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.

6502 BASIC is among the most historically significant pieces of software from Microsoft in the early computer era. It even pre-dates the decades-old MS-DOS and Windows, which became the company's identity in later years.

Microsoft has previously open-sourced the code for the GW-BASIC interpreter originally released in 1983. But up until now, only fragments and unofficial copies of 6502 BASIC had circulated online, mirrored on retrocomputing sites, and preserved in museum archives.

Built for the MOS Technology 6502 8-bit microprocessor, 6502 BASIC is an adaptation of the BASIC-80 interpreter Microsoft built for Intel 8080 processors. 6502 offered support for full BASIC implementation, floating-point arithmetic, arrays, string handling, and input/output operations, among its features.

The programming language interpreter was important because it introduced millions of users to personal computing and became the de facto standard. Microsoft notes that its design patterns and conventions influenced programming languages and development tools in later years.

Bill Gates and Ric Weiland completed 6502's port in 1976 and licensed it to Commodore for a $25,000 flat fee in 1977. The deal paved the way for the Commodore BASIC dialect on 8-bit computers like the PET, VIC-20, and Commodore 64. 6502 BASIC also made its way to the Apple II as an adaptation known as Applesoft BASIC.

Microsoft said that the open-sourced version "contains fixes to the garbage collector identified by Commodore and jointly implemented in 1978 by Commodore engineer John Feagans and Bill Gates, when Feagans traveled to Microsoft’s Bellevue offices."

It also includes a Bill Gates easter egg hidden in the labels STORDO and STORD0, which was confirmed by the Microsoft co-founder in 2010.

6502 BASIC has powered a wide variety of hardware, including the Atari 2600 and the Nintendo Entertainment System. Its return in an open source avatar could entice hobbyists, tech historians, and hardware tinkerers, who might want to experiment with it on modern hardware. It's complemented by the rising retro-computing trend with emulator projects and FPGA-based recreations like the Commodore 64 Ultimate.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 3:36 am AEST (my time).

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So far, the Windows 10 August Patch did not spawn any major issues, though that is about to change as a new problem has been confirmed by Microsoft and this one impacts both Windows 11 as well as Windows 10. Server platforms are affected too.

The new bug is related to UAC (User Account Control) as Windows, after the August 2025 Patch, no longer allows non-administrator users to perform certain operations on the OS, including installation of some apps under certain scenarios. Microsoft gives the example of Office Professional Plus 2010 wherein it notes that trying to install it as a standard user will lead to failure "with Error 1730 during the configuration process." Thus, it is probably fair to say that the issue impacts a large number of users out there.

Microsoft notes that the issue is a result of a patch that was deployed with these updates as a means to address a Windows Installer (MSI) authentication vulnerability under CVE-2025-50173. In an entry on its Windows Health dashboard website, the company has described the problem in detail and highlighted the impacted scenarios:

.... after installing the August 2025 Windows security update and later updates, UAC prompts for administrator rights can appear for standard users in the following scenarios:

 

• Running MSI repair commands (such as msiexec /fu).
• Launching Autodesk applications, including some versions of AutoCAD, Civil 3D and Inventor CAM, or when installing an MSI file after a user signs into the app for the first time.
• Installing applications that configure themselves per user.
• Running Windows Installer during Active Setup.
• Deploying packages via Manager Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr) that rely on user-specific "advertising" configurations.
• Enabling Secure Desktop.

The workaround is fairly simple given the nature of the bug: run the app as an administrator, ie, with elevated privileges. In case that option is not available, Microsoft says that admins can resort to mitigate it by installing and configuring a special Group Policy using Known Issue Rollback (KIR).

Hopefully with the Windows Update deployment improvements Microsoft is adding next year, these issues would be caught before they are released widely.

You can find the issue entry here on Microsoft's official Windows Health dashboard website.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 3:33 am AEST (my time).

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Mozilla published a notification on the official Firefox release calendar website with details about the end of Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 support. It says the following:

We decided to extend support for ESR 115 only on Windows 7-8.1 and macOS 10.12-10.14 up to March 2026. We will re-evaluate this decision in February 2026 and announce any updates on ESR 115's end-of-life then.

Firefox is the only mainstream browser that still gets security updates for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, which went out of support in January 2023. Mainstream Windows 10 support is ending in one month, and manufacturers and developers are already planning their strategy to end drivers and software support. Mozilla, meanwhile, still releases updates for Firefox 115 ESR on Windows 7.

