We will start with a list of products governed by Microsoft's Modern Lifecycle Policy, which are hitting end of servicing or retirement deadlines in 2025. For those unaware, the Modern Lifecycle Policy dictates that a product will be supported until as long as customers keep their software updated, have a valid license, and Microsoft continues offering support. With that being said, let's begin while also keeping in mind that since we are more than halfway through the year, some of the products and services mentioned below have already been retired:

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Next, we have a list of Microsoft products governed by the Fixed Lifecycle Policy that are hitting end of support this year. This policy differentiates from the Modern Lifecycle Policy in several ways because it mandates the Redmond firm to announce the defined support date on the launch of the product, provide mainstream support for at least five years, and extend support if needed too. Here is the complete list of such products:

There are a couple of products that have been or will be transitioned from mainstream to extended support too. SQL Server 2019 reached end of mainstream support on February 28, 2025 and will in extended support until January 8, 2030. Meanwhile, Azure DevOps Server 2020 and Microsoft Robotics will hit end of mainstream support on October 14, 2025, but will remain under extended support till October 8, 2030. There are also support changes planned for granular Azure services, SDKs, and APIs, and you can find out more details about them here.

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Posted Monday 11 August 2025 at 6:44 pm AEST (my time).

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We last took a look at Windows 11 vs 10 performance towards the end of 2023 as we first compared an in-place upgrade, which was followed up by a clean installation test later on Steve's 14900K-RTX 4070 Ti PC. There, Windows 11 23H2 did not show a major difference or gap in performance vs Windows 10 22H2; yes there certainly were tests where we saw some substantial split between them, but for the most part we concluded that you could run either and be completely happy with your setup.

This time around, we have changed how things were tested. Last time, it was more of how the experience would be between the two OS when things were kept at default settings without any tweaking.

However, Steve and I later agreed that game testing in such default scenarios would represent GPU-bound situations much more often than not and hence our testing method was later updated to address this.

Thus, this time we have our graphics settings lowered and processor-intensive settings upped. If you want to check out how this impacts the CPU check out my dedicated article on the topic.

This methodology update only applies to games as synthetic benchmarks and in-built apps' benchmarks were already designed to test in such a way. We have divided our data into two parts:

• Gaming
• Productivity

We benchmarked in the following system and my colleague and friend Steven Parker contributed to the testing:

Test system

• Computer ATX Open Motherboard Rack
• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
• Gigabyte X870E AORUS MASTER (BIOS N10)
• be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850W
• Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 CPU Air Cooler
• Thermal Grizzly Carbonaut (38x38x0,2mm)
• 2x 16GB G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB Series DDR5 6000MT/s CL28-36-36-96
• Samsung 990 Pro 1TB (PCIe Gen4)
• NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition
• Windows 11 24H2 Pro
• Windows 11 22H2 Pro

Gaming benchmarks

We start with UL Benchmark's 3DMark Fire Strike Physics test. This is a DirectX 11 benchmark and that means it does not utilize too many processor threads. Even then, at the default preset and 720p custom settings we see the CPU on Windows 10 being ahead of 11 by 4.3% and 6.2% respectively. The 720p test shows a wider split as it is even harder on the processor compared to the default setting test.

Windows 11 also picks up a win in the 720p graphics test, and this was surprising as it is counterintuitive given that the CPU test was won by Windows 10. It indicates that Windows 11 actually manages overheads better.

Up next, in Time Spy Extreme it was a landslide victory for Windows 10 as it was up to 29% better than Windows 11. This result was again very surprising for us considering that is Windows 11 that is supposed to be more optimized for the correct cross-core talk on dual-CCD Ryzen chips like the 9950X3D.

One thing to note is that the Time Spy Extreme (TSE) CPU benchmark is said to be "three times more demanding than the Time Spy CPU Test" and hence, consequently, it is even more demanding than the Fire Strike one above. This extra load on TSE definitely appears to expose Windows 11's worse capability as a gaming OS from the CPU side of things.

3DMark CPU Profile benchmark is next and like Time Spy Extreme, this is also a DirectX 12-based test and that measures the scaling behavior of processor cores and threads. It can be seen that CPU Profile does not show as big a difference as Time Spy Extreme did.

If we were to guess, it is likely because the TSE test presented a continuous heavy load, whereas the 3DMark CPU profile one starts and stops as it stresses the processor threads one by one via different test passes starting from one thread up to max threads. So perhaps Windows 11 was throttling faster when presented with a continuous load.

Next, we move to Steel Nomad and Steel Nomad Lite tests, which are more modern DirectX 12-based rasterization tests.

Once again, Windows 10 shows two clear wins on our custom 720p tests that were done to simulate CPU-heavy tasks as Steel Nomad (Lite) do not currently have a standalone CPU/physics benchmark. This indicates again that 11 is still not quite up there.

We wrap up our 3DMark data with custom 720p Speed Way where Windows 11 manages to eek out a small win over 10. Speed Way is a DirectX 12 Ultimate test that measures ray tracing (RT) performance and tracing all those rays of light is quite taxing on the processor, although perhaps not as much as it is on the graphics card.

Up next we have some real games. The custom graphics settings we chose were designed to maximize the CPU load and minimize the same for the GPU. (For reference, RT = Ray Tracing, PT = Path Tracing, FG = Frame Generation, RR = Ray Reconstruction, VRS = variable rate shading)

We hit it off with 2016's Assassins' Creed Odyssey - based on AnvilNext 2.0 - where Windows 11 secures an absolutely massive win. If we were to guess we would say it was Ryzen's X3D cross CCD cores not playing well with the title on Windows 10, otherwise we really do not see a reason for such a humongous split. In the average framerate metric, Windows 11 was 55% ahead.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider from 2018 is up next. Based on the Foundation Engine, the Ryzen 9950X3D sees almost no difference in output between the two OS despite being quite CPU heavy.

Cyberpunk 2077 from 2020 running on the RED engine is next. At our custom settings, we saw that the Ryzen 9 9950X3D was a very substantial 19% better on the Windows 11 side in average framerates; in the minimums the gap was slightly lower at 17%.

We have a couple of games from 2021, starting with Hitman 3, which is based on the Glacier 2 engine. Windows 10 gets a small win here as it was nearly 9% better. This is unlikely to be noticeable but still it counts given that it is statistically significant.

Far Cry 6 is the other 2021 title. Running on the Dunia engine, it presents another very interesting case of a huge performance split between the two OS. Far Cry games are known to be single-thread heavy. While the 9950X3D was 22% better at average FPS on Windows 11 vs 10, the gap increased to 26% for the minimums.

F1 24, based on EGO 4.0 engine, was again a small but significant victory for Windows 11 as it was close to 14% better. Like Hitman 3, this is not something users will notice without a frame-rate counter atop, but it's still statistically significant.

Monster Hunter Wilds is the latest game in our test suite and it runs on RE Engine, and again we come across yet another baffling result. So far we have seen Windows 11 either registering massive wins or smaller victories. However, this time things have completely flipped as we noted 33% better performance on Windows 10 vs 11 in the title.

