This week’s message from Torvalds is quite a bit longer than usual as he took the time to air a long-standing frustration with “useless ‘Link:’ entries” in commit messages. He criticized the practice, especially when these links point back to the original submission email, for wasting people’s time whenever digging for context. Torvalds said he has been complaining for years about this issue and says that links aren’t useful for debugging or tracking bugs, contrary to popular belief.

So that he doesn’t have to wade through links that provide no new information, Torvalds has asked contributors not to use tooling mindlessly. If developers want to include links, they should only be added if they are genuinely useful, such as pointing to bug reports or discussions that provide context.

As the fifth release candidate, we are getting quite close to the end of the Linux 6.17 release cycle. As Torvalds is complaining about pet peeves and not actual issues in the kernel, this is positive because it means the stable build may arrive after the seventh release candidate instead of an eighth RC. If nothing goes wrong between then and now, we can expect the new kernel on September 28.

So far, all of the release candidates have been pretty stable. The fact that much of the development took place in August, when developers are more likely to be on holiday, could be a reason for the stability, as fewer contributions are being made. While this seems like a positive now, it could mean more issues will crop up late in the cycle and delay the release.

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Posted Tuesday 9 September 2025 at 3:22 am AEST (my time).

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Following our publication, we reached out to Phison as the report had suggested that the company's engineers had confirmed the problem in the labs across certain Corsair, Silicon Power (SP), and Apacer drives.

Earlier today, Phison responded confirming the findings. The firm provided the following statement to Neowin:

In response to the recent PCDIY! Facebook post, Phison engaged the PCDIY! contact to investigate.

 

The results shown in the link below detail that Phison examined the exact SSDs used in the PCDIY! testing and determined PCDIY! was utilizing an engineering preview firmware, which is not the final firmware used in the CORSAIR FORCE SERIES MP600 SSD 2TB and other drives with the E16 controller available for sale to consumers on the market. Phison also replicated the PCDIY! tests on-site with the same SSD models and the same stress tests (100GB/1TB writes) utilizing consumer-available SSDs and found no failures or crashes.

Thus, Phison has confirmed that the stress tests managed to wear out drives when using a version of non-retail engineering firmware, at least in the case of the Corsair FORCE MP600 SSD that is based on the Phison E16 NAND controller.

We have also reached out to Corsair regarding the issue.

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Posted Monday 8 September 2025 at 5:55 pm AEST (my time).

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Until very recently it wasn’t clear what usage limits were placed on Gemini at the various tiers. Thankfully Google has finally updated its Help Center article detailing “Gemini Apps limits & upgrades for Google AI subscribers.”

Gone are the useless descriptors like “limited access” or vague statements like “we may at times have to cap the number of prompts and conversations you can have, or how much you can use some features, within a specific timeframe.” Instead it clearly states that you get up to five prompts a day with Gemini 2.5 Pro on a free account, 100 with an AI Pro plan, or 500 with AI Ultra.

Free accounts are also limited to five Deep Research reports and 100 generated images a day. If you need to make more than 100 AI generated images in a day, A: For what? B: Upgrading to a Pro or Ultra account will get you 1,000 images. You can check out the full breakdown here.

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Posted Monday 8 September 2025 at 12:56 pm AEST (my time).

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On September 9, 2025, Microsoft is scheduled to begin deploying the Patch Tuesday update for the ninth month of the year for Windows 11, which introduces expected security fixes and improvements, as well as a few new features.

In this particular release, the company is introducing a new homepage for the Recall app, and Click to Do gets a new interactive tutorial for Copilot+ PCs.

In addition, the September 2025 Security Update introduces a new option to display the clock with seconds in the Notification Center. Windows Search receives a grid view for photo results, while Windows Hello undergoes a massive design overhaul across the operating system, and the Settings app gains several new features.

Windows 11 just got better audio quality for voice calls and game chats. Improved support for Bluetooth Low Energy Audio (Bluetooth LE Audio) adds stereo to high-quality audio while using a microphone.

Windows 11 already supported Bluetooth LE Audio, but the feature was limited to using super wideband audio in mono while using voice.

You may have noticed that audio quality drops when using Bluetooth headphones and a microphone simultaneously on Windows 11. The behavior can show up when playing a game or using other apps, such as Microsoft Teams or Discord.

Microsoft explains why that was the case in a recent Tech Community blog post. Bluetooth Classic Audio was limited to two profiles: the Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) and the Hands-Free Profile (HFP). A2DP supports high-quality audio but does not allow a microphone to be used. In contrast, HFP lets you use a microphone but can only play mono audio in lower fidelity.

Eventually, A2DP and HFP were succeeded by Bluetooth LE Audio, which uses better audio compression to support "super wideband" audio fidelity (32kHz sample rate while using voice). Until recently, super wideband audio through Bluetooth LE Audio was limited to mono output.

The improved support means that audio quality remains clear when using game chat or apps like Microsoft Teams. Features like Teams Spatial Audio require stereo audio, so they have not been available over Bluetooth.

"When using an LE Audio device with a Windows 11 PC that supports super wideband stereo, the switch into game chat no longer causes an abrupt drop in audio quality," explained Microsoft.

