As the year comes to an end, Microsoft is slowing Windows 11 development, but in the first half of December, the company released several preview builds with improvements through the Windows Insider Program.

In addition to the changes rolled out during the last half of November, the software giant has made previews of versions 25H2 and 26H1 available in the previous two weeks.

In the Canary Channel, devices received two previews, including builds 28000.1340 and 28020.1362, which introduced a wide range of changes to bring version 26H1 closer to the feature level as version 25H2 in the Dev and Beta Channels.

Additionally, the Dev and Beta Channels didn't make many changes during the first half of December, but the company managed to release build 26220.7344 with several interesting improvements, and build 26220.7523 brought more AI integration.

In this recap, I'll highlight the biggest changes available through the Windows Insider Program.

Biggest improvements from the Windows Insider Program in December 2025

These are the improvements Microsoft has rolled out since my last roundup of changes.

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

As part of Microsoft's strategy to keep pushing AI on Windows 11, starting with build 26220.7344 in the Dev and Beta Channels, Windows 11 received support for the Model Context Protocol, an open standard that enables universal communication between AI agents, apps, tools, and services.

The change only affects Windows 10 users, as Windows 10 is the only supported version with a 32-bit variant. Windows 11, released in late 2021, became the first 64-bit-only release, and Windows 7 support was dropped quite a long time ago. In the release notes for the update, Valve says that the 32-bit version of the Steam client will continue receiving updates until the end of 2025, and the company will pull the plug on January 1, 2026.

The Steam client is now 64-bit on Windows 11 and Windows 10 64-bit. Systems running 32-bit versions of Windows will continue receiving updates to the 32-bit Steam client until January 1, 2026.

As usual, the end of support does not necessarily mean an abrupt platform cut-off. Most likely, the app would continue working and allow you to purchase and install games for some time. However, should you stay on a 32-bit Windows 10 for whatever reason, expect service degradation in the future as Valve updates its platform and leaves unsupported installations behind.

Besides dropping 32-bit support, the latest Steam update introduced support for Nintendo Switch 2 controllers in wired mode, GameCube adapters in Wii-U mode with rumble, made the new gyro modes the default (no longer in beta), and fixed plenty of various bugs. You can find the complete changelog in the support article on the official Steam website.

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Posted Sunday 21 December 2025 at 4:41 am AEST (my time).

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The new feature in question is Explainer, a tool that is powered by Copilot. As the name implies, this utility makes it easier to understand presentations, which is important when slide decks use very complex jargon and acronyms.

Customers can basically right-click on any PowerPoint object like a textbox that contains a lot of complicated text, and simply press on Explain this, which will appear as the first option in the context menu. The same option will also appear if you highlight a portion of the text. Copilot will then generate a summary in the side pane of PowerPoint, that is hopefully easier to understand.

The purpose of Explainer is pretty clear. It is designed to provide a concise summary of text that may be too difficult for you to understand without multiple reads and web searches. Copilot hides all that complexity, which is very useful as it does not break the flow of your comprehension.

Microsoft has emphasized that the summaries generated by Copilot are contextual rather than generic, as they are grounded in your slide's content. Additionally, Explainer is very easy to access and it keeps your main PowerPoint canvas clean as all explanations are generated in the side pane.

Explainer is now available for all PowerPoint customers running Version 2510 (Build 19328.20072) or later on Windows or Version 16.103 (Build 25110343) or later on Mac. That said, you do need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

As always, the Redmond tech giant has requested customers to send any feedback directly through the built-in mechanism that can be accessed through Help > Feedback. It has also asked users to thumbs-up or thumbs-down summaries generated by Explainer in the side pane too.

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Posted Sunday 21 December 2025 at 4:40 am AEST (my time).

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Here are the new features that are rolling out gradually:

Introducing Ask Copilot on the taskbar with Microsoft 365 Copilot

In October, we introduced Ask Copilot on the taskbar in build 26220.7051 for consumer customers. Now, we’re starting to roll out a version tailored for commercial customers—first announced at Microsoft Ignite. This opt‑in experience will roll out gradually in the coming weeks to commercial Windows Insider Program customers in the United States who have Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses.

Ask Copilot on the taskbar provides a unified entry point that fluidly connects Microsoft 365 Copilot, agents, and search. This makes Copilot and agents feel like a natural part of how you use your PC, turning everyday interactions into moments of productivity and impact.

• One-click access to Copilot from your taskbar: This opt-in experience is the most integrated and natural way to engage with Copilot through voice or text in the way that works best for you. Commercial users will have all the power of their Work IQ as contextual information that they can reference in their Copilot chats and with Microsoft 365 AI Agents.
• Invoke agents: You’ll be able to invoke agents directly from Ask Copilot on the taskbar using the tools button or by typing “@.”
• Streamlined search experience: Lightning-fast results in a refreshed design makes finding apps, files and settings easier.

To get started go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Ask Copilot to enable the experience.

Ask Copilot in taskbar complements the familiar Windows Search experience, so you can continue using Search as you always have from Start while trying out this new experience.

Ask Copilot uses existing Windows APIs to return apps, files, and settings—just like Windows Search—and does not grant Copilot access to your personal content. For more details, you can learn about privacy and control options for Microsoft 365 Copilot here.

Introducing Agents on the taskbar

Windows is adding a new way to keep an eye on your Agents right from the taskbar.
Researcher in Microsoft 365 Copilot can dig into a topic and build a detailed report, and now you’ll be able to track its progress without breaking your flow. Give it a try by asking Researcher a question from within the Microsoft 365 Copilot App.

We’re also testing a hover experience—when you move your cursor over the Copilot or Researcher icon, you’ll see real‑time reasoning updates, so you always know how the task is progressing. Researcher will also let you know when it’s done. This opt‑in experience will roll out gradually in the coming weeks to commercial Windows Insider Program customers in the United States who have Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses.

When the report is complete, you will receive a notification as well as seeing a ‘completed’ state on the taskbar. Click either to go back to Microsoft 365 or review the report and turn your learnings into action.

We are experimenting with different ways that Agent tasks will appear in the taskbar to determine how to best meet the needs of customers. (Group the agent task with the Copilot icon on the taskbar or have it as a separate Researcher icon.)

Agent Launchers on Windows

We are introducing Agent Launchers, a new framework that enables Windows apps to register AI agents and make them discoverable across the system. Agent Launchers provides a standardized way for apps to expose their interactive AI agents so they can be found and invoked by Windows and Applications. When launched, these agents open their chat experience so you can start working with them. Agents provide active, collaborative experiences, asking clarifying questions, maintaining context, and taking actions to get things done.

With Agent Launchers, developers can register their agents once, and those agents become available to all supporting experiences—including Ask Copilot on the taskbar with Microsoft 365 Copilot and other installed apps. Microsoft 365 Copilot is already using this framework to register agents like Analyst (for gaining insights from data) and Researcher (for creating detailed reports). Developers can register agents statically at install time or dynamically at runtime, giving flexibility to control availability based on authentication, subscriptions, or other conditions. Documentation is available at https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/ai/agent-launchers/.

Personalize what Narrator announces

Narrator now gives you more control over how information is spoken when you navigate UI elements in an app. Every app is made up of different control types—such as buttons, checkboxes, links, sliders, and text fields. Each control includes properties (like its name, role, or state) and values (for example, a slider set to “75%”). Narrator usually announces these in a fixed order, but you can now choose which properties are spoken and rearrange their order to match your preferences.

