The Command Palette is a feature available on Windows 11 through PowerToys designed for advanced users who want faster access to apps, settings, and system tools through a single, lightweight interface. It's usually compared to macOS Spotlight because it offers a similar keyboard experience for quickly finding and launching items.

When using Command Palette, with just a few keystrokes, you can launch apps, open settings, and trigger actions with near-instant results, often faster and more consistent than Windows Search or navigating through File Explorer.

Perhaps the best feature is its extensibility. The tool ships with a solid set of built-in extensions, and you can install additional extensions directly from within the palette to unlock new capabilities without leaving your workflow.

Beyond app launching, Command Palette can run system commands, making it possible to perform common tasks without opening Command Prompt or PowerShell.

While its core purpose is to serve as an app and settings launcher, an optional extension also enables full system search, allowing you to locate files, apps, and other content on your computer. The only limitation is that searches require an extra step to specify the search type before accessing the results.

In this how-to guide, I'll outline the steps to get the most out of this Spotlight-like feature that you can use on Windows 11.

How to install Command Palette on Windows 11

To access the Command Palette, you have to install PowerToys with these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Command Prompt (or PowerShell), right-click the top result, and choose the Run as administrator option.
3. Type the following command to install PowerToys and press Enter: winget install --id Microsoft.PowerToys

In 2014, Microsoft introduced Sway, a new Office app meant to complement along with the likes of PowerPoint, designed to create visually pleasing presentations, interactive reports, newsletters, and more. To do so, the app allows combining text, images, videos, and other such content.

This was a year before Windows 10 hit general availability and soon enough, Sway dropped its preview form and became a full-fledged Windows 10 app in August of 2015. Over time Microsoft kept adding more features to Sway like Photos support, password protection, among others.

In 2018 however, Microsoft announced that it was killing Sway on iOS, though, at the time it reassured that the Windows 10 app was here to stay.

Fast forward to 2026 which is eight years after that, Microsoft has confirmed that it is now going to retire the Windows 10/11 Sway desktop app as well. However, it is not going away entirely though as Sway will continue to exist on the web. On a new entry labeled as a "major change" on the Microsoft 365 admin portal, the company has explained:

"To streamline and modernize the Sway experience, Microsoft is retiring the Sway Windows desktop application (Win32 client) effective June 1, 2026. This change aligns with our efforts to simplify app management and encourage use of the web-based version, which offers the same capabilities with improved accessibility and support. Users can access all current and future Sway features, as well as their content, through the browser interface at sway.cloud.microsoft." Those who have access to the Microsoft 365 admin center portal can view this message under ID MC1213784.

As such, the Sway desktop app will no longer be available in six months whether you like it or not, and users will have to use the web browser alternative to access it. The free app (a Microsoft account is required to sign in) is rated 4.1 out of 5 stars on the Microsoft Store after almost 2,000 ratings, indicating many users find it fairly useful. The Great Britain version of the app has a good score too of 4.4 from close to 250 ratings.

On the positive side, Microsoft has promised that no changes will be made to existing Sway content and that all of it will be accessible via the web interface. Also, it has been maintained that Sway features and functionalities will remain identical.

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Posted Friday 9 January 2026 at 5:38 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft is launching a new feature in Copilot that will allow you to make purchases during conversations with the AI chatbot. Now, when you’re asking for suggestions about what kind of sneakers you should buy, Copilot can surface a checkout option for the product you choose directly inside the app.

An example shared by Microsoft shows someone using Copilot to search for a small lamp for their bedside table. The chatbot responds with a recommendation, along with a “Details” button for more information and a “Buy” option. Hitting the “Buy” button pulls up a checkout screen where you can enter shipping and payment information and confirm your purchase without visiting the retailer’s website.

It’s similar to the built-in checkout feature OpenAI has launched within ChatGPT and comes as part of a growing trend that has AI-powered agents shopping on a customer’s behalf. Google has launched agentic checkout in Search and AI Mode, while Perplexity’s AI-powered browser and chatbot can help users buy products, too, which Amazon isn’t very happy about.

Microsoft is rolling out in-chat checkouts on Copilot.com in the US, and it’s currently available with select retailers, including Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Ashley Furniture, and some Etsy sellers. PayPal, Stripe, and Shopify are working with Microsoft to power payments.

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Posted Friday 9 January 2026 at 5:36 am AEST (my time).

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For those unfamiliar, Raycast is a popular launcher originally developed for macOS. In 2025, Raycast arrived on Windows in beta, and developers are steadily improving it with new features and changes. Raycast lets you run apps, find files, ask AI, and do a lot more with third-party plugins. With the latest update, version 0.41, Raycast for Windows now features its own Run command with a bunch of extra features to make it very powerful.

You can map Raycast's Run to the stock Win + R command and then use it to execute commands and system tools, browse your run history (data is pulled from the Windows Run dialog as well), read easy-to-understand descriptions of various tools, applets, and snap-ins, open Control Panel applets, navigate to directories, etc. You can read more about what Raycast's Run can do in the official documentation.