Productivity

With our gaming tests done, we move on to productivity.

Starting with Cinebench 2024, Windows 10 gets an 8.5% lead over Windows 11 here. Since this is a rendering test and utilizes all available threads, the dual CCD architecture of the 9950X3D was not of much concern here.

UL Procyon's Office suite productivity test provided a bit of mixed bag of results. While Windows 11 was the winner on Outlook and PowerPoint, Windows 10 won in Excel, and it was a tie in Word.

The results are certainly interesting. It appears that Windows 10 excels in number crunching scenarios while Windows 11 is better at presentation and personal information management-based tasks. Perhaps underlying graphics processing and networking upgrades may be helping? We can not say for sure as that is out of our scope.

AI is one area where Windows 11, in particular, version 24H2, seems to have made the biggest progress. We observed a similar thing in case of graphics performance as well when we compared Windows 1124H2 with 23H2 (both on in-place upgrade and clean install).

We saw the biggest divide in the case of the Phi 3.5 model with a 46% lead in favor of Windows 11, and this was followed closely with a 43% gap in the case of Llama 3.1.

Finally, we benchmarked Computer Vision also in the Procyon suite. This tests inferencing and here, the scores were within a percentage of each other, so very much unlike text generation.

Conclusion

We mentioned up top that we updated the way we tested as we thought our previous methodology, although realistic, did not quite capture the full picture and the extent to which moving between OS could impact the processor's performance.

However, I will be honest, going in, I did not expect to see such massive differences between them. Barring a few exceptions, we saw substantial splits almost everywhere and this was especially pronounced in certain games (engines). And productivity workloads also saw major differences too with Windows 11 24H2 shining bright in the case of AI text generation.

So there is little to no subtlety this time with both OS swinging hard and sharing clear victories, with Windows 11 being ahead more often. This also means that there is less reason to hold on to Windows 10, at least from the performance point of view; hence, I feel it will be a pretty good idea to upgrade especially with support for Windows 10 also ending.

While Windows 10 did enjoy some big wins, over time these victories will likely fade out as Windows 11-specific optimizations start taking over entirely.

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Posted Monday 11 August 2025 at 6:33 pm AEST (my time).

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The situation where one person's travels can cause so much disruption to the development of a piece of software that’s used by millions of devices does say something about the maintenance of the project. Nevertheless, the release cycle hasn’t really been hurt, so perhaps the current setup is fine.

Despite the distractions, Torvalds reported that the merge window “did end up looking fairly healthy.” Regarding stats, the release was “pretty normal” in both patch size and number of commits. Torvalds stated that he had to perform a couple of bisections - a debugging technique used to find the specific commit in a Git repository that introduced a bug or regression - to find “trouble spots”, with one being manageable even while traveling.

Included with Torvalds' announcement is a merge log representing the new commits from a “view from 10,000ft”, an overview due to the large number of commits. Contributions cover a wide range of areas including VFS, BPF, Memory Management (MM) updates, x86 CPU mitigations, and various driver and subsystem updates. You can check the changelog over on LKML.

This is just the first release candidate and each cycle normally sees seven or eight release candidates. Given this, we should expect to see Linux 6.17 drop on 28 September or 5 October. Notably Ubuntu 25.10 is expected to ship with the kernel, so let’s hope it’s a good one.

Linux 6.16 came out a few weeks ago now and should be available in some distributions already, mainly those based on Arch Linux. Other distributions that are not rolling release will likely need to wait for a while before being offered it.

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Posted Monday 11 August 2025 at 6:13 pm AEST (my time).

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One of the major hurdles for users is the system requirements for Windows 11, which will force many to upgrade their hardware (it is the official recommendation from Microsoft itself, even better if it is a Copilot+ PC). These requirements are also starting to get enforced in major popular games, and some vital features are seemingly ceasing to work altogether on 10.

If you have already moved to a new supported system and are wondering when Windows 11 will be offered, Microsoft shared a detailed guide on the topic. Regardless, this is expected to massively impact the user base - approx 400 million strong - that is still on Windows 10 on an ineligible PC. There's an interesting unofficial initiative in the form of the "End of Windows 10 toolkit" regarding that.

While many are ready to comply, one of them, supposedly, has gone to court against the Redmond giant. In a new lawsuit, an individual, Lawrence Klein, has accused Microsoft of potentially "jeopardizing" user and customer data. The lawsuit adds that the tech giant is trying to rapidly monopolize the generative AI PC market, even at the expense of customer data, despite being "well aware" of the consequences.

The lawsuit says:

... this tactic in Microsoft’s attempt to monopolize the generative AI market has wide-reaching consequences beyond the race to achieve market dominance.

 

With only three months until support ends for Windows 10, it is likely that many millions of users will not buy new devices or pay for extended support. These users—some of whom are businesses storing sensitive consumer data—will be at a heightened risk of a cyberattack or other data security incident, a reality of which Microsoft is well aware.

Ultimately, Klein is trying to get Microsoft to extend Windows 10 support "until the number of devices running the operating system falls below a reasonable threshold." The case was filed under ID 25CU041477C; you can find the lawsuit document here (via Courthouse News).

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Posted Monday 11 August 2025 at 2:40 am AEST (my time).

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The Taskbar Clock Customizer is a Windhawk mod that allows tweaking the taskbar clock to your heart's content and displaying additional useful information. Custom date/time format, including simplified clock, processor/memory/network usage, weather, news headlines, or additional timezones, just to name a few, of what you can place there.

The mod can also adjust the size and position of the clock, display extra information in the tooltip, change fonts, and more. Additionally, the mod is compatible with the "previous-gen" taskbar, which is useful if you use apps like ExplorerPatcher.

What I also like about the Taskbar Clock Customizer is that it does not look out of place. It retains Windows 10 or 11's visuals, and you can still press the clock to open the notification center and the calendar flyout. If you feel extra fancy, you can add emojis, custom fonts, change colors, etc.

Like other Windhawk mods, Taskbar Clock Customizer does not have a very user-friendly interface. Although there is no need to edit complex text files to make them work, you still have to figure out the syntax and how to properly customize each setting. Fortunately, every change applies with a single button click, and there is no need to restart explorer.exe or the entire system. To me, the perfect setup is day of the week, month, date, clock, and CPU/RAM usage in the second line. A more complex variant might take a bit more time to set up, but it is still no rocket science, and the mod has links to Microsoft's official documentation with detailed syntax.

You can try Taskbar Clock Customizer by downloading Windhawk from the official website. After installing the app, go to the "Explore" tab, find Taskbar Clock Customizer, and click "Install." Once the mod is installed and running, switch to the Settings tab to customize it.

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Posted Monday 11 August 2025 at 2:31 am AEST (my time).

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While Apple is very keen that its macOS software is only ever run on Macs, there are numerous options for doing the opposite and running Windows on Apple computers. If you're a developer, or need access to both Windows and Mac apps, or simply want the flexibility of two operating systems, this isn't too difficult to set up with the right tools.