For example, when you land on a “Submit” button, Narrator may announce: “Submit, button.” With personalization, you can choose to hear the label first, the role first, or omit something you don’t need. On a checkbox, you might decide whether the state (“checked” or “not checked”) should come before or after the label—or whether you prefer not to hear the state at all.

To customize these announcements, press Narrator key + Ctrl + P. From there, you can select, unselect, & reorder the properties Narrator speaks for each control type.

You can make changes faster using a natural language input box exclusively on Copilot+ PCs. Simply type what you want—for example: “Don’t announce the selection info or position info,”

These changes apply to that control type throughout the app you’re currently using.

You can also preview how your personalized announcement will sound before saving your changes. If you ever want to go back, simply choose Reset to default to restore Narrator’s original announcement pattern.

Shape Narrator’s detail level the way you prefer—clearer, more predictable, and aligned with how you want to navigate.

Enhancing the Touch Keyboard Experience for Voice Typing

We’re updating the experience when you use voice typing with the touch keyboard to make it feel more streamlined and intuitive. The new design removes the previous full‑screen overlay and instead shows voice typing animations directly on the dictation key, helping you stay focused on what you’re doing without extra visual distractions.

Before the update:

After the update:

Discover Windows Widget

We’re introducing a new Discover Windows widget on Windows 11. This widget helps you learn about Windows features with short, helpful tips that appear right when you need them.

What it shows:

• Quick, actionable tips from the Windows Tips website—covering things like shortcuts, productivity tricks, and security reminders.
• Tips update automatically throughout the day to match common usage moments.

How to add it:

• To Widgets Board: Open the Widgets Board, select Add widgets, then choose Discover.
• To Lock Screen: Go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen, then add the Discover widget to your lock screen widgets.

You can add it, remove it, or ignore it at any time—it’s designed to be helpful without getting in the way. We’ll be trying out this experience with Insiders first to gather feedback before a wider rollout.

Here are the other changes and improvements that are rolling out gradually:

[Settings Agent Language Expansion]

Last September, we announced that Agent in Settings experience was expanded to include French in Dev and Beta Now, the languages supported by the Settings Agent continue to be expanded. The following locales and languages are supported with this release:

Current:

• English: en-gb, en-us
• French: fr-fr, fr-ca

New:

• German: de-de
• Portuguese: pt-br, pt-pt
• Spanish: es-es, es-mx
• Korean: ko-kr
• Japanese: ja-jp
• Hindi: hi-in
• Italian: it-it
• Chinese (Simplified): zh-cn

[Click to Do]

The Copilot prompt box in Click to Do now supports Microsoft 365 Copilot. Ask Microsoft 365 Copilot about what’s on your screen. Quickly type a custom prompt directly into a text box, which is then sent to Microsoft 365 Copilot along with your selected screen content. This change is not yet rolling out to Windows Insiders in the EEA (European Economic Area) or China. This feature previously rolled out last September to Dev and Beta channel outside of EEA.

[Input]

The AltGr layer is now enabled for the Arabic 101 keyboard layout. The left Alt key continues to function as before, while the right Alt key acts as a modifier to access additional symbols. The first new symbol mapped to AltGr on the Arabic 101 layout is the Saudi Riyal currency symbol (AltGr + S). Users who switch languages with Alt + Shift can continue to use the left Alt + Shift or the general shortcut Windows logo key + Space. Arabic 102and Arabic 102 AZERTY layouts are updated similarly.

[Voice Access]

We’re introducing a more streamlined setup flow to make it even easier to get started with Voice Access. The redesigned flow helps download the right speech model for your language of choice; select your preferred input microphone & highlights what Voice Access can help you do on your PC.

[Taskbar]

We’re temporarily stopping the rollout of the new animations when sliding between open apps on the taskbar to investigate some issues – appreciate your patience.

[File Explorer]

For Windows Insiders signed in with a Microsoft account (consumer cloud), File Explorer will now begin showing people icons under the “Activity” column on File Explorer Home and in areas like Recommended, Favorites, and Recent. When you hover or click on a people icon, File Explorer will display the new Windows People Card (WPC), giving you lightweight context about who recently interacted with the file and providing quick actions like starting a chat or a call through your preferred communication apps.

This brings the people context experience—previously available only for work and school (Entra ID) files via the Live Persona Card (LPC)—to consumer cloud files as well, enabling a more consistent and intuitive collaboration experience across File Explorer. This is an update to the originally released feature which was previously documented in the Dev and Beta channels August 2025.

Here are the fixes that are rolling out gradually:

[Taskbar and System Tray]

• When your taskbar is set to uncombined, if you have an app open with many windows, they will no longer all move as a set to the overflow area when there is not enough space on the taskbar, and instead only the ones specifically within the set that don’t have space. With this change, the overflow area should no longer appear to display with lots of available space.
• Fixed an issue where the label in the taskbar might not be displayed correctly if you had an app with multiple windows open.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue causing File Explorer recently to show a white flash when navigating between pages after the latest flights.
• Made some improvements to File Explorer search performance by eliminating duplicate file indexing operations, which should result in faster searches and reduced system resource usage during file operations.
• Enhanced search reliability with improved handling of system and secondary drive locations, to help ensure more accurate search results across all your storage devices.
• Fixed an issue which could prevent OneDrive files from opening in RemoteApp sessions (showing error 0x80070057).
• Improved Voice Access support in File Explorer’s Gallery view, so you can now open photos by saying ‘click [number]’ instead of requiring ‘double click,’ streamlining voice-controlled navigation.

[Login and lock screens]

• Fixed a few more issues which could lead to the login screen becoming unresponsive and not rendering.

[Display and Graphics]

• Fixed an issue which could lead to Adaptive Brightness not working immediately after rebooting your PC.

[Windows Update]

• Fixed an issue resulting in an increase in Insiders seeing error 0x800F0922 when trying to install the latest updates recently.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where text might not display correctly in Windows Recovery when using the Japanese display language.
• Fixed an issue where in some cases valid Windows license migration might fail when upgrading because the device couldn’t register with the Windows Activation server for its CLIP / online entitlement, requiring using the troubleshooter to fix.
• Fixed an issue where external virtual switches might lose their physical network adapter (NIC) bindings after a host restart. When this happened, the switches would revert to internal mode, resulting in loss of network connectivity for virtual machines and blocking normal server operations.
• Fixed an issue where the Share dialog might unexpectedly show an option to share to Shell Experience Host.
• Updated the “Change Account Type” dialog in Settings > Accounts > Other accounts to better align with other modern dialogs in Settings.
• If you were seeing a message saying “There’s a newer build available” in Windows Insider Program Settings, but there wasn’t actually, that should be resolved now.

And here is the list of known bugs:

[Agents on the Taskbar]

• Researcher may appear unresponsive if you click on the taskbar icon or status card when task is in progress. Switching to a different conversation then back to the researcher task within Microsoft 365 Copilot should fix the problem.

[Xbox full screen experience for PC]

• Some apps may behave unexpectedly when using FSE, particularly those that expect to be locked to a given size or launch additional windows.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• We’re working on the fix for an issue which is causing the Start menu to not open for some Insiders on click, although it will open if you press the Windows key. This issue may also potentially impact the notification center (which you can open with WIN + N) and quick settings (WIN + A).
• We’re investigating an issue where for some Insiders apps aren’t showing in the system tray when they should be.
• [NEW] We’re working on the fix for an issue in the latest builds where, when the taskbar is set to autohide, it might invoke before interacting with the bottom of the screen, blocking the use of apps in that area.

