web user. However, those who already use the development tools should benefit from new features, assured Microsoft.

Some of the new features that Microsoft has incorporated within the 3D View tool are as follows:

Quickly view page complexity:

The 3D View tool has always been one of the fastest ways to find deeply nested containers. The DOM tab of the 3D View tool quickly reveals the DOM tree in 3 dimensions and helps developers discover which part of your page may have too many wrappers.

The DOM tab of the tool also gives developers an overall view of the entire web page and allows them to zoom out and pan around the scene until the elements that are out of the viewport become visible. Clicking one of the elements lets developers jump straight to the Elements tool.

Debug z-index stacking issues:

The 3D View tool has a Z-index tab that makes investigation simpler and intuitive. The tool makes it possible to see which elements are stacking contexts and how elements are stacked along the z-index axis. This can help to quickly find common issues.

Debug performance issues with Composited Layers:

This new feature breaks down a webpage in the correct or optimized number of layers. This significantly improves performance, especially when some components are animated or changing independently of the rest.

Microsoft has added a new Composited Layers tab to discover the layers that were created. In the sidebar on the left-hand side, the list of layers is displayed, and hovering over each of them highlights it in the 3D scene. The panel will highlight important information about the layers such as the size and memory needed to render the same.

Microsoft Edge DevTools improves 3D View tool to visualize Web Dev issues

What is new in Edge 104.0.1293.1?

Today's update has brought just a few changes to mobile and desktop versions of Edge. Probably the most notable fix is a slightly improved transition between the light and dark theme of the browser. Here is the full changelog:

Added Features:

• Mobile: Improved the loading time of Read Aloud .

Improved reliability:  

• Improved browser so that changing between light or dark theme is smoother
• Improved the logic for image enhancement.

Changed Behavior:

Mobile:

• Fixed the false upgrade alert under Settings > About Microsoft Edge.

• Read Aloud button will now only show for websites that have the feature enabled.

• Updated speech settings on reader mode for Android.

   

Edge 104 will soon be available for testing in the Beta channel, where Microsoft ships supported versions of the browser for final trials before promoting them to the stable channel. According to the release schedule, Edge Beta 104 will arrive on the week of June 28, 2022. The public release is expected in early August 2022.

Final Edge Dev 104 build makes toggling between light and dark theme smoother

Hi, I'm Adam, I'm known as Warwagon on the forum. For the past 19 years, I've been operating my own computer repair business. In doing so, I deal with the average computer user on a day-to-day basis.

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

Is anyone else annoyed with the weather icon on the bottom right of Windows 10? By simply moving your mouse over it, Microsoft News pops up!

If that annoys you too, here is how you can stop that from happening.

Right-click on an empty space on the taskbar (located at the bottom of the screen) and left-click “News and Interests” and select "Open on Hover".

That’s it! Now when you hover your mouse over the weather, Microsoft news won’t open.

If you want to remove that icon entirely, simply go through the same steps as before, but this time instead of selecting "Open on Hover", select "Turn off".

Happy Computing!

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

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: Disable "open on hover" on Windows 10 taskbar weather icon

We will start off with Google re-implementing the pre-rendering mechanism in Chrome. This was previously replaced by No State Prefetch, which is safer but doesn't really offer significant performance benefits. This is why Google has gone back to the drawing board to support the "103 Early Hints HTTP" response code (the "103" has no relation to the Chrome version with the same number). Google has described this effort as follows:

HTTP/2 introduced the concept of server push, a mechanism that allows a server to preemptively send data to the client. Server push was intended to improve site performance. In the years since, developers have generally preferred preloading from the client side of a web interaction. 103 early hints for navigation provides a new way to do that.

This should significantly improve the speed of webpage loading, reduce resource-hogging, improve code complexity, and tackle the security and privacy issues present in the initial version of this approach. Page loading will also improve through new speculation rules in Chrome 103 which will offer a "flexible syntax for defining what outgoing links are eligible to be prepared speculatively before navigation".

Additionally, AVIF files (.avif extensions) are now supported in Web Share. AVIF is a much more efficient format than JPEG and Google hopes that supporting it in Web Share will further its use.

Another Chrome 103 feature being hailed by web developers is the ability for web apps to use your local fonts to display content. Previously, cumbersome workarounds had to be implemented which involved uploading font files to the web app's server.

Meanwhile, the Federated Credentials Management (FedCM) API is going through an origin trial. This is yet another step by Google to improve the privacy of Chrome by allowing users to sign into web apps using federated identity providers with details of privilege levels being communicated to the user.