The option we'll cover here is Parallels Desktop for Mac. This is certainly not the cheapest of your options, but it is fully authorized and legal, as well as being reliable, straightforward, and backed up with regular updates and customer support. It's one of those cases where, we believe, it's worth the investment.

Getting Started

To get up and running, you just need a Mac with an internet connection. There are a handful of minimum requirements, but mostly you'll want to be sure you have at least 4 GB of RAM and at least 16 GB free for the Windows installation—Parallels itself is 600MB.

Head to the Parallels website, and you'll see you can try out Parallels Desktop for Mac for free for 14 days. If you do decide it's worth paying for, the standard subscription that's suitable for most individuals (rather than businesses) will set you back $100 per year.

Follow the link to download the software, and once it's installed on macOS, you'll be taken through the setup process. Along the way, you'll be prompted to download and install Windows 11, which is quite a hefty download: Click the Install Windows button to initiate the process.

Parallels sets up a virtual machine on your Mac, then installs Windows inside it—you're essentially installing the operating system as an app, rather than a fundamental layer, so as soon as Parallels is closed (or is uninstalled), Windows goes away with it. Virtualization software like this can cause performance issues and sluggishness, but these issues are thankfully minimized with Parallels.

After Windows is successfully downloaded and installed, the next step is to activate it. This involves paying for a Windows 11 Pro licence, which at the time of writing will set you back $200. To legally use and operate Windows, you need to buy a licence for it inside Parallels, even if you already have the operating system installed on other computers.

During the licence purchase and activation process, you'll need to sign in with your Microsoft account (or sign up for one, if you haven't already). This gives you the opportunity to sync across files from any other Windows PCs you might have, which you can manage from Accounts > Windows backup in Settings.

With all the preparation work taken care of, running Windows on macOS is as simple as launching Parallels Desktop for Mac. You can use Windows in full screen mode, or as a windowed app that behaves in a similar way to other macOS apps, and Parallels makes sure that you can use your Mac's keyboard and trackpad (or mouse) to control Microsoft's operating system.

Key Features

If you've used Windows before, you'll be right at home using it inside Parallels Desktop for Mac: It's essentially the same as using it on a PC, except you're running it inside an app. For the best experience, go into full screen mode: You can do this by clicking on the green circle in the top left corner of the window, or by choosing View > Enter Full Screen from the program menus.

That same View menu also has an Enter Coherence option you can select. This mode lets you run applications inside the Windows environment as if they were Mac apps: So if you launch Windows Notepad or Paint, for example, they'll appear as apps in the Mac dock, and you can use them right alongside your macOS programs. It's handy if you just want to use a select number of Windows apps on macOS, rather than the whole operating system. To exit out of the mode, choose View > Exit Coherence from any Windows app.

One aspect of Windows on macOS you may struggle with initially is keyboard shortcuts: Mac keyboards are substantially different from Windows PC keyboards (you don't have the Alt key or the Windows key, for example). If you open the Devices menu and choose Keyboard, there are quick links to a lot of common Windows keyboard shortcuts. Click Customize and you can create your own shortcuts too.

Transferring files between Windows and macOS isn't difficult. You'll see there's a Mac Files folder on the Windows desktop by default: Click this to get at the main folders on your macOS system drive. If you need these files in the Windows environment, you can just drag and drop them into place, or manipulate them with the usual File Explorer commands. Files can be moved in the opposite direction in the same way.

Open up the File menu, and you can jump straight to key destinations inside Windows, including the Device Manager and the Task Manager. Via the Actions menu, you can put Windows to sleep, restart the virtual PC, and launch Travel Mode, which goes easier on battery life. Note that Windows will automatically be put into a pause state when you head back to macOS and your Mac apps.

To configure Parallels Desktop for Mac, open up Actions and choose Configure. A wealth of options are available here, covering everything from how Windows is optimized to security features (you can have a password prompt every time Windows is launched, for example). You can also change the size of the virtual hard disk Windows is on, via the Hardware tab.

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Posted Monday 11 August 2025 at 2:29 am AEST (my time).

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RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend  

As mentioned before, version 10.6 comes with 7z 25.01, which itself brings better security for handling symbolic links, a small but important fix to prevent potential mischief. Pea, the native archive format for the application, has been updated to 1.26.

Other backend changes include McMilk codex on Windows getting a refresh. For Linux and macOS users, the software now integrates T.Yamada's cielavenir p7zip fork, which adds support for Brotli, Lizard, LZ4, LZ5, and Zstd codecs within the .7z format. The Zpaq interface was also updated to support Zpaqfranz as its default binary.

In the file manager, the developers added the Documents directory to the default bookmarks and put a handy search function in the settings screen. The real story, however, is the performance improvement when you are browsing gigantic archives or folders.

The file browser performance has also been improved significantly, making it over six times faster, per claims, on Windows and an insane thirty times faster on macOS. This includes a new dynamic virtual mode for its file list, which kicks in when you are looking at a huge number of items. The threshold is 8K for Windows and 16K for Qt6, but it is always on for macOS, where it provides the biggest gains. This mode does have a few limitations; it disables showing application icons and image thumbnails and you can only rename items with the F2 key.

Several bug fixes come with the new version, including a correction for how multipart archive sizes are reported in the progress screen. The application now also defaults to unchecking the "Keep password/keyfile" option for the session, a safer approach. If you frequently use hidden files, the toggle for "Show hidden files (in the filesystem)" has moved from the settings deep dive to the main Organize menu.

For non-Windows users, PeaZip can now automatically find your RAR binary to enable RAR creation, and the status bar displays free disk space. New alternative icons are available for system integration. You can now limit the number of threads for Zpaq from the archive creation screen, and the general compression presets have been updated.

On a related note, a serious vulnerability was recently discovered and exploited in PeaZip's much popular alternative WinRAR, letting attackers sneak malware onto systems. So it's definitely a good idea to check out this article and update your WinRAR if you're affected.

If you're interested, you can have a look at the complete change log, as well as grab a download for your OS.

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Posted Sunday 10 August 2025 at 5:25 pm AEST (my time).

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Exactly one month since the release of Amarok 3.3, which saw the major shift to GStreamer for its audio engine, its first bugfix release 3.3.1, is live. Amarok, in case you're unaware, is a music player and manager for Linux, Windows, and macOS that, apart from playing music, lets you organize massive collections and connect to online services.

Starting with the bug fixes, Amarok 3.3.1 addresses several crashes tied to its new audio backend. The update also corrects a problem with CD playback when the application is not running, and fixes an incorrect permission command in the database settings. A search issue with MusicBrainz, the open music encyclopedia, has been fixed as well. Here is the rest of the bug fixes:

• Equalizer gains now update correctly when selecting certain presets.
• Playback continues properly after time-coded tracks like those from CUE files.
• Embedded cover art is now transmitted correctly through the MPRIS D-Bus interface.
• The transcoding dialog no longer appears after canceling a download.
• Network information now loads earlier to prevent some crashes on startup.
• Playlist exports are now more compatible with other software.