Here is the rest of the changelog:

• Improvements
  • General: Added missing about actions menu in all extensions
  • Quick AI: Disabled AI model selects when there is only a single model available
  • Snippets: Injection delay config to avoid accidental triggers on similar aliases
  • Store: Polished store details view design
• Fixes
  • Run: Multiple small fixes and improvements
  • System: Fixed an issue that would cause Raycast to crash at startup for some users.

Raycast is currently available in beta for free for all Windows users. You can download it from the official website and try it yourself.

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Posted Friday 9 January 2026 at 5:35 am AEST (my time).

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Google Search's AI Overviews feature is now available inside Gmail. When users open a long email thread, AI Overviews will synthesize the entire mail chain into a short summary of key points. Also, when users do a natural language search in their inbox, instead of presenting a list of emails as search results, there will be a simple AI Overview answer. For example, a user can ask, “What was the hotel I visited last year in NYC?” and get a direct hotel name as the answer.

This new AI Overview for email thread summaries is rolling out today for all Gmail users for free. The ability to ask natural language questions with AI Overviews is available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.

Google is also bringing Help Me Write and Suggested Replies features to everyone for free. Help Me Write will allow users to write emails from scratch with a simple text description, while Suggested Replies will present relevant, one-click responses when replying to an email. There is also a new Proofread feature for advanced grammar, tone, and style checks, and this feature is available for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. Next month, Google will be updating Help Me Write with better personalization by bringing context from other Google apps like Google Drive.

The new AI Inbox filters will help users prioritize and identify important emails. For example, Gmail can proactively highlight a credit card bill due tomorrow or an upcoming doctor visit. Google is now rolling out this feature to trusted testers before rolling it out broadly in the coming months.

The above new AI features are now rolling out in the US in English. Google will be bringing them to more languages and to more regions in the coming months.

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Posted Friday 9 January 2026 at 5:34 am AEST (my time).

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Gmail made us all rethink how email could work when it debuted more than 20 years ago. Google thinks we’re in the process of another email transformation courtesy of AI. The company has unveiled a new round of AI features that will make Gemini an even more integral part of Gmail. The new Gemini experiences are coming to paying subscribers starting today, and a collection of previously premium-only AI features are rolling out widely.

AI Overviews first appeared in Gmail last year to summarize email chains, and now it’s expanding to Gmail search. This is closer to the AI Overview experience to which you are accustomed in Google’s web search. You can enter a natural language search, and the robot churns through your messages to generate a response.

In the example above, the user looks up a past plumbing quote. Traditionally, Gmail would show emails that are likely matches for your search. With AI Overview, you instead get a nicely formatted AI answer that includes all the relevant information and cites the email. That sounds all well and good, assuming it works. AI Overviews in search is notoriously inaccurate when summarizing search results, but grounding it in your email could make it less likely to screw up. Maybe.

AI Pro and Ultra subscribers will also begin seeing a new proofreading tool in Gmail. Proofreading suggestions will appear as dotted underlines in your email text, offering suggestions to streamline and clarify your writing. Google says AI Proofreading can make more nuanced changes than standard spellchecking features thanks to the company’s largest and most powerful Gemini 3 models.

Lastly, Google is previewing a new version of its iconic inbox—no, not that Inbox. The AI Inbox will roll out to a group of “trusted testers” before making its way to more users. The AI Inbox looks at your unread mail and creates an interactive list with “Priorities” at the top. If Gemini thinks an email is important, it will become a line item in that section. Below that is “Catch me up,” which summarizes less important messages. Again, this is based on Gemini’s ability to delineate important from unimportant.

The company stresses that AI Inbox will be optional when it arrives. However, we could imagine a future in which it becomes the default view. Google doesn’t have a timeline for when this one will move beyond testing.

The AI future of Gmail

We are also beginning to see how Google’s AI changes filter down through the subscription tiers. Email summaries, Help me write, and Suggested replies launched last year and were initially limited to those paying for AI Pro or Ultra. Google notes most Gmail users aren’t paying for either one. Now, all those people will have access to those features as they move to the free tier.

We suspect it will be a similar story for the features announced today. At launch, you’ll need a premium AI plan to access Proofread and Search AI Overviews (and presumably AI Inbox when it’s ready). Down the line, they will likely expand to all Gmail users. So if you were happy to see AI features limited to paid users, that reprieve is looking rather short-lived.

Credit: Google

Google is used to being asked if the latest raft of AI inbox features can be disabled. The answer has always been “yes,” and that’s still the case for the new expansion of AI in Gmail. However, Gemini doesn’t have its own toggle. By lumping AI into “Smart Features,” you can only ditch Gemini if you’re also willing to give up features like package tracking cards, calendar integration, and loyalty cards in Wallet. If you don’t mind losing all that, you can keep Gemini out of your inbox.

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Posted Friday 9 January 2026 at 5:31 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has outrightly indicated that the company is shifting its focus from Bill Gates' software factory vision to zeroing in on intelligence, integration, and AI. It's no secret that the company has gone ham on AI, practically integrating generative AI across its entire tech stack.

In 2024, Microsoft insiders lamented about the company's obsession and fixation on AI, with a high-ranking executive referring to most Copilot AI tools as gimmicky.

According to a Microsoft insider:

"There is a delusion on our marketing side where literally everything has been renamed to have Copilot it in. Everything is Copilot. Nothing else matters. They want a Copilot tie-in for everything."