"Game audio will now stay in stereo and stream at super wideband quality, which is a significant improvement over Bluetooth Classic!"

To use the new feature, you'll need a Bluetooth headset, earbuds, or assistive hearing device that supports Bluetooth LE Audio. A Windows 11 PC that supports LE Audio is also required. You can check if your PC supports the feature by following a guide from Microsoft.

You also need to upgrade your PC to Windows 11 version 24H2, and you may need to download audio drivers that will ship later this year.

What is Bluetooth LE Audio?

NTLMv1 has already been removed on 24H2 and Server 2025, and as such, the company has recently published a couple of guidance articles regarding it. Neowin noticed these while browsing.

In July, Microsoft shared a support article regarding NTLM auditing changes. This auditing is meant to help IT admins and system administrators identify NTLM usage at their organizations. Microsoft understands that despite the removal of NTLM, some organizations continue to rely on legacy NTLM authentication and thus it is crucial to have tools like these in place.

This official guide walks admins through how the NTLM settings can be configured by either the new "NTLM Enhanced Logging" Group Policy for client and server logging, or the new "Log Enhanced Domain-wide NTLM Logs" for domain-wide logging.

You can find the full details in this support article here under KB5064479.

While the first guidance piece was about auditing via Group Policy, the second one adds information related to a new Registry key addition about the "auditing" and "enforcement" of Credential Guard for blocking NTLMv1 cryptography. If you are wondering, Credential Guard, as the name suggests, locks out credentials safely from theft with the help of VBS, and the feature should help secure NTLM password hashes.

Details for the new Registry key are given below:

Microsoft has also shared the timeline of the rollout of these changes:

You can find more details about it in the support article here under KB5066470 on Microsof'ts official website.

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Posted Monday 8 September 2025 at 4:01 am AEST (my time).

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We've talked a lot about the impending end-of-life of Windows 10, and what folks can do if they can't, or choose not to upgrade to Windows 11. One of the options is to pay up for extended support, one of the options is to buy a new PC — which Microsoft would surely love — and one continually floated is to make a switch to Linux.

Linux is known for many things, one of which is legendary support for older hardware. But Linux can be a very different experience from Windows, and quite jarring for many who make the switch. I've already looked at one Linux distro that aims to be friendly to Windows refugees. AnduinOS was created by a Microsoft engineer, so it has the credentials.

WINUX is not, but having poked around with it, there's no denying that it's impressive. It looks almost identical to Windows 11, and not just because of the wallpaper and taskbar layout. It also feels closer to Windows 11 than many Linux distros I've tried over the years. Might it be the one for those who are seriously looking to switch, even if temporarily? It's certainly in the mix.

Ubuntu underneath, Windows 11 on top

Yeah, it's not a carbon copy, but it's the closest I've seen.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Whatever it looks like, WINUX is, of course, not Windows 11. It's Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, which means another four-ish years of support from now, since LTS releases promise five years, compared to the regular rolling releases. That's still quite a long time for any single version of an operating system.

 

While Ubuntu does the driving, out front is KDE Plasma, something you may have heard of. It's one of the more popular desktop environments on Linux, it's on the Steam Deck, and it's highly customizable. In essence, the Windows-ness of WINUX is a remarkably good theme for Plasma.

 

The taskbar looks right, the Windows logo and icons for some of the built-in apps look right, the Start Menu looks right, and even the right-click menu looks right. At a passing glance, most people would probably assume it was, in fact, Windows 11, even though it's not absolutely identical.

 

Some of the stock wallpapers are included from Windows 11, and so are some of the stock themes. There's even a settings app called PowerTools, which resembles the Windows 11 settings app, but it runs alongside the KDE Plasma equivalent, not instead of.

 

The Start Menu is a very close copy of Windows 11. 

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Copilot and Microsoft Edge come pre-installed. 

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Powertools is a settings app that closer resembles Windows 11. 

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Even the right-click menu has been accurately themed. 

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Start scratching, and you'll see the stock KDE apps where you would have Windows ones. The icon for the terminal looks like Windows Terminal, but it's KDE's Konsole. File Explorer is actually Dolphin, but, again, it's pretty close to the look and feel of the Windows app.

 

It's easy for someone who is fairly experienced using Linux to just say "you should try Linux", but the truth is the vast majority have only ever known Windows. The theming is doing a lot of the work in WINUX, but I can't stress enough how good a job it does. It's like a big old comfort blanket wrapped around you as you're venturing into the unknown.

 

The stereotype of Linux users living in the terminal doesn't have to be accurate, either. Installing apps, updating them, installing system updates, can all be done from the GUI apps on WINUX (as on many other flavors of Linux.) WINUX is probably the least scary Linux distro I've ever seen from the perspective of coming from Windows.

 

That's still remembering that, for Windows 10 users making the switch, even the look and feel is quite different. But it's certainly more approachable.

A distro set up to be easy to use out of the gate

Gamers are looked after with Heroic Game Launcher and Steam pre-installed. 

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Besides the excellent theme work, I also really appreciate that WINUX is set up to be easy for converts from the first second. You can't have Microsoft Office on Linux; it doesn't exist, but instead, you get pre-installed shortcuts to the web versions in the Start Menu.