As for UI and general improvements, the developers replaced the remaining hardcoded icons so that they now use the system theme, and they removed code related to the discontinued MusicDNS service.

The Amarok 2.x series had incredible scripting support; it was built on Qt4 and powered by QtScript, a JavaScript-like language that lets developers write scripts to create context applets or manipulate playlists, for instance, to automate their creation.

That system was far superior to what you would find in the current 3.x series, but the developers are working to bring the new system up to par. Towards that end, Amarok 3.3.1 now makes it possible to save and load items in the script console and adds auto-complete functionality.

If you're on Linux, Amarok 3.3.1 will soon be available for download on Flathub as a Flatpak. If you cannot wait, you can get the source code as well as compilation instructions and build it yourself.

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Posted Sunday 10 August 2025 at 5:24 pm AEST (my time).

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Powered by a local AI model, these groups identify related tabs and suggest names for them. There is even a "Suggest more tabs for group" button that users can click to get recommendations.

Now, several users have taken to the Firefox subreddit to complain about high CPU usage when using the feature, as well as express their disappointment in Mozilla for adding AI to the browser.

When u/st8ic88 noticed their machine's CPU usage and battery life plummeting, they pulled up the task manager and saw that the "Inference" process was the culprit. As the comments pointed out, this is likely the process Firefox uses to handle AI stuff right on your device. But the Reddit user was not happy about this:

I don't want this garbage bloating my browser, blowing up my CPU, and killing my battery life. There is absolutely no reason for it, it's not a good feature, and it's absolutely humiliating for Firefox to be jumping on this bandwagon.

 

The point of a browser is to DOWNLOAD AND RENDER WEB PAGES.

Another user who checked their system's process manager with Conky confirmed the "Inference" process was a new, resource-hungry addition. Killing the process just made Firefox crash and require a restart.

Nearly three years after the release of ChatGPT, generative AI is still a trendy topic, with companies like Microsoft aggressively pushing Copilot to turn Edge into an AI browser, with features like page summaries and image generation.

For privacy-conscious users, the on-device model might be better than what Chrome offers, where its short-lived experimental Tab Organizer sends your data off to Google's servers for analysis.

Firefox's implementation is a more private, two-part process that, as previously noted, happens locally. To suggest tabs for a group, it uses an embedding model to analyze your page titles and create a numerical "embedding vector" for each. Then, clustering algorithms compare these vectors to find related pages.

When suggesting a group name, the system takes the page titles and metadata from a window and feeds them to Mozilla's smart-tab-topic model (based on Google AI's T5) to come up with a suggestion.

Some pointed out that the spike in CPU usage could be related to Firefox using Microsoft's Open Neural Network Exchange (ONNX) format instead of the supposedly more efficient GGUF by Georgi Gerganov for running these local models.

Of course, if you have a lot of tabs open, this kind of feature could be useful, although there are certainly users who feel it's "egregiously stupid" to have a computer make "simple decisions" for them. Some people will prefer their tools without AI bolted on, which led companies like Zed Industries to provide a global switch to disable all AI within Zed Editor.

If you are also dealing with CPU spikes and battery drain from Firefox's new AI features, you can disable them through the browser's advanced settings. Head to about:config in a new tab, accept the risk warning, and use the search bar to find the controls. To kill the AI chatbot feature, search for browser.ml.chat.enabled and set it to false. To stop smart tab grouping, search for browser.tabs.groups.smart.enabled and set it to false.

You can also hide the chatbot from the sidebar in Settings or Firefox Labs, but it might pop back up after updates.

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Posted Sunday 10 August 2025 at 3:47 am AEST (my time).

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Starting with KDE Frameworks, KDE's collection of foundational libraries, version 6.18 promises to let you do something with that "dumb" Microsoft Copilot key found on many new laptops. The developers will soon allow you to set up keyboard shortcuts using this new key, and the team plans to let you remap it to another key in the future.

If you're curious, one user on KDE's bug tracker noted that on GNOME, the key combination shows up as "Meta+Shift+Touchpad Disable" and is fully remappable. Back in KDE land, Frameworks 6.18 will also make thumbnail generation faster across all KDE applications and Plasma, and includes a bug fix for System Monitor Sensor widgets that were causing panels to resize themselves incorrectly.

Moving on to Plasma Desktop, the upcoming Plasma 6.5 is getting some nice touches. In the System settings app, you'll see new quick toggles for things like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi directly in the sidebar. This is possible because pages in the System Settings are using KCModuleData to export actions, so expect more pages to get this treatment in the future.

When you try to install a Flatpak from a website like Flathub in 6.5, Discover now has proper support for flatpak+https:// URLs, so it opens automatically. 6.5 is also bringing a much stricter window activation policy on Wayland to stop applications from rudely stealing your focus. And now, when you mute your microphone with a shortcut, the "Mute Microphone" button will mute all input sources, not just the active one.

Since Firefox does not block the system from sleeping during a download, the Plasma Browser Integration extension for Firefox has gotten an update to handle that job itself.

You can also now see detected wireless networks directly on the relevant System Settings page, where you can connect to them too. Another notable feature 6.5's getting is that shortcuts for moving a window to another virtual desktop are now shown in the window's titlebar context menu.

As for bug fixes, the recent Plasma 6.4.4 released this Tuesday brings a few, like fixing a visual glitch in the Kicker App Menu's search field and making System Settings' Tablet page properly scrollable. The upcoming 6.4.5 is set to bring fixes for the following issues:

• The crash that could happen when opening the Notifications history.
• Dragging a Flatpak app's icon from the Kickoff launcher or Task Manager incorrectly moves the app's desktop file instead of creating a copy.
• Selecting "Copy" when dragging a Flatpak app to the desktop produces a broken file.
• Desktop icons shifting around on their own, especially with multiple screens or near vertical panels.
• Task Manager theme previews use the wrong color scheme.

Plasma 6.4.5 will drop on the 9th of next month.

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Posted Sunday 10 August 2025 at 3:28 am AEST (my time).

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Windows 11 comes with a set of default configurations that sometimes go unnoticed, and in this guide, I'll highlight nine of them.

When you set up a new device or do a clean installation, the operating system quietly enables some features while turning off others. These decisions, made on your behalf, can affect everything from performance and privacy to storage and energy use.

From smart updates that use clean energy to invisible cloud backups and hidden security changes, Microsoft continues to make subtle changes designed to improve the experience. However, not all of them are obvious, or the best choice for the end-user.

In this guide, I'll share nine behaviors you probably didn't know about Windows 11. If you're already familiar with them, consider this your friendly reminder of what's running behind the scenes, and how to take back control (where applicable).

System defaults you didn't know about on Windows 11

These are (only) some of the default settings and features that Windows 11 quietly turns on or keeps disabled after a clean installation or while setting up a new device, and most users never notice.

1. Windows Update can use renewable energy

Windows 11 schedules updates to align with regional clean energy availability to minimize carbon emissions.

Since version 22H2, the Windows Update mechanism detects when the computer is plugged in and connected to the internet, and when regional carbon intensity data is available, the system will schedule installations at a time that may produce lower-carbon emissions.

