Chrome 96

Google plans to roll out the update to all devices running Chrome in the coming weeks. Desktop users may speed up the process by loading chrome://settings/help in the browser's address bar. The page that opens displays the currently installed version and runs a check for updates. The new version will be picked up and installed automatically. A restart is required to complete the process.

The official blog post on the Chrome Releases blog offers virtually no information on the release. It lists the version number and that the extended stable of Chrome has been promoted to Chrome 96 as well. Google switched to a 4-week release cycle for Chrome recently and created the extended channel to increase the release period to every other release (8-weeks).

A Chrome 96 beta post on the Chromium blog reveals information on what is new in the new version. Here is a list of important changes:

• HTTPS is used to connect to websites if an HTTPS record is available from the domain name service (DNS).
• Web applications may register as URL protocol handlers, e.g. to launch twitter links using the Twitter PWA, or FTP links using a web FTP application.
• New Origin trial: Conditional focus
  • Applications that capture other windows or tabs currently have no way to control whether the calling item or the captured item gets focus. (Think of a presentation feature in a video conference app.) Chrome 96 makes this possible with a subclass of MediaStreamTrack called FocusableMediaStreamTrack, which supports a new focus() method.
• New Origin trial: Priority Hints
  • Priority Hints introduces a developer-set "importance" attribute to influence the computed priority of a resource. Supported importance values are "auto", "low", and "high". Priority Hints indicate a resource's relative importance to the browser, allowing more control over the order resources are loaded.
• Back forward cache on desktop for faster navigations to "previously-visited pages after cross-site navigations".
• New credentialless policy for Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy.
  • Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy has a new credentialless option that causes cross-origin no-cors requests to omit credentials (cookies, client certificates, etc.). Similarly to COEP:require-corp, it can enable cross-origin isolation.
• Unique IDs for desktop PWAs.
  • The appmanifest spec doesn’t explicitly define what uniquely identifies a PWA. Currently, on the desktop versions of Chromium-based browsers and Firefox on Android, PWAs are uniquely identified by app's start_url and Android Chromium-based browsers use manifest_url instead. This is confusing to developers. Also it made developers unable to change their start_url and manifest_url.Having a stable id allows apps to update other metadata like start_url and manifest_url, and have a consistent way to reference apps across browser platforms, PWA stores and other external entities.This feature tracks the launch process for implementation on the desktop side, as the Android implementation will be done with a different timeline. They will both follow the same specification.
• Enhanced content security policy to improve interoperability with WebAssembly.
• Deprecated: The PaymentRequest API has deprecated the basic card payment method. Will be removed in Chrome 100.

Google is also running a trial to find out if Chrome's version 100 release will cause any issues on the Internet. Site owners and users may test this by enabling the flag chrome://flags/#force-major-version-to-100.

Google Chrome 96 is out: here is what is new

While Linux kernel 5.15 is shy to appear in the stable software repositories of some of the most popular GNU/Linux distributions these days (hint: it just hit Arch Linux’s repos on Friday), development on the next major kernel series, Linux 5.16, is ramping up, and now it’s time to go out and test the first RC (Release Candidate).

Linus Torvalds just announced today the very first Release Candidate milestone of Linux kernel 5.16, which promises to be a great release for Linux gamers as it adds Collabora’s FUTEX2 system call that brings better performance in modern games with more efficient CPU utilization when using Valve’s Proton Wine-based compatibility tool for Steam Play that lets you play many Windows games on Linux.

“Using futexes in our Wine use case reduced the CPU utilization by 4% for the game Beat Saber and by 1.5% for the game Shadow of Tomb Raider, both running over Proton, when compared to the eventfd interface,” explains Collabora developer Gabriel Krisman Bertazi.

Other than that, Linux kernel 5.16 doesn’t look like a huge release, but it’s not as small a Linux kernel 5.15 was, according to Linus Torvalds. GPU, networking, sound and staging work stands out in this release, but there’s also much-improved hardware support and the usual bug and security fixes.

The final release of Linux kernel 5.16 is expected in early January 2022.

Considering the fact that the Christmas and New Years Eve celebrations will probably have a negative impact in the development of Linux kernel 5.16, we’re looking at January 9th as the final release date, but that also depends on the total number of Release Candidate milestones published during the entire development cycle.

Until then, if you want to help the kernel developers find and fix bugs in Linux kernel 5.16, go ahead and download the first Release Candidate from the kernel.org website. However, please keep in mind that this is an early development version, NOT suitable for use in production machines.

Source

Microsoft has changed Windows 11 in a recently unleashed preview build, blocking a workaround that was ensuring that some links which were being opened in Edge were presented in the user’s default browser instead (as they should be, really).

As you’re likely aware, there are instances in Microsoft’s desktop OS where even if you’re running with Chrome, Firefox or another alternative as your default app for browsing, links will still be opened in Edge now and then, when clicking them in certain Microsoft apps. This is due to the use of a proprietary Microsoft Edge protocol heading up the links, namely ‘microsoft-edge://’ (which forces opening in Edge) rather than the usual ‘https://’.

An obvious example that springs to mind is the ‘News and interests’ widget on the taskbar, which presents various news, sports, weather and other articles, all of which will open in Edge no matter what your default setting is for the web browser in Windows.

This is where third-party apps like EdgeDeflector from Daniel Aleksandersen come in, because at the moment, they can take these ‘microsoft-edge://’ links and automatically switch them to normal ones (‘https://’) that will open in your specified default browser.

However, as Aleksandersen points out in a post on his Ctrl.Blog, with Windows 11 preview build 22494 (released at the start of November) Microsoft has changed things so that it’s impossible for anything but Microsoft Edge to be set as the protocol handler for ‘microsoft-edge://’ links. In short, these links cannot be redirected at all as of this build.

This also means that browsers like Firefox or Brave, which were implementing their own versions of this kind of protocol redirection, will be unable to do so, leaving Edge as the only route for opening these links from Microsoft’s own apps and services.

Analysis: On the Edge of annoyance (once again)?

Clearly, this is Microsoft throwing its weight around to ensure that Edge keeps on popping up for those using its own apps or features like News and interests – and a less than subtle way of reminding people that Edge exists, and that they should consider switching (various popups do that regularly for Windows users, as we’ve seen in the past – this kind of behavior is nothing new).

There’s no reason to make this change aside from furthering the reach of Edge, of course. And it also leads to the bizarre situation where even if you banish Edge from your system completely, these links will still try to open in a non-existent browser.

Aleksandersen points out: “Windows will insist you use Microsoft Edge to a fault even if you brutalize your Windows installation and purge all traces of Microsoft Edge. Windows will open an empty UWP window and show an error message instead of letting you use your preferred web browser.”

Hopefully, this new draconian measure is something Microsoft will reconsider, but given past history, we wouldn’t bank on it.

Perhaps what’s the real shame is that Edge actually stands perfectly well on its own as a good product, and should be left to make a name for itself over time on those grounds. These kind of measures – and various popups or increased use of ads – are only likely to interfere negatively with the browser’s potential adoption in the end.

Microsoft knows full well the danger of pushing too hard with its products – just remember the debacle around encouraging users to take up the offer of a free upgrade to Windows 10 – so let’s hope for the best in terms of browser freedom in Windows. Bear in mind at this point, this is just a change which is in testing (so Windows Insiders, make your feelings known if they’re strong ones).

Source

What, however, if you want to turn fullscreen mode on for an app or game that does not support these options? Or, turn it off for an application that launches in fullscreen mode automatically?