Earlier this week, multiple reports emerged online indicating that Microsoft had rebranded Office to Microsoft 365 Copilot. The reports have stirred up some confusion among users. But this isn't the case...

The confusion appears to stem from Microsoft’s Office.com domain. For context, the Office website was renamed to Microsoft 365 in 2022. In January 2025, the company rebranded the hub again to Microsoft 365 Copilot, allowing users to still leverage the platform to access core Office productivity suite apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, alongside Copilot.

As our news writer, Sean Endicott, puts it:

Microsoft has already confirmed its plans to release Windows 11 version 26H1 (first reports appeared in October 2025). It is currently available for testing in the Canary Channel of the Insider Program, but so far, it does not offer any new features. Microsoft said that 26H1 would only be available for "certain platforms," such as the newly announced Snapdragon X2 series or NVIDIA's rumored ARM processors for Windows.

At CES 2026, manufacturers unveiled multiple laptops with Snapdragon X2 processors, and some of them, namely ASUS, confirmed that those devices will ship with Windows 11 version 26H1 in the first quarter of 2026. Existing PCs will not get Windows 11 version 26H1, but all of its improvements and features that are not tied to specific hardware should make it to the general public in the second half of 2026 with the release of Windows 11 version 26H2.

This repeats what we had in 2024, when Microsoft initially released Windows 11 version 24H2 for Copilot+ PCs only. However, a few months later, the update arrived for all existing computers as the next annual Windows 11 update.

As for the new features, Microsoft has already made it clear that 25H2 nd 26H1 will be identical feature-wise. The sole goal of 26H1 is to provide the necessary platform updates and "under-the-hood" changes to support the new chips. Unlike Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2, which share the same platform or branch, Windows 11 versions 26H1 and 26H2 will be based on a new release, so expect a full system update later this year.

Via Windows Central

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Posted Thursday 8 January 2026 at 5:01 am AEST (my time).

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This known issue affects users who try to open messages encrypted with "Encrypt Only" permissions, which also allows copying, printing, and forwarding.

"After updating to Current Channel Version 2511 (Build 19426.20218) recipients may not be able to open 'Encrypt Only' emails," Microsoft said.

"In the Reading Pane you may get a message 'This message with restricted permission cannot be viewed in the reading pane until you verify your credentials. Open the item to read its contents and verify your credentials'."

On impacted systems, users are seeing a message_v2.rpmsg attachment instead of readable content, making the encrypted messages inaccessible.

Microsoft said that the Outlook Team is currently working on a fix, but did not provide an estimated timeline for resolution.

Until a permanent fix is available, Microsoft provides two temporary workarounds. One of them requires senders to save encrypted emails after encryption and before sending, enabling recipients to open them normally.

Alternatively, users can revert to the previous software build that isn't affected by this known issue. This requires affected users to close all Office apps and run the following command from an elevated command prompt:

"%programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\ClickToRun\officec2rclient.exe" /update user updatetoversion=16.0.19426.20186

Microsoft also mitigated an Exchange Online service outage in November that blocked customers from accessing their mailboxes using the classic Outlook email client. One month earlier, it fixed a major bug that prevented Microsoft 365 users from opening classic Outlook on Windows systems.

Earlier in the year, Microsoft addressed classic Outlook bugs that caused CPU spikes while typing messages and broke email drag-and-drop functionality after installing Windows 24H2 updates.

Before this, Microsoft also shared a temporary workaround for a known issue that caused Outlook errors when opening encrypted emails and fixed a bug that triggered classic Outlook crashes when opening emails or starting new messages.

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Posted Thursday 8 January 2026 at 5:00 am AEST (my time).

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In an update to its public Microsoft 365 Roadmap, the Redmond tech giant says that it is working on a new capability that will allow customers to set up and schedule meetings through the Outlook chat interface available in the side pane. Through this conversational UI, users will be able to leverage natural language to book slots with their colleagues with the ability to find a time that works for attendees, book rooms, draft agendas, and send invites, all from within the Copilot chat experience. Customers will also have the option to do the same via the Schedule with Copilot button inside Outlook Calendar.

There are many benefits to utilizing Copilot for this functionality. It reduces the load for a lot of menial tasks such as writing agendas, choosing suitable slots and locations, and more. Since the AI model's knowledge is grounded in your Microsoft 365 ecosystem, you can use it for more contextual actions and insights as well, also within the chat interface.

This feature will receive a preview this month in the classic Outlook for Windows app, but general availability is expected a bit later, in March 2026. Of course, you do need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license in order to access this capability.

Microsoft's Outlook service is expected to receive lots of other new features this month too. These include Quick Parts and the ability to run rules on specific folders. It's also expected that we'll be receiving more Copilot functionalities in the near future, given Microsoft's tendency of trying to make Copilot a core component of our daily lives.

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Posted Wednesday 7 January 2026 at 6:42 am AEST (my time).

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It's clear that AMD believes that the future is all about AI, with the firm indicating that AI PCs will overtake the computing landscape in 2026, with 53% of PCs capable of running AI processes natively through Neural Processing Units (NPUs). It expects this number to grow to 84% by 2029.

