News: Software News

Microsoft is finally updating this decade old File Explorer interface with a new color that better fits dark mode on Windows 11 — let's take a first look

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 16:15:45 +0000

Windows 11 is soon getting an updated dark mode that applies to more areas of the File Explorer, including the file operations dialog, which is also getting a new color after more than 10 years.

Microsoft is slowly working on bringing dark mode to more areas of the system on Windows 11, and this week it has been discovered that that work also includes an updated colorway for an iconic part of the Windows interface.

In the latest Windows 11 preview builds, the work-in-progress dark theme for file operations like copy and delete has replaced the classic green expanded progress indicator with a blue one, which fits in much more naturally with Windows 11's overall aesthetic.

For now, this new blue color for the operation progress only applies when in dark mode. Light mode still uses the green color that was first introduced with Windows 8 over a decade ago, and has remained the same ever since. This new dark mode is the first time we've seen Microsoft touch this interface in any meaningful way in over a decade.

The copy dialog now has a blue progress indicator in dark mode.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

Currently, this color doesn't follow your system accent theme, so if you were hoping to be able to change it to red or yellow based on your system accent color, that's currently not possible. Perhaps that's something Microsoft could add in the future.

For now, the expanded file operations progress bar being updated with a new blue color when in dark mode makes it much easier on the eyes when in a dark environment. It really does seem like Microsoft has suddenly found the drive to get on with finishing Windows 11's dark mode, something that has been embarrasingly incomplete for over a decade.

Windows first gained a dark mode in 2016 with a Windows 10 feature update. Unfortunately, that dark mode was woefully unfinished, with many areas of the system still operating in light mode when dark mode was enabled. This has remained the case for many years, with only a few areas of the system being updated since then.

Even to this day, there are still many legacy areas of Windows that still do not support dark mode. It's the only modern OS platform that has a dark mode that isn't all encompassing, and it's very frustrating if you have eyes that are sensitive to bright light, especially at night. Being flash banged by Windows 11's File Explorer is a common occurrence.

This is the experience that's currently shipping on Windows 11.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

Although it has taken a decade, now that Microsoft is back working on adding dark mode to more areas of the Windows 11 interface, there's hope that this trend will continue with more than just legacy areas of the File Explorer. There are still Control Panel applets and system apps like the Registry Editor and Group Policy Editor that should absolutely support dark mode alongside mainstream apps. There's simply no excuse.

Microsoft's updated dark mode interfaces for some areas of the File Explorer were recently discovered hidden in a Windows 11 preview build. These new dark themes apply to the file copy dialog, file delete popup, and folder security access dialogs. Unfortunately, there's currently no sign of any work being done to file property windows, but fingers crossed it's on the way.

Windows 11's next feature update won't include any notable new features on the surface. Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 11 version 25H2 will launch with the same featureset as version 24H2, and will be serviced and updated at the same time as they both share the same servicing stack. That means these new dark mode interfaces likely won't launch with version 25H2, and will arrive in a feature drop in the months following.

For now, what are your thoughts on Microsoft's progress when it comes to adding dark mode to more areas of the Windows interface? Are you a fan of this new blue colorway for the expanded file operations progress bar? Let us know in the comments below!

via Phantomofearth on X

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Posted Thursday 11 September 2025 at 2:14 am AEST (my time).

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Windows 10 resists its end: usage share climbs while Windows 11's falls

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 16:13:29 +0000

Next month, Microsoft is ending support for home editions of its Windows 10 operating system officially. While users may extend support by one year -- business customers get three -- the number of users who will take up Microsoft's offer is unclear. The extension is more or less free, as you get it as a consumer when you enable the backup functionality during the signup process. There is even a tool for that that lets you do all that with a local account and as little interaction as possible.

Recently, Windows 11, the successor of Windows 10, has been gaining traction. While it led the leaderboard of the most popular operating system on Valve's highly influential Steam gaming platform for some time, it passed Windows 10 at Statcounter's monthly OS popularity ranking in July for the first time.

Being newer and with the advantage that its main competitor is on its last months of support, one could predict the trend easily. Windows 10 usage declines naturally, as users start to migrate to Windows 11, if their devices are compatible, upgrade by bypassing compatibility checks, or buy entirely new PCs.

But in August 2025, stats reversed seemingly, at least according to Statcounter. Windows 11 usage dropped by four points from 53 percent to 49 percent. Windows 10's usage jumped three points to 45 percent. Even the out-of-support Windows 7 operating system jumped by 1.5 points to more than three percent usage, according to Statcounter.

Does this mean that users moved back to Windows 10? Reverted the upgrade or even downgraded their machines, where possible? It seems highly unlikely that this is the main cause for the reversal. Statcounter claims to pull the statistics from billions of visits of users each month. While that sounds much, its stats are not a true reflection of the actual market share of each operating system or browser.

There is also the possibility that the calculation was off in a given month. We know more next month. We could see another reversal, Windows 11 climbing again, Windows 10 and falling.

Windows 10's usage share will decline in the coming months. While part of the userbase will extend support by joining the ESU program, another part will upgrade their machines to Windows 11 or buy new PCs entirely. Yes, some may also switch to Linux.

Now You: which version of Windows do you use, and why?

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Posted Thursday 11 September 2025 at 2:12 am AEST (my time).

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3D Pinball for Windows had a bug that pushed it to 5,000 FPS — sort of

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 16:11:32 +0000

Former Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer revealed why a Windows 95 classic could break performance records by mistake.

3D Pinball for Windows - Space Cadet was one of the first games I ever played. My brother and I used to take turns seeing who could get the higher score while enjoying the classic title on our family's Gateway computer. It turns out that we could have played the game at a blistering 5,000 frames per second if we had just had a time machine, a PC from the future, and a monitor that still hasn't been invented in 2025.

Dave Plummer, who worked on several key parts of Windows such as the Media Center, Task Manager, and native ZIP support, also ported 3D Pinball for Windows - Space Cadet from Windows NT to Windows 95. Plummer recently shared on his YouTube channel that a bug in the game could have allowed the game to run at around 5,000 FPS.

"My game engine had a bug, in that it would draw frames as fast as it could," explained Plummer. Since the game was coded on a MIPS R4000 processor that ran at 200MHz, 3D Pinball for Windows - Space Cadet ran at between 60-90 FPS. But once hardware improved, a bug in the game emerged.

"Fast forward a couple of years later, somebody notices that on multi-core machines, it's using an entire core to play Pinball at all times..."

"It was still drawing as fast as it could, but it was now drawing at like, 5,000 frames per second, because machines were much much faster than they used to be."

Our friends at PC Gamer shared the story and provided more context.

Sadly, we will never see the buttery smooth dream of 3D Pinball for Windows - Space Cadet running at high frame rates on one of the best gaming monitors. The game was later capped to 100 FPS by former Microsoft engineer Raymond Chen.

The tale of fixing 3D Pinball for Windows - Space Cadet was shared on Dave's Garage, another YouTuber channel run by Plummer.

It's easy to joke about the situation now, but Plummer explained the seriousness of the bug at the time, stating, "If you had a bug that actually made it into the product and required work in a Service Pack, that was never a laughing matter. That was kind of a shameful thing."

Chen recently discussed the measures Microsoft took to reduce bugs in Windows 95, including checking the operating system's app compatibility with a large number of PC programs.

Microsoft could probably benefit from some shaming about bugs in 2025. The tech giant has faced accusations of Windows 11 bricking SSDs recently. Privacy and security concerns caused Recall, which was supposed to be a flagship feature of Copilot+ PCs, to be delayed significantly.

Our Executive Editor Jez Corden recently argued that "Microsoft's enshittification of Xbox, Surface, and even Windows itself — are all by design," stating:

"When you look at Microsoft's other products, like Windows 11, Surface, and even further back — the empty promises, the rug pulls, and broken promises, it screams to me of a company that simply isn't willing to take a risk, or give products the time they need to shine...