Not all programs support a dedicated fullscreen mode. Thunderbird for instance, the open source email client, does not support it. While you can use the maximize button to maximize the Thunderbird window on the desktop, you can't launch the app in fullscreen mode.

Microsoft Store applications, including those that are included natively on Windows 11, do support the fullscreen mode usually, even though you may have troubles launching it as there is not a button usually to do so.

What you need to use is the keyboard shortcut Windows-Shift-Enter. Microsoft added the shortcut to Windows 10 and it has kept it in Windows 11.

Try it out: launch the Paint 3D application, make sure it is the active window, and execute the keyboard shortcut. The window enters fullscreen mode. Execute the shortcut again, and fullscreen mode is exited and you are back to the normal view mode.

This shortcut works for most Microsoft Store applications, but there are exceptions, especially with the recent influx of Win32 programs such as Firefox that have made their way into the store.

Notepad does not support the shortcut, but Calculator does. It is definitely a trial and error process of finding out.

This particular version of fullscreen mode is not as strict as the one known from games and some other applications. When you move the mouse cursor over the taskbar area, you will notice that it is displayed. It allows you to interact with other programs using the taskbar or the Start menu, without exiting fullscreen mode. The title bar of the window is also displayed in that mode when you move the mouse cursor to the top of the screen.

For regular applications and games, fullscreen mode may be toggled using Alt-Enter. It does not work all the time though. For browsers, you may use F11 to toggle fullscreen mode.

The Windows-Shift-Enter keyboard shortcut works for most Windows 11 applications. One downside to it is that it does not support the Esc-key to exit fullscreen mode. You need to use the shortcut again or use the window controls by moving the mouse cursor to the top and activating them there, e.g. the minimize button.

How to enable fullscreen mode for Windows 11 apps

The implementation is anti-competitive and designed purely to boost the company's own web browser Microsoft Edge. Now, with the build locking the protocol in place, it is even more difficult to use another web browser. While that affects Windows 11 Insider devices currently only, it is likely that the implementation will land in stable versions of Windows 11 eventually.

The developer of EdgeDeflector announced already that he won't put anymore effort into the program until Microsoft changes its way and unlocks the protocol again.

Windows 11 users who need to access apps that use the microsoft-edge:// protocol do have another option, but it is not as straightforward as setting a different default for the protocol.

The open source tool MSEdgeRedirect uses a different method. Instead of changing the protocol handler, it "filters and passes the command line arguments of Microsoft Edge processes into your default browser ". That removes the reliance on the protocol, but has the downside that it needs to be running in the background to work its magic.

The app redirects links that are designed to open in Microsoft Edge. It won't interfere with other links that are opened on the system. Currently, Bing is the search engine that is used to open search results. The developer plans to add an option to future versions of the program that enables users to set a different search engine for these requests.

To use MSEdgeRedirect, download the latest version of the open source tool from the GitHub repository. It is offered as a 32-bit or 64-bit program. Note that browsers and security applications may display warnings about the program: it is new and designed with AutoIt, that's the reason why it may be flagged.

The only options provided at the moment are to start it with Windows and to check for updates. Both options are displayed when you double-click on the system tray icon of the application.

Closing Words

The program works as expected  and users who use apps that use hardcoded microsoft-edge protocol links may test it to see if it works for them equally well. Another option that users have is to ignore all apps that use these internal links.

Landing Page: https://github.com/rcmaehl/MSEdgeRedirect

Turns out, you can still redirect Microsoft Edge links, but it is complicated

Today Microsoft released Windows 11 KB5007262 to Windows Insiders in the Beta and Release Preview Channels.

The update fixes an issue where certain processors stop responding when waking from hibernation, and also a very long list of other issues.

The full changelog reads:

• Microsoft fixed an issue that affects the Appx PowerShell cmdlet functionality on PowerShell 7.1 and later.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes some users to see an unexpected “bad image” error message dialog at startup.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes searchindexer.exe to stop responding during a dismount operation in the remote desktop environment.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that affects the opening of the SearchFilterHost.exe process.
• Microsoft added support for the cancellation of daylight savings time for the Republic of Fiji for 2021.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes devices that have certain processors to stop responding when waking from hibernation.
• Microsoft fixed a COM initialization issue in wslapi.dll that might cause the calling process to stop working.
• Microsoft fixed an issue in the Hyper-V virtual machine bus (VMBus) that causes the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) VM to occasionally time out when attaching disks. This issue also prevents the utility from starting.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that affects the System Memory Management Unit’s (SMMU) fault handling after hibernation.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes the system to stop working after you enable Hyper-V.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that fails to apply machine Group Policy objects automatically at startup or in the background to devices on a domain that have certain processors.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes the Server Manager cmdlet to return a failure. As a result, many Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) validations fail during the installation of optional features.
• Microsoft added the option to configure an Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) maximum transmission unit (MTU) that is less than 576 bytes on an interface.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes get-winevent to fail, and the error is an InvalidOperationException.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that incorrectly renders some variable fonts.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that displays glyphs at the wrong angle when you use the Meiryo UI font and other vertical fonts. These fonts are frequently used in Japan, China, or other countries in Asia.
• Microsoft added a feature to facilitate certain cross-browser data transfers.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that occurs when a dialog opens within Internet Explorer.
• Microsoft fixed an issue in CLSID_InternetExplorer.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes Internet Explorer to stop working when you copy and paste text while using the Input Method Editor (IME).
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes certain apps to stop responding to input. This issue occurs on devices that have a touchpad.
• Microsoft fixed a touch keyboard deployment issue that affects WebView2 controls in Windows UI Library 3.0 (WinUI 3) applications.
• Microsoft fixed a memory leak in ctfmon.exe that occurs when you switch between different edit clients.
• Microsoft updated the phone number for Windows Activation for locales that have the wrong phone number.
• Microsoft fixed a known issue that causes error codes 0x000006e4, 0x0000007c, or 0x00000709 when connecting to a remote printer that is shared on a Windows print server.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that affects USB Print devices that support Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) Over USB. This issue prevents these USB Print devices from completing installation.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes certain USB Print installers to report that they don’t detect the printer after you plug it in.
• Microsoft fixed an issue where OS functionality could be improperly redirected when microsoft-edge: links are invoked.
• Microsoft fixed an issue in the Windows audio system that might cause the audiodg.exe process to stop working, which results in a temporary loss of audio.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that prevents Software-Defined Networking (SDN) virtual machines from working when you configure the Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) VPN bandwidth limitation.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that might cause the return value of GetCommandLineA() to be lowercase in some developer scenarios.
• Microsoft fixed a Primary Refresh Token (PRT) update issue that occurs when VPN users sign in using Windows Hello for Business when the VPN connection is offline. Users receive unexpected authentication prompts for online resources that are configured for user sign-in frequency (SIF) in Azure Active Directory-Conditional Access.
• Microsoft added the message that indicates that an organization’s policy manages the user’s location privacy settings. This message appears when the privacy settings are controlled by the Group Policy documented in Manage connections from Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating system components to Microsoft services.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that affects the Fast Identity Online 2.0 (FIDO2) credential provider and prevents the display of the PIN entry box.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes Windows Defender Application Control to incorrectly compare two file version numbers.
• Microsoft enhanced Microsoft Defender for Endpoint’s ability to identify and intercept ransomware and advanced attacks.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that might cause Windows Mixed Reality to start when you put on a headset. This issue occurs even when you’ve turned off the option “Start Mixed Reality Portal when my headset’s presence sensor detects that I’m wearing it”.
• Microsoft fixed an audio distortion issue that affects Xbox One and Xbox Series Audio peripherals and occurs when you use them with spatial audio.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes the AltGr key to stop working if a remote desktop client is running or if RemoteApp was disconnected.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes the edit button and the battery icon in Quick Settings to intermittently disappear.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that affects the Focus Assist button in the notification area, and Microsoft provided an accessible name for screen readers.
• Microsoft updated several aspects of Windows emoji. As part of an iterative and ongoing work, Microsoft have made the following improvements for this release:
  • Updated all emoji in the Segoe UI Emoji font to the Fluent 2D emoji style
  • Included support for Emoji 13.1, which:
    • Updated the emoji dictionary
    • Added the ability to search for Emoji 13.1 in all supported languages
    • Updated the Emoji and more panel so you can enter emoji in your applications