To that end, it has announced that it is "expanding" its AI experiences through partnerships with firms like Adobe, Affinity, Epic Games, Blender, and more. An example of this is its collaboration with the Liquid AI platform, which enables custom models to run locally on Ryzen hardware so that there are no cloud fees or limitations.

AMD also announced a Personal AI Finance Manager as a free download for Ryzen AI processors. It offers flexible agents in a secure and private environment, without any subscription fees. Similarly, it has released a Personal AI Coach too, which can guide customers on nutrition and fitness, all while running completely locally.

Team Red claims that local models like GPT-OSS 120B running on local Ryzen AI Max+ hardware give powerful models on the cloud like ChatGPT o4 Mini a good run for their money, which means that local inference is pretty much a reality at this point. This is important for those who are conscious of the privacy risks associated with running AI models on the cloud, along with paying subscription fees.

Finally, AMD reminded gamers that its AI gaming hardware supports machine learning-powered FSR Radiance Caching too. For those unaware, this is a technology meant to speed up ray tracing in games by caching reusable ray-traced lighting effects. Frame Regeneration is in tow as well; it is an improvement upon the previous Frame Interpolation technology which did not use AI to do pixel processing. Together, all of these FSR "Redstone" advancements should present rather stiff competition to Nvidia.

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Posted Wednesday 7 January 2026 at 6:41 am AEST (my time).

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The second-generation transformer model for DLSS Super Resolution was launched today by Nvidia, and this driver is a required install, alongside the Nvidia App beta, to use it. Over 400 games currently support the feature to enhance the image quality. The second half of DLSS 4.5, which enables 6x Multi Frame Generation, isn't coming for a few months, however.

Find more details about the DLSS 4.5 upgrade, and who is getting it, over here.

The 591.74 Game Ready driver adds 63 more displays into the G-SYNC Compatible list as well, including new 2026 TV models from LG and Samsung. Find all validated monitors and TVs on Nvidia's support portal here.

Today's release also includes some bug fixes, some of which arrived early with a recent hotfix:

• Arena Breakout: Infinite: Game stability issues
• Brightness adjustment issues on various displays
• Colors are not applied correctly when using Digital Vibrance
• Slight banding may be observed on gradients in SDR color mode
• Unable to deselect "Show Notification Tray Icon" from NVIDIA Control Panel
• Using RTX HDR in Vulkan games causes black screen on LG OLED TVs

The only known issue that the driver team is currently working on is related to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Image corruption after driver update

The Nvidia 591.74 driver is now available for download from the Nvidia app. For those that may want to download it directly, standalone links can be found here, and here are the official release notes (PDF).

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Posted Wednesday 7 January 2026 at 6:39 am AEST (my time).

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The announcement is a major update to its ROCm (Radeon Open Compute) software stack, the open-source alternative to Nvidia's CUDA, as the company today has debuted ROCm 7.2 with expanded platform support and significant performance gains, especially for AI workloads.

The biggest headlining feature is that ROCm 7.2 supports both Linux and Windows environments, a notable shift from its historically Linux-centric deployment. AMD also confirmed compatibility with its latest Ryzen AI 400 processors and Radeon AI PRO GPUs.

At its keynote today AMD stressed how ROCm has evolved rapidly over the past year as the ROCm 7.1.1 release delivered up to 5X performance uplift compared to ROCm 6.4.4 across key AI models. According to first-party benchmarks from the company, we see SDXL (Stable Diffusion XL) running 2.6 times faster and Flux S achieving a 5.2 times speed-up on Ryzen AI Max processors. Meanwhile, the WAN 14b model sees a 5.4X boost on Radeon AI PRO R9700 GPUs.

AMD also highlighted ROCm’s scalability in powering text-to-video generation models. LTX Video 0.9 (2 billion parameters, FP16) and WAN 2.2 (14 billion parameters, FP8) are now supported under ROCm 7.1.1. AMD claims generation times as low as 45 seconds on Radeon AI PRO GPUs and 4 minutes on Ryzen AI Max+ processors, when paired with 64GB of system RAM.

ComfyUI, a popular open-source interface for generative AI workflows, is now integrated with ROCm and available for download at Comfyui.org. Users can install the full ROCm stack via AMD Adrenalin 26.1.1 Windows driver.

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Posted Wednesday 7 January 2026 at 6:38 am AEST (my time).

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The upcoming native Linux app for Nvidia GeForce NOW is aiming to let systems with supported hardware jump into cloud gaming without resorting to workarounds or using a web browser. Don't forget that a native app landed for the Steam Deck in 2025 as well.

The company says that a native app for Linux has been a highly requested feature from the PC gaming community. Depending on the hardware and the subscription they go for, members will be able to stream their games at up to 5K at 120 FPS or 1080p at 360 FPS.

"With rendering handled in the cloud, high-end PC gaming is possible on Linux operating systems, breathing new life into older devices," says the company. "The app is designed to bring a seamless, native experience that fits naturally into Linux desktop workflows while giving access to the expansive GeForce NOW library, turning everyday Linux devices into RTX gaming powerhouses."

Nvidia expects to release the GeForce NOW app for Linux PCs, supported with Ubuntu 24.04 and later distributions, in early 2026 in beta form.