Microsoft increasingly just seems to go where other companies, true innovators, say the money is — looking for the next fad to devour and process, rather than curate and cultivate. How will Xbox, Surface, or Windows 11, grow without risk, investment, and curating consumer confidence? In a world where Microsoft has enough capital to just move wherever the wind is blowing, it simply doesn't seem to care. It doesn't have to be this way."

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in April that AI writes 30% of Microsoft's code, so the company does appear willing to take risks and innovate, just not in a way everyone likes.

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Posted Thursday 11 September 2025 at 2:10 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft shouldn't ignore this 'Brilliant' Windows 12 concept — featuring a consistent dark mode and improved AI search that leaves Windows 11 in the dust

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 16:10:07 +0000

A designer shared a sleek Windows 12 concept showcasing added customization and a unique 'Collectzone' wallpaper feature.

It’s clear that some users remain hesitant to upgrade to Windows 11, even with Windows 10’s end-of-life slated for October 14, 2025. This reluctance may be partly due to design flaws in Windows 11 and its stringent minimum system requirements.

However, over the past few months, there has been an influx of alternatives that lessen some of these burdens for users. For instance, Tiny11, a tool that can create a lightweight version of Windows 11 for old and unsupported PCs, recently saw a major update, which supports Windows 11 version 25H2 and scraps Microsoft apps like the new Outlook and Copilot.

As you may know, Microsoft's Windows 11 version 25H2 is expected to begin rolling out to users in waves from September through October; however, it's worth noting that the update won't ship with any new features. To that end, Microsoft has remained silent about the development of a potential Windows 11 successor, though some rumours about Windows 12 have seeped through the cracks over the past few years.

This hasn't kept avid Windows users and enthusiasts like concept designer Abdi (AR 4789 on YouTube) from dreaming. You might remember him from the tasteful Windows 12.2 "next evolution" concept design I covered last month, which frankly put Windows 11 to shame. The concept neatly placed Microsoft's aggressive Copilot AI campaign on the back burner, allowing nostalgic themes from Windows 7 to thrive.

As it happens, the designer has released another concept video dubbed the "Brilliant Windows 12". Rather than just overhauling Windows 11 with sleek design elements, the concept introduces fresh ideas like "Collectzone", which essentially allows users to easily compile multiple wallpapers into collections for easy accessibility (via Beta News).

The designer also merges the Control panel with the operating system's settings, which significantly improves the user experience as the user can personalize the experience to meet their preferences and more.

The Brilliant Windows 12 concept design also features Quick interactive settings, where you can easily enable dark mode (Windows 11, I'm looking at you again). The quick interactive settings also include a screenshot button, which presumably would either allow you to quickly access previously captured snapshots or take new shots.

Copilot AI also made a starring appearance in the concept design video, where the designer showcased its sophisticated search capabilities. And finally, the concept also gives the user more control over customization options, allowing the user to place widgets anywhere they'd like within the operating system.

To that end, Microsoft's plans for a future OS that lives up to beyond Windows 11's reputation are unclear, but it would be interesting to see if the company could implement some of these ideas. Microsoft CVP and Windows lead Pavan Davuluri recently revealed what the future of Windows could look like.

The Windows 11 successor will present "a truly ambient and multi-modal experience made possible by AI that will redefine our usage of computers."

What’s next for Microsoft’s ecosystem after Windows 10 reaches end-of-life?

While Microsoft encourages users to upgrade to Windows 11 following Windows 10’s end-of-life, third-party

alternatives are beginning to emerge, posing a significant threat to its ecosystem.

(Image credit: Future)

There's so much going on right now in Microsoft's Windows ecosystem, especially with Windows 10's imminent death just a little over a month away. The move has received backlash from users despite the tech giant introducing its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for continued security support beyond the October 14, 2025, cutoff date.

Microsoft clearly prefers users to upgrade Windows 11 instead of enrolling in the program by syncing your PC settings to the cloud via a Microsoft account, redeeming 1,000 Microsoft Reward points, or paying $30 for extended security updates (ESU), which now supports up to 10 devices.

Previously, Microsoft has made bold statements like "Windows 11 PCs are up to 2.3x faster than Windows 10 PCs" to push Windows 11 upgrades, prompting multiple users to claim that Windows 10's end of support feels like "programmed obsolescence," designed to bolster Copilot+ PC sales.

A public interest research group (PIRG) petitioned Microsoft's decision to cut support for Windows 10, indicating that it would lead to "the single biggest jump in dumped computers ever". While Microsoft seemingly introduced its ESU program to address some of these concerns, the group claims the program isn't a viable solution for the 400 million PCs that can't upgrade to Windows 11. "It's obvious users are frustrated and feel yanked around," the group added.

Perhaps more concerning, HP and Dell recently indicated that half of today's PCs still run on Windows 10. And while this could expose millions of users to bad actors and malicious attacks, Microsoft is well-positioned to make north of $7 billion through its ESU program from its enterprise clientele in the first year after Windows 10's end-of-life.

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Posted Thursday 11 September 2025 at 2:08 am AEST (my time).

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VBScript on Windows is on the way out, here is what to do with your legacy VBA projects

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 16:05:44 +0000

From time to time, Microsoft deprecates legacy components in Windows, typically due to lack of use or weak security mechanisms. Just recently, we reported that the Redmond tech giant is discontinuing a lot of legacy web components in the operating system. Even earlier than that, as far back as October 2023, we have known about the deprecation of VBScript. Now, Microsoft has once again reminded customers about this and shared some recommendations about what to do with legacy projects.

For those unaware, VBScript is also known as Visual Basic Script and is the scripting language that Microsoft crafted almost three decades ago. It was included by default in Windows and was primarily used for automation purposes, but in recent times, the language has also been used as an attack surface for distribution of malware.

After announcing the deprecation of VBScript in future versions of Windows in October 2023, Microsoft shared a high-level timeline for this process in May 2024. Now, the company has shared some more details regarding this deprecation.

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) developers typically use VBScript to automate tasks and extend the functionality of Office applications by executing external .vbs scripts or referencing libraries for regular expressions.

These developers and use-cases will be impacted by VBScript's deprecation. Phase 1 is already in effect and may continue to run until 2026 or 2027. During this time period VBScript will be enabled by default as a Feature on Demand (FOD) and existing projects shouldn't be impacted. However, when Phase 2 kicks off, this FOD will be disabled. Finally, Phase 3, which begins at an unconfirmed date, will completely remove VBScript for Windows SKUs, directly impacting the two use-cases mentioned previously.

Microsoft has requested customers to use the RegExp classes included after Office Version 2508 by default. This will enable developers to continue using RegExp in VBScript, but it does require a Microsoft 365 subscription. You can find more technical details regarding the actual implementation and binding process in Microsoft's blog post here.

The company has recommended customers to upgrade to the latest Office version through Microsoft 365 to leverage the new RegExp implementation. This will allow developers to use the functionality in the Visual Basic Editor (VBE) without adding vbscript.dll. Most importantly, you should check your VBA projects to ensure that they continue to work in environments where VBScript is disabled.

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Posted Thursday 11 September 2025 at 2:04 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft patches Windows bugs impacting NDI streaming performance and app installs

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 16:02:37 +0000

In the past month or so, Microsoft has been tracking two major bugs on its Windows Release Health dashboard, both triggered by Patch Tuesday updates rolled out in August 2025. Although the company initially suggested manual workarounds to resolve the problems, it has now pushed out more concrete fixes via September 2025's Patch Tuesday updates released yesterday.

A major issue reported last month was related to Windows showing User Account Control (UAC) prompts asking for administrator credentials when running MSI operations as a standard user. Users were seeing prompts and errors when running MSI repair commands, running Office Professional Plus 2010, enabling Secure Desktop, and more. It was impacting Windows 11, Windows 10, and Server, causing app installs to break.

Although Microsoft issued a temporary workaround through Known Issue Rollback (KIR), it has now issued a more permanent fix through the KB5065426 update rolled out yesterday. Now, UAC prompts will only be shown for MSI repair operation if the target file contains an elevated custom action that requires more privileges. That said, IT admins will be able to configure allowlists to work around these prompts for specific apps. The previous Group Policy configuration through KIR is no longer required.