Alongside that, the company also fixes multiple bugs including one wherein File Explorer would crash if a user accessed the digital signature information via the right-click context menu. The build also has plenty of known issues too including one where multiple errors would pop up when working with the Group Policy editor, as well as a multi-monitor issue in remote desktop applications.

The full changelog is given below:

[Windows Search]

• Today, we rationalize and organize Windows Search settings under Settings > Privacy & security under a “Search permissions” settings page and a “Searching Windows” settings page. We are beginning to roll out a change that brings those two settings pages together so you can easily access to all the Windows Search settings under a single settings page via Settings > Privacy & security > Search. The page is refreshed with a new modern visual for you to clearly browse the settings and control your experiences inside Windows Search, with the items listed in a better order.

The bug fixes are as follows:

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where File Explorer might crash when trying to view the digital signatures tab in the properties for a file.

[Input]

• Fixed an issue which was causing the Microsoft Changjie Input method to not work properly in the previous build.
• Fixed an issue which was causing phonetic keyboards, such as the Hindi Phonetic Input keyboard and the Marathi Phonetic keyboard, to not work properly in the previous build.

Finally, the known issues are:

[General]

• [IMPORTANT NOTE FOR COPILOT+ PCs] If you are joining the Canary Channel on a new Copilot+ PC from the Dev Channel, Release Preview Channel or retail, you will lose Windows Hello pin and biometrics to sign into your PC with error 0xd0000225 and error message “Something went wrong, and your PIN isn’t available”. You should be able to re-create your PIN by clicking “Set up my PIN”.
• The progress wheel may show as a rectangle glyph instead of rendering correctly when upgrading to this build.
• [NEW] You may see multiple error pop ups about unexpected elements when opening Group Policy Editor.
• [NEW] There’s an underlying issue with dao360.dll in this build which may result in some apps crashing.

[Remote desktop]

• [NEW] There’s an issue starting with the last build where remote desktop only uses your primary monitor even if it’s configured to use multiple monitors.

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

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Posted Saturday 9 August 2025 at 4:27 am AEST (my time).

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Both Dev and Beta builds introduce new language and date/time options in the Settings app, which previously required using the old Control Panel. Those include the following:

• You can now add additional clocks from Settings > Time & language > Date & time under the collapsed section which can be expanded for “Show time and date in the system tray”. For those unfamiliar with the feature, these additional clocks display in Notification Center, as well as the tooltip when hovering over the clock in the taskbar.
• You can now change your time server from Settings > Time & language > Date & time, under “Additional settings”.
• The formatting settings for date and time have moved from Settings > Time & language > Language & region to Settings > Time & language > Date & time, and you can now change your AM/PM symbol from here as well (along with other existing formatting settings).
• You can now change number and currency format from Settings > Time & language > Language & region, under the “Region” section.
• If you’d like to enable Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support, there is now a toggle for this under Settings > Time & language > Language & region, under the “Language” section.
• If needed, you can now copy current user language and region settings to welcome screen and system account, as well as new user accounts, from Settings > Time & language > Language & region, under “Additional settings”.

• The setting for character repeat delay/rate has moved to Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard.

• The setting for cursor blink rate has moved to Settings > Accessibility >Text cursor. Keyboard character repeat delay/rate is used to control the character repeat duration and repeat frequency. Cursor blink rate is used to control the cursor blinking frequency.

   

Also, Microsoft redesigned the dialog when the system cannot open a program. And, if you are testing Dev builds, you will get a redesigned mobile device companion in the Start menu, which now lets you scroll to access more recent activity, such as messages, calls, photos, updates, and more.

Here is the list of fixes that are gradually rolling out to Windows Insiders with the toggle on:

• [File Explorer]
  • Fixed an issue where some of the icons in Details, Preview, and navigation panes of File Explorer weren’t properly mirrored when Arabic or Hebrew display languages.
  • Fixed an issue where the tooltips in File Explorer might unexpectedly stay visible.
  • Fixed an issue where duplicating a tab in File Explorer on a maximized window would result in a black flash.
  • Improved support for text scaling on desktop icons, addressing an issue which could lead to overlapping icons and text.
  • Fixed a couple cases where Narrator was unexpectedly not announcing actions in File Explorer (when using the “create new” library option, and when expanding details while copying files).
  • Made some more performance improvements – particularly to help the performance of launching cloud files and loading context menus.
• [Start menu]
  • Fixed an issue for Insiders with the new Start menu, where they might unexpectedly see a category generated for every letter of the alphabet with blank icons, when opening the Start menu in the “All” section after updating to the previous build.
  • Fixed an issue where Visual Studio wasn’t showing in the correct category.
• [Task Manager]
  • Fixed a few issues impacting Task Manager reliability, including a recent issue which could cause Task Manager to freeze when going to the performance section for some Insiders.
  • Fixed a few issues impacting accessibility – including adjusting minimum field sizes, improving contrast for the column headers on the Details page when contrast themes are enabled, and addressing a focus issue with the ‘Select Columns’ dialog on the Details page.
• [Input]
  • Fixed an underlying issue where if you tried to type Chinese with an IME after copying something with CTRL + C could result in the first character getting dropped.
  • Fixed an issue where if you were typing on the touch keyboard with the Changjie, Bopomoji, or Japanese IME wouldn’t work if you had switched to using the previous version of the IME.
• [Settings]
  • Fixed an issue where if you attempt to add a security key under Settings > Account > Sign-in options could result in Settings crashing.
• [Other]
  • Fixed an underlying issue with dao360.dll resulting in some apps crashing after the last two builds.
  • Fixed an issue causing a small number of Insiders to experience bugchecks with SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION in the latest builds.

And here is the list of known issues:

• [General]
  • Some Windows Insiders may experience a rollback trying to install this update with a 0x80070005 in Windows Update. We’re working on a fix for Windows Insiders impacted. If you are impacted, using Settings > System > Recovery > “Fix issues using Windows update” may resolve the issue.
• [Click to Do (Preview)] The following known issues will be fixed in future updates to Windows Insiders:
  • [NEW] After updating to Build 26120.5742, text and image actions in Click to Do may not work and Click to Do may crash. This issue will be fixed in the next flight.
  • Windows Insiders on AMD or Intel®-powered Copilot+ PCs may experience long wait times on the first attempt to perform intelligent text actions in Click to Do after a new build or model update.
• [Start menu]
  • [NEW] For Insiders with the new Start menu, the layout may temporarily show a smaller Start menu (ex. 6 columns of pinned apps instead of 8). This issue will be resolved shortly, and the larger layout will be restored.
• [File Explorer]
  • In dark mode, the red color used for a low space drive in This PC may be unexpectedly light colored in this build. Some of the other colors may also be incorrect, including that black is used for space remaining instead of a more visible color.
• [Live Captions]
  • Live captions may crash when attempting to use live translation on a Copilot+ PC.
• [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 official announcement here (Dev) and here (Beta).