Next, Nvidia is also targeting select Amazon Fire TV sticks with GeForce NOW. Another native app for streaming will begin rolling out to Fire TV Stick 4K Plus (2nd Gen) and Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2nd Gen) soon.

Another streaming-related announcement that arrived today was aimed at fans of simulation games. Starting early this year, flight sticks and throttle systems from companies like Thrustmaster and Logitech will be supported for use in GeForce NOW streamed games.

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Posted Wednesday 7 January 2026 at 6:37 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft may need to send a memo to its ad team. A new ad for PC gaming shows Google Chrome pinned to the taskbar of a computer.

While it's entirely reasonable to assume people who use Windows 11 also use Google Chrome, it's odd to see an official ad from Microsoft highlight the fact. Microsoft aggressively pushes Microsoft Edge. That push is greater than ever now that Edge falls under Microsoft's AI division.

As for the ad itself, it is a brief commercial from around Christmas. It shows several popular games on a variety of laptops. All those devices run Windows 11, which Microsoft and its ad call "The Home of Gaming."

Windows Latest spotted the ad. Chrome appears early on within the video.

Windows is the home of gaming in many ways. As of December, almost 95% of all Steam gamers use some form of Windows. Gamers even appear more likely to upgrade to Windows 11 or run newer hardware that ships with Windows 11 — 70.83% of Steam users are on Windows 11.

It looks like Microsoft Edge is set to gain a major UI refresh in the coming months, as the latest Edge Canary and Dev Channel builds have started showing an updated interface that takes heavy design language inspiration from Microsoft's own Copilot app.

The new design updates things like the context menus, new tab page, and settings areas with elements that look like they were ripped right out of the Copilot app. UI elements now have much rounder corners, and use the same colors and font styles as found in the Copilot app too.

In our testing, this new interface design appears regardless of whether you have Copilot Mode enabled or disabled, with the only exception being the New Tab Page, which hides the Copilot modules and text box in favor of MSN news articles and Bing search when Copilot Mode is off.

The new tab page is a lot more Copilot-like

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

These UI changes extend into the Settings area

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

You'll also notice context menus now look more like they do in the Copilot app too.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Every drop down has been updated to use the Copilot design language

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Microsoft's Copilot app uses a design language not seen in any other Microsoft product until now. It first debuted with Copilot, and was a major step outside of Microsoft's Fluent Design language that it has been using to design products for the last several years.

 

Windows 11's design language, for example, uses Fluent Design, and is very different from the Copilot app. In a lot of ways, the Copilot app stands out as an outlier in Microsoft's design lineup, but now it seems this new Copilot design language may be destined for more than just the Copilot app.

 

Microsoft is also testing this new design language with Copilot Discover, an AI-powered version of MSN.com which we think may be codenamed "Ruby." This new design is yet to impact products like Windows or Xbox, however, though if Microsoft wants to unify behind a single design language, it'll need to consider bringing those platforms along for the ride too.

 

To compare, this is the Copilot app on Windows 11. Seems familiar!

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

The refreshed UI in Edge is currently in testing with the Edge Canary and Dev Channel builds, though it's not appearing on all our machines just yet, so it's likely rolling out in waves. Given it's still in preview, it'll likely be a number of weeks before it arrives on the production version of Edge.

 

As things currently stand, Copilot, MSN, and soon Edge will look like they were designed by a completely different company compared to Windows, Xbox, and Office. Which design language to you prefer? Fluent Design or the new Copilot design language? Let us know in the comments.

 

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Posted Tuesday 6 January 2026 at 4:00 am AEST (my time).

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Starting from this month, Google is dropping support for Gmailify and the ability to fetch emails from third-party accounts into your Gmail account using the POP standard. For those unaware, Gmailify allowed integration between your non-Google and Gmail accounts so that the former could get access to certain advanced features like spam protection, reliable email notifications on your phone, categorization of the inbox, and faster search with advanced operator functionalities.

It is important to note that this does not impact the Gmail app on Android, iOS, and iPadOS, because that variant uses IMAP connectivity for linking with non-Gmail accounts. However, on affected platforms, the "Check mail from other accounts" option will completely go away.

Meanwhile, those with work or school accounts are requested to get in touch with their respective IT admins to migrate their non-Gmail data into Google Workspace. Although Gmail will not fetch emails using POP connectivity, customers using Gmail on the web can configure automatic forwarding on their email provider so that it functionally behaves the same as POP fetching. The other alternative is to just use the Gmail app on your phone, as it does not leverage POP, as stated previously.

Keep in mind that although these deprecations are now in effect, you won't lose access to your previous emails that have already been synced. Additionally, you can still perform an import from third-party platforms through data migration services, but your emails won't synchronize continuously. You can read more details about these changes and how they impact you here.

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Posted Tuesday 6 January 2026 at 3:59 am AEST (my time).

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Please note that the PC clean-up being discussed here is different from the "clean" installation of a Windows OS as the latter resets and removes the entire OS when the user freshly installs a new Windows image. The system clean-up and junk removal on the other hand is only for the deletion of temporary unnecessary files as they can can fill up space.

Interestingly, Microsoft itself also offers its own version of PC optimizer and performance boosting app called the "Microsoft PC Manager" and much like certain third-party apps, it too has had its fair share of critics and for good reasons.