The second bug in question was impacting streaming apps like OBS which were leveraging the Network Device Interface (NDI). It was causing lags in streaming, stuttering, and choppy audio and video. Although Microsoft's initial recommendation was to configure NDI Receive Mode to use TCP or UDP instead of RUDP, its latest Patch Tuesday updates eradicate the need for this workaround as they fix the issue automatically. The bug was affecting Windows 11 (version 24H2), and Windows 10 (version 22H2 and 21H2), but Server platforms were unaffected.

It's good to see Microsoft rolling out patches in a relatively timely manner after already detailing mitigations and workarounds. You can check out our Patch Tuesday articles below for more information regarding the updates:

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Posted Thursday 11 September 2025 at 2:02 am AEST (my time).

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Firefox to end support for 32-bit Linux in 2026

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 16:01:52 +0000

Mozilla has announced that it will end support for Firefox on 32-bit Linux systems in 2026. This shouldn't affect most users, but still it's something worth mentioning.

It may seem surprising that Mozilla has supported 32-bit Linux for so long, and indeed it has. For reference, Google Chrome ended support for 32-bit Linux in 2016. So in 2026, Mozilla will have supported 32-bit Linux for ten years longer than Chrome did. That's pretty cool.

How many people still use Linux 32 bit? I can't find the exact statistics about it, but I took a look at the Firefox Public Data Report's Hardware section. It appears that, as of August 2025, 86.761% of Firefox users are on 64-bit computers. 4.550% of users have a 64-bit ARM computer, I'm assuming that includes Apple Silicon Macs, and Snapdragon computers. Only 8.689% of Firefox users have a 32-bit computer. It's unclear how many Linux 32-bit users this translates to.

Mozilla's announcement says 32-bit Linux is not supported by many Linux distros, and that maintaining a version of Firefox for the platform has become harder. Most Linux distros like Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora require a 64-bit processor. Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) still supports 32-bit systems. Debian 13 lets you run 32-bit apps, but the distro itself has dropped support for the i386 architecture. Debian 12 is still supported, LTS ends on June 30, 2028. I'm sure there are other distros that support 32-bit, but it's becoming rarer.

Firefox 144 will be the last version to support 32-bit Linux, it's not far away. According to Mozilla's release calendar, Firefox 144 will be released on October 14, 2025. Hey, that's when Windows 10 reaches end of life too. Firefox 145 and above will be 64-bit only. If you are using a 32-bit Linux machine, don't worry just yet. Mozilla says it will continue to support 32-bit Linux in Firefox ESR 140 builds so you can stay on that version until September 2026 to continue receiving security updates.

Support for Firefox ESR 115 has been extended several times to support Windows 7, 8, 8.1, macOS 10.12 to 10.14, so there is a chance that Mozilla may extend the same courtesy for 32-bit Linux users as well.

I can't say I've seen a 32-bit computer since maybe a netbook or two in 2010 or earlier. Looking at the Wikipedia entries for Intel and AMD processors show that both processor manufacturers stopped making 32-bit only CPUs nearly 20 years ago. Unless your computer has a processor that's from the early 2000s or older, you don't have to be worried. That is, unless you are using Linux 32-bit on a system that supports 64-bit for some reason, in which case you just need to switch to a 64-bit version of the distro.

Mozilla is encouraging 32-bit users to move to a 64-bit operating system, to continue using future versions of Firefox.

Are you still using a 32-bit OS?

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Posted Thursday 11 September 2025 at 2:01 am AEST (my time).

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Nvidia 581.29 driver adds support for Borderlands 4 and Dying Light: The Beast

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 16:00:41 +0000

Nvidia GeForce graphics users have a brand-new driver they can install. The latest update from the company is the WHQL-certified 581.29 Game Ready driver, and it looks like adding support for two new games is the primary objective, as there is only a single bug fix included in it.

Borderlands 4 is releasing in just a couple of days on September 12. Thanks to this driver update, players with hardware from the green team will be able to enable DLSS 4 for better upscaling as well as Multi Frame Generation for up to five times more AI-boosted frames, according to the company. Nvidia Reflex is included in the package too.

Don't forget that Nvidia is also bundling Borderlands 4 with its RTX 50 series graphics cards and laptops until September 22, which includes the base game as well as the Gilded Glory Pack for no extra charge.

Next, Dying Light: The Beast is launching on September 19, and it too boasts DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation tech for gaining better frame rates, as seen in the comparison video below.

Exactly one bug fix is included in this driver release, which should resolve a performance issue on Marvel Rivals:

Marvel Rivals: Negative performance impact when using some 581.xx drivers

Here are the known issues the driver team is working on fixing:

Counter-Strike 2: Text may appear slightly distorted when in-game resolution is lower than the native resolution of the display
Adobe Premiere Pro: Some system configurations can freeze during export using hardware encoding
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth: Light flickering after driver update on some system configurations

The Nvidia 581.29 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).

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Posted Thursday 11 September 2025 at 1:58 am AEST (my time).

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These new emoji are coming to a keyboard new you, thanks to Unicode 17.0

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Image via Emojipedia

The Unicode Consortium has published its latest emoji list, which will find its way to an emoji keyboard on your device in the coming months. These latest emojis are part of Emoji 17.0, which was released alongside Unicode 17.0.

Unicode is a character encoding standard that assigns a unique number to each character, which remains the same across platforms, devices, or languages. The standard is maintained by the Unicode Consortium, whose voting members include Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

Image via Emojipedia

Unicode 17.0 builds upon the database by adding 4,803 characters and bringing the total to 159,801. Meanwhile, Emoji 17.0 is its subset that solely focuses on emojis. Here is the list of the new emojis:

Hairy Creature
Distorted Face
Trombone
Orca
Treasure Chest
Falling Debris
Flight Cloud
Apple Core

Apart from this, Emoji 17.0 also includes a gender-neutral 'Ballet Dancer' emoji with support for skin tones, and new skin tones for 'People with Bunny' and 'People Wrestling.' However, the Ballet Dancer emoji is not part of Unicode 17.0 because it doesn't allow combining two or more code points to display a single emoji. Here, Ballet Dance uses a combination of Person and Ballet Shoes.

That said, you'll have to wait a while to get your hands on the latest emojis. According to Emojipedia, they will start showing up on platforms and services around the end of the year, with the majority of them spilling into 2026. Note that the final look and feel of the emojis will vary by platform.

For starters, Google's Noto Color Emoji and Noto Emoji font site pages already offer partial support for Emoji 17.0. Apple, Samsung, WhatsApp, and Google are expected to implement them during the first quarter of 2026; meanwhile, Microsoft is expected to add Emoji 17.0 to Windows 11 around the summer and fall of 2026.

In the meantime, you can check out the most popular emojis people use. What do you think about the new emojis, drop your thoughts in the comments.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 5:46 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft is discontinuing legacy web components in Windows

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 03:13:10 +0000

Microsoft has updated its list of deprecated features in client Windows versions to notify users that certain parts of the operating system are now on their way out. But do not worry, Microsoft is not taking away your favorite feature. This time, the company is pulling the plug on a bunch of legacy web components primarily related to EdgeHTML and web apps on Windows 8 and 8.1.

The discontinued components include Legacy Web View, Windows 8/8.1/UWP HTML/JavaScript apps (also known as Hosted Web Applications and Windows Web Applications, Legacy Progressive Web Apps (PWA), and Legacy Microsoft Edge (EdgeHTML) DevTools. Microsoft is no longer developing those parts of Windows, as they are based on now-discontinued EdgeHTML, which used to power the original Microsoft Edge from the Windows 10 era before Microsoft switched to the Chromium-based Edge browser.

Microsoft says developers should switch to WebView2, Chromium-based Progressive Web Apps, and other supported web technologies. However, Microsoft is not done with supporting or releasing security updates for those Windows parts. The company is not ready to announce the exact end of support date or when those components will be removed from future Windows versions. The only change is that they are now officially deprecated, and developers should not expect any new features.