[File Explorer]

• Scrollbar and footer are missing and showing a white block instead when text is scaled in dark mode version of the copy dialog.
• We’re working on the fix for an issue where opening the context menu is causing explorer.exe to crash for some Insiders after the previous flight.

[Bluetooth]

• We’re working on the fix for an issue causing Bluetooth device battery level to not show for some Insiders.

[Click to Do]

• [NEW] We’re investigating an issue where the Microsoft 365 Copilot prompt box on selected images does not function if the Microsoft 365 Copilot app is not running.

You can find the announcement blog post here.

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Posted Saturday 20 December 2025 at 12:44 pm AEST (my time).

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According to current Linux kernel release predictions, the 6.20 kernel (which could also be released as Linux 7.0) is expected to be released on April 5. Over on Canonical's side, March 19 will see the Kernel Feature Freeze, March 23 will see the Beta and HWE Freeze, April 9 will be the Kernel Freeze, April 16 is the Final Freeze, and then the Ubuntu 26.04 LTS Final Release is planned for April 23.

The main benefit of shipping with the latest Linux kernel is that more hardware will be supported. This is an important factor for Ubuntu 26.04 LTS because it will be used by many more people than interim versions like Ubuntu 25.04 and 25.10. It will also be supported a lot longer, and users are better off having a newer kernel, so their software stays more relevant over time.

A brand new kernel is not the only thing we can expect from Ubuntu 26.04 LTS; it is also likely to throw out two older apps for new modern alternatives. The apps being replaced are Totem video player and GNOME System Monitor; they are getting swapped for Showtime and Resources, respectively.

Once Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is released next April with the Linux 6.20 / 7.0 kernel, you will be able to download and install it, or upgrade from 25.10. However, if you are on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, you won't be presented with the upgrade until Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS is released around August. This is so it has time to become more stable.

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Posted Saturday 20 December 2025 at 3:58 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft is at it again with another round of ads showing people talking to Copilot AI on their computers. This time it’s holiday-themed, including a cameo from the big man in red. The 30-second TV spot asks if you’re “ready for the holidays” and features actors in various festive home settings asking Copilot for some ho-ho-ho-help with everything from holiday lighting and cooking to oversized outdoor decorations.

Just like the last time I tested Copilot Vision and Voice Mode, I made a list of all the prompts in Microsoft’s ad and I’m checking them twice. Or as many times as I can stomach before hitting the nog.

In the new ad, Copilot offers to help a homeowner make their smart home more festive when they prompt it, “Show me how to sync my holiday lights to my music.” The user clicks through their cloud-connected smart lighting controls on a website called Relecloud as Copilot says, “Let’s walk through it together.” The ad jump-cuts to the home lights pulsing to that classic Christmas song “A-Punk” by Vampire Weekend.

Relecloud is not a well-known smart home company like Philips Hue or Govee. In fact, it’s not a real business at all. It’s one of the fictional companies Microsoft uses in published case studies (see also: Contoso). I’m inclined to think its use here points to all these advertised Copilot actions being simulated, but a Microsoft rep insists that’s not the case. Nicci Trovinger, general manager of Windows marketing, tells The Verge, “All Copilot responses are actual responses Copilot gave to the scenarios shown and questions asked at a point in time. Responses were shortened for brevity to fit the length of the creative spot, in line with standard advertising practices.”

I tried this test with Copilot in two ways: one using a still image of the lighting interface from the ad, and another with the Philips Hue Sync app. Copilot made its best guess as to where I should click in the image from the ad, highlighting a “Sync Mode” drop-down menu with its own onscreen cursor, but it struggled to take me much further. It often told me it highlighted something when it didn’t, and it hallucinated a green “Apply” button that was actually just the color preset for green lighting.

Copilot’s answers were about as confusing when I presented a fully configured app for my Philips Hue lights. It identified the Hue Sync app, and at first told me, correctly, to click on the Music tab and the “Start light sync” button. But then it hallucinated buttons that weren’t there, pointed me to the Entertainment Zones I had already set up, and kept telling me it had highlighted things on my screen when it hadn’t. Copilot’s cursor highlight feature is useful, but it usually only does it when you ask — and it’s painfully slow to react. It often lingers on your screen well after Copilot’s moved on to other advice.

A couple other prompts go unanswered in the ad, including “Help me figure out these instructions” and “Convert this recipe on my screen so it feeds 12.”

“14!” another actor, presumably their partner, interjects.

We don’t see what’s on screen in these cases, so for the instructions, I took a shot at showing Copilot Ikea’s 2x4 Kallax shelf — a classic with assembly manuals available online. Copilot kept identifying dowels as screws or nails. And it would often detect page numbers as step numbers, making any attempts to follow along even more chaotic.

Scaling up a recipe for a massive gathering is a common holiday practice in my Italian American family. I tried showing Copilot a recipe for stuffed mushrooms from Sip and Feast. It acknowledged that to go from a serving size of six to 14 would require multiplying each ingredient by about 2.3 times, but it usually only did a couple calculations before expecting me to do the rest or trying to move on to another topic by asking me a question. When it noticed the site had options for scaling up the recipe, it mistook the “2x” and “3x” buttons for plus and minus ones that would let me dial in exactly 14 servings, and kept insisting that’s what those buttons are for. They aren’t. Then, as a last-ditch effort, I asked it to just calculate each ingredient and spell it out for me in a document. Copilot told me it would, and then did nothing.

The last example in the ad has the homeowner with the smart lights asking, “Can you read the HOA guidelines and make sure I’m not breaking any rules?” On screen is a made-up-looking document titled “HOA Guidelines” and a picture of a giant inflatable reindeer in front of a house, encroaching on the neighboring property. The image also looks AI-generated; Microsoft’s Trovinger confirmed that “Both the reindeer yard decoration photo and the HOA guidelines document were created for the purpose of the ad and modeled after references.”

Copilot tells the actor in the ad to “adjust the inflatable reindeer so it’s not crossing into the neighbor’s yard.” When I showed Copilot the screenshot of the doc and image from the ad, it could detect the line that “large inflatables cannot cross your property line.” But Copilot only gave me wishy-washy answers about the reindeer being too far over or not. It seemed to speculate that the reindeer might be pushing the boundaries, but often deferred to my judgment.

There is one more prompt in the ad. It’s jolly old St. Nick himself, asking Copilot why toy production is falling behind. In the ad, Copilot says it’s because the elves have been consuming too much hot cocoa. But maybe it’s because management insists on shoehorning AI into their workflows.

I have to hand it to Microsoft’s marketing team for including this one, which feels like an admission that the whole ad campaign is selling a fantasy. Believing that Copilot can do what Microsoft says it can — or that any of these AI assistants can — is like believing in Santa Claus.

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Posted Friday 19 December 2025 at 2:53 am AEST (my time).

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Interestingly, one of the comments by a long-time Neowin forum member neufuse highlighted another such system service called Delivery Optimization that is also known to be a network and RAM hogger at times. He quipped: "can't be as bad as the delivery optimization service..... which sometimes will eat up all your memory and just sit there for fun....."

As if on queue, a Reddit user ran some tests to track and monitor the Delivery Optimization process and he discovered how over time, the service can eat up loads of your system memory.

For those who may not know what it is, Delivery Optimization in Windows 11 and 10 is a peer-to-peer client update service that helps devices obtain Windows updates (cumulative updates) as well as Microsoft Store updates more efficiently since many such cumulative or feature updates may be really large in size.