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Posted Saturday 9 August 2025 at 4:25 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft Edge 139 brings a reworked Settings section, which is now built with WebUI2. This enables significant improvements in performance and responsiveness, which Microsoft recently detailed in a blog post. Additionally, Microsoft optimized Settings for a more cohesive user experience by simplifying the number of pages and reorganizing various options. Though it also disables an important graphics feature with this update.

Wallet in Settings is discontinued. It now redirects users to the new "Passwords, Payment, and Personal Information" experience in settings. Speaking of passwords, the built-in password manager now has real-time notifications for compromised passwords. If one of your passwords is found in a known data breach, Edge will prompt you to take immediate action and create a new password.

Other changes in Edge 139 include the following:

• Open external links in another profile when recommended by external applications. When Microsoft Edge is set as the default browser to open external links from applications, Microsoft Edge must determine which profile to open the links.
• Introducing a new policy that can enable/disable Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat in Edge for Business from showing in the toolbar. Edge for Business now has a dedicated policy, Microsoft365CopilotChatIconEnabled, to enable and disable Copilot in Edge from showing in the Edge toolbar.
• New Autofill Personal Information Settings Configuration. A web form field collection consent toggle will be available in Autofill settings (edge://settings/autofill/personalInfo). This allows users to consent to Microsoft Edge collecting web form field labels (e.g., "First Name," "Email") to improve Autofill suggestion accuracy.
• Web AI APIs for prompt and writing assistance. Microsoft Edge now implements the Writing Assistance APIs and the Prompt API (for Edge extensions) with a local language model, Phi-4-mini, that is built into the browser. These easy-to-use JavaScript APIs are made available via Edge flags (set to Enabled, by default only for the Summarizer and Prompt API for extensions) so that sites and extensions can apply AI capabilities on the web.
• Enhancements to Performance and Secure network. Browser essentials is now separated into two distinct experiences (Performance and Secure Network) - both available from the Settings and more menu (“…” on the menu bar).
• Reset Microsoft Edge enterprise sync. For users having problems syncing browsing data across other signed-in devices, they can reset sync data from the Microsoft servers via Edge Settings edge://settings/profiles/sync/reset.
• Update to Microsoft AutoUpdate policy. The MAUEnabled policy allowed admins to continue using Microsoft AutoUpdate on macOS.

Finally, Edge 139 contains eight security fixes for vulnerabilities originating from Chromium. Microsoft also published a security guideline with details about a key graphics feature, which is now disabled.

You can update to Microsoft Edge 139 by heading to edge://settings/help. By the way, if you uninstalled the browser and do not know how to get it back, check out this guide.

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Posted Saturday 9 August 2025 at 4:23 am AEST (my time).

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Copilot Labs, a section with various experimental features in Microsoft's AI assistant, received a new feature called Copilot 3D. With this feature, Copilot lets you transform 2D images into usable 3D objects. Microsoft wants to simplify the process of creating 3D models, giving users a useful tool that has no steep learning curves and does not require installing complicated software.

With Copilot 3D, users can transform images into 3D models for later use in game development, animations, 3D printing, design, AR or VR content, art projects, and more. Additionally, users can browse a library of various 3D objects and scenes for inspiration, which sounds awfully familiar to the now-deceased Paint 3D and its content marketplace.

Copilot 3D is a one-click solution. All you need is to upload a picture (PNG or JPG, less than 10MB) and wait for Copilot to do its job. Unfortunately, Copilot cannot generate 3D objects from text prompts, at least for now, as Microsoft says in the announcement article.

Copilot 3D is available for free globally to a subset of Copilot users, but you need a Microsoft Account to access it from the browser. Once your object is generated, you can download it in GLB format so that you can later modify it in any compatible 3D viewer, editor, or game engine. Microsoft also adds that all creations are stored for 28 days, and the company does not use the uploaded images for model training or personalization.

In case you missed it, Microsoft recently introduced another Copilot Labs feature, which gives the assistant a physical appearance with physical expressions and emotions for a more natural conversation in Voice Mode. Also, Microsoft launched Gaming Copilot in Game Bar so that AI can see what is going on on the screen and give you tips, suggestions, and other useful information.

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Posted Saturday 9 August 2025 at 4:20 am AEST (my time).

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The first bug occurs on websites built with Svelte, a JavaScript framework for websites and web apps that enables interactive UI elements, such as buttons, menus, forms, and other bits that can update instantly. In recent Firefox versions, on websites with Svelte, certain properties disappear after some time. For example, a message that appears after clicking a button vanishes.

The second fix resolves a problem with cryptominers not being listed as blocked in Strict Tracking Protection (STP). Firefox would still block cryptominers, but they were just not listed.

Here is the official changelog:

• Fixed a regression that caused issues on sites built with the Svelte framework. (Bug 1980081)
• Fixed an issue where cryptominers were not listed as blocked in Strict Tracking Protection. (Bug 1977066)

Firefox 141.0.2 is now available for download from the official website, the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 and 11, and within the browser on existing installations. You can get the update by clicking Menu > Help > About Firefox. Firefox can also download and install updates automatically in the background.

Firefox 141.0.2 and 141.0.3 are both servicing updates for Firefox 141, which arrived in late July. Its changelog includes AI-powered tab groups, improvements for vertical tabs and control elements overflow, memory optimizations for Linux users, the long-anticipated WebGPU support on Windows, and enhancements to the address bar, which can now perform more actions. You can find full release notes for the update here.

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Posted Friday 8 August 2025 at 1:25 pm AEST (my time).

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You probably know this situation when you are not sure whether you copied something or not, so you Ctrl + C a bunch of times just to be sure (probably because many believe Windows' clipboard sucks big time, even though it is "optimized for performance"). ClipPing is a simple tool that should help you deal with this disorder. What it does is simply display a small overlay in your current app whenever a clipboard change occurs. The overlay is available in two variants: a green halo on top of the app or a small green highlight around the app.

Right now, ClipPing is a proposed module that has been discussed with core PowerToys contributors. Therefore, it could be a while before we see it integrated into PowerToys and land in another feature update. If you would like to give it a try earlier, you can download ClipPing as a standalone app from its GitHub repository. It is pretty barebones in its current form (no auto-startup, no customization), so do not expect much, but it should get its main purpose done. Other developers' contributions could also upgrade the project with more features.

If you would like to try a more advanced clipboard app for Windows 11, check out ClipShelf, a neat app that we mentioned in our "Top 10 apps for Windows 11 in 2025." It places a small pane above the taskbar and keeps all your recently copied elements there, allowing you to paste something quickly with dedicated shortcuts.

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Posted Friday 8 August 2025 at 1:22 pm AEST (my time).

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Today Microsoft is incorporating GPT-5, OpenAI’s best AI system to date, into a wide variety of its products, to bring new reasoning capabilities and improvements to coding and chat across its platforms. GPT-5, which was trained on Azure, includes OpenAI’s latest reasoning models, along with a smart, efficient model, to provide users with the right tool for the task at hand, whether in a consumer, enterprise or developer context.