Here is what the company published in the support document:

These components, built on the EdgeHTML engine, are no longer in active development and are being phased out. While no specific retirement or end-of-support date is being committed at this time, they're expected to eventually stop receiving nonsecurity and security updates and will be removed from future versions of Windows.

Some of the other features that Microsoft recently discontinued include WMIC and PowerShell 2.0. You can find the complete list of deprecated Windows features and components on the official Microsoft Learn website.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 1:12 pm AEST (my time).

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An Insider build for Visual Studio 2026 is now available

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 03:12:11 +0000

We recently learned that Microsoft is working on a major upgrade for Visual Studio, headlined by AI capabilities. In the past few months, the company has been adding AI capabilities to the integrated development environment (IDE) on a regular basis, while also allowing users to tone some of them down. Now, Microsoft has unveiled Visual Studio 2026 with an Insider build, a first for the IDE.

As expected, AI is a major component of this version, and Microsoft boasts that it is "woven" directly into development workflows. The firm claims that Visual Studio 2026 is very proficient in understanding new codebases, while ensuring that your comments and documentation stay in lockstep with any updates.

Generated code snippets will adapt to the existing conventions in the codebase, with AI-powered code reviews helping developers write efficient and secure code. The idea is that AI will write code for you, while you will be responsible for making judgment calls.

Image via Microsoft

Visual Studio 2026 also packs major performance improvements over its predecessor. The Redmond tech giant has promised improvements across both x64 and Arm64 architectures, highlighting faster first launches, efficient handling of big projects, and a shorter timespan between ideation and a running piece of software.

Notably, the new IDE also features a design revamp that is cleaner and more modern. Microsoft has emphasized "crisper lines, improved iconography, and better spacing of visual elements". Nested configurations should be more accessible, and managing extensions along with themes should be easier too.

Visual Studio 2026 is available for the first time as an Insider release rather than a Preview Channel rollout. That said, it's not exactly clear what this difference entails. Regardless, you can check out the latest release notes here and download the Visual Studio 2026 Insider build here.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 1:10 pm AEST (my time).

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KDE Plasma 6.4.5 released with multiple bug fixes for KWin, Plasma Addons, and more

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 03:10:12 +0000

KDE Plasma 6.4.5, the fifth bug fix release for version 6.4, is now live, addressing bugs in different components like KWin, Discover, and Dr. Konqi.

Starting with KWin, the window manager had about 19 bug fixes in total. One of the more noticeable ones deals with a visual glitch in the System Settings task switcher preview. This bug made the text render in black, so you could not read it against a dark theme. The preview now correctly uses your Plasma theme's colors.

Another major fix squashes a Wayland bug that caused external monitors to wake up on their own just seconds after being put to sleep. The problem was traced to the DRM backend, which was not correctly ignoring disabled outputs when checking the Display Power Management Signaling state. The devs also addressed an issue where the maximize animation could end on a different frame from other animations, creating a slight visual stutter.

Moving on to Plasma Desktop, the team fixed an issue in a panel's edit mode, where if you pressed the escape key while your cursor was still over the panel, nothing would happen. You had to move the cursor away for it to work.

Another fix was for the Kicker application launcher. A weird bug would prevent any search results from showing up if you had removed all the favorite apps from the sidebar. You could type "Firefox" and get nothing.

Plenty of other components got some love in this release. The Dr. Konqi crash reporter was patched to fix an unguarded use of the Sentry SDK. The Info Center got a fix for a bug where it would always report that Nvidia drivers were not loaded, even when they were.

The Discover software center had a small problem where the "delete settings" button would stay grayed out when you reopened a message. That no longer happens. Even the Plasma NetworkManager was improved with a fix for a memory leak.

Version 6.4.5 also brought small changes like better handling for camera devices in the device notifier applet and a fix for indented streams in the Plasma Audio Volume Control applet, which improves the layout.

You can find the full changelog here.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 1:09 pm AEST (my time).

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Windows 11 (KB5065426, KB5065431) September 2025 Patch Tuesday out

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 03:07:49 +0000

Microsoft has released Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 11 24H2, 23H2, and 22H2. The 24H2 update is provided via KB5065426, while the 23H2 and 22H2 updates are delivered via KB5065431. You will be on builds 26100.4946 on 24H2, 22631.5768 on 23H2, and 22621.5768 on 22H2, respectively, after applying the updates.

The changelog for KB5065426 is given below:

Highlights

This update addresses security issues for your Windows operating system.

Improvements

This security update contains fixes and quality improvements from KB5064081 (released August 29, 2025). The following summary outlines key issues addressed by this update. Also, included are available new features. The bold text within the brackets indicates the item or area of the change.

[App compatibility (known issue)] Fixed: Addresses an issue that caused non-admin users to receive unexpected User Account Control (UAC) prompts when MSI installers perform certain custom actions. These actions might include configuration or repair operations in the foreground or background, during the initial installation of an application.

This issue could prevent non-admin users from running apps that perform MSI repairs, including Office Professional Plus 2010 and multiple applications from Autodesk (including AutoCAD). This fix reduces the scope for requiring UAC prompts for MSI repairs and enables IT admins to disable UAC prompts for specific apps by adding them to an allowlist.

For more information, see Unexpected UAC prompts when running MSI repair operations after installing the August 2025 Windows security update.
[File server] This update enabled auditing SMB client compatibility for SMB Server signing as well as SMB Server EPA. This allows customers to assess their environment and identify any potential device or software incompatibility issues before deploying the hardening measures that are already supported by SMB Server. For detailed guidance, see CVE-2025-55234.
[Input]
- Fixed: This update addresses an issue that caused certain apps to stop responding input in some input method scenarios.
- Fixed: This update addresses an issue that caused some Internet Information Services (IIS) modules to disappear from IIS Manager, preventing users from configuring IIS using the IIS Manager interface.
[Networking (known issue)] Fixed: This update addresses an issue that affects audio in apps using the Network Device Interface (NDI). Audio stutters when Display Capture is on in OBS Studio Application. This can occur after installing KB5063878.

Meanwhile the known issues on KB5065426 are given below:

Applies to	Symptom	Workaround
All users	Windows devices using more than one (1) monitor might experience issues with desktop icons moving unexpectedly between monitors or other icon alignment issues when attempting to use Copilot in Windows (in preview).	To prevent users from encountering this issue, Copilot in Windows (in preview) might not be available on devices that have been used or are currently being used in a multimonitor configuration. We are working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.
All users	Third-party wallpaper apps might not work as expected when Copilot in Windows (in preview) is opened. You might see the default wallpaper or the wallpaper set in Windows instead of your custom wallpaper set in the third-party wallpaper app.	This issue is addressed in KB5031455. To prevent users from encountering this issue, Copilot in Windows (in preview) was previously unavailable on devices that have a third-party wallpaper app installed.
All users	If you are trying to setup your device for the first time, you might face issues with the language selection page during the Out of Box Experience (OOBE). During the OOBE flow, you will observe that irrespective of the language selected in the language selection page, the button which displays ‘Continue in ’ gets incorrectly translated and displays as ‘Continue in English’ in the selected language. For instance, if you have selected ‘Español’ as your language, you will observe the display button gets translated as ‘Continuar en inglés’. However, after clicking the ‘Continue in English’ button and proceeding further, the installation and next steps will continue to be in your selected language and the OOBE flow will complete without any interruption. Important You might be impacted by this issue only if you are setting up your device for the first time through OOBE. It occurs only when the device manufacturer used an image based on the August 2024 non-security preview update (KB5041587) or September 2024 security update (KB5043076) to install Windows.to install Windows. This issue does not apply if you are applying the August 2024 non-security preview update or later updates released via the Windows Update release channel and Microsoft Update Catalog website.	This issue was resolved in the Windows non-security preview update released on September 26, 2024 (KB5043145). Devices manufactured with this update, or later updates will not experience this issue. If your device was affected by this issue, installing this or later updates will prevent you from facing this translation issue in the rare case you need to go through OOBE again. We recommend you install the latest update for your device as it contains important improvements and issue resolutions, including this one.