• Microsoft fixed an issue that affects the display of the number of unread notifications; some numbers don’t appear in the center of the circle in the notification area.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that affects the Start menu when you install a large number of apps and change the screen resolution. The app names appear on the Start menu, but the app icons are missing. This update might also improve the reliability of the Start menu when you use secondary monitors in mixed resolution scenarios.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes flickering when you hover over icons on the taskbar; this issue occurs if you’ve applied a high contrast theme.
• Microsoft updated the Start menu’s Ease of Access folder name to “Accessibility” to match our naming standard across Windows 11 (original release).
• Microsoft fixed an issue that affects Microsoft Narrator users when they select Braille options in Settings.
• Microsoft changed the screen color to blue when a device stops working or a stop error occurs as in previous versions of Windows.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes some app icons in the Start’s All apps list to be cut off on the bottom after you change the screen resolution.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that, under certain conditions, prevents the keyboard focus rectangle from being visible when you use Task View, Alt-Tab, or Snap Assist.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that affects apps that provide context (shortcut) menu items in File Explorer and desktop context menus. This issue occurs if these apps utilize Directory or Directory\Background registrations.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that automatically removes the Serbian (Latin) Windows display language from a device .
• Microsoft fixed an issue that displays the incorrect background for the iFLY Simplified Chinese IME icon in the notification area.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that displays a blank space on the bottom of the Touch keyboard when you close the keyboard while the Suggestion UI is expanded.
• Microsoft fixed reliability issues that prevent the display of File Explorer and desktop shortcut menus. This issue often occurs when you choose to use a single click to open an item.
• Microsoft added an option for you to choose whether to automatically turn on Focus Assist for the first hour after a Windows feature update.
• Microsoft improved the animation performance of icons on the taskbar.
• Microsoft fixed a reliability issue on the lock screen that affects the rendering of the network status text.
• Microsoft fixed volume control issues that affect Bluetooth audio devices.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes File Explorer to stop working after you close a File Explorer window.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that displays incorrect closed-caption shadows for some videos.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that causes the Windows Update History page in the Settings app to display a summary count of zero (0) updates per category when there are updates listed.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that occurs when you run a 32-bit application on a 64-bit version of Windows 11. If you call NetServerEnum(), it might return error 87 or error 1231.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that prevents your device from starting up, and it becomes unresponsive because of licensing API calls.
• Microsoft fixed an issue in the Windows Network File System (NFS) client that might prevent you from renaming a file after mounting an NFS share. This issue occurs if you rename the file using File Explorer but does not occur if you rename the file using command line.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that prevents flash drives, such SD cards and certain USB drives, from appearing in the Defragment and Optimize Drives UI.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that might cause a stop error in volmgr.sys when you delete a volume.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that affects NTFS when you enable the update sequence number (USN) journal. NTFS performs unnecessary actions each time it performs a write operation, which affects I/O performance.
• Microsoft enabled onunload events to create pop-up windows in Microsoft Edge Internet Explorer mode.

Insiders can install KB5007262 by Checking for Updates in Settings.

Microsoft release Windows 11 Build 22000.346 to Beta and Release Preview Channels, with Hibernation fix, more

Microsoft has released a new Office Insider Preview Build 14706.20000 for Windows users that registered in the Beta Channel of the Office Insider program. The new build adds no new features and includes only bug fixes for issues found in Word, Excel, Outlook, Project, Office Suite. You can read the full official changelog below to know about what’s been fixed.

Changelog

Excel

Notable Fixes

 

• We fixed an issue where the filter dropdown arrows stopped working when the sheet was zoomed in.
• We fixed an issue where newly created PivotTables could lose custom settings if the data source range was changed.
• We fixed an issue where certain formula results weren’t updated after their inputs had changed.
• We fixed an issue with the LOGEST worksheet function, where a transient overflow error was not handled and cleared, and was incorrectly picked up for unrelated subsequent calculations.

Outlook

Notable Fix

 

• We fixed an issue where received emails that users sent to themselves (the same email address) rendered a blank message body.

Word

Notable Fix

 

• We fixed an issue where the cursor does not appear in the reply box when inserting a new comment if any pane is open on the right side of the document.

Project

Notable Fixes

 

• We fixed an issue where progress lines aren’t being drawn correctly when a summary task is at 0% complete.
• We fixed an issue where, when tasks are rescheduled in Project, manually scheduled tasks may be scheduled earlier than they should be.

Office Suite

Notable Fix

 

• We fixed an issue where explanations for TrialNotificationBarDismissed, DateHigh, and DateLow DWORDS were removed.

To update to the latest Microsoft Office Insider Preview Build, open any Office program and go to File> Account> Update Options> Update Now.

Microsoft releases Windows Office Insider Preview Build 14706.20000 for Windows users

Today, Microsoft announced the release of Windows 11 Cumulative Update Build 22499.1010 (KB5008400). This update does not include any new features and is designed to test Microsoft’s servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.

What’s new in Build 22499

Quickly share open app windows directly from your taskbar to a Microsoft Teams call

In last week’s flight, we introduced the ability to quickly mute and unmute your active meeting calls right from your taskbar. Today we are announcing an extension of that experience with the ability to quickly share the content from open app windows directly from your taskbar to your meeting calls too. This experience, also starting with Microsoft Teams, eliminates the need to flip back and forth across applications just to share or reshare a window. There are no interruptions to your meeting attendees or what they see on screen – share any open window during your call.

When you are in a meeting call through Microsoft Teams, simply hover over the apps running on your taskbar and you will see a new button that allows you to share your window with your meeting attendees. When you are done sharing your content, hover over the window again and click Stop Sharing or choose another window and click Share this Window. If you’re presenting a full screen presentation in PowerPoint, simply move your mouse to the bottom and your taskbar will pop up for you to share or stop sharing the presentation without interruption to your attendees.

We are beginning to roll this experience out to a subset of Windows Insiders with Microsoft Teams for work or school installed and ramp it up over time. This means not everyone will see this right away with their Teams calls. We plan to bring this to Chat from Microsoft Teams (Microsoft Teams for home) later.

Other communications applications can also add this capability to their applications. The capability to share your meeting call applies only to your current meeting call.

*Features and app availability may vary by region.

Changes and Improvements

• Based on feedback, we are making keyboard focus visuals in Task View and Alt + Tab a little more prominent, so they’re easier to see.