 

Microsoft Edge for Linux is pre-installed as the stock browser, though Google Chrome is also already there if you prefer to go that way. Generally speaking, most Linux distros out there ship with Firefox, but with WINUX, you can be straight back into a browser you're familiar with from Windows.

 

Gamers are also looked after. Steam is pre-installed, as is Heroic Game Launcher, which is my own, preferred way of accessing Epic Games, GOG, and Amazon on both Linux and Windows. All you need to do is log in, and if you have AMD graphics on your PC, that's it. If you're using NVIDIA or Intel Arc, you still have drivers to get, though.

 

Yes, this isn't Windows. But with that kind of experience in mind, this is one of the better alternatives I've seen. And as our previous report on WINUX said, all without the red tape. It's really well done.

 

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Posted Monday 8 September 2025 at 3:59 am AEST (my time).

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Previously, installing uBlock Origin on Chrome relied on unexpiring M137 or M138 flags. Once that was done, Chrome allowed turning on Manifest V2 extensions using a bunch of other flags. Now, Chrome does not allow unexpiring those flags. As such, the only way to make uBlock Origin work is to modify the browser's shortcut.

1. Create a Chrome shortcut on your desktop or in the Start menu.
2. Right-click the shortcut and select "Properties."
3. Click the "Target" box, place one space and paste the following:
   --disable-features=ExtensionManifestV2Unsupported,ExtensionManifestV2Disabled
4. Save the shortcut and launch the browser.
5. Now, you can turn on uBlock Origin or download it once again from the Chrome Web Store using this link.

Installing uBlock Origin using the "Load Unpacked" feature (method 2 in this article) still works, but before using it, you need to enable the "Temporarily unexpire M139 flags" flag on Chrome 140 or the "Temporarily unexpire M140 flags" flag on Chrome 141.

Keep in mind that these remain temporary workarounds. Future Chrome updates will keep making it harder to run Manifest V2 extensions until it is no longer possible. As such, while you have workarounds, you have to plan your exit strategy and either move to a browser that still supports MV2 (Firefox, for example, or Opera) or a Manifest V3-based content blocker, such as uBlock Origin Lite.

As an online publication, Neowin relies on ads for operating costs, and if you use an ad blocker, we'd appreciate being whitelisted. In addition, we have an ad-free subscription for $28 a year, which is another way to show support!

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Posted Monday 8 September 2025 at 3:52 am AEST (my time).

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Following the launch, Outlook Lite has been quite a success for the company as it saw over five million downloads by the end of November 2023, and that number doubled in less than a year by August 2024.

Sadly for those who enjoy using the app, Microsoft has announced that it is retiring Outlook Lite. This is the third such recent depreciation announcement made by the company following ones for Microsoft Editor browser add-on and Microsoft Lens.

The process of removal starts next month October 6 2025. The company notes that "after this date, new installations will be blocked," though "existing users can continue using the app for a limited time before full retirement."

Microsoft instead recommends that users switch over to the Outlook Mobile app from Outlook Lite. It explains how to do so in steps:

To continue enjoying a secure and feature-rich email experience, we recommend switching to Outlook Mobile. Here's how to get started:

 

1. Within the notification section in your Outlook Lite app, select the Install Microsoft Outlook banner.
2. Or open the Google Play Store.
3. Search for Microsoft Outlook.
4. Download and install the app.
5. Log in with existing credentials to access email, calendar, and files.

This will be done automatically with no admin action required. For those who have access to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center portal can view the message under ID MC1148534.

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Posted Sunday 7 September 2025 at 2:20 pm AEST (my time).

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Following our report, Phison stated that it was looking into the problem as it appeared that some of its controllers were affected. About a week and a half later, the firm released its report after the investigation. However, affected users were left disappointed as Phison stated that it could not replicate the problem even after dedicating 4500 hours of thorough testing.

Soon enough Microsoft showed its own hand, reiterating what Phison had found, that it too did not see any link between drive failures and the August Patch.

Despite this there were murmurs around on social media that perhaps something escaped the testing of both Phison and Microsoft as some users continued to report similar problems on their SSDs.

Of course keep in mind that it is entirely possible that certain NVMe SSDs did indeed fail, but those had nothing to do with the Windows 11 24H2 update, and it was just a coincidence that they happened at a time when this report came out.

Finally though we may have some answers. A Chinese Facebook PC DIY enthusiast group named PCDIY! appeared to have discovered what the actual root cause of the issue really is. It appears that the real cause of the problem is pre-release versions of engineering firmware that somehow may have been triggered by the Windows 11 updates that led to the problems.

The PCDIY! group admin Rose Lee also claims that the issue was successfully verified by Phison engineers in the labs and this gives credibility to the report. Lee writes (Google-translated to English from Chinese):

PCDIY! testing has revealed that the SSDs crashing and crashing due to the Windows 11 update were using pre-release, pre-final versions of the engineering firmware. Because all SSD manufacturers selling products using PHISON controllers purchase their products from the original manufacturer and ship them in bulk using mass-production tools, the SSDs delivered to consumers are already using the official firmware. The official firmware has been thoroughly tested and verified, and does not exhibit the anomalies often seen with engineering firmware.

Thus it appears that anyone who purchased an NVMe SSD from a retail store should not have to worry as the final production firmware of drives do not have this issue, which is why Phison or Microsoft did not find any problems during their testing as it is likely only retail-ready products were tested.

If you are, however, encountering troubles of a similar nature then it is worth doing a firmware update on your SSD; but do ensure to back up your data before, just in case.

Phison has also added that the issue of the slowing down of drives is due to maxing out the SLC cache when running large data transfers. In such cases, users would need to run a Secure Erase to fix slowdown issues and a Windows format is simply not enough.

Source: PCDIY! (Facebook)

Thanks for the tip, Aryeh Goretsky!!!!

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Posted Sunday 7 September 2025 at 2:34 am AEST (my time).

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In Plasma 6.5, the "Flatpak Permissions" page in System Settings has expanded into a more general "Application Permissions" page. This addresses a long-standing issue with sandboxed applications. When apps running in Flatpak or Snap need special permissions to access something like the camera, xdg-desktop-portal prompts the user.

Previously, once you granted a permission, there was no central place to see or revoke it. The new settings page will now let you review these permissions, with options to pre-authorize requests or force a confirmation dialog every single time. It even allows you to manage saved screen casts and remote desktop sessions.

As for window focus stealing prevention, the settings on the Window Behavior page now do "sensible things on Wayland." You now have five options to configure how aggressively the system prevents windows from grabbing your attention.

At one end of the spectrum is "Extreme," which requires a valid activation token for every single focus request. At the other is "None," which just allows any application to take focus unconditionally. The default setting is "Low," which should lead to fewer failed activations while still keeping applications in check.

"Medium" and "High" offer intermediate steps, allowing activation if the last keyboard interaction was the enter key, so launching applications from a terminal still works correctly.

Other UI improvements coming to Plasma 6.5 include Discover now providing more detailed feedback about what it is doing while fetching updates, so you can tell which software source is slowing things down.

The monospace fonts you select in the Fonts settings page will now correctly sync to GTK applications, creating a more consistent look. In addition to that, KWin's blur effect has been made per-view, which improves how it looks when you are screencasting your desktop.

The team also worked on bug fixes for both Plasma 6.4.5 and Plasma 6.5. A notable fix in 6.4.5 improves the reliability of how screen settings are chosen and restored. For the upcoming 6.5 release, a fix prevents the Night Light feature from distorting colors in screenshots and screen recordings.

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Posted Saturday 6 September 2025 at 6:39 pm AEST (my time).

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If you are wondering, some of these features that are working again include the Simple Window Switcher (SWS), the option to "disable rounded corner", and more. Besides these, there are several other changes too. Microsoft has also made changes to the code such that the Windows 11 24H2 feature update should be downloadable and installable again for users who were not able to do so due to a safeguard block.

There is nothing specific related to upcoming Windows 11 version 25H2 though. The full changelog is given below:

• Start10: Fixed Pin to Start on 226x1.4541+ and 261xx.2454+. (#3984) (4ef3667, 123ea8b)
• sws: Added support for 24H2. (#3765)
• ep_dwm: Added support for 24H2. (#3555)
• ep_dwm.exe has been renamed to ep_dwm_svc.exe to get around 24H2 upgrade blocks. (115b462)
• ep_dwm: Now always unregistered on uninstallation, regardless of whether it was running during the uninstallation or not. (858b634)
• Setup: The failure message now displays the associated code line number that failed, to assist in troubleshooting. (c64a17e)
• Taskbar10: Fixed disabling immersive menus on ARM64. (8b4d8db)
• Taskbar10: Fixed Win+X menu still having Windows Terminal entries when Windows Terminal is not installed, that crashes Explorer when selected. (1b20cbd, 207f669)
  • For now, if you want to have PowerShell entries, Windows Terminal must be uninstalled.
• Taskbar10: Fixed Win+X entry clicks doing nothing on 26xxx.5551+ ARM64.
• GUI: Added dropdown indicators to dropdown entries. (9f71a5c)
• GUI: The language names now include the country name. (3f11766)
• Localization: Added Czech translations. (Thanks @9hb, @andrewz1986, and @Panzimy!)
• Localization: Added Spanish (Spain) translations. (Thanks @AlejandroMartiGisbert!)
• ep_taskbar: Added support for "Show desktop button: Hidden" setting. (#4020) (1be6658)
• ep_taskbar: Fixed a bug that prevented shortcut global hotkeys from working on 24H2. (#3777, #4016)
• ep_taskbar: Fixed a bug that prevented the taskbar from resizing properly after DPI changes. (#3796)
• ep_taskbar: Added the following languages: German, French, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Lithuanian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Spanish (Spain), Turkish, Ukrainian, Chinese (Simplified).
• ep_taskbar: Fixed a number of memory leaks and code/behavior inaccuracies.
• ❗ ep_taskbar: Fixed incompatibility with 26200.5603 (Dev), 26120.4151 (Beta), and 26100.4188 (Release Preview). (#4321)
• ep_taskbar: Now supports all Windows 10 versions supported by EP (17763/1809+). (aec8c70, 1edb989)

You can download version 22631.5335.68.2 of the app from its official GitHub repo. Keep in mind that this is a pre-release version and hence you can skip it and wait for the stable version in case you do not need to urgently resolve any issues.

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Posted Saturday 6 September 2025 at 1:23 pm AEST (my time).

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NTDEV, the maker of tiny11 and its related projects, announced the update for tiny11builder on their X account. The September 2025 update now works with any Windows 11 build and any language or architecture, thanks to improved PowerShell scripting capabilities. Besides that, tiny11builder can now remove stuff like Copilot and the universally disliked Outlook for Windows. Also, it has measures that prevent Windows 11 from installing the previously removed applications.

Finally, tiny11builder is now more efficient at making Windows images, resulting in much smaller ISO files, less prone to various errors and glitches, plus the release should be fully compatible with the upcoming Windows 11 version 25H2, which, unlike version 24H2, will be a "small" enablement package based on the previous release.

What makes tiny11builder stand out from other debloaters is that it uses only official tools created by Microsoft (such as DISM) and no scripts from external sources. The only exception is oscdimg.exe from Windows ADK and an open-source unattended answer file, which is necessary to bypass the Microsoft Account requirement during the initial setup.

Using tiny11builder is simple. All you need to do is download a Windows 11 image from the official website, mount the ISO and run the script. After that, sit back and watch it remove hundreds of megabytes of various stuff that many consider useless.

If you want to give tiny11builder a try (always mind the risks of using such software), head to the project's GitHub repository. Additionally, you can try other apps with similar capabilities, such as the recently updated Flyoobe.

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Posted Saturday 6 September 2025 at 1:19 pm AEST (my time).

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With today's updates, Microsoft is testing a bunch of new features for its operating system, such as Windows Studio Effects for external cameras, new accessibility features for Copilot+ PCs, some new buttons for File Explorer, and a handful of various fixes across the system.

New Copilot+ PC experiences

Introducing fluid dictation in voice access

Fluid dictation is a new feature in voice access on Copilot+ PCs, that makes voice-based dictation smoother and smarter. It automatically corrects grammar, punctuation, and filler words as you speak, reducing the need for manual editing. This experience is powered by on-device small language models (SLMs) so ensure fast and private processing. To use it, launch voice access and complete setup if you’re a first-time user. Fluid dictation is enabled by default – you can check or toggle it via the settings flyout in the top-right corner or simply say “turn on/off fluid dictation.”

It works in any text app but is disabled in secure fields like passwords or PINs to protect your privacy. Fluid dictation in voice access is currently available in all English locales and is available on all Copilot + PCs.

Making Windows Studio Effects available on additional cameras

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

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

NOTE: The required update for the Windows Studio Effects driver will first roll out to Intel®-powered Copilot+ PCs with the update rolling out for AMD and Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs in the coming weeks.

Here are other changes that are rolling out gradually:

[Agent in Settings]

• The following changes and improvements are rolling out for agent in Settings on Copilot+ PCs:
• We are beginning to roll out the new agent in Settings experience to Windows Insiders with their primary display language is set to French.

[File Explorer]

• File Explorer Home now offers on-hover actions for faster file management. Hovering over a file with your mouse in File Explorer Home will display commands like Open file location and Ask Copilot about this file. You will be able to try out the Copilot integration and attach files easily. This experience currently only works if you’re signed in with a Microsoft account. Work or school account (Entra ID) support is coming in a future flight. This change is not yet rolling out to Windows Insiders in the EEA (European Economic Area).

[Settings]

• Advanced Settings will revert to the previous “For Developers” experience after updating to this build. This change will come back soon.

Here is what was fixed:

[General]

• Fixed an underlying issue which was causing Insiders on certain devices to experience an unexpected increase in lag in various scenarios after the latest flights, including when interacting with File Explorer and taskbar (clicks could take 500ms to be processed), and browser windows (particularly when watching videos). Performance issues can have multiple causes, so if you’re continuing to experience issues, please let us know by filing feedback, including as many details as possible.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue which could cause the app preview windows in the taskbar to become misaligned (away from the app icon you’d clicked / hovered over) after a display resolution change.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where with certain apps installed, when you right clicked you may see the context menu unexpectedly switch back and forth with each right click between the normal initial view and “Show more options”.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue causing Settings > System > Storage > Temporary files to get stuck when scanning files.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue causing an event saying “The “Microsoft Pluton Cryptographic Provider” provider was not loaded because initialization failed” with error 57 to appear in Event Viewer for some Insiders after boot.

And here is the list of known bugs:

[General]

• [NEW] We’re investigating an issue causing some PCs to bugcheck (green screen) while hibernating after the previous flight. This may make it look like hibernation has shut down your PC. We recommend not hibernating your PC until this is fixed if you are experiencing this issue.

[File Explorer]

• For some users, the Shared section in File Explorer Home may be visible even if there is no content to display.

[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.

[Audio]

• [NEW] Some Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta Channels 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.

[Xbox Controllers]

• Some Insiders are experiencing an issue where using their Xbox Controller via Bluetooth is causing their PC to bugcheck. Here is how to resolve the issue. Open Device Manager by searching for it via the search box on your taskbar. Once Device Manager is open, click on “View” and then “Devices by Driver”. Find the driver named “oemXXX.inf (XboxGameControllerDriver.inf)” where the “XXX” will be a specific number on your PC. Right-click on that driver and click “Uninstall”.

You can find the announcement post for the Dev build here and for the Beta build here.

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Posted Saturday 6 September 2025 at 4:08 am AEST (my time).

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In a month (and change), Microsoft is slated to cut support for Windows 10, but it's apparent that most users are against this move, as they either can't upgrade to Windows 11 because their devices don't meet the strict system requirements. That, or they are just plain reluctant due to the operating system's apparent flawed design elements.

A public interest group (PIRG) filed a petition requesting Microsoft to reconsider its decision to pull the plug on Windows 10. While the software giant wasn't swayed to continue providing support for the operating system beyond the October 14, 2025, cutoff date, it has provided Windows 10 users with a 12-month lifeline through its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program.

Windows 10 users who choose to subscribe to the program will have to pay $30, which now supports up to 10 devices. Alternatively, you can sync your PC settings to the cloud via a Microsoft account or redeem 1,000 Microsoft Reward points to sign up for the program for free.

As Windows 10's death looms, tension is at an all-time high among users, with multiple people recently complaining on social media that they aren't able to sign up for the program. However, Microsoft confirmed that access to the program is rolling out to users in waves, further indicating that it will be available for all users before Windows 10's end-of-life.

The Restart Project, which helped co-develop the End of 10 Toolkit to support Windows 10 users who can't upgrade to Windows 11 by offering practical advice on how to adapt, has openly criticized Microsoft's ESU program, claiming that it feels like a last-minute snooze button, which only acts as a band-aid on a bleeding system:

This news comes after HP and Dell recently indicated that half of today's PC still run Windows 10 and will continue to do so beyond Microsoft's deadline. The PC makers further predicted that users will be more inclined toward Microsoft's ESU program for continued support for the operating system as they plan to upgrade to Windows 11 through 2026.

Elsewhere, multiple users claim that Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 feels like "programmed obsolescence" designed to bolster Copilot+ PC sales and Windows 11 upgrades.

While many of you know I’m still kinda “meh” on Windows 11 24H2, if you are on Windows 11 22H2 you are missing out on the good stuff. For example, I was helping someone the other day with an accounting issue and when I remoted into their computer and did what I normally do when cutting and pasting something, I realized their right mouse click on their Windows 11 machine did not have WORDS above the icons for cut and paste. One of the changes that Microsoft did based on our feedback was putting words in the menu of the right mouse click so that you didn’t have to look at the funky copy icon and go …. what exactly is that? Instead it has the word “copy”. So I sat there for a brief moment wondering what exact version of Windows 11 this was on since it’s been a long time since that was rolled up. Sure enough that workstation was still on Windows 11 22H2.

After we get past Windows 10’s end of life which really won’t be a end of life for pretty much everyone, we will truly have to deal with the end of life for Windows 11 23H2.

Windows 11 Home and Pro, version 23H2 will reach the end of updates on November 11, 2025. This version was released in October of 2023.  This edition will no longer receive security updates after November 11, 2025. Customers who contact Microsoft Support after this date will be directed to update their device to the latest version of Windows 11 to remain supported.

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Posted Saturday 6 September 2025 at 3:44 am AEST (my time).

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Alongside that, the company had promised that ISOs would also become available this week for users to try and test it out. Sadly for those who were eager to try the ISOs out, the company has confirmed that it is not happening, yet. The company has updated the changelog for the announcement and it now states:

[UPDATE 9/4] The ISOs for Windows 11, version 25H2 are delayed and coming soon.

Aside from that, Microsoft also confirmed that Windows 11 25H2 will not be a full OS swap, unlike 24H2. Instead, the move from version 24H2 to 25H2 will be more like what happened on 23H2 when users upgraded from Windows 11 22H2. Version 25H2 will be delivered as an enablement package (eKB).

According to Microsoft, 25H2 and 24H2 "share the same core operating system and identical system files." So the latest monthly quality update for 24H2 will have 25H2’s new features, but they will simply remain dormant until activated, which can be done via the eKB, a small, quick-to-install update that acts as a "master switch". Once applied, it upgrades 24H2 to 25H2 with a single restart thus reducing system downtime.

That does not mean there won't be any underlying changes though. Drivers for example could see the biggest improvement perhaps as the company recently explained. And there is a high possibility we will see the OS heading up towards the clouds propelled by AI.

Microsoft also pointed out some of the new features Windows 11 25H2 will have, like the new ways in which pre-installed Microsoft Store apps could be wiped, as well as the removal of features like PowerShell 2.0.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 5:26 pm AEST (my time).

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That gecko's up to something.

Firefox already has 4 chatbots: Anthropic Claude, ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Le Chat Mistral. Windows Report's Venkat (the Techdows guy), spotted the addition of Copilot in the side panel of Firefox Nightly.  Mozilla has been working on bringing Copilot to Firefox for nearly a year.