Applies to

Symptom

Workaround

All users

Windows devices using more than one (1) monitor might experience issues with desktop icons moving unexpectedly between monitors or other icon alignment issues when attempting to use Copilot in Windows (in preview).

To prevent users from encountering this issue, Copilot in Windows (in preview) might not be available on devices that have been used or are currently being used in a multimonitor configuration.

We are working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.

All users

Third-party wallpaper apps might not work as expected when Copilot in Windows (in preview) is opened. You might see the default wallpaper or the wallpaper set in Windows instead of your custom wallpaper set in the third-party wallpaper app.

This issue is addressed in KB5031455.

To prevent users from encountering this issue, Copilot in Windows (in preview) was previously unavailable on devices that have a third-party wallpaper app installed.

All users

If you are trying to setup your device for the first time, you might face issues with the language selection page during the Out of Box Experience (OOBE). During the OOBE flow, you will observe that irrespective of the language selected in the language selection page, the button which displays ‘Continue in ’ gets incorrectly translated and displays as ‘Continue in English’ in the selected language.

For instance, if you have selected ‘Español’ as your language, you will observe the display button gets translated as ‘Continuar en inglés’. However, after clicking the ‘Continue in English’ button and proceeding further, the installation and next steps will continue to be in your selected language and the OOBE flow will complete without any interruption.

Important You might be impacted by this issue only if you are setting up your device for the first time through OOBE. It occurs only when the device manufacturer used an image based on the August 2024 non-security preview update (KB5041587) or September 2024 security update (KB5043076) to install Windows.to install Windows. This issue does not apply if you are applying the August 2024 non-security preview update or later updates released via the Windows Update release channel and Microsoft Update Catalog website.

This issue was resolved in the Windows non-security preview update released on September 26, 2024 (KB5043145). Devices manufactured with this update, or later updates will not experience this issue. If your device was affected by this issue, installing this or later updates will prevent you from facing this translation issue in the rare case you need to go through OOBE again. We recommend you install the latest update for your device as it contains important improvements and issue resolutions, including this one.

Microsoft says there are no known issues on KB5065431.

These updates will be available from Windows Update and should install automatically in most cases. If you would like to download these updates for offline installation, you can get them from the Microsoft Catalog website. You can find the update for 24H2 here, and for 23H2/22H2 here.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 1:06 pm AEST (my time).

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Windows 10 (KB5065429 / KB5065428 / KB5065427 / KB5065430) September 2025 Patch Tuesday out

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 03:05:48 +0000

It's the second Tuesday of the month, which means it's Patch Tuesday time again. As such, today, Microsoft is rolling out the monthly security update (also called "B release") for September 2025 on Windows Server 20H2 and Windows 10 for the latest supported versions, 20H2, 21H2, and 22H2.

The new updates are being distributed under KB5065429, bumping up the builds to 19044.6332 and 19045.6332. You can find standalone links to download the new update on the Microsoft Update Catalog at this link.

The major highlight of the release is security patches. Microsoft writes:

[Internal Windows OS] This update contains miscellaneous security improvements to internal Windows OS functionality. No specific issues are documented for this release.

This release has known issues with Noto fonts.

Some of the older Windows 10 versions have also received updates today, which have been listed below with their respective release notes (KB) linked as well as links to download them at Microsoft's Update Catalog:

Version	KB	Build	Download	Support
1809	KB5065428	17763.7792	Update Catalog	Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC)
1607	KB5065427	14393.8422	Update Catalog
1507	KB5065430	10240.21128	Update Catalog

It is noteworthy that Windows 10 20H2 and Windows 10 1909 reached the end of servicing. Non-LTSC editions of 21H2 have also reached the end of servicing.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 1:04 pm AEST (my time).

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iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, and Apple’s other OS updates launch September 15

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 03:03:48 +0000

If your device is supported, it’s getting Liquid Glass-ier later this month.

CUPERTINO, Calif.—If you’re buying one of the new iPhones or the other hardware that Apple announced today, your new devices will ship with Apple’s latest operating system updates already installed. But if you’re not looking to spend a bunch of money on Apple’s latest and greatest, the new updates will land on Apple’s other supported devices on September 15.

Apple is shifting to a year-based numbering system starting this year, wiping away the previous grab bag of all-over-the-place version numbers. No corner of Apple’s ecosystem is going untouched: we’re getting iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, visionOS 26, and even version 26 of whatever Apple is calling the HomePod’s software these days, all on the same day.

The headliner across all of the updates is Apple’s new “Liquid Glass” UI overhaul, which adds glass-inspired transparency and translucency and bouncy animations throughout all of Apple’s software. Inspired in part by the way that UI elements in visionOS float over top of your real-world surroundings, Liquid Glass is Apple’s most comprehensive UI overhaul since the release of iOS 7 back in 2013.

Other new features include a redesigned Phone app that also supports macOS; expanded options for filtering spam calls and texts; custom backgrounds in Messages group chats; a new version of the Metal graphics API; and all kinds of platform-specific odds and ends. The “more personal Siri” that Apple delayed earlier this year is still a work in progress—Apple has said it’s coming in iOS/iPadOS/macOS 26, but not when.

Whether your device can install the update depends on which software we’re talking about. For the Apple Watch, Apple TV, and HomePod, compatibility remains exactly the same as with last year’s releases (though only the second- and third-gen Apple TV 4K boxes get Liquid Glass). For iOS 26 and iPadOS 26, Apple has dropped just a handful of the oldest models supported by iOS 18 and iPadOS 18. But macOS 26 drops support for all but a handful of the remaining Intel Macs, and next year’s macOS 27 will drop Intel support entirely.

For those who don’t want to install the updates, Apple generally continues to offer security-only patches for its last-generation operating systems for at least a couple of months after release. This gives users the option to wait out the new-release bugs that sometimes ship alongside all the new features in any major update.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 1:03 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft is finally returning a Windows 10 feature to Windows 11, and I couldn't be happier

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 18:12:06 +0000

Windows 11 has been out for almost four years, while Windows 10 is about to lose support in a little over a month. Despite that, many, including myself, have been struggling to find strong enough reasons to upgrade to Microsoft's latest operating system. However, I finally decided to pull the trigger on my personal machine last month because I realized that I don't want to stick to an unsupported system on my trusty PC, or jump through hoops for official or unofficial support. It seems like Microsoft really appreciated that gesture, because it has now decided to bring back a Windows 10 feature that I sorely missed.

Back in 2022, I complained about how Microsoft had inexplicably removed the seconds precision in the calendar clock present in the Taskbar flyout. While this feature may appear trivial to many, it had numerous niche use-cases for me. I used it to monitor the duration of contact while measuring my body temperature with a Mercury thermometer, keep track of the exact time remaining before an online meeting starts, and send people birthday messages exactly at midnight.

All of these abilities were hampered by Microsoft when it got rid of the precision in the flyout. If you think I'm being pedantic, do note that it is one of the most upvoted requests in the Feedback Hub.

Microsoft has finally listened to user feedback and is restoring this capability in Windows 11 soon. The company began testing this UX with limited Insiders on the Dev Channel back in June, released the feature in Canary builds recently, and also rolled it out as a preview for Windows 11, version 24H2 customers less than two weeks ago. Since this optional preview update is typically a precursor for Patch Tuesday, that means that this feature should land later today. That said, some features roll out gradually so not everyone may get it today.

People who used this feature regularly in Windows 10 will be pleased to know that its layout is quite similar in Windows 11, with identical functionality. That said, while it was enabled by default in Microsoft's previous OS, it now needs to be manually enabled through Windows Settings > Time & Language > Date & time > Show time in Notification Center, as can be seen above. This makes it ideal in terms of flexibility.