Fixes

[Input]

• Clipboard history should be back up and running properly once you’re on this build.
• Clicking gifs in the emoji panel will now actually insert them into supporting apps, unlike in the previous build.
• Updated the backend dictionaries for several languages – the touch keyboard’s text suggestions and autocorrect should be more accurate now.
• If you change your accent color the accents in the emoji panel should follow suit now, instead of getting stuck with the old color.
• Fixed an IME crash that was happening sometimes for people who had chosen to use the previous version of the Pinyin IME.
• Mitigated an explorer.exe crash that was happening sometimes recently related to touch keyboard usage.

[Windowing]

• Made another fix to address an issue where explorer.exe would crash if you pressed ALT + F4 while ALT + Tab was open.

[Settings]

• Fixed a Settings crash that could happen when trying to check remote sound properties while accessing a PC over Remote Desktop..

[Other]

• Fixed an issue that was causing some clipping / unexpected zoom when going through OOBE on some ultrawide monitors.
• The apostrophe in the error message when your fingerprint isn’t recognized on the login screen should display correctly now.
• When taking a screenshot of a UWP app by pressing the New button in Snipping Tool, Snipping Tool should come into the foreground once the snip is done.
• Fixed an issue that was causing some Insider PCs to bugcheck when coming out of sleep recently, with an error message saying “SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED”.
• Fixed a deadlock that could happen related to MediaPlaybackCommandManager, resulting in certain apps not being able to play media sometimes.
• Addressed an issue that was causing reports in Reliability Monitor to unexpectedly be blank with just an empty rectangle when going to see more info.
• Did some work to help address an issue resulting in certain games having some lag that was only noticeable when the window was in focus. As a reminder if needed, please refer to the following documentation for filing actionable game perf feedback.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the active development branch may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11 that became generally available on October 5th.

Known issues

[General]

• Users updating from Builds 22000.xxx, or earlier, to newer Dev Channel builds using the latest Dev Channel ISO, may receive the following warning message: The build you are trying to install is Flight Signed. To continue installing, enable flight signing. If you receive this message, press the Enable button, reboot the PC, and retry the update.
• We’re investigating an issue where some PCs are unable to install new builds, or other updates. The PC may report an error code 0x80070002. If you are experiencing this issue, please reboot your PC and try again.
• Some devices may bugcheck with error code 0xc1900101-0x4001c when installing this build. If you hit this, after the device rolls back to the previous build, you may want to pause updates until we release a fix.

[Start]

• In some cases, you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the Taskbar. If you experience the issue, press WIN + R on the keyboard to launch the Run dialog box, then close it.

[Taskbar]

• The Taskbar will sometimes flicker when switching input methods.
• We’re investigating an issue in this build where the clock in the Taskbar can get stuck and not updated, particularly when accessing the PC via Remote Desktop.

[Windowing]

• Hovering your mouse back and forth between different desktops in Task View will result in the displayed thumbnails and content area unexpectedly shrinking.

[Input]

• We’re working on a fix to address reports from some Insiders that the lights on their keyboards, for example for caps lock, are not working properly after upgrading to the previous build.

[Search]

• After clicking the Search icon on the Taskbar, the Search panel may not open. If this occurs, restart the “Windows Explorer” process, and open the search panel again.

[Quick Settings]

• We’re investigating reports from Insiders that the volume and brightness sliders aren’t displaying properly in Quick Settings.

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft releases Windows 11 Preview Build 22499.1010 (KB5008400) to the Dev Channel Insiders

Microsoft appears to have taken further steps to funnel Windows 11 users towards its web browser Edge, whether they like it or not.

Since the latest Windows 11 update (build 22494), users have reported the operating system will no longer allow links associated with Microsoft Edge to be opened in any other browser.

For a number of years, Microsoft has used a custom URI scheme to force links opened via its own services (e.g. Windows 11 widgets, the Start menu etc.) to launch in Edge. By using the URL prefix “microsoft-edge:”, the company can direct the OS to open the relevant site in its own-brand browser, even if another is set as the default.

Until now, users have been able to rely on a free service called EdgeDeflector to counteract this URI scheme, and rival browsers Firefox and Brave feature similar in-built workarounds. However, following the latest Windows 11 update, none of these solutions remain viable.

Microsoft Edge, or nothing

Although Microsoft has not gone quite as far as to force all web links to launch in Edge, only those housed in its own products, the move is unlikely to prove popular with Windows 11 users, many of whom use a third-party browser as their daily driver.

The creator of EdgeDeflector, Daniel Aleksandersen, has also hit out at the company for disabling services like his own - a move he has described as a breach of antitrust law.

“These aren’t the actions of an attentive company that cares about its products anymore,” he wrote in a blog post. “Microsoft isn’t a good steward of the Windows operating system. [It’s] prioritizing ads, bundleware, and service subscriptions over their own productivity.” 

“For users, the best action is to complain to their local antitrust regulator or switch to Linux. Your web browser is probably the most important - if not the only - app you regularly use. Microsoft has made it clear that its priorities for Windows don’t align with its users’.”

This is not the first time Microsoft has added a level of friction to using a third-party browser in Windows 11 in recent memory. In August, it emerged the company had made it much more finicky to change the default web browser, requiring users to manually specify a preferred choice across a multitude of file types (HTM, HTML, HTPP, HTTPS, PDF etc.)

TechRadar Pro has asked Microsoft for clarification over whether the update was designed specifically to bypass services like EdgeDeflector, and for a response to the accusations leveled by Aleksandersen.

Source

Also:  Old Microsoft is back: If the latest Windows 11 really wants to use Edge, it will use Edge no matter what.

So far, we have taken a look at Search, Widgets, the Start menu, Snap Layouts and Snap Groups, the Taskbar, quick settings and notifications, Virtual Desktops, power and battery settings, default apps configurations, File Explorer, context menus, Teams integration, the updated Clock app in Windows 11, the Microsoft Store, the Snipping Tool, the Paint app refresh, the lock screen, the revamped Photos app, the voice typing experience, the storage settings, the touch keyboard, the Calendar app integration, the Calculator app, and the Settings UI. Today, we'll be taking a look at the Windows Update UI and process at a high level.

For the purpose of this piece, we will be talking about generally available builds of Windows 10 and Windows 11. Since there are only minor changes here and there, we'll be discussing them rather than the entire domain.

Starting off with a new feature in Windows 11 that is not present at all in Windows 10 is that the OS tells you how much time an update will approximately take. This is shown both in the Windows Update setting. Considering that many users are annoyed when Windows updates are sprung upon them when their machine is restarted and they don't know how long they'll take, this is a very welcome change.

Microsoft also added the same information in the Start menu, which I think is really useful since you usually consider updating when you're about to leave your PC. You'll also notice that the icon for Windows Update has been changed in the Taskbar (highlighted with a red arrow in the screenshot above). I prefer this over the icon that is present in Windows 10.

In terms of the Windows Update settings, I have found them to be consistent across Windows 10 and Windows 11. That said, configurations have definitely been shuffled around. A notable example of this is that Delivery Optimization where you can configure bandwidth throttle used to be a dedicated setting in Windows 10, but it's now nested under Windows Update > Advanced options > Delivery Optimization. I think it's important to highlight that this configuration was still present in the Windows Update > Advanced options on Windows 10, but it opened up a dedicated UI, which I found a bit distracting. Nesting it into Windows Update in Windows 11 makes more sense to me. Other settings have been similarly shuffled around as well, but functionally, the configurations appear to be the same.