Thus, instead of downloading updates solely from Microsoft’s servers, it allows PCs to share parts of downloaded updates with other devices on the same local network or even across the internet. This reduces bandwidth usage, speeds up update delivery, and minimizes congestion. Delivery Optimization is said to automatically balance between Microsoft’s servers and peer sources to ensure reliability and security. A good thing is that users are able to configure the feature's settings via the Windows Update settings options to restrict sharing to local networks or to disable it entirely.

The Reddit user Niff_Naff explains in their post how they used the Windows Process ID (PID) and the process' service name to plot the memory usage over time. The author noted that the DoSvc (Delivery Optimization Service) kept using significantly more memory over time compared to the others indicating a possible memory leak; the user adds that they have been noticing the behavior since the last month or so.

Hence it is probably a good thing that Microsoft has decided to delay another automatic Windows Update feature to 2026 citing user and admin feedback. No wonder the company now recommends a minimum of 16GB of memory on gaming and AI PCs.

Source and image: Niff_Naff (Reddit)

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Posted Friday 19 December 2025 at 2:47 am AEST (my time).

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On the game-related bugs side, Assassin's Creed Valhalla's HDR toggle should now function when smooth motion is enabled. Dying Light: The Beast had seen some stability issues with the 591.44 driver from earlier this month, which should now be fixed. Meanwhile, Nvidia says that RTX 50 series stability issues with the survival game Enshrouded have been fixed in this release too.

Nvidia graphics users may also have noticed faded display colors when apps and games switched to a non-native resolution. This driver is carrying a fix for that while also resolving a black screen issue that came up when using RTX HDR on some TVs.

Here are all the fixed issues in this release:

• Fixed Gaming Bugs
  • Enshrouded: Game stability issues on GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs
  • Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: HDR toggle not functional when Smooth Motion is enabled
  • Dying Light: The Beast: Game stability issues after updating to 591.44 driver
• Fixed General Bugs
  • Display color seems faded after switching to non-native resolution
  • Using RTX HDR on select televisions causes games to blackscreen

There is a single known issue listed for this driver:

• Unable to deselect "Show Notification Tray Icon" from NVIDIA Control Panel

The Nvidia 591.59 driver is now available for download in the Nvidia app and GeForce Experience. Standalone download links can be found here, and here are the official release notes (PDF).

Via DSOGaming

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Posted Friday 19 December 2025 at 2:45 am AEST (my time).

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User capabilities

Work IQ, the intelligence layer that powers the personalization features of Microsoft 365 Copilot, is getting even better with the ability to recall memories from past conversations. This feature is rolling out this month. Microsoft has also made improvements to the quality of responses generated by Copilot Chat, with the service now experiencing 3x more thumbs-up over the past six months. Additionally, agents created with Agent Builder can now generate Word, Excel, and PowerPoint content while declarative agents are gaining the ability to interpret and ground responses using images embedded in Word, PowerPoint, and PDF files this month.

Importantly, the Microsoft 365 Copilot app received a bunch of UX enhancements recently, including more intuitive navigation, glance cards, integration of Copilot Chat conversations in Copilot Search results, AI views, and dynamic text filters in Copilot Search. Some other enhancements rolled out in the past few weeks include:

• Suggested references, student access, and OneNote availability for Copilot Notebooks
• Unified experience, Entra authentication, agent update, and more for Copilot in Teams
• Formula completion and Agent Mode in Excel
• Explanations and image editing for Copilot in PowerPoint
• Agent Mode in Word
• New agents available

Admin capabilities

On the admin side of things, Microsoft 365 Copilot received a bunch of benchmarking and reporting tools. This includes the ability to export Copilot Dashboard data as a CSV file, leverage Copilot Analytics endpoints now available in Microsoft Graph API, understand how Copilot usage relates to employee engagement through the Copilot employee experience report, track Copilot adoption, and benchmark it against internal and external metrics.

On the security front, Microsoft Purview unified audit logs will soon include all agent-related admin activities in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Additionally, organizational messages are being enhanced through support for email and action segments.

That said, this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the new capabilities introduced in Microsoft 365 Copilot recently. To get the full rundown, head over to Microsoft's lengthy blog post here.

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Posted Thursday 18 December 2025 at 6:01 pm AEST (my time).

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Essentially, Microsoft is giving you more flexibility and control over how the proofing process works in OneNote. Up until now, OneNote applied proofing at a paragraph-level based on your keyboard language, which already worked great for multilingual users.

However, Microsoft is now going a step beyond that by offering more configurations that allow you to apply a proofing language for the entire OneNote page and even set a default proofing language that stays consistent throughout your OneNote experience, regardless of your keyboard input. That said, it is still giving customers the option to select a particular paragraph and apply a separate proofing language on it.

In order to leverage the new proofing configurations, navigate to Review > Language > Set Proofing Language. If you want to apply your setting to the current page entirely, click Apply to whole page, and if you want it to be the default for future pages and content as well, uncheck the Follow keyboard input language toggle.

That said, this feature is exclusive to OneNote for Windows customers right now, and is only available in Insider releases running Version 2512 (Build 19515.20000) or later. However, general availability is not that far away and is tentatively scheduled for the end of January 2026. Microsoft has emphasized that if customers have feedback, suggestions, or want to report bugs in this capability or OneNote as a whole, they should use the integrated feedback mechanism that can be accessed through the Help > Feedback menu.

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Posted Wednesday 17 December 2025 at 5:53 pm AEST (my time).

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Mozilla has announced its new CEO, Anthony Enzor-DeMeo, and has today confirmed that under his leadership, Firefox will evolve into an AI browser over the next three years. The good news? Mozilla understands that AI should be a choice, and will allow users to turn it off.

"Every product we build must give people agency in how it works. Privacy, data use, and AI must be clear and understandable," says Enzor-Demeo. "Controls must be simple. AI should always be a choice — something people can easily turn off ... Firefox will grow from a browser into a broader ecosystem of trusted software. Firefox will remain our anchor. It will evolve into a modern AI browser and support a portfolio of new and trusted software additions."

Even with the confirmation that AI features will be optional, the internet is not pleased. Users online have expressed their disappointment in Mozilla focusing on AI features and capabilities. One post on X says "This is a good example of how management doesn't understand its own user base," which has amassed over 380K views so far.

Another post says "I've never seen a company so astoundingly out of touch with the people who want to use its software," highlithing how a lot of people choose to use Firefox to get away from the AI obsession that other browsers such as Edge, Chrome, Opera, and Brave have endured over the last year.

In fact, it seems the large majority of posts on social media are echoing this same sentiment. People aren't happy with Mozilla's direction of pushing into AI, and would rather the company focus its resources on building other things instead.

"Please don't turn Firefox into an AI browser. That's a great way to push us to alternatives," another user says as a direct response to Mozilla's announcement.

Mozilla is not the first company to come under fire for announcing an investment in AI features and capabilities in recent months. Microsoft recently came under the same fire for announcing that Windows would evolve into an agentic OS, which sparked major backlash and forced the current Windows president to address the fallout and promise to focus on other areas in addition to AI.

Microsoft today also confirmed that it is now going to be enabling a Windows system service by default, and quite ironically, the service is known to cause performance-related issues on user PCs from time to time as it can eat up CPU cycles and memory blocks.

Microsoft released Patch Tuesday updates for the month of December 2025 last week under KB5072033 for Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2, and Server 2025 and today Neowin noticed that the tech giant updated the release notes for the C.U. (cumulative update) to include this system process change. It writes:

"December 15, 2025 Update: This feature is included in the December 2025 non-security update (KB5072033).