As you may have surmised from the tone of this editorial, I am quite happy that Microsoft has finally restored a Windows 10 feature that I use quite heavily, and just in time with respect to the fact that I only recently upgraded my machine to Windows 11. That said, I still stand by my other stance from three years ago that implementing relatively minor, but highly requested, functionalities in Windows 11 shouldn't take this long.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 4:10 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft veteran explains why Windows 95 didn't implement an instruction to save PC power

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 18:07:34 +0000

Windows 95 was an extremely popular operating system, and one that arguably made Windows and personal computing mainstream. Its importance even today is highlighted by the fact that we regularly cover stories related to the OS, such as the concept of Windows Classic Remastered and how PC vendors used to trick BIOS strings to get full editions of trial software in the days of Windows 95.

Now, we have another interesting tidbit surrounding the implementation of one particular instruction for Intel CPUs.

This story once again comes from Microsoft veteran Raymond Chen, who explains that the 80386 processor (also known as "Intel 386" and "i386") included support for the HLT instruction. HLT was an abbreviation for HALT, which, as the name implies, would request the CPU to stop executing instructions until a hardware interrupt, such as a key press, came through. This was primarily meant to preserve power when the CPU had no work to do, as it allowed the processor to go into a low-power mode.

While this sounds like a very useful instruction to have in your PC's arsenal, Microsoft did not implement this in Windows 95. The main reason behind this is that many PC vendors did not properly support this instruction, causing machines to lock irrecoverably as soon as HLT was executed.

Since this reason was not public, many people at the time blamed Microsoft for being lazy in implementing this instruction, not knowing that it was actually PC vendors who were to blame.

Chen notes that since the failure of proper execution of HLT resulted in a brick, the risk of running into it because of a false negative was too high, so the company decided to skip it entirely in Windows 95.

Although it did consider adding a detection for support, this was a high-risk strategy because there was a chance that some laptop models would not be identified by the time Windows 95 shipped. While PCs today implement similar behavior through the MWAIT instruction, HLT was the only way to do this back in the day, which is why Microsoft received significant criticism from the public for not implementing the i386 instruction to conserve resources for an idle CPU in Windows 95.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 4:06 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft is fixing Windows 11 copy/paste dialogs

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 18:04:46 +0000

The copy-paste dialog in Windows 11 (also known as the file operation dialog or copy/move dialog) is a pretty ancient piece of Windows UI. The current version was introduced in Windows 8 back in 2012 with a bunch of upgrades over Windows 7, such as an expanded mode with a progress bar combined with a file transfer speed chart. Thirteen years later, Microsoft is finally improving the UI with some much-needed changes.

It was recently discovered that Microsoft is finally adding dark mode support to various parts of Windows 11, such as file properties, copy-paste dialog, and more. With the latest Windows 11 preview builds that were released in the Dev and Beta channels, Microsoft is adding a bunch of other improvements on top of dark mode support.

@phantomofearth discovered that the file operation dialog ditched its iconic green accent for a blue one to match Windows 11's stock color palette:

All these updates are a work in progress, and there are still some rough surfaces here and there. For example, the interface still uses a green progress bar in compact mode. Also, it does not follow your system accent color, but at this point, we do not know if Microsoft plans to implement such a capability or leave the updated progress bar blue.

Microsoft is preparing the updated file operation dialog for its public debut, so expect to see more changes in future builds. It is great to see Microsoft finally fixing Windows 11's undercooked dark mode, eliminating the need for third-party apps and mods that some people use to fix the system's theming inconsistencies. Sadly, Windows 11 still does not know how to change themes on schedule, but this missing feature will soon be addressed with PowerToys.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 4:03 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft releases Hotfix Updates for various Exchange Server editions

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 18:03:10 +0000

Almost a month ago, Microsoft released Security Updates (SUs) for multiple versions of Exchange Server. Now, the company has released Hotfix Updates (HUs) for three supported editions of Exchange Server too. It is important to note that these are not tied to the Patch Tuesday release cadence.

The latest HUs do not contain any security patches but they do fix a major issue related to online archival processes failing for on-premises users in hybrid environments. This was impacting customers who had items configured with the Move to Archive tag, with their items not being archived if the archive is present in Exchange Online and the primary mailbox remains on an on-premises server that's running Exchange Server.

The problem was impacting affecting the following versions of Exchange Server, all of which have been patched through the latest HUs:

Exchange Server Subscription Edition (SE) RTM
Exchange Server 2019 (CU14 and CU15)
Exchange Server 2016 (CU23)

If you are running any of the aforementioned CUs, you can directly installed the September 2025 HUs and stay up to date. But if you're on an older version, you'll first need to install a supported CU and then apply the HU. Since Exchange updates are cumulative, the September 2025 HUs notably include support for creation of the dedicated Exchange hybrid app that was initially present in April 2025 HUs.

Also note that HUs are typically optional updates so if you're impacted by the online archival problem explained previously, you should necessarily install the update, but if you're not, you can consider skipping it. HUs can be downloaded through Windows Update and Microsoft Update, but their installation will follow the deployment policies configured by your IT admin. Even if you decided to skip this HU, the improvements in this release will be present in subsequent HUs, SUs, and CUs, but if you do install it and run into unexpected errors, you can simply uninstall it.

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Posted Wednesday 10 September 2025 at 4:02 am AEST (my time).

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Windows 11 requirements bypass tool gets huge upgrade with better AI blocks, new extensions

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 07:58:15 +0000

Flyoobe is a popular tool that began its journey as Flyby11, a software that was used to unofficially bypass the stringent requirements checks in Windows 11. However, after the developer made significant progress in this area, they pivoted to a new strategy, which aimed to "debloat" Windows 11 during the out-of-the-box experience (OOBE), so you can have a decluttered OS from the get-go. In the past few weeks, Flyoobe has receive numerous updates that have enhanced this overall experience. Now, the tool has received a major upgrade in the form of version 1.10.

Version 1.10 of Flyoobe includes a revamped navigation with a bottom-based navigation and a "Next" button. Gone is the old TreeView navigation, which is now replaced with big buttons at the bottom, which should make it easier to glide across different pages. The Refresh button has also been improved by using a new component and the naming convention and styles of various elements are now closer to Microsoft's design language for Windows, so that they feel familiar to users.

The Experience page has also been streamlined and all features related to blocking AI capabilities in Windows have now been moved to a dedicated OOBE view. In the same vein, Flyoobe has become better at detecting AI features, and asking users to review which ones they want disabled.

It is important to note that since Windows requires access to location services in order to use Wi-Fi, disabling them were resulting in no networks being shown. The app now explains this behavior to the user, asking them to enable location services if they want to connect to a Wi-Fi internet.

Extensions have received a major update too with a built-in Extensions Store, so that anyone can provide PowerShell scripts. The following extensions are now included by default:

Default Power Plan – quickly switch between Balanced, High Performance, and Battery Saver during setup
File Explorer Tweaks – configure common Explorer settings such as showing file extensions, showing hidden files, or opening This PC by default
Post-setup Cleanup – remove temporary files, Windows.old, component store leftovers, and update caches to free up disk space after installation
Windows 11 Honest Mode – inspect telemetry settings, startup apps, and scheduled tasks to reveal what Windows is running in the background

Importantly, the developer has made headway in merging the Flyoobe and Flyby11 projects, such that the GitHub project name now reflects the new Flyoobe branding. You can download Flyoobe 1.10.340 through our dedicated Software stories section here, but remember that there is always a risk associated with customizing your Windows installation in "unofficial" ways, so do so only if you trust the developer and accepts those risks.

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Posted Tuesday 9 September 2025 at 5:56 pm AEST (my time).

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Writing formulas in Microsoft Excel just got a whole lot easier with AI

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 07:55:04 +0000

Writing formulas in Microsoft Excel requires specialized skills and is time-consuming even for experts. This involves getting the syntax correct, using the right function, referencing the correct cells, and more. Typically, users spend time on the web to look for samples and correct their mistakes.

To solve the above problems, Microsoft is introducing a new Copilot feature in Excel called formula completion. Thanks to the power of state-of-the-art AI models, formula completion can suggest and auto-complete formulas as soon as users type “=”.

Here's how the feature works:

Suggestions: As soon as users type “=” in a cell, Copilot analyzes the context of the workbook using headers, nearby cells, formulas, and tables, and suggests a formula suggestion. Along with the suggestion, users will also get a preview of the result and a short textual description of the formula’s intent.
Auto-completion: As users start typing more characters after "=", Copilot will update its suggestions in real time until an appropriate match is found.

Right now, this new formula completion feature cannot offer suggestions for formulas that reference data from other worksheets. However, Microsoft may support this feature via updates. Microsoft provided the following tips to make the most of formula completion:

If you type “=” and nothing appears right away, just wait a few seconds—Copilot’s suggestions may take a moment to load. It’s worth the wait! As Copilot generates the formula, a progress indicator will be displayed along the lower border of the cell.

Formula completion works best when there are clear labels/headers that help clarify the required context. Adding descriptive labels in the header or nearby cells greatly assists the process.

Struggling to find the correct formula? Try refining the context and including additional details in adjacent cells or headers for better results.

Feeling that "=" doesn’t give you the expected formula? Begin typing additional characters, and formula completion will offer suggestions that correspond to your input.

This new formula completion feature is now rolling out for Copilot users on Excel for the web for US-English only. It will also be coming to Excel Desktop with support for additional languages in the future.

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Posted Tuesday 9 September 2025 at 5:54 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft tests new Windows 11 File Explorer features, popular clock feature in build 27938

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 04:17:54 +0000

Microsoft has released a new Windows 11 build for Insiders flighting the Canary channel. The new build, 27938, has several new features for File Explorer related to AI. These include the ability to use Bing Visual Search, blur or even remove backgrounds, and erase objects. Aside from that, the build also adds "a highly requested feature from Windows 10", which is the option to show a bigger clock with seconds.

There are several more fixes and improvements including new known issues that Microsoft has confirmed. The full changelog is given below:

Introducing AI actions in File Explorer

With AI actions in File Explorer, you can interact more deeply with your files by right-clicking to quickly take actions like editing images or summarizing documents. Like with Click to Do, AI actions in File Explorer allow you to stay in your flow while leveraging the power of AI to take advantage of editing tools in apps or Copilot functionality without having to open your file. AI actions in File Explorer are easily accessible – to try out AI actions in File Explorer, just right-click on a file and you will see a new AI actions entry on the content menu that allows you to choose from available options for your file.

File Explorer with context menu expanded on a file showing new AI actions highlighted in a red box.

Today, you can try one of four image actions for seamless editing or web searches with images:

Bing Visual Search: Allows you to search the web using an image instead of text. Find similar images and products, get details about sites using the image, and identify landmarks, plants, and famous faces. From searching what you see on your screen, to shopping your preferred style, getting help with that homework problem, or translating text, getting answers is more intuitive than ever.
Blur Background: Opens the Photos app which automatically finds the background in the photo, and with a single click, instantly highlights your subject and blurs out the background. You can also customize the effect by adjusting the Blur Intensity or use the Brush Tool to modify the areas being blurred.
Erase Objects: With Photos by selecting or highlighting an unwanted element in your photo and Generative Erase makes it disappear. It allows you to fix and remove distractions from your photos.
Remove Background: With Paint allows you to alter any image automatically in just one click leaving a smooth cutout of the subject. Background removal can detect the subject from the entire canvas or using the selection tool.

These four image actions currently support these file types: .jpg, .jpeg, and .png.

Bringing back the bigger clock with seconds option in notification center

The option to show a bigger clock with seconds above the date and calendar in notification center:

Clock showing in notification center with the calendar both collapsed and expanded.

To turn this option on, go to Settings > Time & language > Date & time and flip the switch for Show time in the Notification Center.

The toggle to turn on showing the clock in notification center in Settings highlighted in a red box.

Changes and Improvements

[Settings]

You can now visit the Settings > Privacy & security > Text and image generation to see which third-party applications recently used generative AI models provided by Windows. This page gives you visibility into the specific apps leveraging local Windows provided generative AI models and allows you to control which apps are permitted to use them—putting you in charge of your device’s AI experience.

Text and image generation settings page with recent activity highlighted in a red box for seeing which apps use generative AI models provided by Windows.

Here are the bug fixes:

[Reset & Recovery]

Fixed the issue causing the “Reset this PC” option under Settings > System > Recovery to not work on Build 27934.

[File Explorer]

Fixed an issue where In dark mode, the red color used for a low space drive in This PC might be unexpectedly light colored in the latest builds. Some of the other colors might also have been incorrect, including that black is used for space remaining instead of a more visible color.
Fixed an issue which was Fixed an issue where File Explorer was unexpectedly not showing thumbnails for video files containing certain EXIF metadata.

[Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)]

Performance improvements related to WMI Registry scanning.

[Login and Lock screen]

Fixed an issue which was causing some of the sign in options to have a blank icon.

[Search]

Did some work to help reduce instances where search may get stuck in a loading state.

[Input]

Fixed an issue where if you typed on the touch keyboard with the Changjie, Bopomoji, or Japanese IME, it wouldn’t work if you had switched to using the previous version of the IME.

[Task Manager]

Fixed an issue which was causing Task Manager to freeze when going to the performance section recently for some Insiders.

[Other]

Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders to experience bugchecks (green screens) with error IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL citing an issue with ntoskrnl.exe in the latest Canary builds when attempting to enter safe mode.
Fixed an issue causing some Insiders to experience bugchecks recently with error CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED.

Here are the Known issues:

[General]

[IMPORTANT] Some Windows Insiders may experience a rollback attempting to install this build with either an 0xC1900101-0x20017 error or 0xC1900101-0x30017 error. Unfortunately retrying to install the build will result in another rollback. We are working on a fix.
We’re working on the fix for an issue causing Settings > System > Storage > Temporary files to get stuck when scanning files. This issue also causes the entry to clean up previous Windows Installations to not show in Storage Settings.

[For developers]

[NEW] PIX on Windows is unable to play back GPU captures on this OS version. This will be addressed by a new PIX release, estimated to arrive by the end of September. In the meantime, if you are impacted, you can use the “Send Feedback” button in PIX or contact us on the DirectX Discord server and we can help provide private builds.

[Graphics]

We’re investigating an issue which is causing some Insiders to experience screen flickers when using the browser (and potentially other scenarios) in the latest Canary builds.

[Audio]

[NEW] Some Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel are experiencing an issue where audio stops working and Device Manager shows one or more devices with a yellow exclamation mark, including “ACPI Audio Compositor” and others. Selecting Properties on these devices will show “Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing.” If you are impacted by this issue, you can follow these instructions to get back into a working state:
- Right-click on the device with a yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager and select “Update driver”.
- Choose “Browse my computer for drivers” and then “Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer”.
- Select the driver from the list with the most recent date and click “Next”. If you are presented with a list of common hardware types instead of one or more specific drivers, this device is not related to this issue.
- This device should be repaired and no longer show a yellow exclamation mark in Device Manager. If it continues to show a yellow exclamation mark, the yellow exclamation mark is not related to this issue.
- Repeat these steps for each device with a yellow exclamation mark.

You can find the official blog post here on Microsoft's website.

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Posted Tuesday 9 September 2025 at 2:13 pm AEST (my time).

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AMD 25.9.1 driver targets FSR 4, adding support for over 85 more games

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 04:13:25 +0000

A brand-new driver for AMD Radeon graphics users has just landed. Other than support for a couple of fresh games, the WHQL-certified AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 25.9.1 driver also has good news for RX 9000 series graphics card owners.

Borderlands 4 and Hell Is Us are the latest games to receive support from AMD directly, so anyone planning to jump in will want to update to this driver first for optimal performance.

Meanwhile, the company's latest AI-based upscaling tech AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4) for the Radeon RX 9000 series graphics cards has received another upgrade. With this, over 85 games that already supported FSR 3.1 has gained the ability to use FSR 4 and get the latest benefits simply by using the global setting in the driver.

While a full list has not been shared just yet, this counts for "most" of the DirectX 12 games that already supported FSR 3.1, per AMD.

FSR 4 has been a major upgrade over AMD's previous upscaling attempts. In Neowin's recent review of the latest FSR 4 tech that's being used in Mafia: The Old Country, we found it provided better performance and better visual quality than built-in rendering options. Find the complete Mafia: The Old Country FSR 4 review here.

Here are the fixed issues that are also shipping with the 25.9.1 driver:

Corruption may appear while playing Mafia: The Old Country on Radeon RX 6600 series graphics products.
Intermittent application crash or driver timeout may be observed while playing WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers with FSR 4 enabled on Radeon RX 9000 series graphics products.
Playstation VR controllers are not detected while playing SteamVR.
Intermittent application crash or driver timeout may be observed while playing Monster Hunter Wilds with Ray Tracing enabled and recording with AMD Software on Radeon RX 7600, 7700, and 7800 series graphics products.

Known issues are these:

Intermittent application crash may be observed while playing The Last of Us Part II on Radeon RX 7900 series graphics products.
Intermittent application crash may be observed while playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on Radeon RX 9000 series graphics products.
Intermittent application crash may be observed while playing NBA 2K25 in MyCareer mode on Radeon RX 9070 series graphics products. AMD is actively working on a resolution to be released as soon as possible.
Intermittent application crash may be observed while playing FBC: Firebreak on some AMD Ryzen processors such as the Ryzen AI 300 series and the Ryzen 7000 series.
Stutter may be observed while playing games with some VR headsets at 80Hz or 90Hz refresh rate on some AMD Radeon Graphics Products such as the Radeon RX 7000 series. Users experiencing this issue are recommended to change the refresh rate as a temporary workaround.
Corruption (missing scan travel lines) may be observed while playing GTFO on Radeon RX 7000 series graphics products.
Intermittent application crash or driver timeout may be observed while loading a saved game in Cyberpunk 2077 with Path Tracing enabled.

The new AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 25.9.1 driver is now available for download from the AMD Software app as well as its official changelog page.

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Posted Tuesday 9 September 2025 at 2:11 pm AEST (my time).

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Windows 11 is getting new AI features for your webcams

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 04:10:55 +0000

Windows 11's AI capabilities are not just all about Copilot. The operating system has a bunch of useful built-in features, such as Windows Studio Effects, which apply various enhancements to your camera. For example, you can blur your background, fix the eye contact, mute background noises, and do more. Windows Studio Effects are available for built-in webcams on Copilot+ PCs with Qualcomm, Intel, and AMD processors. Now, Microsoft wants to make Windows Studio Effects work with external cameras.

In the recently released Windows 11 preview builds from the Dev and Beta Channels, Microsoft has enabled Windows Studio Effects for cameras other than built-in webcams, such as external USB cameras or rear-facing cameras in tablets.

Here is what Microsoft said in the announcement post:

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.

Microsoft used to roll out new AI features for Copilot+ PCs on Snapdragon-powered devices first, but this time, the company is rolling out new stuff for those with Intel-based devices. If you have a Copilot+ PC with an AMD or Snapdragon processor, you will get the necessary driver update at a later date.

You can turn off Windows Studio Effects for external cameras by heading to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Cameras. Select your camera, click "Advanced Camera Options," and find the "Use Windows Studio Effects" toggle. After that, Windows 11 will let you adjust and toggle various Windows Studio Effects from the tray area on the taskbar.

The ability to enable Windows Studio Effects on external cameras will be useful for those planning to purchase a desktop Copilot+ PC, such as the one Steven Parker recently reviewed. For now, Copilot+ PCs have been mostly available in the form of tablets and laptops, but now, manufacturers are slowly introducing more form factors to the program.

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Posted Tuesday 9 September 2025 at 2:07 pm AEST (my time).

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Tiny11 update "should" support Windows 11 25H2 on unsupported PCs — debloating Microsoft's new Outlook, Copilot, and more

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 17:31:40 +0000

NTDEV's latest Tiny11 update allows Windows 11 version 25H2 installs on unsupported PCs and removes Microsoft apps.

The inevitable Windows 10 end-of-life date is just around the corner, as Microsoft is expected to cut support for the operating system on October 14, 2025. However, the software giant has provided multiple ways for users to continue receiving security updates after Windows 10's imminent death through its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program.

Windows 10 users can sync their PC settings to the cloud via a Microsoft account, redeem 1,000 Microsoft Reward points, or pay $30 for extended security updates (ESU), which now supports up to 10 devices.

However, Microsoft clearly prefers these users to upgrade to Windows 11, and has been making bold statements like "Windows 11 PCs are up to 2.3x faster than Windows 10 PCs" to push Copilot+ PCs sales. Still, that's a bit of a stretch since many modern devices still ship with full Windows 10 compatibility, making it difficult to compare old hardware against modern-day AI PCs.

With Windows 10's death fast approaching, Windows 11 has been gaining traction and broad adoption and is now the world's most dominant desktop operating system. However, users have blatantly expressed their reluctance to upgrade to Windows 11, citing flawed design elements and strict minimum system requirements.

But perhaps more interestingly, there seems to be a surge of software apps that allow Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. For instance, Tiny11. It's a tool that can create a lightweight version of Windows 11, designed to run on older PCs that don't meet Windows 11's strict system requirements, developed by NTDEV.

The industrious developer has released multiple updates to improve the platform's functionality and user experience by shrinking its size by removing bloatware and pre-installed apps that might be deemed unnecessary, at least by some users.

NTDEV recently shipped a new update for Tiny11, which removes a sizeable list of apps from Windows 11 (via Tom's Hardware😞

What does Tiny11 remove?

Alarms
Mail and Calendar
Feedback Hub
Maps
Sound Recorder
Your Phone
Media Player
QuickAssist
Tablet PC Math
Edge
OneDrive
Copilot
New Outlook Client

Clipchamp
News
Weather
Xbox (although Xbox Identity provider is still here, so it should be possible to be reinstalled)
GetHelp
GetStarted
Office Hub
Solitaire
PeopleApp
PowerAutomate
ToDo

What's more, NTDEV says Tiny11 Builder supports Windows 11 25H2. Microsoft is expected to ship Windows 11 version 25H2 between September and October to broad availability, but it won't ship with any new features.

It's also worth noting there's a more powerful iteration of the Tiny11 Builder called Tiny11 Core Builder, which is already available alongside the September 2025 release.

However, the developer has flagged Tiny11 Core Builder strictly for testing purposes and "a quick and dirty development testbed." For instance, it can make Windows 11 images much smaller but at the hefty cost of some serviceability features.

Windows 11 won't be Windows 10's default replacement

Despite Windows 10's imminent death, Windows 11 is increasingly starting to seem like the last option for users.

(Image credit: Future)

Is it just me, or is the list of alternatives to Windows 10 growing as its end-of-life approaches, pushing Windows 11 far from being the preferred or default upgrade? WINUX is probably the most recent example, which is basically a Linux distro that's been heavily inspired by Windows design elements.

While Microsoft has extended support for Windows 10 users beyond its official end-of-support date, the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) has petitioned the company’s decision, warning it could trigger the largest surge in discarded computers to date.

The group claimed Microsoft's ESU program feels like a last-minute snooze button, merely a band-aid on a bleeding system. Elsewhere, The Restart Project, co-developer of the End of 10 Toolkit (designed to support Windows 10 users after Microsoft ends official support), echoed PIRG's concerns, suggesting that the extended security updates program is not a viable solution. "It's obvious users are frustrated and feel yanked around," the group added.

Another group called End of 10 has been advocating for users to completely ditch Microsoft's ecosystem for Linux after Windows 10's end-of-support, citing a lack of ads and telemetry tracking as the main incentives for the huge jump.

A separate report suggested that Microsoft is poised to pocket up to $7 billion through its ESU program from enterprise clients by charging $61 per device. This has prompted multiple users to claim that Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 feels like "programmed obsolescence" designed to bolster Copilot+ PC sales and Windows 11 upgrades. At least we have a few other options now.

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Posted Tuesday 9 September 2025 at 3:25 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of August): 4,048

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