Coming over to the nitty gritty details that will likely interest developers more than consumers, AbortSignal objects are getting a new timeout() method that take milliseconds as an argument, a JavaScript API to modify the ARIA attribute directly, a raw deflate compression method for streams, an Element.isVisible() method which does exactly what the name implies, and the ability for web apps to forget serial ports voluntarily. Chrome 103 will also align with Firefox' behavior by firing popstate immediately after changes in the URL, you can find out the technical details here.

Finally, there are three features in developer trials this time around. Being in a developer trials means that they will need to be enabled from flags. They are as follows:

1. Focusgroup

2. Fullscreen Capability Delegation

3. Support visual-box on overflow-clip-margin

Chrome 103 will start rolling out in the later hours of today. If it does not automatically update to version 103 for you throughout the course of the day, head over to Help > About Google Chrome to trigger the update once it becomes available. Next up is Chrome 104 which will hit the Beta channel on June 23, and will land on Stable a bit later than expected on August 2.

Google Chrome 103 is landing today with faster page loads and local font access

Frontpaged:   Google Chrome 103.0.5060.53

Over a month ago, we heard that Windows Package Manager - also known as winget - has received preliminary support for the installation of portable apps in a preview version of the software. Now, it seems that Microsoft is ready to add full support in the stable build for winget as the latest release candidate (RC) includes this feature.

For those unaware of what portable or standalone apps are, they are basically software that do not require traditional installation from the Microsoft Store or using conventional .msi or .exe files. You can extract program files to any folder and run the application right away. One of the benefits of portable apps is that you can keep them on removable storage and run on any Windows PC without installation, which comes in handy for troubleshooting or maintenance.

Windows Package Manager 1.3.1681 has been made available as an RC build with the following features:

• Support for installation of portable/standalone apps
• Add a notes/info field to manifests
• Add an optional URL to Expected Return Codes
• Manifest Field for User Manual / Documentation
• Add alternative version number field to manifest to make correlation with entries in Add/Remove programs more reliable
• Setting for always using verbose logs
• winget --info should print the system architecture
• An even better progress bar

There are a few known issues too:

• Searching for dotnet package
• Allow winget to install MS Store packages without account just like the MS Store
• --include-unknown not functioning as expected
• Includes a fix for an App Installer bug that was causing crashes due to null pointer reads

The full changelog is quite lengthy but you can check it out over here.

Microsoft has noted that it has disabled experimental features in this build since this is a release candidate. It plans to release another similar build with the experimental features available soon. The latest version is available for those running Windows 10 version 1809 or above, and Windows 11. You can download it from here.

Windows Package Manager 1.3.1681 RC adds support for portable app installations

A thread on Microsoft support forums reveals numerous reports from the first-gen Surface Go owners with complaints about a firmware update bricking their devices. In early May 2022, Microsoft released a set of patches that threw multiple devices into an unbootable state. Upon attempting to start their base-config Surface Go, users see a "No Bootable Device" error.

As of now, there is no way to bypass the problem, which means affected devices will remain bricked until Microsoft provides a workaround. Interestingly, this is not the first time a firmware update bricks Surface computers. In February, a new storage driver did the same to the third-gen Surface Book, and Microsoft quickly pulled the update.

For some reason, the botched firmware update for the first-gen Surface Go is still available for download. If you have the original Surface Go with eMMC storage, pause Windows Update and do not install the latest firmware. You cannot uninstall firmware on Surface devices, so disabling Windows Update is the only way to ensure your tablet will not download the problematic driver.

Fortunately, it appears that Microsoft is aware of the issue. One of the affected users reported that Microsoft Business Support let them know that the company's engineers are investigating the problem. Still, there is no information on when the needed fix will be available or how the affected users will have to restore their now-dead Surface Go tablets.

Latest firmware update bricks base configs of Surface Go

Even if you are not directly using open-source products, as the Linux Foundation reports, "It has been estimated that free and open-source software (FOSS) constitutes 70% to 90% of any given piece of modern software solutions." You may also be surprised to know that 50% of Fortune 500 companies use open-source software (registration required) for mission-critical work.

Properly adopting open-source software can arm your IT department with the tools to create low-cost software that's customized for your business. As software becomes a larger part of your company's competitive advantage in the market, it's valuable to understand the benefits and be knowledgeable about what to look out for when using open-source software.

Five Benefits Of Open Source

1. Flexibility: Your company's needs are unique, and the ability to adapt the software you're using can significantly improve its value. Open-source software is highly customizable and allows you to build and alter the product to your requirements. Customization is impossible for most SaaS products (unless you're a top customer).