• [System Components] The AppX Deployment Service (Appxsvc) has moved to Automatic startup type to improve reliability in some isolated scenarios."

A quick Google search for the Appxsvc service leads to various forum posts and results online where users are seen complaining about this system process. This ranges from issues related to high CPU usage, memory usage, or disk impacts. Hence, the process could be a major potential resource and performance hog depending on how it could affect a user's PC.

By default the Startup type for the service was previously set to "Manual(Triggered)" so that it could be launched on demand when a Store app needed to be accessed; but now Microsoft is making it "Automatic", which means low-spec and less powerful PCs running the newer versions of Windows 11 could be in for a bad surprise as the process will continue running in the background as soon as the system boots up.

For those wondering what the Appxsvc service is, the process essentially handles Microsoft Store apps and updates and if it is force-disabled, Microsoft warns that this could fail to function properly.

If we were to guess why Microsoft is making the change, the company recently revealed that it is soon going to be pushing Microsoft Store updates via the Windows Update channel, and hence all Store-related changes may always be kept on by default.

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Posted Wednesday 17 December 2025 at 5:25 am AEST (my time).

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Following that, in June, Microsoft detailed DiskSpd improvements and optimizations that were made to help measure the impact of the change.

Fast forward to today, in December 2025, Microsoft confirmed that the feature was recently rolled out to Windows Server 2025 as it hit general availability status. The company has confirmed that the recent October 2025 Patch Tuesday update for Server 2025 (KB5066835) is bringing native NVMe support, though currently it is available as an opt-in feature only, which means administrators will need to enable it manually as it will not be ON by default.

Interestingly, Microsoft has now claimed an ~80% performance boost in IOPS terms which is a 10 percentage points bump over the earlier promises. This suggests that further optimizations have helped enhance the performance even more. Additionally, a ~45% savings in CPU cycles per I/O on 4K random read workloads on NTFS volumes is also promised.

If you are wondering how this is possible, the company has explained that Windows Server 2025 no longer defaults to seeing all storage devices as SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) which was a standard originally designed for rotational disks like hard disks. Curiously, as a trivia, NVMe now supports HDDs too, thanks to the NVMe 2.0 spec.

Microsoft has highlighted all the improvements the new native NVMe support for SSDs delivers:

• Massive IOPS Gains: Direct, multi-queue access to NVMe devices means you can finally reach the true limits of your hardware.

• Lower Latency: Traditional SCSI-based stacks rely on shared locks and synchronization mechanisms in the kernel I/O path to manage resources. Native NVMe enables streamlined, lock-free I/O paths that slash round-trip times for every operation.

• CPU Efficiency: A leaner, optimized stack frees up compute for your workloads instead of storage overhead.

• Future-Ready Features: Native support for advanced NVMe capabilities like multi-queue and direct submission ensures you’re ready for next-gen storage innovation.

   

In order to opt in, Microsoft says that admins will need to Opt In to enable Native NVMe by either using a Registry tweak or with a Group Policy object (GPO) edit. It writes:

"After applying the 2510-B Latest Cumulative Update (or most recent), add the registry key with the following PowerShell command:

reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Policies\Microsoft\FeatureManagement\Overrides /v 1176759950 /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Alternatively, use this Group Policy MSI to add the policy that controls the feature then run the local Group Policy Editor to enable the policy (found under Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > KB5066835 251014_21251 Feature Preview > Windows 11, version 24H2, 25H2)."

You can find the announcement post here on Microsoft's official Tech Community website.

Windows Server 2025 and Windows 11 24H2 have a lot in common, and consecutively, Windows 11 25H2 also shares the same codebase and servicing branch as 24H2. Hence, we wonder what the underlying changes can mean for personal Windows 11 24H2/25H2 systems. Gaming of course can greatly benefit as Microsoft recently explained with its new recommendation and requirements guide

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Posted Wednesday 17 December 2025 at 5:23 am AEST (my time).

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Here is what is new:

[Gaming]

• The full screen experience (FSE) is now available on more Windows 11 handheld devices after its initial launch on ASUS ROG Ally and ROG Ally X. FSE gives you a console-style interface with the Xbox app, making handheld gaming clean and distraction-free. It improves performance by minimizing background tasks, so gameplay stays smooth and responsive. To turn it on, go to Settings > Gaming > Full screen experience, and set Xbox as your home app. You can open FSE from Task View or Game Bar or configure your handheld to enter full screen experience on startup.

[Click to Do]

• The following changes and improvements are rolling out for Copilot+ PCs:
• The Click to Do context menu is being updated with a streamlined design, making it simpler to locate what you need. Frequently used actions like Copy, Save, Share, and Open will now be easier to access directly from the context menu.
• Whenever a large image or table appears on your screen, the context menu will automatically pop up, making it quicker and easier to access the actions and results you need.

[Agent in Settings]

• The following changes and improvements are rolling out for agent in Settings on Copilot+ PCs:
• We’re introducing new experiences to make it easier to modify settings in both search and recommended settings.

  

   

• Recommend Settings: Now allows for faster changes by showing an inline agent action for recently modified settings.
• Search: We now show more available results in the search fly out to discover what you’re looking for and to allow you to quickly modify those settings. In cases where the settings can’t be adjusted further, a dialog lets you know why and provides an option to modify the settings as needed.

[Studio Effects]

Making Windows Studio Effects available on additional cameras

We are working to bring the Windows Studio Effects experience from integrated laptop cameras to a broader range of camera hardware, helping you stay professional and look your best across more setups. On supported Copilot+ PCs, we are rolling out the ability to use Studio Effect’s AI-powered camera enhancements with an additional, alternative camera – such as a USB webcam or your laptop’s built-in rear camera.

To get started, navigate to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras and select your preferred camera from the connected cameras list. Then, open the advanced camera options menu to find the new “Use Windows Studio Effects” toggle. Once enabled, you can now access and adjust Studio Effects directly from the camera settings page or via the quick settings menu in the taskbar.

[Drag Tray]

For Insiders with the Drag Tray feature:

• Drag Tray now supports multi-file sharing, intelligently surfaces more relevant apps, and enables seamless file movement to a chosen folder.
• We’ve added the ability to turn Drag Tray on/off from Settings > System > Nearby sharing.

[File Explorer]

Dark Mode: We’ve made improvements to the dark mode experience in File Explorer starting with key actions like copy, move, and delete dialogs. You’ll now see a consistent dark mode experience in:

• The default and expanded state for copy, move, and delete dialogs
• Progress bars and chart views
• Dialogs for confirming states like skip, override, and file selection
• Multiple confirmation and error dialogs

Other File Explorer improvements include:

• For Insiders with Copilot+ PCs, we’re updating the File Explorer Search Box placeholder text to raise awareness of the improved Windows Search experience introduced earlier this year. Learn more in our January blog post.
• When you hover over a file in File Explorer Home, commands such as Open file location and Ask Copilot appear as quick actions. This experience is now supported for work and school accounts (Entra ID). This feature isn’t available in the European Economic Area.

[Mobile Device Settings]

You can now directly add and manage your mobile devices from Settings on your Windows PC by navigating to “Mobile Devices” under the Bluetooth & Devices section. This page allows you to view your mobile devices, add new mobile devices, and manage features such as using your device as a connected camera or accessing your device’s files in File Explorer.

[Desktop Spotlight]

We are trying out a change that adds “Learn more about this background” and “Next desktop background” to the context menu when you click on your desktop if you have Windows Spotlight chosen as your desktop background under Settings > Personalization > Background.