Windows 10 used to have a massive banner in the center of the Windows Update page, showing you your active hours so updates could be triggered outside of them. A screenshot of this can be seen above, I personally found that it wasted a lot of space without providing a decent amount of information.

In contrast, Windows 11 has has removed this and just kept a drop-down UI for it in Windows Update > Advanced options. These are the nifty enhancements that Microsoft has made here and there in the Windows Update page that I really like. It's much better organized.

Finally, Microsoft has also claimed that it has reduced the size of Windows 11 updates using a technique called reverse update data generation. You can read more about it in our dedicated piece here and while it does seem to me that Windows 11 updates install relatively quicker on my machine, I haven't performed an empirical examination with the same set of updates being made available on both operating systems. Regardless, Microsoft keeps enhancing this process continuously so expect improvements down the line even if they are not observable to you right now.

Overall, I like the changes made to the Windows Update UI in Windows 11. It's much better organized and it's relatively easier to locate the configuration you're looking for. Less space is wasted on the interface and the information about how long an update will take to install is just a godsend.

Closer Look: Windows Update in Windows 11

Fences Peek lets users instantly view their fences by pressing Windows key + space to make accessing your content much faster. For example, while working in a program like Adobe’s Premiere or Photoshop, users can bring up a folder portal filled with their source footage and images to the surface of their desktop by pressing the assigned hotkey. This eliminates the need to minimize the application and go searching for the required asset in File Explorer.

With the enhanced Desktop Display feature, users can configure Windows key + D to be either toggle or press-and-hold. This refinement makes the hotkey easier to use and allows users more control over how they manage and access their desktop content.

"Fences 4 is designed to meet the needs of today's PC user," said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock. "Fences has always been a great way to organize your desktop, and the new ‘Fences Peek’ and ‘Desktop Display’ features we have coming in the beta are perfect not only for organizing, but also optimizing your workflow in most applications."

Along with new features, Fences 4 has been optimized so that it loads before the desktop when a PC is booted up, making Fences 4 not only more functional but also more performant.

Coming soon, Fences for Business introduces new features for business users to make it easier keep their fleet of PCs organized and desktops standardized.

The Fences 4 Beta is available through Stardock's Object Desktop suite or on its own for $9.99. For more information, visit www.stardock.com or the Fences 4 website here.

Stardock Fences 4 Beta 1 out now with new Peek feature

According to The Verge, Microsoft is internally testing the possibility of giving users full control over directories where they install games. These games may be installed from the Microsoft Store or through Xbox Game Pass for PC. This would mean that users would have the rights to move games to any folders of their choice and potentially even mod them without restrictions. This freedom will reportedly be offered through an update for the Xbox app for PC.

Under the new model, players would be able to choose custom installation folders and drives, and back up games as well. In a statement to the outlet, Jason Beaumont, partner director of experiences at Xbox, confirmed the internal testing, stating that:

With great PC games like Back 4 Blood, Age of Empires IV, Forza Horizon 5, and Halo Infinite on day one with Game Pass, we wanted to provide players with more options to customize their experience in the Xbox app. We’ll continue to share updates as we launch additional features.

It isn't clear when these new capabilities will be generally rolled out to gamers who utilize the Microsoft Store. With Halo Infinite's release on the horizon, fans of the franchise would definitely welcome the improvements. The customization options would also make it comparable to apps like Steam which already offer a great degree of freedom in terms of folder management strategies.

You will soon have more control over games installed from the Microsoft Store

With Windows 11, Microsoft introduced a redesigned Microsoft Store with a modern design and a more open ecosystem. This open ecosystem provides greater flexibility to developers, even allowing competing platforms like the Epic Games Store to be downloaded.

Microsoft has also expanded the types of apps allowed to be offered, including Win32, .NET, UWP, Xamarin, Electron, React Native, Java, and even Progressive Web Apps.

The new Microsoft Store

Today, Microsoft has started rolling out the new Windows Store to users running Windows 10 2004 or newer as a background update in the Microsoft Store.

"Starting today, the new Microsoft Store is coming to Windows 10 PCs. This experience will be rolled out in phases to users on Windows 10 PCs running Windows 10, version 2004 or newer throughout the end of the year. It will come as an automatic Store background update – no action is required through Windows Update," explained Microsoft in a notice in the Windows Message Center.

"The new Microsoft Store on Windows has been fully redesigned to offer more content in a responsive and simple experience. It also offers improvements to the tools which enable developers to discover and configure apps."

However, if you are excited to test the new Store on Windows 10, you may have to wait a bit.

Microsoft states that they are rolling out the new Microsoft Store in phases until the end of the year, so it may be a while before it is offered to you.

The new Microsoft Store is now rolling out to Windows 10 PCs

Microsoft today also announced that Windows 11 Build 22499 ISOs are now available for download.

• Users updating from Builds 22000.xxx, or earlier, to newer Dev Channel builds using the latest Dev Channel ISO, may receive the following warning message: The build you are trying to install is Flight Signed. To continue installing, enable flight signing. If you receive this message, press the Enable button, reboot the PC, and retry the update.

You can download the Windows 11 Build 22499 ISOs here.

You can now download Windows 11 Build 22499 ISO images

What’s new in Build 22499

Quickly share open app windows directly from your taskbar to a Microsoft Teams call

In last week’s flight, we introduced the ability to quickly mute and unmute your active meeting calls right from your taskbar. Today we are announcing an extension of that experience with the ability to quickly share the content from open app windows directly from your taskbar to your meeting calls too. This experience, also starting with Microsoft Teams, eliminates the need to flip back and forth across applications just to share or reshare a window. There are no interruptions to your meeting attendees or what they see on screen – share any open window during your call.

When you are in a meeting call through Microsoft Teams, simply hover over the apps running on your taskbar and you will see a new button that allows you to share your window with your meeting attendees. When you are done sharing your content, hover over the window again and click Stop Sharing or choose another window and click Share this Window. If you’re presenting a full screen presentation in PowerPoint, simply move your mouse to the bottom and your taskbar will pop up for you to share or stop sharing the presentation without interruption to your attendees.

 

We are beginning to roll this experience out to a subset of Windows Insiders with Microsoft Teams for work or school installed and ramp it up over time. This means not everyone will see this right away with their Teams calls. We plan to bring this to Chat from Microsoft Teams (Microsoft Teams for home) later.

 

Other communications applications can also add this capability to their applications. The capability to share your meeting call applies only to your current meeting call.

*Features and app availability may vary by region.

Changes and Improvements

• Based on feedback, we are making keyboard focus visuals in Task View and Alt + Tab a little more prominent, so they’re easier to see.

Fixes

[Input]

• Clipboard history should be back up and running properly once you’re on this build.
• Clicking gifs in the emoji panel will now actually insert them into supporting apps, unlike in the previous build.
• Updated the backend dictionaries for several languages – the touch keyboard’s text suggestions and autocorrect should be more accurate now.
• If you change your accent color the accents in the emoji panel should follow suit now, instead of getting stuck with the old color.
• Fixed an IME crash that was happening sometimes for people who had chosen to use the previous version of the Pinyin IME.
• Mitigated an explorer.exe crash that was happening sometimes recently related to touch keyboard usage.

[Windowing]

• Made another fix to address an issue where explorer.exe would crash if you pressed ALT + F4 while ALT + Tab was open.

[Settings]

• Fixed a Settings crash that could happen when trying to check remote sound properties while accessing a PC over Remote Desktop..