Well as it turns out Microsoft has confirmed that you probably do not need any of those ever as Windows itself packs some very useful native tools for the cleaning and junk removal you wish to have. Neowin readers and tech-savvy users are probably well aware of them but users who are not such enthusiasts can certainly find this guide quite useful.

In an article published last year in November, the tech giant outlined in some good bit of detail on how to use tools like Storage Sense, Disk Cleanup, and more. All of these features are available inside Windows for free.

First, we have Storage Sense which essentially automatically frees up the system drive (the Windows installation drive or C:) space by getting rid of items that you no longer need, like temporary files and items in your Recycle Bin. Typically, the setting is not enabled on Windows 10/11 by default; you can check and switch it on by visiting Settings > System > Storage and toggling Storage Sense to "On" if it is not already.

Up next, Microsoft discusses Disk Cleanup, which also helps clear up lots of space across your different disk drives. It works by first scanning the selected drive, say C:, and then letting the user choose what they want to delete.

Microsoft also notes that by opting for the elevated "Clean up system files" option, users can free up "several gigabytes" of storage space. That is because the system files also include Windows Update Cleanup alongside the likes of Delivery Optimization Files (something we recently covered), DirectX Shader cache, and more.

Additional elevated options feature removal of system restore points and volume shadow copies though neither Neowin nor Microsoft recommends you do that unless you have some specific reasons to.

It is very important that users pay attention to the chosen options here since in the past Microsoft had even attempted to delete the entire Downloads folder.

Finally, the tech giant mentions the manual deletion of temporary files from the "Temp" folder. While Windows does tend to delete such files once the application or task ends, sometimes the temporary files are not deleted and can build up. You can find the guide here on Microsoft's official site.

It is noteworthy here that some users also delete contents from the "Prefetch" folder under the C:\Windows\Prefetch directory. However Neowin does not recommend doing that as the cached files actually help improve system performance tremendously by saving on CPU cycles, and typcially you don't even save more than 10-15 MB.

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Posted Tuesday 6 January 2026 at 3:57 am AEST (my time).

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That may have been true back when it was made in the late 90s by Jamie Zawinski, but I don't think it holds any water these days. In fact, I think that Windows users who claim they don't want to switch to Linux because it's not as stable have either parroted what they heard on Reddit one day, or didn't give the right distro a try. In fact, given what happened to Windows 11 over 2025, I think the reverse is becoming true.

Linux is as stable or unstable as you want it to be

Not all distros are equal

Unlike Windows, Linux has a ton of different distros you can check out. Some are more stable than others, and some require less maintenance than others.

If you find that a distro is a little too unstable for your liking, you can always find something that doesn't crash as often and give that a go instead. Personally, I have had zero qualms with Fedora Linux; it has been as solid as a rock while also receiving regular updates. While I've never personally tried it, I've heard that Debian Stable is also highly dependable.

Once you have found your distro of choice, you can add apps that let you roll back your system to an earlier point if things go south. I've only had personal experience with TimeShift, and I really liked it, but I've heard that the folks over at openSUSE have their own tool called Snapper, which has its own benefits. I'd like to try it one day.

Immutable Linux distros are ironclad

A feature that Windows can't claim it can do

Second, my system always keeps the previous image around. That way, if a new update messes up my PC (which it hasn't yet), I can just use the prior image. And because the images appear in my boot menu, I don't even need to log into the buggy updated version to access my older one; I just hit the down arrow when GRUB appears, and I'm good to go. Far easier than reverting Windows updates, if you ask me.

Windows 11's quality has arguably worsened over 2025

Maybe not as stable as it used to be

So I've been out of the Windows loop for a little while, but from what I've seen, it seems that Windows 11 is proving to be more of a pain to maintain than Linux. It's entirely anecdotal, as I've only got online reports and experiences from friends to go off of, but it does feel like Windows 11 isn't as stable as it used to be.

I mean, Windows has always had issues; it's part of the territory. But this year alone, I've reported on Microsoft breaking the Windows Recovery Environment and reporting that practically all of its core Windows 11 systems are busted right now. That doesn't sound like the regular amount of "Windows-isms" I've seen over the years; in fact, it seems pretty critical.

Again, I might be talking rubbish here, but from what I've seen, people are finding Windows 11 less stable than Windows 10, especially for things like gaming. And with Microsoft adding AI to stuff and inserting ads around its operating system, it feels like Linux is the more stable, untouched OS between the two.

Linux isn't perfect, but don't sleep on it

Regardless of whether Linux truly is more stable than Windows 11, I think the open-source OS scene has gotten far more reliable over time. And if it does turn out that Linux is less stable than Windows 11, I can't imagine the margin between the two being particularly big, or, at least, as big as Windows users tend to make it out to be.

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Posted Monday 5 January 2026 at 6:23 am AEST (my time).

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ZDNET's key takeaways

•     A new Linux desktop is in the works.
•     This portable desktop can be run like an app.
•     Orbitiny is free to use and runs on any Linux distribution.

Leave it to the Linux community to come up with something that no other operating system can do. It happens all the time, and the creativity and ingenuity of these developers never cease to amaze me.

Such is the case with a new desktop environment called Orbitiny. The goal of this new desktop, which has been built from scratch using Qt and C++, is to be both familiar and unique.