In late 2024, one of Mozilla's engineers said that supporting Windows 7 with its tiny market share is not free, and it is "getting increasingly painful due to the divergence which naturally happens over time." However, the browser still has enough Windows 7 users to justify expenses on backporting security updates to Firefox 115 ESR.

Considering that Mozilla used the same message as the last time it decided to extend Windows 7 support, it is possible that we would see more updates for Firefox 115 ESR on Windows 7 beyond February 2026. You can find more information about Firefox releases on the official website.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 3:30 am AEST (my time).

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As expected, Linux Mint 22.2 is a long-term support (LTS) release and is supported until 2029. There are tons of improvements in this release, such as the rounded corners in Sticky notes, now compatible with Wayland and an Android companion app called StyncyNotes. The login screen has support for user avatars and a blur effect in the panel and dialog box. In addition, the IPTV streaming application Hypnotix boasts a new Theater Mode and a Borderless Mode, along with performance improvements and behavior changes for the sound volume slider.

As mentioned previously, native fingerprint login support is now available through the Fingwit XApp. Furthermore, libAdwaita has been patched to work with themes. The gnome-calendar, simple-scan, and baobab apps have been upgraded to their respective libAdwaita versions, while XDG Desktop Portal XApp supports accent colors.

There are numerous other enhancements available for other XApps, theme, the presence of the blue color in themes, artwork, and more. The Software Manager welcome screen has been revamped too, and app pages now contain an "info" button that explains the difference between a Flatpak and system packages.

There are several known issues in this release too, but you can check out available workarounds in the release notes here. Keep in mind that Linux Mint 22.2 leverages Linux kernel 6.14 and an Ubuntu Noble package base. The developers will continue working on this base until 2026, which means that any future releases of Mint up until that point should be very easy to upgrade too. Finally, it is important to remember that security updates for Linux Mint 22.2 Zara will be delivered until 2029, since it is an LTS release.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 3:28 am AEST (my time).

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Tensions seem to be at an all-time high for Windows 10 users, especially for those who can't upgrade to Windows 11 pending its predecessor's end-of-life status, which is slated to take place in just a little over a month from now, on October 14, 2025.

Recently, multiple users lodged complaints that they aren't able to sign up for Microsoft's extended security updates program for Windows 10 amid the tight deadline, but the company has since confirmed that it will be available for all users before it cuts support for the expiring operating system.

Despite Microsoft's reassurance, Windows 10's imminent death continues to be a major concern for plenty of avid users, as highlighted by a Reddit user in the 'anticonsumption' subreddit. They posted a screenshot featuring a notice by Microsoft, which indicated that it will be ending support for Windows 10 and encouraged users to buy a new PC that supports Windows 11 to continue receiving security updates.

"Programmed obsolescence sucks," added 'in2ufferablebriick'. They revealed that the device they were using was 5 years old and that it had already been discontinued, including the availability of any repair parts. The Redditor had already used parts from another PC to upgrade the battery and RAM (memory).

Programmed (or planned) obsolescence is an implied business strategy leveraged to design products that are destined to need replacing over time. It's a technique that's used to get consumers to buy and upgrade their devices more frequently. In most cases, you'll find that these devices are easy to break and hard to repair or incompatible with new operating systems.

As you may know, one major deterrent that prevents Windows 10 users from upgrading to Windows 11 is Microsoft's stringent hardware requirements for the operating system, coupled with flawed design elements. Another Reddit user had made a similar argument about planned obsolescence 2 years ago [sic]:

"Man My laptop keyboard is "Not working". But that is not true at all it is 100% a driver mal function and I'd even say it is being done on purpose. and why? Simple, it works on Bios. and when i changed the ram memory and ssd it suddenly installed and updated drivers and worked again for a week. today i restarted the system and suddenly had the same issue."

While Microsoft is improving Windows 11's dark mode by finally applying it to various Win32 surfaces, the operating system still does not know how to switch themes automatically. If you want to enable dark mode on sunset and disable it on sunrise, you have to opt for third-party apps like Auto Dark Mode from the Microsoft Store. Now, this capability is coming to PowerToys.

The next PowerToys update will let you schedule when Windows 11 should switch its theme. Here is what Microsoft said:

We are planning some nice new features and improvements for next month – a revamped Keyboard Manager UI, and a new utility that can automatically switch between light and dark mode based on your schedule! Stay tuned!

It is a bit odd that Microsoft still won't make theme switching a native Windows 11 feature. Perhaps, it will eventually make it to the operating system after spending some time as part of PowerToys. After all, there was a time when the ability to change display resolution was a PowerToys module (back in the days of Windows 95), so hopefully, Microsoft will make this advance feature part of Windows 11 or whatever comes after it sometime in the future.

In addition to theme switching, PowerToys 0.95 will introduce a redesigned Keyboard Manager UI. Its first images appeared all the way back in January 2024, and Microsoft is finally ready to ship it to the public.

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Posted Thursday 4 September 2025 at 4:39 am AEST (my time).

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PowerToys has a new tool to help you keep track of and manage your PC's keyboard shortcuts. The app now has a hotkey conflict detection system in its settings to help resolve conflicting shortcuts.

Since PowerToys has a growing collection of utilities, many of which have associated shortcuts, there's a good chance that you'll run into a conflict at some point. The new feature will highlight conflicts to help you assign different hotkeys.

The latest PowerToys update brings the app to version 0.94. It also adds a "Gliding cursor" accessibility feature to Mouse Pointer Crosshairs, which is a relatively new utility that has returned to PowerToys after a hiatus.

Below are the highlights from the update, as well as a full changelog courtesy of the PowerToys GitHub page.

PowerToys v0.94: Highlights

• PowerToys Settings added a Settings search with fuzzy matching, suggestions, a results page, and UX polish to make finding options faster.
• A comprehensive hotkey conflict detection system was introduced in Settings to surface and help resolve conflicting shortcuts. Note that the default hotkey settings (Win+Ctrl+Shift+T, Win+Ctrl+V, Win+Ctrl+T, Win+Shift+T) may overlap with existing Windows system shortcuts. This is expected. You can resolve the conflict by assigning different hotkeys.
• Mouse Utilities added a “Gliding cursor” accessibility feature to Mouse Pointer Crosshairs for single‑button cursor movement and clicking. Thanks @mikehall-ms!
• The installer was upgraded to WiX 5 after WiX 3 reached end-of-life; this move improved installer security, reliability, and community support.
• Tons of bug fixes and improvements for Command Palette, including visual updates and new support for filters on ListPages (handy for extension developers).
• Hosts Editor now has a “No leading spaces” option so active host entries can start at column 0 even if others are disabled. Thanks @mohammed-saalim!
• Context menu registration was moved from the installer to runtime to avoid loading disabled modules (runtime registrations).
• Quick Accent now supports Maltese, and frequently used accents appear first (and are remembered across sessions). Thanks @rovercoder! @davidegiacometti!

PowerToys v0.94: Changelog

Always on Top

• Fixed the border hover cursor so it shows the arrow instead of the wait cursor. Thanks @davidegiacometti!

Command Palette

• Applied single-click activation only to pointer input; keyboard always activates immediately. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Let context menus open at the cursor by removing window-bound constraints. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Made error messages clearer with timestamps, HRESULTs, and full details for easier diagnosis. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Prevented crashes and improved robustness when updating providers without commands. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Ensured the Settings window reliably comes to the front when opened. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Replaced the Clipboard History icon with a colorful Fluent icon. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Hardened ContentIcon to avoid duplicate parenting and improve diagnostics. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Standardized null checks using C# pattern matching for safer behavior.
• Improved accessibility by focusing the activation shortcut dialog and making text reachable. Thanks @chatasweetie!
• Moved the extension SDK to a stable Windows SDK and cleaned up message namespaces.
• Added path shortcuts: ~ to home, and / or \ to system root, plus UNC support. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Fixed a race in cancellation handling to avoid InvalidOperationException. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Aligned separator styling with WinUI 3 for consistent visuals. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Added ARM64 PDBs to the Extensions SDK NuGet for better debugging.
• Added single-select filters to DynamicListPage and updated Windows Services sample.
• Updated main page placeholder text to better describe what can be searched. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Removed explicit WinAppSDK/WebView2 dependencies from toolkit and API. Thanks @rluengen!
• Added a local keyboard hook to handle the GoBack key reliably. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Propagated alias changes safely and resolved conflicts across view models.
• Allowed providers to override Dispose with a virtual method.
• Fixed memory leaks by cleaning up removed or cancelled list items.
• Sorted DateTime extension results by relevance for better usability.
• Reduced search text “jiggling” by avoiding redundant change notifications.
• Centralized automation notifications in a UIHelper for better accessibility. Thanks @chatasweetie!
• Preserved Adaptive Card action types during trimming via DynamicDependency.
• Added an acrylic backdrop and refined styling to the context menu. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Prevented disposed pages and Settings windows from handling stale messages. Thanks @jiripolasek!
• Made the extension API easier to evolve without breaking clients.
• Added “evil” sample pages to help reproduce tricky bugs.
• Fixed WinGet trim-safety issues by replacing LINQ with manual iteration.
• Cancelled stale list fetches to avoid older results overwriting newer ones in CmdPal.

Command Palette extensions

• Improved empty states and ranking logic for multiple extensions. Thanks @htcfreek!
• Added app icons to the All Apps "Run" context command when available.
• Restored missing builtin icons by standardizing extension dependencies.
• Unblocked local deployment by adding WinAppSDK to two sample extensions.

Hosts File Editor

• Added a "No leading spaces" option so active hosts entries can start at column 0 even when others are disabled. Thanks @mohammed-saalim!

Image Resizer

• Fixed Image Resizer localization by installing satellite resources under the WinUI 3 apps culture path.

Mouse Utilities

• Introduced "Gliding cursor" to control the pointer and click with a single hotkey for better accessibility. Thanks @mikehall-ms!

Mouse Without Borders

• Blocked Easy Mouse from switching machines during fullscreen apps, with an allow-list for exceptions. Thanks @dot-tb!

Peek

• Added Visual Studio shared project file types to XML preview and fixed bgcode handler registration. Thanks @rezanid!
• Fixes bgcode preview handler registration and events for reliable previews. Thanks @pedrolamas!

PowerRename

• Changed the Explorer accelerator key to PowErRename to avoid clashing with the New menu. Thanks @aaron-ni!

Quick Accent

• Remembered character usage across sessions so frequently used accents appear first. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Added Maltese language support with specific characters and the Euro symbol. Thanks @rovercoder!
• Reduced GPU usage issues by making the window Topmost only when the picker is visible. Thanks @daverayment!

Settings

• Added telemetry to track usage of the new shortcut conflict detection workflow.
• Moved the shutdown action from the title bar to a footer menu item with confirmation. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Implemented comprehensive hotkey conflict detection with a dedicated resolution dialog.
• Added branded visuals for Office and Copilot keys in the KeyVisual control.
• Introduced Settings search with fuzzy matching and navigation to specific controls.
• Corrected Spanish localization so product names like Awake remain in English across Settings and OOBE.
• Simplified the Advanced Paste description in Settings for quicker reading and consistent capitalization. Thanks @OldUser101!
• Localized conflict messages in the conflict window and dialog.

Installer

• Upgraded the installer to WiX 5 with silent "Files in Use" handling for smoother winget installs.
• Switched Win10 context menu modules to runtime registration and added cleanup on uninstall to avoid stale entries.

Documentation

• Adds docs for building the installer locally and testing winget installs.
• Fixed a broken style guide link in developer documentation. Thanks @denizmaral!

Development

• Excluded test and coverage DLLs from BinSkim scans to cut false positives and speed up security analysis.
• Simplified NOTICE maintenance by removing version numbers and filtering out Microsoft/System packages.
• Improved NuGet dependency validation to prevent package downgrades and catch issues during restore.
• Updated UTF.Unknown to a modern version to improve compatibility without breaking changes. Thanks @304NotModified!
• Refreshed package catalog in CI before installing dependencies to prevent Linux workflow failures.
• Refactored CmdPal tests with dependency injection and added coverage for queries and settings.
• Added unit tests to verify Close on Enter swaps Copy/Save as expected. Thanks @mohammed-saalim!
• Added accessibility IDs to CmdPal UI for stable UI tests.
• Rewrote system command tests with a new test base and cleaner patterns.
• Added unit tests for WebSearch and Shell extensions with mockable settings.
• Added unit tests and abstractions for Apps and Bookmarks extensions.
• Cleans up AI‑generated tests; adds meaningful query tests across extensions.
• Removed the obsolete debug dialog from Settings for a smoother developer loop.

What is PowerToys?

If you weren't already convinced, Microsoft reiterated a day later how Autopatch was the safest way to do so after explaining why updates would no longer require reboots. Similarly OOBE updates are also getting a makeover starting with KB5065848, KB5065847, and KB5065813.

Aside from those, Microsoft this week has revealed that it is working on new Windows Quality Update management policies which are set to release in early 2026. The company has not revealed a ton of details about it except that they apply in the case of non-security preview releases and out of band updates. The tech giant plans to preview the release in January 2026 with the general availability planned for in February 2026.

Here is how the feature is described in its new Microsoft 365 roadmap entry:

Microsoft Intune: Windows Quality Update management policies

 

Manage individual Windows quality updates including non-Security and out of band updates. Choose which update types to automatically approve and the rollout options for those approvals.

You can find the entry here under ID 501449 on the official Microsoft 365 roadmap.

For those wondering how Windows Update configuration policies work on Intune, Microsoft offers four policy types as a means to manage updates. They are for update rings, feature updates, quality updates (which applies in this case), and driver updates.

Update rings define when devices install updates, with options to defer quality updates by up to 30 days and feature updates by up to 365 days. Admins can also allow or block driver updates and set uninstall periods for feature releases.

Feature updates policies let IT teams lock devices to a specific Windows version, like say Windows 11 25H2, until the policy changes. This approach keeps the feature set stable while still permitting security and quality updates. Systems already on a newer version remain unchanged unless targeted for rollback within the configured uninstall window.

Quality updates policies can expedite or push the latest security fixes early without altering existing servicing and deployment schedules. This can be used to address critical vulnerabilities more quickly.

Finally, driver update policies let admins review, approve or pause the deployments of driver updates. Similar to the other updates, this is crucial to determine the best, most compatible drivers are given the green signal.

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Posted Wednesday 3 September 2025 at 5:42 pm AEST (my time).

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In July Microsoft shared some of the initial details about how the Surface team at the company was helping in this area with the creation of the new open-source windows-drivers-rs project which is essentially a platform meant to help with Windows driver development in Rust.

Following that, today, the company has released more details about the progress it is making. To help make Rust drivers easier, and like how it is on C, the company has introduced a new cargo-wdk crate as part of windows-drivers-rs. This Cargo extension generates empty driver projects with preconfigured linkage, build steps, and dependencies, and can invoke WDK tools such as InfVerif, similar to how it is when building a driver in C in Visual Studio.

For those wondering what the deal is about Rust, the language provides memory safety unlike traditional programming languages like C, such that memory-related security vulnerabilities can be shut out; plus it offers excellent C/C++ driver code interoperability as well, making the transition easier.

Microsoft says that the long-term aim is to provide Rust developers in a Cargo environment with the same build tools and configuration options available in Visual Studio, while medium-term plans include automatic WDK installation, NT_TARGET_VERSION support, full ARM64 support, and more.

Currently, Microsoft notes that windows-drivers-rs enables certain driver types in Rust but still requires significant use of unsafe code. The tech giant has also highlighted how the Windows Driver Framework (WDF) team is working with Rust experts to design safer abstractions for KMD (kernel mode drivers) and UMD (user mode drivers). Other Microsoft teams are developing safe structs and APIs beyond WDF for both core kernel and third-party driver development. Some of these are already shipping in the Windows kernel.

For those not familiar, abstraction essentially implies a safe way to switch from the user mode to the kernel mode. The latter is the most privileged while the former is the least privileged.

Finally, Microsoft says that over the coming months it will share more information regarding the best practices on driver development, one of which is using CodeQL for static analysis. If you recall, earlier in July, Microsoft had updated its guidance for third-party driver static analysis for Windows 11 version 25H2.

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

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Posted Wednesday 3 September 2025 at 5:41 pm AEST (my time).

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Now, the company has announced that RubyMine, its IDE for Ruby and Ruby on Rails, is now free for non-commercial use, just like CLion. The company says that it's doing this because it wants to lower the barrier for new developers and has been listening to feedback from the Ruby and Rails community.

JetBrains defines "non-commercial use" as any development where you are not earning money from your work. This covers a lot of ground, including students, hobbyists, open-source contributors who are not paid for their contributions, and people creating content (even if it's not free), like tutorials or streams. The main rule is that if you are using RubyMine to build a product that generates revenue, you need a commercial license.

Of course, a free license is not without its conditions. Apart from the fact that you are not allowed to use it for paid work, there are also other limitations. For instance, the Code With Me feature is the "Community" edition, not the full version.

Another thing to note is that you cannot opt out of data collection. JetBrains promises that the data is anonymized and limited to statistics about which IDE features you use, like which frameworks or file templates are popular. The company states it does not collect personal information or look at your code.

To get a non-commercial subscription, do the following:

1. Install and run RubyMine version 2025.2.1 or newer.
2. Select the "Non-commercial use" option in the license dialog box.
3. Log in to your JetBrains Account or create one.
4. Accept the non-commercial use agreement.

The license is valid for a year and will automatically renew as long as you have used the IDE at least once in the last six months of your subscription period.