[Other]

• Fixed an issue that was causing some clipping / unexpected zoom when going through OOBE on some ultrawide monitors.
• The apostrophe in the error message when your fingerprint isn’t recognized on the login screen should display correctly now.
• When taking a screenshot of a UWP app by pressing the New button in Snipping Tool, Snipping Tool should come into the foreground once the snip is done.
• Fixed an issue that was causing some Insider PCs to bugcheck when coming out of sleep recently, with an error message saying “SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED”.
• Fixed a deadlock that could happen related to MediaPlaybackCommandManager, resulting in certain apps not being able to play media sometimes.
• Addressed an issue that was causing reports in Reliability Monitor to unexpectedly be blank with just an empty rectangle when going to see more info.
• Did some work to help address an issue resulting in certain games having some lag that was only noticeable when the window was in focus. As a reminder if needed, please refer to the following documentation for filing actionable game perf feedback.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the active development branch may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11 that became generally available on October 5th.

Known issues

[General]

• Users updating from Builds 22000.xxx, or earlier, to newer Dev Channel builds using the latest Dev Channel ISO, may receive the following warning message: The build you are trying to install is Flight Signed. To continue installing, enable flight signing. If you receive this message, press the Enable button, reboot the PC, and retry the update.
• We’re investigating an issue where some PCs are unable to install new builds, or other updates. The PC may report an error code 0x80070002. If you are experiencing this issue, please reboot your PC and try again.
• Some devices may bugcheck with error code 0xc1900101-0x4001c when installing this build. If you hit this, after the device rolls back to the previous build, you may want to pause updates until we release a fix.

[Start]

• In some cases, you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the Taskbar. If you experience the issue, press WIN + R on the keyboard to launch the Run dialog box, then close it.

[Taskbar]

• The Taskbar will sometimes flicker when switching input methods.
• We’re investigating an issue in this build where the clock in the Taskbar can get stuck and not updated, particularly when accessing the PC via Remote Desktop.

[Windowing]

• Hovering your mouse back and forth between different desktops in Task View will result in the displayed thumbnails and content area unexpectedly shrinking.

[Input]

• We’re working on a fix to address reports from some Insiders that the lights on their keyboards, for example for caps lock, are not working properly after upgrading to the previous build.

[Search]

• After clicking the Search icon on the Taskbar, the Search panel may not open. If this occurs, restart the “Windows Explorer” process, and open the search panel again.

[Quick Settings]

• We’re investigating reports from Insiders that the volume and brightness sliders aren’t displaying properly in Quick Settings.

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft releases Windows 11 Preview Build 22499 to the Dev Channel Insiders

Added features and bug fixes: 

• Added the ability to pin the Edge bar to either side of the screen.
• Enabled the Extensions menu by default.  Note that this has also been enabled in version 96, which is currently in Beta.
• Added the ability for the browser to register as a handler for XML files in the OS settings.
• Management policies (note that updates to documentation and administrative templates may not have occurred yet):
  • Added a management policy to control if Edge Discover is Enabled, which controls if Bing is allowed to search in the background for content related to the current page.
  • Enabled support for management policies from Chromium to control Screen Capture in more granular ways:  by setting Screen Capture Allowed By Origins, Window Capture Allowed By Origins, Tab Capture Allowed By Origins, and Same Origin Tab Capture Allowed By Origins.
  • Enabled support for management policies from Chromium to set Serial Allow All Ports For Urls and Serial Allow Usb Devices For Urls.
• Added an experimental API to WebView2 apps to allow any website to be displayed in an iframe (Issue 1243).

Edge Dev Improved Reliability:

• Fixed an issue where the browser won’t open.
• Fixed a crash when interacting with the address bar.
• Fixed an issue where PWAs randomly close.
• Fixed a crash when installing a PWA.
• Fixed a crash when closing a window.
• Fixed a crash when encountering an error while uploading a payment card to a Microsoft Account.
• Fixed an issue where PDFs sometimes crash when viewed in high contrast mode.
• Fixed a crash when closing an IE mode tab.
• Fixed a crash on Xbox.
• Fixed a crash on Xbox when closing an InPrivate window.
• Mobile:
  • Fixed a crash on startup on iOS.
  • Fixed a crash after signing into a work or school account.
  • Fixed a crash when adding a favorite.
  • Fixed a crash when changing certain settings.
• Fixed an issue where WebView2 apps sometimes don’t open and show an error that setup.exe cannot be found.

Changed Behavior:

• Improved PDF scrolling to reduce the amount of blank space while pages load.
• Changed pinned tabs to always be full width when the tab strip is in the vertical orientation.
• Fixed an issue on Mac where certain keyboard shortcuts override system keyboard shortcuts in certain languages.
• Fixed an issue where the prompt to restore tabs is mistakenly shown after launching a PWA.
• Fixed an issue where websites that use certificates on the local machine to log in fail to do so due to the certificate picker not popping up.
• Fixed an issue where the translation popup doesn’t appear on pages that can be translated.
• Fixed an issue where enabling certain accessibility features results in high memory and CPU use.
• Fixed an issue where the number of blocked trackers in the Site Information flyout doesn’t display.
• Fixed an issue where Smart Copy only copies a screenshot instead of the actual contents.
• Fixed an issue where PWAs sometimes can’t be pinned to the Start menu.
• Fixed an issue where parts of the browser are invisible when certain themes are installed.
• Fixed an issue on Mac where websites can’t be pinned to the Finder.
• Fixed an issue where the Edge Bar sometimes opens on its own.
• Mobile:
  • Fixed an issue where swiping back sometimes causes it to get stuck on a loading screen.
  • Fixed an issue where Family Safety sometimes doesn’t work.
  • Fixed an issue where ad blocking doesn’t work.
  • Fixed an issue where adding a website to the ad blocker’s allowlist doesn’t do anything.
  • Fixed an issue where the new tab page layout isn’t consistent with what it’s set to be.
  • Fixed an issue where managed devices sometimes don’t open links from other apps.
  • Fixed an issue where saved passwords can’t be edited in Settings.

Known issues:

• Users of certain ad blocking extensions may experience playback errors on YouTube.  As a workaround, temporarily disabling the extension should allow playback to proceed.  See this help article for more details.
• Some users are still running into an issue where all tabs and extensions immediately crash with a STATUS_INVALID_IMAGE_HASH error.  The most common cause of this error is outdated security or antivirus software from vendors like Symantec, and in those cases, updating that software will fix it.
• Users of the Kaspersky Internet Suite who have the associated extension installed may sometimes see webpages like Gmail fail to load.  This failure is due to the main Kaspersky software being out of date, and is thus fixed by making sure the latest version is installed.
• Some users are seeing “wobbling” behavior when scrolling using trackpad gestures or touchscreens, where scrolling in one dimension also causes the page to subtly scroll back and forth in the other.  Note that this only affects certain websites and seems to be worse on certain devices.  This is most likely related to our ongoing work to bring scrolling back to parity with Edge Legacy’s behavior, so if this behavior is undesirable, you can temporarily turn it off by disabling the edge://flags/#edge-experimental-scrolling flag.

This Edge Dev channel update should download and install directly but in case it doesn’t then you can head to the Edge settings and manually update the browser.

Microsoft releases Edge Dev channel build 97.0.1069.0 with a new Edge bar option and more

Microsoft Edge is continually updated with new features and fixes. The browser is available on multiple platforms, including Linux, and Microsoft has several preview channels set up where it first tests new capabilities with a subset of enthusiasts and developers before generally rolling them out to the public. An example of this is the company exploring the option to replace the HTTPS lock icon with a down arrow because the current icon could mislead users into believing that a site is secure.

Now, it seems that Microsoft is working on deepening Edge's integration with its Office apps on the web. Reddit user u/Leopeva64-2 has noted that Edge Canary's latest build has a new option in the tab's context menu. Essentially, if you right-click on a tab in the window, you'll get an updated context menu which will now feature an option called "New Office tab". Nested inside this will be more granular options such as "Word document", "PowerPoint presentation", and "Excel workbook". You can view a screenshot of its current implementation below:

Clicking on any of the nested options will open the associated Office web app synced with your OneDrive account in the browser. While there is currently no toggle to disable the presence of this particular configuration in the tab's context menu, it wouldn't be surprising to have one if this feature does get rolled out to the Stable channel eventually.

It is important to note that this capability is still being tested in preview channels so there is no guarantee that it will make its way to the general public. Furthermore, its current availability is also a part of Microsoft's controlled rollout strategy for Edge, so not everyone even on Edge Canary will have it yet. We don't have it on our test devices running Edge Canary either.

Microsoft is integrating Office more deeply with its Edge browser

January 2022 marks the end of the second year of ESU for Windows 7, and the year that begins afterwards will be the last. Microsoft announced this week that it won't extend the ESU program for Windows 7 after January 2023. Organizations and businesses that still use Windows 7 devices won't receive updates anymore for the operating system after January 2023.

For Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 7 Professional for Embedded Systems, the Extended Security Update (ESU) Program will be entering its third and final year of extended support beginning on February 8, 2022 and ending on January 10, 2023.

For Server, things are a bit different. Windows Server 2008 products will receive an extension, by a year, according to Microsoft.

For Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 for Embedded Systems and Windows Server 2008 SP2 for Embedded Systems if running on Microsoft Azure, ESU will have one additional year of extended support available beginning on February 14, 2023, ending on January 9, 2024.

It is unclear at this point whether the price of a year 4 ESU subscription will double again. When Microsoft launched ESU, it revealed that the pricing of it would double each year. The cost of ESU for Windows 7 Professional is $200 per device in the third year, for Windows 7 Enterprise $100 per device in the third year.

The Enterprise edition costs for ESU are also the costs that Windows Server customers have to pay to extend support for a server product. Microsoft did not reveal if it plans to double the price in the fourth year again; this would reach $200 for the fourth year if true.

Closing Words

Support for Windows 7 ends on January 10, 2023 and it looks as if there is no option to extend support further. While Microsoft did release security updates for out of support devices occasionally in the past, there is no guarantee that it will do so for Windows 7. Third-party options, like the one provided by 0Patch, may be worth a look if support needs to be extended.

Microsoft won't extend Windows 7 Extended Security Updates. Server gets another year

KB5007215 is a mandatory cumulative update containing security updates, performance improvements, and bug fixes for Windows 11 21H2.

You can install this update by going to Start > Settings > Windows Update and clicking on 'Check for Updates.' 

Windows 11 users can also manually download and install the KB5007215 update from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

What's new in the Windows 11 KB5007215 update

After installing the KB5007215 update, Windows 11 will have its build number changed to 22000.318.

Last week, Microsoft added a new known issue for apps using GDI+ that prevented drawing or the proper display of user interface elements.

With this update, Microsoft has fixed this issue, and GDI+ applications should be working again.

"Addresses an issue in which certain apps might have unexpected results when rendering some user interface elements or when drawing within the app," explains Microsoft in the KB5007215 support bulletin

"You might encounter this issue with apps that use GDI+ and set a zero (0) width pen object on displays with high dots per inch (DPI) or resolution, or if the app is using scaling."

This update also includes a fix, previously released in Friday's OOB update, that replaces an expired certificate preventing built-in features from working.

The built-in features that were affected include:

• Snipping Tool
• Accounts page and landing page in the Settings app (S mode only)
• Start menu (S mode only)
• Touch Keyboard
• Voice Typing
• Emoji Panel
• Input Method Editor user interface
• and "Getting started" and "Tips" dialogs.

Microsoft also states that they made changes to the servicing stack to resolve bugs or issues preventing Windows updates from properly being installed.

You can find a complete list of improves and fixes and detailed explanations of the known issues in the KB5007215 support bulletin.

Windows 11 KB5007215 update released with application fixes

This month's cumulative updates apparently include security fixes for May 2021 Update (version 21H1), October 2020 Update (version 20H2), and May 2020 Update (version 2004). It's also the second last security update for version 2004, which is set to reach the end of service in December.

The update is now rolling out via Windows Update, WSUS, and the Microsoft Update Catalog with numerous bug fixes and performance enhancements.

The full list of Windows 10 updates released today are:

• Windows 10 version 1507 — KB5007207 (OS Build 10240.19119)
• Windows 10 version 1607 — KB5007192 (OS Build 14393.4770)
• Windows 10 version 1703 — EOS
• Windows 10 version 1709 — EOS
• Windows 10 version 1803 — EOS
• Windows 10 version 1809 — KB5007206 (OS Build 17763.2300)
• Windows 10 version 1903 — EOS
• Windows 10 version 1909 — KB5007189 (OS Build 18362.1916)
• Windows 10 version 2004, 20H2 and 21H1 — KB5007186 (OS Builds 19041.1348, 19042.1348, and 19043.1348)

Like every Patch Tuesday, you can check for and install new updates by going to Settings, clicking on Windows Update, and selecting 'Check for Updates' to install the updates.

What's new in the latest cumulative update for Windows 10

Microsoft has addressed several bugs with today's cumulative update for Windows 10 version 2004 or later. This cumulative update addresses an issue affecting subtitles in certain videos and streaming platforms. Here's the list of key changes:

• Updates an issue an issue that might prevent subtitles from displaying for certain video apps and streaming video sites.  

• Updates an issue that prevents Kana input mode users from inserting a question mark (?) using the Shift-0 key combination.

• Updates an issue that sometimes causes your lock screen background to appear black if you have set up a slideshow of pictures as your lock screen background. 

Windows 10 KB5007186 & KB5007189 updates released

Windows 8.1

In terms of improvements and fixes introduced for Windows 8.1, Microsoft has fixed an issue that might prevent devices from downloading and installing printer drivers when devices attempt to connect to a network printer for the first time. It said the issue was noted when devices access printers using print servers that use HTTP connections.

The other main fix that Microsoft outlines is that it has fixed an issue that prevents an Internet print server from properly packaging modified printer properties before sending the package to the client.

The firm outlined two known issues that still exist in this update, they are as follows:

Windows 7

The update that has gone out for Windows 7 also includes improvements that went out with KB5006743 on October 12. Today’s update specifically addresses the printer issues mentioned above in the Windows 8.1 notes. As part of this update, Microsoft has also fixed an issue where a zero width Pen will render one pixel regardless of the transformation.

There are three known issues in this update that Microsoft is aware of, here they are with their respective workarounds:

If you have purchased an Extended Security Updates subscription, Microsoft says you need to follow the procedures in KB4522133 to continue receiving security updates.

As always, ensure you are keeping your computers up-to-date to ensure they stay protected when going online and to ensure they continue to operate properly. If your computer no longer gets updates, you should make sure you update to a newer version of Windows or in the case of those with unsupported hardware, alternatives like Ubuntu are recommended over running an insecure system.