[Input]

• We’re moving more keyboard settings from Control Panel to Settings – this includes that the setting for character repeat delay / rate is now available under Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Keyboard, and the setting for cursor blink rate is now available under Settings > Accessibility > Text cursor.
• Keyboard backlight performance has improved on supported HID-compliant keyboards. Compatible keyboards display keys clearly in low-light environments, and the backlight adjusts to help conserve power.
• The AltGr layer is now enabled for the Arabic 101 keyboard layout. The left Alt key continues to function as before, while the right Alt key acts as a modifier to access additional symbols. The first new symbol mapped to AltGr on the Arabic 101 layout is the Saudi Riyal currency symbol (AltGr+S). The Saudi Riyal currency symbol is also available on the touch keyboard’s symbols page and the expressive input panels currency tab. Users who switch languages with Alt+Shift can continue to use the left Alt+Shift or the general shortcut Windows logo key+Spacebar. Arabic 102 and Arabic 102 AZERTY layouts are updated similarly.
• Pens that support haptic feedback will now deliver tactile responses during certain interactions with the system UI. For example, you may feel vibrations when hovering over the close button or when snapping and resizing windows.

[Game Pass]

In this build we have modified references to Game Pass plans in Settings to reflect updated branding and benefits.

[OneDrive]

We are rolling out the new OneDrive icon in Accounts and Homepages in Settings.

[Recovery]

Quick Machine Recovery (QMR) now runs a one-time scan on PCs with settings quick machine recoveryand automatically check for solutions are both turned on. If a fix isn’t available immediately, QMR directs you to the best recovery options to get your PC running again.Alt txt: In Settings for Systems, Recovery, “Quick machine recovery” and “Automatically check for solutions” are enabled to run a onetime QMR scan by default.

[Advanced Settings]

You can now turn on Virtual Workspaces in Advanced Settings. Virtual Workspaces allow you to enable or disable virtual environments such as Hyper-V and Windows Sandbox. To access Virtual Workspaces, go to Settings> Systems > Advanced.

Here are the fixes that are rolling out gradually:

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where File Explorer might unexpectedly not show thumbnails for video files containing certain EXIF metadata.
• Fixed an issue where an old white toolbar might sometimes appear unexpectedly in File Explorer.
• Fixed an issue where when you right-clicked a file, the app icon next to the Open option might appear generic instead of showing the default app for that file type.
• Fixed an issue where when opening a folder from another app (for example, opening the Downloads folder from a browser), your custom view — including sorting files by name, changing the icon size, or removing grouping — unexpectedly might reset back to default.
• Fixed an issue where the body of the File explorer window might no longer respond to mouse clicks after invoking the context menu.
• Fixed an issue where extracting very large archive folders (1.5gb+) might fail with a “Catastrophic Error” (error code 0x8000FFFF).
• Fixed an issue which could cause File Explorer to become unresponsive when opening Home.

[Settings]

• Fixed and issue where Settings might become unresponsive when attempting to navigate to the Network & Internet section.
• Fixed an issue where the search bar in Settings might become overlapped with the minimum and maximum buttons in the title bar.
• Fixed an issue where the processor name in Settings > System > About might be truncated.

[Taskbar]

• Fixed an issue where the automatically hide the taskbar setting might unexpectedly turn off, after seeing a message saying a toolbar is already hidden on this side of your screen.
• Fixed an issue where Voice access wasn’t working correctly when attempting to interact with the taskbar (calling out a number might not invoke that item).
• Fixed and issue where the taskbar icons might automatically scale to be smaller, although there was enough room left without scaling changes.
• Fixed an issue where if you hovered over an app icon on the taskbar, and then selected the window preview, the preview might dismiss and not bring the window to the foreground.

[Start menu]

• For Insiders with the new Start menu, the Windows Search panel now matches the new Start menu in size. This update aims to create a smoother transition when searching.

[Internet]

• Made some underlying improvements to help address an issue which could lead to not having internet after resuming from disconnected standby. Please don’t hesitate to file feedback under Network and Internet in the Feedback Hub if you continue experiencing issues.

[Display and graphics]

• Improved performance when apps query monitors for their full list of supported modes. When this happened it could previously lead to a momentary stutter on very high-resolution monitors. This work should help prevent and reduce stuttering in these scenarios.
• Fixed an issue where All-in-one PCs might experience issues with their brightness slider, where it unexpectedly would revert to the original brightness when interacting with it.
• Fixed an issue where recently certain games might display the message Unsupported graphics card detected, although a supported graphics card was being used.
• Fixed an issue where apps and browsers might display partially unresponsive onscreen content when other maximized or full-screen apps were updating in the background. This issue was particularly noticeable when scrolling, as only parts of the window content might update.
• Fixed an issue where text might not render correctly when editing content within a multiline text box in certain apps.

[Login and Lock screens]

• Made some underlying changes to improve the performance of loading the taskbar after unlocking your PC from sleep. This also should help in cases where the password field and other sign-in screen contents didn’t render when transitioning from the lock screen to the sign-in screen after sleep.
• Fixed an issue where it might be very slow the first time when signing into a new account.
• Fixed an issue where when your lock screen was set to slide show, there might be a memory leak. Memory leaks can lead to performance or reliability issues over time.

[Narrator]

• Fixed an issue where Narrator might take abrupt random pauses during continuous reading. in word docs.

[Windows Update]

• Fixed an underlying issue which could cause “Update and shutdown” to not actually shut down your PC after updating
• Fixed an underlying issue which could lead to some Insiders seeing error 0x8007042B when attempting to upgrade to Canary from recent Windows 11 24H2 or 25H2-based builds.

[Task Manager]

• Fixed an issue where Task Manager might open as expected, but if you tried to close it it would remain running in the background, with the number of processes growing each time you opened Task Manager. This could also lead to Task Manager unexpectedly appearing on boot.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where certain apps might become unresponsive when launching the Open or Save Dialog.
• Fixed an issue where interacting with the desktop might unexpectedly invoke Task View.

You can find the announcement blog post here.

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Posted Tuesday 16 December 2025 at 1:09 pm AEST (my time).

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In a detailed blog post, Microsoft has explained that all items of feedback logged on this portal become tickets in its ticketing system and get treated as regular tasks alongside internal tasks that the team is already working on. The ticket is then triaged and given a priority in accordance with its impact and alignment with the goals for the IDE. It is assigned a score based on its traction in the community, weighed by upvotes and severity.

Microsoft has emphasized that this is why it is important that users review the feedback portal and upvote existing tickets they can relate with, rather than create duplicate issues. As a ticket continues to gain traction in the community, its score rises along with its priority level. A high priority ticket gets investigated within a week, but a high score alone doesn't guarantee a top priority. There are other factors at play too, such as breaking changes and regressions that force you to roll back to a previous version to return to a working state.

As such, Microsoft has highlighted the importance of a well-defined ticket. Ideally, it should sport a descriptive title, instructions for reproducing an issue, a reproducible project, screenshots, and recordings. The company further noted that:

"Sometimes, we still can’t figure out what’s going on. The team can’t reproduce the issue, or the error logs just don’t give us enough to go on. When that happens, we usually reach out to you and the rest of the community for more details. We’re not trying to be a hassle; we really do want to fix the problem, but we just need a little more info to get there. Anyone can add more info to any ticket, and we encourage you to jump in if you can help."

Overall, the tech giant touted that it has fixed more bugs and rolled out more requested features for Visual Studio in 2025 than any past year. All of this has been made possible through robust feedback from the community, which should continue moving forward.

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Posted Tuesday 16 December 2025 at 4:08 am AEST (my time).

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According to the Windows Release Health dashboard, the Message Queuing (MSMQ) functionality has broken on Windows 10, Windows Server 2019, and Windows Server 2016 installations after installing December's Patch Tuesday updates (KB5071546). Users affected by this bug will encounter some or all of the following errors:

• MSMQ queues becoming inactive
• IIS sites failing with “Insufficient resources to perform operation” errors
• Applications unable to write to queues
• Errors such as "The message file 'C:\Windows\System32\msmq\storage*.mq' cannot be created” when creating message files
• Misleading logs like “There is insufficient disk space or memory", despite sufficient disk space and memory being available

For those unaware, MSMQ is an optional Windows component that allows different applications to communicate with other networks and systems, even when they are offline. It does so by sending messages which are placed in a queue - hence the name - after which receiving applications read the messages from the queue after they come online. It is used in both synchronous and asynchronous environments where guaranteed priority-based routing of messages through a secure pipeline is critical.

Microsoft says that MSMQ is breaking because some changes were recently made to its security model and NTFS permissions on C:\Windows\System32\MSMQ\storage folder, after which users now require write access to this folder. Right now, write access on this folder is exclusive for administrators only, which is why this process is breaking. That said, the Redmond tech giant has assured customers that it is investigating the bug further, which means that a mitigation should land soon. MSMQ breaking is a significant problem for some IT admins considering it's an optional component which means that it was explicitly turned on for a purpose by affected customers.

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Posted Tuesday 16 December 2025 at 4:07 am AEST (my time).

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This known issue affects users who installed the KB5067036 October 2025 non-security update, released October 28th, or any subsequent updates, including the KB5072033 cumulative update released during this month's Patch Tuesday.

On impacted systems, users are experiencing connectivity issues with some third-party VPN applications when mirrored mode networking is enabled, preventing access to corporate resources.

Mirrored mode networking was introduced in WSL in September 2018 to improve VPN compatibility, add IPv6 and multicast support, and enable connecting to WSL from the local area network (LAN) and to Windows servers from within Linux.

Those affected by this bug are seeing "No route to host" errors in WSL environments, even though their Windows host systems can normally access the same destinations. According to Microsoft, the problem affects OpenVPN and enterprise VPN solutions, such as Cisco Secure Client (formerly Cisco AnyConnect).

The issue stems from VPN applications' virtual network interfaces failing to respond to Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) requests, which map IP addresses to MAC (Media Access Control) addresses.

"This issue happens because the VPN application's virtual interface doesn't respond to ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) requests," Microsoft said. "Home users of Windows Home or Pro editions are unlikely to experience this issue. It primarily affects connectivity to enterprise resources over VPN, including DirectAccess."

Microsoft says it's investigating this known issue but has yet to provide a timeline for a fix or a workaround, and added that additional information would be shared when available.

WSL was introduced in March 2018 as a compatibility layer that enables users to run Linux distributions natively on their Windows computers via PowerShell or the Windows 10 command prompt.

In May 2019, Microsoft released WSL 2, a major upgrade including a real Linux kernel running in a virtual machine, notable improvements in file-system performance, and extended support for complete system-call compatibility.

Microsoft open-sourced WSL at Microsoft Build 2025, making its source code available on GitHub, except for a handful of components that are part of Windows.

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Posted Tuesday 16 December 2025 at 4:06 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of November): 5,412

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From a user who hates downloading exe files and loves to install apps from a single, convenient place, here are five things I want Microsoft to improve in the Microsoft Store for Windows 10 and 11.

1. Shopping Cart.

This one is very simple. Just let us buy a few things at once, Microsoft, with no need to go through the checkout process for every app or game I want to buy. This is particularly relevant for sales or for Game Pass subscribers who may want to buy several games, say, when they are about to leave the subscription. Steam is the best example of having a shopping cart, and there is no reason not to add one to the Microsoft Store.

You may say, but who actually buys something in the Microsoft Store? Let me tell you that there are quite a few very cool apps worth buying, plus you can purchase games with discounts if you are a Game Pass subscriber. And maybe, just maybe, more people will consider shopping in the Microsoft Store if Microsoft gives it a bit more love and attention to detail, not just semi-useful stuff like the AI Hub or a section for glorified wallpaper packs.

2. Wishlists.

The Microsoft Store has quite a lot of high-profile, expensive apps and games, and wishlists are a great tool for monitoring prices or tracking the stuff you want to buy somewhere in the future. There is not that much to add to it, and every digital store should have the ability to wishlist stuff.

3. Proper notifications and badges.

I always loved how the Microsoft Store tile in Windows Phone displayed the number of apps that are pending updates. Like, hello, five apps have something new in them, let's check. In Windows 11, though, all we have is a dumb icon without any badges.

This might be less relevant in the world where Microsoft no longer allows you to disable automatic app updates, but here comes my second wish: proper notifications. For now, all we have are notifications when the store completes installing the app or game. That is handy when you are waiting for, say, a large game to complete its download, but for everything else, not much. Do I really need a notification that a 50MB app just completed installation? Probably not. However, a notification that a bunch of apps were just updated is another story. Technically, we have a small dot that indicates pending updates, but it is only visible in the Microsoft Store app itself.

Also, Microsoft could add notifications about sales, items in your wishlist, and more. Some useful notifications, Microsoft, pretty please.

4. Better in-app purchase disclosures.

These days, it is very hard to find an app or game without in-app purchases. While there is a badge that indicates in-app purchases, store listings do not provide at least a glimpse of what kind of in-app purchases are available.

Apple, with its App Store, does a better job in this regard, as it shows a list of purchases. This lets you skip right away apps that charge their users with crazy subscriptions, insane money for in-game items, and more. I once encountered a $9.99/week subscription for a calculator. Crazy!

5. Subscription management.

Speaking of subscriptions... It would be nice to have the ability to manage first and third-party subscriptions right in the Microsoft Store without the need to open your browser. For now, the only way to do that is on the account.microsoft.com website, which is fine by itself, but the thing is that the Microsoft Store has no single link to get you there, so inexperienced users are left on their own to figure out how to manage their subscriptions. Certain services have links to subscription management (like Microsoft 365), but they are only available on their dedicated pages, not in the Microsoft Store itself.

Yes, I know that the Settings app has an overview of your subscriptions with buttons to the subscription management page on account.microsoft.com. But again, they open in a browser, and the Settings app only shows first-party subscriptions like Game Pass, Microsoft 365, etc. There should be a single place with easy-to-understand UI that lets you check available tiers, cancel your subscription, resubscribe, etc.

Is there something else the Microsoft Store needs to become better? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Posted Monday 15 December 2025 at 3:29 am AEST (my time).

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•     Windows 10 has a new update as part of Microsoft's extended support
•     It reportedly breaks StartIsBack, a popular customization app
•     The December patch also apparently causes issues with multiple monitors and performance slowdown in some areas

Windows 10 has a new update as part of Microsoft's extended support scheme, but there are reports of this latest release causing trouble for some users.

A notable issue that's been raised in multiple reports about the December update for Windows 10 (patch KB5071546) is that it breaks a popular customization app that revamps the Start menu.

That app is StartIsBack, and according to said reports on Reddit and X (see below), it's failing to work completely, but only on some PCs, where users are facing a blank screen instead of the desktop.

The system is apparently still functioning behind the black screen, but obviously not being able to have the desktop rendered makes using Windows 10 very tricky (though you can still access interface elements via keyboard shortcuts).

Another Reddit thread that contains a further complaint about StartIsBack highlights some other issues with this patch.

One Redditor observes that the December update meant their "wallpaper engine broke, wallpaper animations became choppy, task manager showed increased CPU spikes suddenly, [and] the UI started lagging." This was cured by reverting away from the update, and another Windows 10 user confirms they suffered a similar problem.

There could be some minor gaming issues here, too, as another Redditor claims the update causes frame rate drops in Overwatch, and a further disgruntled gamer says it broke the Xbox app.

There's another complaint on Reddit about the December update repeatedly trying to install itself, even though it's already installed.

Add to that an apparent bug with multiple monitors whereby a pair of displays hooked up to the PC stopped working after KB5071546 had been installed, with the Windows 10 desktop apparently failing to load (again). Disabling one monitor fixes the problem, we're told, as does removing the December update – and two other Redditors chime in to say they've experienced this exact same problem.

There are also scattered reports of the December update failing to install (for example, here's one on Microsoft's Tech Community hub).

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Analysis: StartWasBack but the December update took it out

At the moment, we need to be cautious around these initial reports of bugs, some of which may be far from widespread. Still, it seems like there is something amiss with a few aspects of the December update for Windows 10, and certainly there's a problem with StartIsBack (and potentially other similar Windows customization tools).

This isn't uncommon, to be fair, as these kinds of apps tinker with bits of the underlying Windows interface, and when updates make changes, they can clash with the customized parts of the UI, causing Microsoft's OS to throw a hissy fit.

There is an apparent solution for the StartIsBack woes raised by one Redditor, InterestingKale3483, and that's to simply install the latest version of the app (someone else verifies that this works). It could be tricky to resolve the situation seeing as those affected are facing a blank desktop, mind, but you can follow the advice in this post to remove the existing copy of StartIsBack, so you can get to a visible, working desktop – then install the latest version of the application.

What's odd about all this is that I assumed Microsoft would only be patching security vulnerabilities at this point, so it's not clear why stuff would get broken in this way. However, there is one change highlighted by Microsoft in the documentation for KB5071546, namely a tweak (security fix) for PowerShell 5.1, which could be the cause of the problems with StartIsBack (and other interface-related glitches, perhaps).

It's worth noting that without Windows 10's December update, you are missing some defenses against fresh possible exploits out there – so bear that in mind if you're mulling over rolling back the upgrade.

Source

The company also announced that it was beginning to roll out Windows 11 25H2 to all supported user PCs including on Windows 10. Microsoft explained how this could be done by switching a toggle.

Microsoft released corresponding new dynamic updates too alongside the Patch Tuesday updates. For those who may not know, dynamic updates bring improvements to the Windows Recovery process in the form of Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) updates, which are also called Safe OS updates. The dynamic updates also affect the Setup file binaries in the form of Setup updates.

These Dynamic Update packages are meant to be applied to existing Windows images prior to their deployment. These packages include fixes to Setup.exe binaries, SafeOS updates for Windows Recovery Environment, and more. Dynamic Updates also help preserve Language Pack (LP) and Features on Demand (FODs) content during the upgrade process. VBScript, for example, is currently an FOD on Windows 11 24H2. Both setup and recovery updates were released this time. Microsoft writes:

"KB5072537: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 24H2 and 25H2, and Windows Server 2025: December 9, 2025

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE).

KB5071416: Setup Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 23H2: December 9, 2025

This update makes improvements to Windows setup binaries or any files that setup uses for feature updates in Windows 11, version 23H2.

KB5072543: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 23H2: December 9, 2025

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE)."

Microsoft notes that both the Recovery updates will be downloaded and installed automatically via the Windows Update channel. You can also avail both of them on Microsoft's Update Catalog website: KB5072537, KB5071416, KB5072543.

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Posted Sunday 14 December 2025 at 11:53 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of November): 5,412

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WhatsApp just took another step toward pushing PC users to its new web app. If you open WhatsApp for Windows, you'll see a vague warning message that mentions "changes are coming to WhatsApp for Windows."

What that message fails to mention is that WhatsApp is shifting back to a wrapped web app. WhatsApp started testing its new web wrapper back in July. The move makes development easier for WhatsApp, but the change comes at the cost of system resources for users.

The warning message mentions the update starting on December 9, but it appears to be rolling out gradually.

The new version of WhatsApp can use an astronomical amount of RAM. Windows Latest performed testing earlier this month and saw the WhatsApp web wrapper consume up to seven times more RAM than its native counterpart.

I haven't seen spikes quite that high, but RAM usage can vary depending on how many active conversations you have.

The new WhatsApp is powered by WebView2, which is a factor in why it uses more RAM.

As we approach the end of 2025, it's a good moment to look back at the many improvements Windows 11 has received throughout the year, most of which arrived through monthly cumulative updates.

Some changes introduced entirely new capabilities, such as multi-stream support for cameras, smaller Taskbar icons, Quick Machine Recovery, multiple clock support, Administrator Protection, the Xbox Full Screen Experience, and the addition of battery percentage. Others enhanced existing features, including the option to disable the Drag Tray, a redesigned Start menu layout, better dark mode consistency in File Explorer, and more.

In this guide, I'm highlighting my favorite features and improvements that became available for Windows 11 in 2025.

Windows 11 features recap for 2025

On Windows 11, you can now switch to smaller Taskbar icons, and in this guide, I'll explain how the feature works and how to enable it.

Earlier versions of the operating system offered a "Use small Taskbar buttons" setting, but that option disappeared when Windows 11 launched. Microsoft has now brought the feature back, though its behavior has changed. Previously, enabling small icons also reduced the Taskbar's height. On Windows 11, only the icon size changes, and the Taskbar remains the same height.

This update isn't designed to free up vertical space. Instead, it helps you fit more apps on the Taskbar before they spill into the overflow menu. Smaller icons allow the bar to hold more pinned or running apps, which is especially useful on systems with limited screen width or for users who keep many apps open.

In this how-to guide, I'll outline a new, easy way to change the size of icons in the Taskbar.

How to enable smaller icons in the Taskbar on Windows 11

To show smaller app icons in the Taskbar, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Personalization.
3. Click the Taskbar page on the right side.

2025 was an absolutely insane year for games.

Whether you're on Xbox, Windows PC, Steam, Nintendo Switch, or PlayStation, one thing unites all platforms: there was a seriously huge amount of high-quality games to play this year.

For those that don't know, the Tails operating system is a private operating system that runs on a USB stick. The developers work closely with the Tor Project to make an entire operating system that is hidden behind the Tor network, rather than just the web browser.

This update does not contain too much in the way of major user-facing changes like some versions of Tails do. The main improvements here are the update to key software, helping to protect you from anyone looking to uncover your identity. The updated software includes Tor Browser, which is now on version 15.0.3; the Tor client was updated to 0.4.8.21, and Thunderbird is now on version 140.5.0.

The new version of Tails can be acquired following various methods, including automatic upgrade, manual upgrade, new installation, and direct download. Automatic updates are available on Tails 7.0 and later and will be offered after you connect to the internet. These are by far the easiest. In case of difficulties, you can also perform a manual upgrade by following these instructions.

If neither upgrade option works and you want to start fresh or you want to get Tails for the first time, you can create installation media following the specific instructions for Windows, macOS, and Linux. If you do not need to install Tails for whatever reason but just want a copy, you can simply do a direct download of the images for USB devices or DVDs and virtual machines.

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Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Saturday 13 December 2025 at 5:28 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of November): 5,412

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