When you select Copilot on the sidebar, the panel describes the AIs features briefly. You can use Copilot in Firefox without an account, but there are some restrictions like daily limits, no personalization, sync chats, shorter responses, etc. The chatbot can be used to generate text, images, code, and analyze images. Users with a premium subscription can access more features.

Click on a new chat, and you should see "Quick response", click on this button to switch between 3 modes.

The default option, Quick Response, is the fastest as the AI responds in a couple of seconds, and is suited for daily conversations. Think Deeper, as the name suggests, makes the AI think longer (about 10 seconds). The final option is Smart, which uses GPT-5, and automatically thinks deeply or quickly based on the task. You can also use voice mode to interact with Copilot, or upload images and documents that you want it to analyze.

It can also summarize pages. Right-clicking on a web page, or a tab on the tab bar also offers access to Copilot's summarization features. You can also access Copilot's menu by selecting text.

Don't want these shortcuts? Just click on Remove copilot. Right-click again, and it will replace the option with "Ask a chatbot", this can also be removed.

I'm not going to defend Mozilla's decision, it's up to the user to decide whether they want to use AI or not. Copilot in Firefox (and the other AIs), can all be turned off permanently. They don't run in the background, constantly monitoring you. Click on the AI's shortcut in the sidebar to access it, use it and close it. That's it. It's basically a shortcut to the AI service's website, but in a sidebar to provide quick access, which may be of value to some people. I'm not one of those people, and that's perfectly okay.

I have kept all AI features disabled in my main Firefox. If you want to disable AI features in Firefox, open about:config, accept the risks.

Paste these in the text field, one at a time:

browser.ml.enable browser.ml.chat.enabled browser.ml.chat.menu browser.ml.chat.page browser.ml.chat.shortcuts

Set their value to false. There you go, no AI features for you.

In addition to this, you can also disable Smart Tab Groups, and Link Previews using the following preferences.

browser.tabs.groups.smart.enabled browser.ml.linkPreview.enabled

Just search for browser.ml and you will see a lot of options.

For those of you who want to try Copilot, download Firefox Nightly from Mozilla's FTP servers.

As a reminder, Vivaldi recently announced it won't be adding any AI features to its browser.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 5:24 pm AEST (my time).

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In the past few weeks, Flyoobe has received numerous updates, with the previous version, that is 1.6, bringing a smarter "debloater" and updated OOBE views. The developer has recently released version 1.7, along with another update to fix some bugs.

Starting off with version 1.7, people who hate the way Microsoft has been stuffing AI features into Windows 11 will be pleased to know that there is an OOBE view that allows you to discover and disable all AI and Copilot features after the installation of the OS. Moreover, the OOBE view that handles bloat removal has been enhanced too, and now allows presets ranging from Minimal to Full, along with the ability to load custom presets from GitHub.

Furthermore, the "Backup installed drivers" feature has been improved to support export to custom folders. In addition, the developer has fixed a critical High DPI bug, made changes to the UI, and refactored the overall code.

Shortly after this release, version 1.7.284 was released as a hotfix, the change log can be viewed below:

• Fixed a critical bug in the ESU Enrollment package where the selected parameter wasn’t actually being executed. You can now pass the correct parameter for local or online accounts directly, just as documented in the ConsumerESU script.
• The brand-new OOBE page for exploring and disabling AI in Windows 11 (first introduced yesterday) has been reworked at its core. It now digs even deeper to uncover the ways AI is embedded throughout Windows 11

Flyoobe 1.7.284 can be downloaded through our dedicated Software stories section here, but do keep in mind that there is a risk associated with customizing your Windows installation in unintended ways, so only download this software if you trust the developer.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 2:14 pm AEST (my time).

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For those unaware, Access 2016 and 2019 are available as a part of Office 2016 and 2019 suites, and since those products are reaching EOL on October 14, so are their bundled versions of Access. Microsoft Access is a relatively simple database management system (DBMS) compared to SQL Server and is primarily meant for environments with basic use-cases, limited concurrency requirements, and basic security. However, it is an enterprise product at the end of the day.

Microsoft has told customers that while Access 2016 and 2019 will continue to function after October 14, they will no longer receive security and non-security updates, bug fixes, new features, or any form of support, even if customers offer to pay Microsoft for troubleshooting guidance.

What this means is that even if vulnerabilities are discovered in either of these applications, Microsoft will not patch them. As such, customers who continue using them will be exposed to cybersecurity risks since Access may be leveraged as an attack surface by malicious actors.

Microsoft has urged customers to upgrade to a supported version of Access. This can be Access 2021 or 2024 available through Office 2021 and Office 2024, respectively, but Redmond's recommendation is to get a perpetual license through the Microsoft 365 Apps subscription. Microsoft explains that this unlocks further benefits through Microsoft 365 such as AI features, cloud storage, and other cloud-connected experiences. The firm has assured customers that they do not need to be afraid of subscriptions, they'll get the same desktop application along with many other benefits.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 2:12 pm AEST (my time).