Orbitiny is also modular; if one part breaks, the whole will continue to function. Orbitiny doesn't have its own window manager; instead, it runs on top of existing window managers.

Runs on top of your desktop

You read that right: Orbitiny runs on top of your existing desktop (such as KDE Plasma or GNOME), like a regular app. This unique desktop includes the following features:

• The default file manager can search for files as well as the contents of files. The search tool is accessible from the desktop.
• A desktop panel with plugins extends the feature set. It also includes full drag-and-drop support.
• A built-in clipboard manager.
• A device manager.
• A comprehensive start menu offers full drag-and-drop support, along with a sidebar.
• A dashboard displays running tasks and installed applications.
• Running apps can be accessed from the default desktop environment.
• Desktop gestures allow you to draw patterns on your desktop to launch actions such as starting a program.
• Icon folder emblems indicate if you've copied or cut a file or if items have been added to the folder.
• The ability to join two text files or paste text directly into a file.

Orbitiny can be used as a portable desktop. Copy the required files to a USB drive, plug it into a running Linux computer, and run the command to start it. The desktop will then appear for you to use.

Note that Orbitiny is very much a work in progress. At the moment, I would suggest you only use this desktop to sate your curiosity. Once Orbitiny reaches 1.0 status, I suspect it'll become quite popular.

How do you use Orbitiny?

Using Orbitiny is quite simple. Here's how you do it.

•     Download the compressed archive from the Orbitiny Sourceforge page.
•     Unpack the file with the command tar xvzf orbitiny-bin-release.tar.gz
•     Change into the newly created directory with cd orbitiny-bin-release/orbitiny.
•     Launch Orbitiny with the command start-orbitiny.

The Orbitiny desktop will open, presenting you with an entirely new environment from which to work.

My first impressions of Orbitiny

I was fully expecting to experience lots of issues and very slow performance. To my surprise, Orbitiny felt quite stable and performed well. Even running on top of another desktop environment, Orbitiny felt as if it were running natively. Everything was snappy and functioned as expected.

Opening the file manager surprised me because it accessed files and folders on the host desktop. This is great because it means you don't have to keep track of two different folder hierarchies. 

The Orbitiny file manager has plenty of cool features.
Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET

From within the Settings app (accessible by right-clicking anywhere on the desktop), you can manage features such as appearance, audio, context menus, empty area clicks, general configuration, keyboard shortcuts, left-button gestures, startup applications, and more. 

Orbitiny impressed me. I can see numerous use cases for this portable desktop, and given its current stability and speed, I can only imagine how it will perform when it reaches 1.0 status.

If you're looking for something that only the Linux operating system can do, I highly recommend trying Orbitiny. You might end up putting this on a USB drive, so you always have a familiar desktop to use, regardless of the available Linux distribution.

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Microsoft has essentially confirmed it is pulling the plug on Windows 11 SE, the specialized version of its operating system designed for K–8 classrooms. By the end of 2026, support for the education-focused platform will officially wrap up. This decision marks a pretty sharp pivot from just a few years ago, when Microsoft was pitching SE as its big “Chromebook killer” and a central part of its strategy to win over schools.

When Windows 11 SE first hit the scene in 2021, Microsoft marketed it as the perfect, “purpose-built” tool for younger students. By 2022, they were calling it the start of a new “era of the PC,” promising a setup that was simple, secure, and affordable for budget-strapped districts. It was meant to fix the shortcomings of the old Windows 10 “S Mode” by offering a streamlined, “web-first” experience.

To make it work, Windows 11 SE was much more locked down than the standard version

It was built specifically to block distractions; students couldn’t just download any app they wanted. Only IT admins had the power to approve and install software, and any random .exe file a student tried to run would simply fail. To get the ball rolling, Microsoft even launched the Surface Laptop SE for just $249, alongside low-cost devices from partners like Dell and HP.

Surface laptop Unsplash

However, Microsoft’s latest support docs show that the company’s focus has moved elsewhere. Windows 11 SE is officially done receiving major feature updates; version 24H2 is the end of the line. Full support – which includes those critical security patches and technical help—is scheduled to vanish on October 13, 2026.

This is a significant headache for schools that are currently using these devices

Once that 2026 deadline hits, these laptops will stop getting security updates, making them a major liability in a classroom setting where student data privacy is non-negotiable. Microsoft is already telling schools and IT teams to start looking at hardware that can handle regular versions of Windows 11 instead.

Unsplash

For administrators, this creates a frustrating budget gap. Schools that bought into the SE ecosystem expecting a long-term solution now have to scramble to find funds for upgrades or replacements – or consider jumping ship to another platform entirely.

The news came to light as people began digging through Microsoft’s 2026 “retirement list,” which also includes the end of the road for Office 2021. While your current SE laptops won’t stop turning on after 2026, Microsoft is sending a clear signal: their experiment with a “lite” version of Windows for schools is officially over. What comes next for Microsoft’s education strategy is still anyone’s guess.

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As time passed and I started developing an interest in PCs and the tech behind them, I naturally began to question this reasoning. After all, why would a user be required to manually press buttons to make their PC run faster? Why wouldn't the PC automatically re-allocate its resources to make that happen without requiring user intervention?