Microsoft pushes Patch Tuesday updates out for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7

Other Windows 11 SE features:

• OneDrive stores files locally, on each device, for students to access when they are offline. Once they’re back at school with internet access, Windows 11 SE will sync the offline changes automatically.
• Windows 11 SE supports third-party apps including Zoom and Chrome because we want to give schools the choice to use what works best for them.
• For IT admins, Windows Autopilot provides zero-touch device deployment, while Intune for Education provides a simple and secure cloud management solution allowing the IT admin the ability to deploy and manage Windows 11 SE devices from anywhere, right out of the box.
• When managed via the cloud, devices are always up to date. They update silently, automatically, and outside of class time via policies set in Intune for Education to minimize disruptions, while offering the latest in security and reliability updates. Intune for Education also allows IT admins to deliver the right apps and policies securely to every student device.

Microsoft also announced that several new Windows 11 SE devices, including the new Surface Laptop SE, as well as devices coming from Acer, ASUS, Dell, Dynabook, Fujitsu, HP, JK-IP, Lenovo, and Positivo –powered by Intel and AMD, are coming to the market in the coming months.

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft announces Windows 11 SE, a special edition of Windows 11 optimized for education experiences

One such app is RoundedTB, an app designed to make your taskbar as curved as the rest of the Windows 11 UI.

 

 

 

 

Its description reads:

Add margins, rounded corners and segments to your taskbars! With RoundedTB, you can customise the shape and appearance of Windows’ taskbar, without modifying any system files or making any permanent system changes.

The app offers the following options:

• BASIC OPTIONS
  • Margin – controls how many pixels to remove from each side of the taskbar, creating a margin around it that you can see and click through.
  • Corner Radius – adjusts how round the corners of the taskbar should be.
  • Advanced – displays a host of additional advanced customisation options, explained below.
  • Apply – applies the selected settings to the taskbar.
• The simplest way to use RoundedTB is by simply entering a margin and corner radius. RoundedTB lives in the system tray, just right-click its icon to access all the settings.

   

• ADVANCED OPTIONS
  These allow for further customisation, at the cost of some user-friendliness.

   

  • Independent Margins – in the advanced settings, a […] button appears on the margin box. Click it to enable independent margins, which allow you to specify the margin for each side of the taskbar. You can also use negative values to hide the rounded corners for some sides, allowing you to “attach” the taskbar to different sides of the monitor.
  • Dynamic Mode (Windows 11) – dynamic mode automatically resizes the taskbars to accommodate the number of icons in it, making the taskbar behave similarly to macOS’ Dock.
  • Split Mode (Windows 10) – split mode is a simplified version of dynamic mode for Windows 10. Due to a more limited taskbar, dynamically resizing the taskbar isn’t possible. However after some setup (enable this option for more info), split mode allows you to separate the taskbar from the system tray and resize it at will. I admit it’s certainly not as cool as dynamic mode, but for now it’s better than nothing ?
  • Show System Tray – this toggles whether or not the system tray, clock etc. is displayed in dynamic/split mode. It can be toggled at any time by pressing [Win]+[F2].
  • TranslucentTB Compatibility – I’ve worked closely with Sylveon to enable some level of compatibility between TranslucentTB and RoundedTB. This is experimental and will flicker slightly, and requires TranslucentTB version 2021.5 to function. For more info, enable this option.

There are currently some known issues, such as the taskbar stretching to the left in some configurations and features like auto-hiding is still experimental, but overall there does not appear to be any deal breakers.

RoundedTB is free and can be found in the Store here.

Thanks David for the tip.

RoundedTB lets you round your taskbar on Windows 11

"We have integration with Microsoft Update to automatically keep your installation of 7.2 updated whenever we have a servicing release which only includes critical bug fixes or security updates," said Steve Lee, Principal Software Engineer Manager for PowerShell.

"The MSI installer will automatically enable updating PowerShell 7 as well as enabling Microsoft Update."

With Microsoft Update, you will get the latest updates through your usual Windows Update management flow via Windows Update for Business, WSUS, SCCM, or the Settings dialog.

Users will also be able to opt-out of automatic updates if they would instead update PowerShell manually.

Support for stable and preview channels

Microsoft Update can deliver both preview and stable versions on systems where they're used side-by-side, upgrading to the newest release available on the preview and stable channels.

"You would need to install 7.2 GA separately to have Microsoft Update enabled for our stable channel where you would be updated to 7.2.1 should we have a servicing release and eventually to 7.3 GA," Lee added.

Redmond first announced that it would release future PowerShell updates via Windows Update in June.

PowerShell provides a scripting language focused on automation, a command-line shell, and a framework for processing PowerShell cmdlets.

It's a cross-platform product compatible with all major operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS. It allows working with structured data such as JSON, CSV, XML, REST APIs, and object models.

Other update highlights for PowerShell 7.2:

• New universal installer packages for most supported Linux distributions
• Two new experimental features
  • Improved native command argument passing support
  • ANSI FileInfo color support
• Improved Tab Completions
• PSReadLine 2.1 with Predictive IntelliSense
• Seven experimental features promoted to mainstream and 1 removed
• Separating DSC from PowerShell 7 to enable future improvements
• Several breaking changes to improve usability

You can read the complete list of bug fixes and improvements in PowerShell 7.2 on Microsoft's documentation website.

New PowerShell version comes with Microsoft Update support

Mozilla Firefox just got easier to add to Windows. As of Tuesday morning, it’s available as a one-click install in Microsoft’s app stores for Windows 10 and 11.

That makes it "the first major browser to become available in the Windows Store for Windows 10 and Windows 11 users," Mozilla says. (Microsoft's own Edge browser is built into the OS.)

In the bad old days of Monday, getting Firefox required you to “download it from the internet and go through a clunky process,” Mozilla says, which may overstate the relative difficulty since so many Windows apps still require the multiple-click process of downloading an installer and then running it locally.

(The Microsoft Store in Windows 11 supports a wider range of apps and no longer requires developers to share revenue with Microsoft, but most Windows 10 users don’t have access to it.)

Google’s Chrome continues to demand the download-and-install routine but dominates the browser business anyway, accounting for 60.92% of the desktop browser market in the US, per Statcounter. Apple’s Safari comes in second with 17.31%, Microsoft’s Edge remains ranks third at 12.16% despite being preinstalled with Windows, and Firefox comes in fourth at 6.02%.

On Windows, as Mozilla notes, the privacy-optimized Firefox stands apart by not relying on the Blink rendering engine that Google developed for Chrome based on Apple’s Webkit engine, and which now also powers Microsoft’s Edge as well as such alternatives as Brave. Under Microsoft’s old app-store rules, that left it ineligible for distribution through that streamlined storefront without a rewrite to take out Firefox’s Gecko engine. 

Microsoft providing this boost to Firefox represents a remarkable turn of events, considering how hard it worked in the late 1990s to sandbag Netscape and other rivals to its Internet Explorer browser. As US District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson wrote in the Findings of Fact he released in late 1999 as part of the Microsoft antitrust trial: “If Microsoft was going to raise Internet Explorer's share of browser usage and lower Navigator's share, executives at Microsoft believed they needed to constrict Netscape's access to the distribution channels that led most efficiently to browser usage.”

Microsoft has now given Firefox a spot in its most convenient distribution channe—and the browser that ended Internet Explorer’s dominance in Windows before suffering years of neglect and decline could use that help.

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Also: Mozilla Firefox is now available in the Microsoft Store for Windows 10 and 11.