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The upcoming policy updates were shared by Microsoft on its Microsoft 365 (M365) admin center portal. Speaking of which, the company is also going to introduce another change much sooner, and this time in regard to the New Outlook for Windows per a new entry. According to it, the tech giant has essentially devised a new way to quietly get users onto the new app from the classic one without "forcing" it.

This has been high on the priority list for Microsoft to convince users and make them switch. In fact, in June earlier this year, the company published a blog post laying out all the benefits users get from switching and why the new application is not as bad as some users may feel.

To be fair to such users, they may have a reason to be upset at the company's progress given that Microsoft's focus has mainly been shifted towards adding Copilot elements to more of its apps, and Outlook has not been an exception. As such, features that users may feel are more useful are seemingly falling behind on the company's priority list.

About the new change, Microsoft specifically notes how its intention is not to "force the launch or usage of new Outlook". Here is what it writes:

To simplify the transition experience, starting in October 2025, Microsoft Outlook will automatically set up users’ classic Outlook accounts and settings in the new Outlook for Windows—seamlessly and in the background—if certain conditions are met. This enhancement enables users to work across both Outlook experiences without manual setup or toggling.

 

Note: This update does not change the previously communicated migration opt-out timelines: January 2026 for EDU and April 2026 for Enterprise.

 

Note: This update does not force the launch or usage of the new Outlook, nor does it modify any existing classic Outlook settings or defaults.

 

Current Channel Production (General Availability): We will begin the roll out in October 2025 and continue to expand it over the next few months.

Microsoft also adds that this new feature will be "on by default and does not require user interaction unless opting out." Those who have access to the M365 Admin Center portal can view the message under ID MC1147392.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 2:10 pm AEST (my time).

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Starting with ReSharper, the popular extension for Visual Studio, JetBrains has made a significant addition for game developers. JetBrains says you can now take advantage of Unity-specific inspections and cleanup rules, which have been added to the Command Line Tools.

This brings some consistency when you add code analysis to your CI server, like Jenkins and TeamCity, because the command line results will now match what you see in the IDE. For C++ developers, ReSharper C++ now runs in its own Out-of-Process (OOP) mode, even when installed without the full ReSharper suite.

The Out-of-Process mode itself was introduced as a public preview back in 2025.2, and this update builds on it by allowing C++ unit tests to run in that mode. JetBrains also restored the proper behavior of IDE shortcuts and fixed a Visual Studio freeze that could happen when opening the extensions menu.

Moving on to the standalone IDE for .NET devs, Rider, the team fixes an issue where the debugger would halt on exceptions without allowing execution to continue. In the previous version, there was an issue where the AI Assistant could get confused in a C# project and send the wrong C++ code snippets instead of the correct C# code. That has now been fixed.

If you use Godot, you'd be pleased to hear that GDScript files are now properly recognized as part of the solution, so they will appear in search results as expected. Other fixes include the Unit Test Explorer no longer showing duplicate entries for tests, and Edit & Continue once again functions correctly when you are using embedded debug symbols. Dynamic Program Analysis on Windows will also correctly clean up its snapshot files now.

In case you missed it, JetBrains recently made RubyMine, the company's IDE for Ruby, free for non-commercial use. This joins a host of other IDEs from the company that have free, non-commercial options, like CLion and WebStorm. A non-commercial license is valid for one year and renews automatically if you have used the IDE in the last six months of your subscription.

You can learn more from the official JetBrains blog.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 2:09 pm AEST (my time).

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Basically, Microsoft is integrating Copilot with OneDrive in File Explorer and the OneDrive Activity Center accessed from the taskbar in Windows. The company believes that this will enable customers to unlock the true potential of their cloud storage solution.

In terms of user experience (UX), users will be able to right-click on a file in File Explorer and hover over OneDrive in the context menu, which will show them a set of Copilot functions that they can leverage directly. Similarly, those utilizing the OneDrive Activity Center will be able to click the three-dots menu next to individual files to use Copilot.

Tangible functionalities in this integration include summarization of documents, generation of frequently asked questions (FAQs), and the ability to ask specific questions. Interestingly, those leveraging the Copilot experience in File Explorer will also be able to compare up to five files, which will result in an output table highlighting the differences between each document.

Speaking of files, it is important to note that photos and videos are not currently supported. File types supported by Microsoft 365 Copilot include:

• Microsoft 365 documents (DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLSX, FLUID, LOOP)
• Universal formats (PDF, TXT, RTF)
• Web files (HTM, HTML)
• OpenDocument formats (ODT, ODP)

In order to take advantage of these functionalities, you should be a subscriber to Microsoft 365 Personal or Family, and your files must be stored on OneDrive.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 2:08 pm AEST (my time).

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As Windows 10's end-of-life edges closer, it seems like all hope isn't lost. An estimated 400 million PCs are still running the operating system despite its imminent, leading to the single biggest jump in junked computers and e-waste.

But thanks to a neat app called Flyoobe (formerly Flyby11) Windows 10 users can bypass Microsoft's stringent hardware requirements, including the 4GB RAM, TPM 2.0, UEFI with Secure Boot, and more, making it easier to install Windows 11 in dated PCs.