After some research, I was able to confirm that hitting Refresh on the desktop cannot magically make my games or my PC run faster. The truth behind it - for those still unaware - is a bit boring, actually.

What does Refresh on Windows desktop actually do?

Hitting Refresh on a Windows desktop basically "redraws" the display. This means that it potentially resolves issues related to broken and missing icons or when certain files and folders may not immediately display on your desktop after copy and move operations. It ensures that the cached desktop view is refreshed with the latest directory structure. That's all there is to it.

Wait, so it does not make my games and PC run faster?

Nope. This is just a myth with an unknown origin. My understanding is that, as kids, we actually deluded ourselves into thinking that it was making our games run faster, even though it had absolutely no impact on performance.

So, do I even need to Refresh my desktop?

Look at it this way: if your PC's desktop view is completely correct and updated in terms of directory structure and icons, pressing Refresh will actually request precious time from your PC's processor to redraw the display, even though it doesn't need to. Those CPU cycles are better used elsewhere.

As such, you should only use this option if you run into issues rendering your Windows desktop or if your recently copied/moved files aren't being displayed.

Did you use the Refresh button frequently when you were young? Do you still use it as a force of habit? Let us know in the comments section below!

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Posted Sunday 4 January 2026 at 12:56 pm AEST (my time).

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In Plasma 6.6.0, set to release next month, there is now an implementation of the "Slow Keys" accessibility feature for the Wayland session. Slow keys was designed for people who have trouble with fine motor control. It works by making you press and hold a key for a short, specified time before the system accepts the input, which helps prevent accidental key presses.

Besides bringing Slow Keys to Wayland, Plasma 6.6 will also improve its Zoom accessibility effect with a new "Centered (Strict)" mode that keeps the mouse pointer locked in the exact center of your screen.

Other changes to expect when Plasma 6.6 launches include a new preference setting in the Emoji Selector application that lets you pick a default skin tone for emojis of people and hands.

Your computer will also no longer automatically fall asleep or lock the screen when your game controller is connected and in use, as it now correctly registers as system activity. Laptops that are plugged in or unplugged while asleep will now wake up with full awareness of their new power state.

As for bug fixes, KDE Plasma 6.6 addresses issues in Spectacle where toolbars could appear off-screen on misaligned multi-monitor setups, and in Kickoff where the “New!" badge could overflow for apps with very long names.

Plasma 6.5.5, the fifth bug fix release for Plasma 6.5, is expected to arrive on the 13th of this month. For users on operating systems like OpenBSD, the Discover software center in this release will now use the correct OS name when prompting you to search online for an application it cannot find.

The update also corrects an issue that caused some Plasma popups to remain open even after they lost focus.

You can learn more in the official KDE blog post.

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Posted Sunday 4 January 2026 at 12:53 pm AEST (my time).

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@phantomofeart reports that Microsoft is changing the Nearby sharing settings page in Windows 11, an AirDrop-like feature for Windows PCs. The updated version is simply called "Share" (Nearby sharing remains a thing), and besides a new name, a much-needed toggle is coming to it as well.

When you share a file using Windows 11's built-in Share UI, the operating system conveniently presents a bunch of app ads disguised as "recommendations," so that you can quickly press that Instagram or WhatsApp button and get the app installed on your PC. Not everyone is a fan of such recommendations, so Microsoft is adding a toggle to remove those ads, which, in all honesty, is quite a surprising move for the company and its modern practices.

While it is not possible to turn off app recommendations in the Share dialog, you may soon be able to do that in Settings > System > Share by toggling off the "Show me suggested apps in share surfaces" option. This feature joins the Start menu, whose redesigned variant finally lets you disable the recommended section properly to have more space for your apps instead of one giant empty field of wasted screen space.

Well done, Microsoft.

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Posted Saturday 3 January 2026 at 12:24 pm AEST (my time).

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If you are wondering about official ways, offline Windows activation has been possible to do using the phone. However, it looks like Microsoft has quietly killed off that method as users online have found that they are no longer able to activate the OS using it.

The first reports of it appear to have surfaced last month where a user 3K is seen wondering why they are unable to go through phone activation on their device. They posted an inquiry on the official Microsoft Learn community forum.

The person cites an official support article from the company which currently still states that a user "will get the option to activate their device over the phone," and to do so, one needs to go to the Activation menu inside the system Settings app by selecting Start > then Settings > System > Activation. After that, under the Activate Windows Now section, one needs to select the Activate by Phone option to carry out Windows activation by phone.

However, that seems to no longer work on Windows 11 or 10 or Windows 7 either, as another user Ben Kleinberg has documented on his YouTube channel. Now when trying to activate the OS by attempting to call the phone number for Microsoft Product Activation, an automated voice response says the following: "Support for product activation has moved online. For the fastest and most convenient way to activate your product, please visit our online product activation portal at aka.ms/aoh"

If you are wondering, that link takes users to the Microsoft Product Activation Portal for online activation. Thus it appears that offline ways to activate Windows may no longer be available even though the official support documentation by the company may not reflect it yet.

Source: 3K (Microsoft forum) via Ben Kleinberg (YouTube)

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Posted Saturday 3 January 2026 at 4:36 am AEST (my time).

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