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

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The address bar received a big rework. The Omnibar replaces the previous address bar with a new control that combines the path bar and search box into a single element. Command Palette is also integrated into the new Omnibar.

Dual Pane received some improvements, such as a new toggle shortcut (Ctrl + Shift + S), a dedicated settings section, and various UX enhancements. Filtering and search are now two separate features with separate shortcuts (Ctrl + Shift + F and Ctrl + F) and buttons. Also, the Properties window received two new features: you can compare file hashes and check file signatures to verify file authenticity.

Here are some other changes in Files 4.0:

• You can now remap the Open IDE command to any editor under Settings → Developer tools, giving you flexibility to integrate your preferred coding environment.

• Files now supports MagentaCLOUD, Sync, and OX Drive integration, expanding your options for cloud storage access directly in the app. The full list of available cloud drives can be viewed on our cloud drive documentation.

• OneDrive storage usage is now displayed in the Properties window on Windows 11.

• Columns View now automatically adjusts each column’s width to fit its file names. You can also drag the dividers to resize columns or double-click a divider to snap it back to the optimal width.

• You can now control when the Status Center icon is visible under Settings → Appearance → Toolbars → Status Center. By default, the icon is always visible, but you can configure it to appear only when tasks are in progress.

  

• The Actions settings page now adapts to smaller window sizes, and we added a search box so you can quickly filter commands.

• You can now choose whether file size units are shown in binary units (MiB) or decimal units (MB). This setting can be adjusted from Settings → Files & folders → Size format.

   

You can find the complete list of changes, fixes, and improvements by updating Files to the latest version and then clicking the update icon on the toolbar or visiting the official website. Files is available in the Microsoft Store and on the app's official website.

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Posted Wednesday 3 September 2025 at 4:01 am AEST (my time).

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According to the Steam Hardware and Software Survey, by the end of August 2025, Windows 11 was installed on 60.39% of all Windows PCs that participated in the survey (keep in mind that participation is optional and participants are chosen randomly). In August, Windows 11 gained 0.36 points, further solidifying its first place among all operating systems that can access Steam.

Windows 10 is second with a 35.07% market share (-0.11 points), and 64-bit Windows 7 is third with 0.07% (-0.02 points). Overall, Windows is installed on 95.59% (+0.36 points) of all systems that participated in the survey in August 2025. Linux is second with 2.64% (-0.25 points), and macOS is third with 1.77% (-0.11 points).

As for hardware preferences, the most popular graphics card on Steam is once again the desktop RTX 4060 with a 4.66% share (+0.46 points). The RTX 3060 is second with a similar share of 4.62% (+0.18 points). Nvidia remains the king of the GPU market among gamers, with 74.88% of all participants running a "green" card. AMD has 17.32%, Intel has 7.44%, and the rest is some obscure stuff. However, AMD is doing better on the CPU side, where its market share is at 41.03%, while the rest is held by Intel.

Like one month ago, other PC components remain unchanged. Most users still have a six-core processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 1080p monitor. You can find more details about Valve's latest findings on the official survey page.

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Posted Wednesday 3 September 2025 at 3:57 am AEST (my time).

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Another useful new feature is keyboard shortcut conflict detection. With it, users can see if standard or custom shortcuts clash with existing ones. The Dashboard now has a dedicated button that shows the number of conflicting shortcuts. Clicking it opens a new window with those shortcuts, allowing you to jump to their corresponding settings and remap keys to resolve conflicts.

The next addition is a new "Gliding cursor" feature that lets you move the cursor around with a single shortcut. Press the assigned keys, and the cursor will start moving horizontally. Press again, and it will begin moving vertically.

Here are the update highlights:

• PowerToys Settings added a Settings search with fuzzy matching, suggestions, a results page, and UX polish to make finding options faster.
• A comprehensive hotkey conflict detection system was introduced in Settings to surface and help resolve conflicting shortcuts. Note that the default hotkey settings (Win+Ctrl+Shift+T, Win+Ctrl+V, Win+Ctrl+T, Win+Shift+T) may overlap with existing Windows system shortcuts. This is expected. You can resolve the conflict by assigning different hotkeys.
• Mouse Utilities added a “Gliding cursor” accessibility feature to Mouse Pointer Crosshairs for single‑button cursor movement and clicking.
• The installer was upgraded to WiX 5 after WiX 3 reached end-of-life; this move improved installer security, reliability, and community support.
• Tons of bug fixes and improvements for Command Palette, including visual updates and new support for filters on ListPages (handy for extension developers).
• Hosts Editor now has a “No leading spaces” option so active host entries can start at column 0 even if others are disabled.
• Context menu registration was moved from the installer to runtime to avoid loading disabled modules (runtime registrations).
• Quick Accent now supports Maltese, and frequently used accents appear first (and are remembered across sessions).

You can find the rest of the changelog on GitHub. Also, there is a dedicated announcement post available here. You can download PowerToys from the Microsoft Store or GitHub.

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Posted Wednesday 3 September 2025 at 3:55 am AEST (my time).

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The clock keeps ticking and Microsoft's end of support date for Windows 10 is edging even closer. While Windows 11 surpassed Windows 10 as the most dominant desktop operating system, recent stats shared by Statcounter reveals that the former's market share dropped by 4% to to 49.08%, but perhaps more interestingly the latter's market share weirdly gained 2.65% market share, pushing it to 45.53% despite its imminent death.

A public interest group petitioned Microsoft to reconsider its decision to pull the plug on Windows 10 in October 14, 2025 as it could lead to the single biggest jump in junked computers ever. However, the software giant has come up several options for users to continue using Windows 10, even after it cuts support for the operating system, ensuring that they continue receiving security updates.

As you may know, Windows 10 users can enrol in Microsoft's Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, which will grant them an extra year of support. However, users recently raised concerns that they aren't able to sign up for the program but Microsoft confirmed that all users should be able to access it before Windows 10's end of support.

Windows 11 shipped a little bit over 4 years ago but it has struggled to gain traction over Windows 10, predominantly due to its stringent minimum system requirements coupled with flawed design elements. This potentially explains why Microsoft resulted to using aggressive full-screen multipage pop-up ads to attempt to compel Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11.

As such, there's a surge of alternatives for Windows 10 users who can't upgrade to Windows 11 and don't want to ditch their PCs. For instance, Windows Theme Over Linux a.k.a "WINUX" by Linuxfx recently got a major update, improving its user experience with neat features, potentially designed to make Windows users jump ship from Microsoft's ecosystem entirely (via Beta News).

The plan was to adopt sudo-rs as the default in Ubuntu 25.10 (Questing Quokka) with the goal of a full transition in the upcoming 26.04 LTS (Long-Term Support) release. Now, the company has announced that it has achieved the former with sudo-rs 0.2.8 now being the default sudo in the latest daily images.

According to Canonical, the upstream sudo-rs team worked to implement necessary features in time for the 25.10 Feature Freeze. This new release includes support for NOEXEC and AppArmor profile switching.

It also adds compatibility for older Linux kernels that are older than version 5.9. The team has also been cleaning things up, like a recent change that saw it remove documentation for the ignored and unimplemented "-I", "-q", and "-s" flags.

Canonical says it plans to make sudo-rs the only sudo provider in Ubuntu 26.10. To get there, sudo-rs will need to ship with its own /etc/sudoers config file and formally declare a conflict with the old sudo.ws package to prevent both from being on the system.

If you are already testing out the daily builds, there is a fallback for when something goes wrong. The team says the original sudo.ws (along with visudo.ws and sudoreplay.ws) remains available. You can switch back to the old version by running the following commands (if you really need to):

# For an interactive prompt
update-alternatives --config sudo

# For a script
update-alternatives --set sudo /usr/bin/sudo.ws

The new sudo-rs does not ship with "sudo insults," a feature that provides a snarky comment like "My pet ferret can type better than you!" when you enter the wrong password. If you miss that particular brand of humor, you can check out the pam-insults project. The good news is that it is a PAM module, so it works in just about anything that authenticates, including your login screen.

Speaking of Rust rewrites, engineers at Red Hat are also busy replacing Greenboot, a health check framework for atomically updated systems. This effort will see the old bash script get a complete rewrite in Rust for inclusion in Fedora 43.

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Posted Wednesday 3 September 2025 at 3:51 am AEST (my time).

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NanaZIP 6 Preview is now available for download, and with it, developers implemented more XAML-based UI parts. In other words, the app now features more native Windows 11 elements. The latest additions include a reworked address bar, status bar, properties and information dialogs, and a new progress dialog.

Other noticeable changes in NanaZIP 6 include a new "Extract-on-open" feature, which automatically extracts the compressed file when you open it (standard behavior in operating systems like macOS and iPadOS). If you do not like this behavior, you can skip extract-on-open by holding the Shift key when opening an archive. Alternatively, NanaZIP lets you disable the new feature for good in settings.