2. Lower Cost: The cost profile of open source differs from traditional SaaS products and software developed in-house. Compared to a cloud-hosted SaaS product, an open-source solution can offer cost savings over the long term, especially when self-hosted on your infrastructure. Software developed in-house will require a significant upfront investment, so selecting an open-source alternative will leverage existing work from the community that your developers can build on.

3. Security: Today, major cloud-hosted products are targets for hackers. When Okta or Github goes down, you and all the other users cannot use the service. Not all open-source software is secure, but larger projects have been battle-tested over time. Look for a history of properly handling security vulnerabilities and a community actively engaged in reviewing the code. One strong signal for quality is that notable companies actively contribute to the code and use the project in production.

4. Data Portability: Have you ever tried to take your data off a SaaS product? It's usually a horrible experience—email someone, wait a few days, then get a zip file with no explanation of what's inside. The experience is different for open-source projects. The community will almost always push for data to be stored in an accessible and open format. And when self-hosting, the data will be stored on your infrastructure, making it even easier to query and export.

5. Continuity: Proprietary software can reach end-of-life. Whether due to a bankrupt company or the launch of a new product, the software will stop receiving updates and be more susceptible to security vulnerabilities. In contrast, open-source projects are supported by a community of many individuals and groups who are unlikely to all stop contributing to the project. Even if they do, you will have the freedom to access and alter the source code.

Three Things To Look Out For

1. Frequency Of Updates: Infrequent updates by a few individuals can indicate a project that's at risk of being unsupported. If updates are too frequent, the community may not have enough time to check and maintain the product's security and reliability properly. One way to mitigate this is by only staying on stable releases of the product and upgrading when newer versions have been audited by experts.

2. Team Expertise: The freedom to modify the software is moot if no one on your team has the expertise to do it. When deciding on what software to use, ensure your technical team is involved in making the decision. It's ideal when an open-source project has a company actively supporting and offering value-added services. You'll get the full support of proprietary software with the benefits of an open-source code base.

3. Quality Of The Community: Two things matter here: Who is building the software and who is using it? Contributors develop the project. Look for people who have deep expertise and a long history of being with the project. Notable company adoption is another indicator of a great project. These companies don't make investments in new software lightly and will often put their resources into contributing to the project as well.

Open Source: The Future Of Software

For your future technology decisions, consider the open-source options. The open-source market was $21.7 billion in 2021 and is expected to double within five years. With the ease of collaboration among developers worldwide, more amazing projects will emerge as alternatives to existing proprietary software. They could prove to be a lower-cost alternative that can adapt to the changing landscape of your industry and the growth of your business.

Source

Microsoft has blocked the installation of Windows 10 and 11 in Russia from the company's official website, Russian state media reported on Sunday.
Users within the country confirmed that attempts to download Windows 10 resulted in a 404 error message.

 pic.twitter.com/DRzrr3922Q

 — Monsterjeep (@monsterjeep) June 19, 2022

TASS reported that attempts to download a Windows 11 disk image (ISO) were diverted to a Microsoft Support contact page. The software is available, however, with a virtual private network (VPN) to disguise a computer's location – as are many other online resources.

Demand for VPNs reportedly rose by an unprecedented 2,692 percent in Russia as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter removed access to apps from the location.

 In early March, Microsoft announced it would suspend new sales of Microsoft products and services in the country due to the invasion of Ukraine and "in compliance with governmental sanctions decisions."

A few days later, Ukrainian vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov called on the company to do more and block access to its products in the region.

 During 10 days of the war RU fired more than 400 cruise missiles on UA – kindergartens, hospitals and residential buildings were destroyed.

@Microsoft @BillGates @satyanadella please help to stop this – block access to Azure, Skype, GitHub from Russia.

 — Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 6, 2022

This month, Microsoft announced it was making substantial cuts to its business in Russia, reportedly including the reduction of over 400 employees.

Federov has routinely called out Big Tech on Twitter for continuing to do business in Russia.

Many – including SAP, Oracle, Dell, Sony Interactive Entertainment, AMD, Intel, Ericsson, and more – have pulled out or significantly reduced their operations.

In response, Russian president Vladimir Putin threatened retaliatory sanctions, including "a ban on exporting products or raw materials manufactured or extracted in Russia when they are delivered to individuals under sanctions, or by individuals under sanctions to other individuals."

Russia is also preventing the export of millions of tons of wheat from Ukraine, an action EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned as a "real war crime" and an action that weaponizes hunger. ®

Source