In the announcement post, Microsoft says that GPT-5 makes Microsoft 365 Copilot better at understanding and answering complex questions, staying on track in long conversations, and understanding the context. It also works with emails, documents, and files. Additionally, GPT-5 will be available in Microsoft Copilot Studio, where developers can build custom agents.

GPT-5 is also rolling out to Microsoft Copilot on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and the web on copilot.microsoft.com. You can switch to the latest model by clicking "Quick" in the composer and selecting the "Smart" option, which was spotted a few days ago. Like OpenAI, Microsoft is not restricting access to GPT-5 to Copilot Pro users. The new model is available for free on computers, mobile devices, and on the web.

As for developers, everyone with a paid GitHub Copilot plan can use GPT-5 to write, test, and deploy code. Azure AI Foundry also lets developers integrate GPT-5 into applications.

GPT-5 is now rolling out, and you can learn about its capabilities in our dedicated article. Microsoft's announcement post is available on the official website here.

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Posted Friday 8 August 2025 at 1:18 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft has confirmed that paying $30 to enrol a Windows 10 PC into the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program will also require a Microsoft Account to complete the transaction. The good news is that one ESU license will cover up to 10 devices signed into the same account, meaning you don't need to pay $30 per device like originally thought. Strangely, this was not made clear in Microsoft's original announcement.

This is both good and bad news. It's good news as it means the $30 license is now much more reasonable, but bad news as it means you will still need to register a Microsoft Account to receive continued security updates beyond Windows 10's end of support date of October 14, 2025.

Originally, it sounded like the Microsoft Account requirement only applied to the free enrollment option when signing up for the ESU program. This method involves syncing your PC settings with OneDrive in exchange for free access to updates. Users thought they might be able to avoid registering a Microsoft Account by paying the $30 fee.

But now, the company has confirmed that all enrollment options require a Microsoft Account, regardless of if you're paying $30 or not. A Microsoft support document makes it abundantly clear:

"All enrollment options provide extended security updates through October 13, 2026. You will need to sign into your Microsoft account in order to enroll in ESU. You’ll be given these options to choose from when you enroll in the ESU program. You can use your existing ESU license on up to 10 devices."

The enrollment options the above mentions are as follows:

• One-time purchase of $30 USD
• 1,000 Microsoft Reward points
• Free if you sync your PC settings to OneDrive

This news is likely going to upset many Windows 10 users who have avoided registering a Microsoft Account up until now. At the same time, this should appease those who are already using a Microsoft Account and have more than one device they need to protect.

The 50th Anniversary Bloom wallpaper is a dark variant with some gold sparkles on it (some users on Reddit claim it looks like mold). It is a great-looking background for dark theme fans, especially with OLED and miniLED displays with their deep inky blacks and vivid colors.

The 50th Anniversary Surface Laptop is pretty hard to acquire, but its exclusive wallpaper is now available for everyone to enjoy in its full-resolution glory (click the image to save it in full resolution):

If you want to refresh your desktop with other wallpapers, check out some other cool backgrounds we reported before:

• macOS 26 Tahoe stock wallpapers
• Windows 95 Setup wallpaper in 4K
• More 50th anniversary Microsoft wallpapers
• Immersive Hues wallpaper collection
• Fluid Textures wallpaper collection
• Exclusive Windows 365 Link wallpapers
• Windows 365 Wallpapers

The 50th Anniversary Surface Laptop is not the only exclusive variant. Microsoft recently announced the so-called "Smurface Laptop" that features some cute art on its lid, designed in collaboration with the recent Smurfs movie. The Smurface Laptop is now available on Amazon for the same price as the regular Surface Laptop. Wonder if it has some exclusive wallpapers, perhaps Bloom with a bunch of smurfs on it?

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Posted Friday 8 August 2025 at 2:41 am AEST (my time).

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Windows 11 24H2 is a large update that takes some time to install. Don’t do this close to Patch Tuesday.

And because new patches are a mere five days away, it’s time to defer everything except critical or emergency patches until I’ve spent the time to understand any side effects. Accordingly, MS-DEFCON goes up to 2.

I’m still on the fence about 24H2. Unless you are fully embracing the cloud, it doesn’t bring a lot to Windows 11. However, it’s a necessary upgrade so that your systems stay up to date and supported. If 24H2 has not yet been offered to you via Windows Update (check Settings), you can use the ISO method by going to the Windows 11 download page to obtain the ISO file, clicking on setup.exe, and running the update.

Just don’t do it yet. Avoid inadvertently catching the August updates at the same time you are trying to do an upgrade. I always recommend installing feature releases toward the end of the month and not near Patch Tuesday. If you miss the window of opportunity, which is when I have the MS-DEFCON level set to 4 or lower (usually closer to the end of a month), wait for another patch cycle to complete.

Microsoft is making preparations to push the Windows 10 ESU service. You can tell. because it is fixing some of the bugs in the ESU, as noted in the end-of-July preview update (KB5062649😞

[Extended Security Updates] Fixed: An issue impacting the Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) enrollment wizard. Some users experienced a problem where clicking “Enroll now” caused the wizard window to open, begin loading, and then close unexpectedly. This occurred due to incomplete app registration, which prevented the wizard from loading correctly. This update addresses that issue to ensure a smoother enrollment experience.

KB5062649 also mentions another fix that will be coming to the August update:

[Core File Systems] Fixed: An issue observed in rare cases after installing the May 2025 security update and subsequent updates causing devices to experience stability issues. Some devices became unresponsive and stopped responding in specific scenarios.

Unfortunately, Microsoft offers no clue about exactly what these “specific scenarios” are.

Starting in August, Microsoft will begin to roll out Recall for Windows 11 24H2 to the European Economic Area (EEA). Specific to that region, you will able to export snapshots to share with trusted third-party apps and websites. When the saving snapshots feature is turned on for the first time, a unique Recall export code appears. This code is required to decrypt exported snapshots and is shown only once during initial setup. Microsoft doesn’t store or recover this code.

In addition, for all Recall users worldwide, Recall can be reset and all its data deleted if you have a Copilot+ PC. Go to Settings | Privacy and Security | Recall and Snapshots to find a new Advanced settings page. There, you’ll see a reset button that deletes all your snapshots and restores Recall to its default settings.

Figure 1. The Recall feature can be reset and all data deleted.

I remain unconvinced that Recall is a compelling feature.

Consumers

A month ago, we reported in our Unexpected Restarts post that the infamous blue screen of death was changing as part of Microsoft’s Windows Resiliency Initiative (WRI). WRI is focused on enterprises, but in August consumers will also get the change to the “Black Screen of Death.” The new BSOD provides more detail than we see now. WRI aims to make recovery from a catastrophic problem easier and faster with Quick Machine Recovery (QMR).

QMR is designed to avoid near-endless loops through the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). Instead, WinRE will connect to the Internet and Microsoft can deliver a targeted fix though Windows update. QMR will be enabled automatically on Windows 11 Home edition and can be turned on via Settings for Pro and Enterprise editions.