Also, NanaZIP 6 now has file associations for CBR, CBZ, and ASAR formats, faster performance on startup, the Zstandard decoder instead of 7-Zip mainline's implementation (this improves reliability and reduces potential vulnerabilities), plenty of various fixes, improved localizations, and some changes to the system requirements. The latter now mandates 64-bit versions of Windows 10 2004 (build 19041 and newer) or Windows Server 2022 (build 20348 or newer). The latest update removed all the 32-bit components from the app.

You can find the rest of the changelog for NanaZIP 6.0 Preview on GitHub. If you are curious to give the app a try, get it from the Microsoft Store or GitHub. The stable NanaZIP release is available in the Microsoft Store via this link.

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Posted Wednesday 3 September 2025 at 3:46 am AEST (my time).

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As a refresher, Microsoft launched these add-ons back in April of 2020 as a writing assistant tool and is essentially an alternative to similar utilities like Grammarly. Like Lens, the Microsoft Editor add-on is free and highly rated too. However it is meeting the same fate as Lens as Microsoft thinks there is no need for this anymore. That is because Edge has them. Yes Microsoft wants you to use Edge since it reasons that "the core capabilities of Microsoft Editor are now part of the standard Edge experience."

It writes:

"The core capabilities of Microsoft Editor—such as grammar checks and spelling corrections—are now part of the standard Edge experience. This transition will offer:

• Smarter, enhanced suggestions for grammar, spelling, and writing style.
• Seamless built-in proofing experience directly in Edge without requiring additional extensions.

Users who rely on the Microsoft Editor extensions will transition to the built-in capabilities in Microsoft Edge. Users can continue using the extensions until the retirement date and will automatically benefit from the integrated writing assistance in Edge thereafter."

Microsoft notes that this change does not require any action from IT admins and system administrators, although it has "recommended informing users of the upcoming retirement and encouraging them to explore the built-in writing assistance in Microsoft Edge." You can check the extensions out here until they are available.

Those who have access to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center portal can view the message under ID MC1144651.

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Posted Tuesday 2 September 2025 at 5:27 pm AEST (my time).

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Windows 11 version 25H2 is almost here. Microsoft is finally testing it in the Windows Insider Release Preview Channel, which is usually the last stop before an update is made generally available to the public. With 25H2 now in Release Preview testing, the company has also confirmed that the update will include no new features at launch and will share feature parity with version 24H2 for the foreseeable future.

"Windows 11, version 24H2 and version 25H2 use a shared servicing branch. [This] means that they also share the same new features and enhancements delivered through our continuous innovation efforts" says a Microsoft blog post announcing the availability of the update in the Release Preview Channel. This confirms that 25H2 will not introduce any exclusive new features that aren't already available on version 24H2.

Interestingly, version 25H2 does remove a couple of features. PowerShell 2.0 and Windows Management Instrumentation command-line (WMIC) are no longer available when upgrading to the 25H2 release. These features are likely not in use by many people, so their omission is unlikely to be impactful to most people.

With Windows 11 version 25H2 sharing the same platform release and servicing stack as version 24H2, users who upgrade to it from 24H2 will experience a much faster download and install experience. The update should only require a single restart once it's ready to install, and the reboot process will only take a few minutes. This is because 25H2 is delivered as an enablement package, and not a full-blown OS upgrade.

There are also benefits from a compatibility perspective, too. There should be zero compatibility issues or concerns between version 24H2 and 25H2, meaning all your apps and games should work with no problems when upgrading to the newest version. Ultimately, even though there are no new features, the company has made updating to 25H2 as smooth as possible.

For those who may not know, dynamic updates bring improvements to the Windows Recovery in the form of Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) updates, also called Safe OS updates, as well as to the Setup binaries in the form of Setup updates.

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

Both setup and recovery updates were released but only for version 24H2 and previous versions did not receive them. The updates also applies to Windows Server 2025. The changelogs are given below. First up we have the Setup update:

KB5065378: Setup Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025: August 29, 2025

 

Summary

 

This update makes improvements to Windows setup binaries or any files that setup uses for feature updates in Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025.

Up next, we have the Safe OS recovery update and unlike the last time, Microsoft does not note any specific fix on this one as the general changelog is back. It writes:

KB5064097: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025: August 29, 2025

 

Summary

 

This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment (WinRE) in Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025.

Microsoft notes that the Recovery updates as well as the Setup updates will be downloaded and installed automatically via the Windows Update channel. You can also avail them manually on Microsoft's Update Catalog website: KB5065378, KB5064097.

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Posted Tuesday 2 September 2025 at 2:39 am AEST (my time).

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