Businesses

Because QMR will not be enabled automatically in the Pro and Enterprise editions of Windows 11, businesses will need to take direct action to enable it. IT admins can enable or customize this experience for their organization through the Intune Settings Catalog UI using the RemoteRemediation CSP. There is also a dedicated QMR settings page available under System | Recovery | Quick machine recovery. You may already see this page, as shown in Figure 2:

Figure 2. Quick machine recovery in Settings

As you may recall, this is a direct result of the CrowdStrike issue last year that triggered BSODs and business disruptions when a faulty endpoint-detection update caused massive issues. Here’s hoping that problems such as this can be successfully prevented.

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Posted Thursday 7 August 2025 at 2:13 pm AEST (my time).

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For as long as I can remember, as an avid Windows user, I've regularly encountered an unnamed window preventing me from shutting down my PC after a long day of gaming (or work). It's puzzled me for years, and based on my research, I’m clearly not the only one dealing with it on this island.

Going by the comments on Reddit posts, even from several years ago, the unnamed program preventing Windows from shutting down always seemed like an issue that puzzled users. However, Microsoft veteran Raymond Chen recently revealed the whole concept behind this secretive window with no name, blocking Windows shutdown in his ongoing "Old New Thing" series.

According to the seasoned Microsoft engineer, when a user attempts to shut down Windows, but a program deters the process from happening, the operating system conventionally presents you with the Blocked Shutdown Resolver (BSDR) featuring a list of windows, including the one processing the shutdown notification as well as other windows waiting in line to process said notification.

As highlighted by Chen, "The program controls all the parts of the presentation. The description comes from the window title. The icon (comes) from the window icon. And the subtitle comes from the string that the program passed to the Shutdown­Block­Reason­Create function."

However, there are some instances where the program fails to call that function, prompting it to default to a generic system-provided string like “This app is preventing shutdown” or “This app is preventing you from restarting.”

The description may at times appear blank, which is a rather odd occurrence. "But why is the description sometimes blank? Who would create a window with no title?" added Chen. As it turns out, the whole concept is by design. Chen notes that programs often create windows that were never meant to be shown to the user, so developers would leave their titles blank on purpose.

He further explains that these windows are designed to serve as a dummy "helper" window, designed to receive messages or serve as an anchor for positioning another window. "Since the program knew that the window would never be shown to the user, it didn’t bother giving it a title," concluded Chen. However, the Blocked Shutdown Resolver shows the title, explaining the unnamed program preventing a shutdown. Puzzle solved. Well, at least I know why it happens now.

Desktop users can download and install the update via Menu > Help > About Google Chrome. If you are on Windows, you may also run winget upgrade google.chrome.exe to install the latest version.

Chrome 139: the security update

Google mentions on the Chrome Releases Blog that it fixed 12 unique security issues in Chrome 139.  It lists eight security issues publicly only, which have a severity rating of either medium or low.

The company makes no mention of exploits in the wild, which means that it is not aware of any targeted attacks.

Chrome 139: the new features and changes

Google introduces an AI Mode for search recommendations in Chrome 139. You may find a new section "Explore in AI Mode" when you click on the address bar or type something. This section complements the suggestions that Google Chrome displays, e.g., if bookmarks match what you type.

The feature is rolled out over time. Means: it make take days, weeks or even longer before you may see the new section.

Enterprise admins may control the feature with the policy AIModeSettings.

Other Changes in Chrome 139:

• Google Chrome 139 does not support Android Oreo or Android Pie anymore. The operating systems launched in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
• Google Chrome 139 does not support macOS 11.
• Chrome 139 on Android contacts Google servers when Android APK files are downloaded to "get a verdict about their safety". If Google determines that an APK is dangerous, it will show a warning and block the download. Users may bypass the warning to proceed with the download. The checks are performed if Standard Protection or Enhanced Protection are enabled in Google Safe Browsing.
• The Passwords and other sign-in data selection in Delete browsing data is removed. Users are redirected to the Google Password Manager instead, as it offers "better manage and delete passwords and passkeys" capabilities".
• Google removed the startup flags --extensions-on-chrome-urls and --disable-extensions-except to "mitigate the risks associated with harmful and unwanted extensions".
• Automatic fallback to WebGL backed by SwiftShader is deprecated and WebGL context creation now fails instead of falling back to SwiftShader.
• Shared tab groups continues to roll out in Chrome 139. This enables the sharing of tab groups with other users.

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Posted Thursday 7 August 2025 at 1:41 am AEST (my time).

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While Windows 11 version 25H2 and its redesigned Start menu still allow you to create shortcuts by dragging apps from the menu to the desktop, the shortcuts' properties dialog is now different. In Windows 11 version 24H2, you can right-click a shortcut and check the path to the file in the "Target" box. In version 25H2, the box no longer shows the full path to the file.

Besides making things less convenient, this change removes the ability to add special commands and arguments to executables. Here on Neowin, we often report on experimental features and changes that you can only enable by modifying the shortcut's target. While it is still possible in Windows 11 version 25H2, users are now required to take a different approach.

There are no words from Microsoft regarding this change. It is also quite possible that it is a bug in the new Start menu. Reverting to the old Start menu restores the previous behavior. If you do not have the new Start menu on your system with a Dev or Beta build, check out this article.

If you want to create a shortcut with the correct properties dialog, do the following:

1. Open the Start menu and right-click the app you want to have on the desktop.
2. Select "Open file location."
3. Windows 11 will open File Explorer with the app you need. Right-click it and select "Show more options."
4. Select Send to > Desktop (create shortcut).

Done. Now you have the correct shortcut with a properly working target box in the properties dialog.

Via Deskmodder

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Posted Wednesday 6 August 2025 at 4:25 pm AEST (my time).

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Now, Microsoft veteran Raymond Chen has once again shared an interesting nugget of information from within the company. This time, Chen has revealed the reason behind changing the absurd naming scheme in Windows, and the reason isn't entirely surprising.

Basically, during an all-hands meeting, a senior executive asked employees if Microsoft has an unconscious bias. In layman's terms, this means any ideas, associations, or biases that we inadvertently hold, outside our control. Thankfully, a brave unnamed employee stood up and noted that he was born in the southern hemisphere where seasons are opposite to that of the northern hemisphere. So a Windows 10 "Fall Creators Update" doesn't really make sense to him since it's not the fall season in his hometown. This indicated that there was a bias in favor of the northern hemisphere and that the name wasn't inclusive. Fortunately, it seems like the Microsoft management in attendance agreed with the employee's viewpoint and the naming scheme was transitioned to something hemisphere-neutral the next day.

It's quite obvious when you think about it. Apart from not really describing when an update was released, the previous naming scheme incorrectly assumed that seasons are universal. It is also important to keep in mind that we previously received two feature updates per year, so dividing them into seasons was even more confusing.

Microsoft eventually shifted to an H1 and H2 naming scheme to indicate both halves of the year, and ultimately, we ended up getting just one feature update per year, which really simplified the whole convention. For those keeping track, Windows 11, version 25H2 is expected later this year.

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Posted Wednesday 6 August 2025 at 4:23 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of July): 3,458

RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend