News: Software News

WhatsApp's new feature could spell disaster for your productivity

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 02:09:37 +0000

WhatsApp is rolling out a new beta feature that lets users set reminders for missed calls. They can be created directly from the chat or the Calls tab with options to be reminded after 2 hours, 8 hours, next day, or according to a custom schedule. This feature should help to remind you to call back whomever tried calling you.

This reminder builds on a previous beta feature that allow reminders for messages. Right now, the call reminders are going through a limited rollout to some beta testers on Android running version 2.25.22.5.

WhatsApp has a suspicious reputation among its users. It claims to be privacy-friendly but people doubt this due to Meta’s general behavior since launching Facebook. According to WABetaInfo, these reminders are processed entirely on-device and will remain private. The notification itself includes the caller's name, profile picture, and a link to the conversation.

Another area of concern with this feature is its potential to disrupt productivity. For example, if you know you need to call someone back you might keep a mental note if it's important or forget if it's not. With these reminders it'll push users into re-engage with the app, ultimately distracting you for something potentially not that interesting.

Judging by the screenshot of this feature, there doesn't seem to be an obligation to create reminders and it could genuinely be helpful if you want to call a family member, friend, or colleague back. By turning a passive event (the missed call) into an active one (the scheduled follow-up call), WhatsApp is trying to get your attention back, which could potentially suck you in and act as a distraction to any work you might be doing. While helpful, you should be mindful when you ask to be notified.

Let us know if you think this will distract you in the comments.

Source and image via WABetaInfo

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Posted Wednesday 30 July 2025 at 12:09 pm AEST (my time).

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Windows 10 is 10 years old today — let's look back at 10 controversial and defining moments in its history

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 18:34:48 +0000

From modern app platforms to forced feature upgrades and telemetry concerns, we take a look at 10 of Windows 10's most controversial and defining moments on its 10th anniversary.

On July 29, 2015, Microsoft launched Windows 10 to the world. It was a step in the right direction after the disaster that was Windows 8, merging the new live tile interface with the familiar Start menu design, and refocusing attention on the desktop experience for keyboard and mouse users.

Windows 10 was the OS of many firsts. It was the first to be built in the open alongside the public, with frequent technical and consumer preview builds on an almost weekly cadence, via a new program called the Windows Insider Program. Users could test and influence development as it was happening, which shaped Windows 10 in a way no previous version of Windows had been.

It would also be the first version of Windows to be updated twice a year with new features and platform changes, be free for existing users coming from older versions of Windows, and transcend the desktop with a new core designed to run on everything from phones to XR devices.

Windows 10 entered full-time development in 2014 under the codename Threshold, a reference to a planet in the video game Halo. It would go on to receive 14 major updates in its lifecycle, with the last major OS release landing in 2022. It was also supposed to be the last version of Windows, but that ended up not being entirely true.

So, to celebrate 10 years, let's look back at Windows 10's most defining and controversial moments that have led us to where we are today.

Windows 10 was free, but only for one (or seven) years

You could use Windows 10 for free, as long as you were a Windows 7 or Windows 8 user looking to upgrade.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

When Windows 10 was first announced, Microsoft revealed that for the first time ever, a new mainline Windows version would be free to upgrade to for existing Windows users.

All Windows 7 and Windows 8 users would be given 1 year to take advantage of this offer. Failure to upgrade to Windows 10 within the first year would mean you would have to pay to upgrade to Windows 10 afterwards. At least, that's what Microsoft wanted you to think.

This time pressure meant that Windows 10 enjoyed an incredible adoption rate in its first year. It achieved 100 million devices in just two months, and that number only increased throughout the first year on the market. This was partly aided by the GWX app, which we'll discuss below.

However, it turned out that the free upgrade period wasn't actually just a year. In fact, the free upgrade was available to all Windows 7 and Windows 8 users until 2023, that's 7 whole years after the free upgrade period was supposed to end!

Even though it was totally possible to activate a Windows 10 PC with a Windows 7 or Windows 8 key in 2023, Microsoft's official stance was that the free upgrade window closed back in July 2016.

The 'Get Windows 10' (GWX) fiasco

The Get Windows 10 app would popup and harass you into installing Windows 10 on a frequent basis.

One very controversial move in the early days of Windows 10 was Microsoft's heavy-handedness when it came to upgrading users from Windows 7 to Windows 10. In 2015, Microsoft released an app via Windows Update to Windows 7 and Windows 8 users called "Get Windows 10," internally dubbed GWX.

This app would sit in your system tray and basically harass you into accepting the Windows 10 upgrade. Some reports even claimed that the Get Windows 10 app was forcing upgrades without consent, with several people claiming their PCs had been upgraded overnight while they were asleep.

This app caused a big uproar amongst Windows users who were not interested in moving away from Windows 7 at the time. Microsoft would later admit they were being too aggressive with the Windows 10 upgrade prompts, and later removed the Get Windows 10 app from all Windows 7 PCs.

A modern telemetry nightmare

Windows 10 asked for a lot of data from the user.

(Image credit: Future)

Windows 10 was the first version of Windows to really up the stakes when it comes to privacy and security concerns around always-connected platforms. When the OS first launched, it was criticised heavily for its increased telemetry data collection services, most of which could not be turned off.

That remains true to this day, too. The amount of data Windows collects from users has only increased as time has progressed, but at the beginning, there was a lot of pushback from users on Windows 7 and Windows 8 who were not comfortable with the OS phoning home so often.

Microsoft attempted to address these concerns by releasing a tool called the Diagnostic Data Viewer, which let the user see exactly what telemetry data was being collected and uploaded to Microsoft. The company also added different levels of telemetry collection, which would let users control how much data is sent to Microsoft.

Notably, there was never an option to outright turn off telemetry data collection, but you could reduce it to "basics." Still, to this day, Windows collects vast amounts of telemetry data from users, but most people no longer care or have simply forgotten about it.

Fun fact: Microsoft would eventually bring the same telemetry data collection systems to Windows 7. Not many people know that. So, if you remained on Windows 7 because you didn't agree with Windows 10's telemetry collection, you weren't able to avoid it for long.

The birth of Windows as a Service

Windows Update was working overtime in the Windows 10 era.

(Image credit: Future)

While Windows 8 was the first version of Windows to be updated on an annual cycle, Windows 10 took things to a new level with Windows as a Service; an attempt to update the Windows OS with major new features and platform enhancements on a bi-annual basis.

Releasing a new version of the Windows platform two times a year was unprecedented at the time. Windows wasn't exactly known for its excellent in-place upgrade capabilities, and so the release of new feature updates in the spring and fall of every year was often met with issues in the first few years of Windows 10's life.

The first Windows 10 feature update landed just a few months after Windows 10 debuted in July 2015, with the version 1511 release, also known as the Windows 10 November 2015 Update. This update introduced a number of quality-of-life improvements, including dark mode for the first time on Windows desktop.

Windows as a Service would come under fire multiple times during Windows 10's life. Most notably with the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, which was released without sufficient testing and resulted in the update deleting user files post upgrade, with said files being unrecoverable.

This issue caused Microsoft to temporarily pull the update and reevaluate the Windows as a Service schedule, resulting in the company scaling back the major platform releases, while still delivering new version updates. Starting in 2019, instead of two major platform releases for two new version updates, Windows 10 would only get one major platform release, with two version updates based on top of it.

Windows OneCore and form factor diversification

There was a dream for Windows 10 to run on every device form factor. How far we've fallen.

One commendable effort Microsoft conducted with Windows 10 was something called OneCore. It was a true attempt at building a universal Windows core that could scale across any and all device types and form factors. It was an attempt to make Windows ambient, capable of running on any device Microsoft wanted it to.

At the time, OneCore enabled Windows 10 to run on all kinds of form factors, including phones, tablets, Xbox, HoloLens, and IoT devices. It was a valiant effort that paid off from a technical perspective, allowing platforms like Windows 10 Mobile and Windows Holographic to exist, alongside UWP, Microsoft's universal app platform that ran on OneCore-based versions of Windows.

Unfortunately, this effort would end up in vain, as Microsoft ultimately killed most OneCore editions outside of the main desktop operating system and its derivatives. That would lead to Windows only really being viable on desktop and laptop devices, with phones, wearables, and IoT devices mostly out of the picture today.

Broken Dark Mode

Windows 10's dark mode was never finished.

Windows' modern dark mode issues started here on Windows 10, with the first version of the OS in 2015. When Windows 10 first debuted, it did so with a shell interface that was clearly dark-themed. But the rest of the OS wasn't, including context menus and apps. It wouldn't be until version 1511 that Microsoft would add a dedicated light/dark theme toggle.

In the early days, this toggle only impacted the app theme, which meant even when you set your theme to light mode, the Start menu, Taskbar, and Action Center would remain dark. This wouldn't get fixed until 2018, when the OS would finally get a system-wide theme toggle option.

But even then, this didn't address all of the issues that the dark mode theme had. Many areas of the OS, including copy dialogs and file properties, didn't support light mode, and some areas looked outright broken when dark mode was enabled.

Unfortunately, this was never fixed, not even with Windows 11. To this day, dark mode on Windows is still woefully incomplete, and it was Windows 10 that started it.

Windows 10 fails on phones

The death of Windows Phone occurred during Windows 10's lifecycle.

Windows 10 Mobile was Microsoft's attempt at bringing Windows 10 to smartphones. It was an evolution of Windows Phone, bringing OneCore and UWP modern Windows-based smartphones. It launched in 2015, four months after Windows 10 in November 2015, to middling reviews due to lacklustre launch hardware and a buggy OS release.

It took Windows 10 Mobile some time to find its footing in the world of smartphones. It wasn't until the Version 1607 release in 2016 that Windows 10 Mobile became stable enough to recommend to users. The OS shared the same universal app platform and core operating system as Windows 10, albeit without the ability to run legacy desktop applications.

It did introduce a feature called Continuum, which let users use their phone like a real Windows PC when docked up to an external display. This feature was years before Samsung DeX and Android Desktop Mode, and was well ahead of the curve.

Unfortunately, due to slow adoption of UWP and Windows 10 Mobile's troublesome launch, the platform failed to gain much traction in its first two years on the market. Microsoft would ultimately pull the plug on Windows 10 Mobile in 2017, indirectly killing UWP in the process.

The Universal Windows Platform

Build one app and run it on any device form factor you want. That was the goal.

UWP was Microsoft's modern app platform that was designed to scale up and down the form factor spectrum. It let developers easily create adaptive apps that would run on Windows 10 Mobile, Xbox, HoloLens, and Windows PCs in a secure sandboxed environment. Unfortunately, UWP was incredibly barebones at launch, missing vital APIs and features that developers needed to build the Windows apps they wanted.

This meant UWP adoption was slow, and it took a very long time for big-name developers to finally adopt UWP. Even then, most didn't, instead choosing to maintain their legacy Windows apps or opting to build a web app instead. The main reason app developers would even consider UWP was because of Windows 10 Mobile.

However, when Microsoft killed Windows 10 Mobile in 2017, that made UWP redundant for a lot of app developers, which slowed adoption of the platform further. This ultimately led to Microsoft winding down support for UWP in 2021, replacing it with WinUI, which is based on Win32 instead.

UWP still exists today in Windows 11 and developers can choose to build apps with if they want, but there are no active features or new APIs in development, and there's no real benefit using it over WinUI.

Fluent Design System (was disappointing)

This is what Microsoft promised Windows 10 would eventually look like with Fluent Design.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

In 2017, Microsoft announced the Fluent Design System, an attempt to overhaul the Windows UX and broader Microsoft design language with a fresh coat of paint, rooted in the need for UI design that transcended the traditional 2D interface. In a lot of ways, it was very similar to Apple's just-announced Liquid Glass design language, with 3D effects, motion, and fluid animations.

At the time, Microsoft showcased vast new Windows interfaces that were essentially a complete redesign of the Windows desktop. Apps would support 3D flyouts and objects, and the entire desktop interface would be given a fresh coat of paint with the Fluent Design System in mind.

However, when it finally came time to start rolling out the Fluent Design System, what we got was nothing like what Microsoft had promised. At most, it was a subtle update that was most notable in icons, with some blur, lighting, and motion effects applied sparingly across the operating system.

Fluent Design was a huge disappointment for users who were looking for a complete overhaul of the Windows desktop, something Microsoft had promised. To this day, Microsoft still hasn't delivered on most of the designs it showcased in that original Fluent Design System announcement.

It's probably accurate to say that the Windows 11 interface is what Fluent Design became, but it's still nowhere near what Microsoft had originally promised from this new design language.

My People was an embarrassment

Adding people to your Taskbar was a cool idea in theory, but the execution was terrible.

My People was an interesting attempt at building an iMessage competitor directly into Windows 10. The feature would let you pin contacts directly to your Taskbar, letting you quickly access their contact details and location, or send them a message or file.

The feature was announced and initially supported apps like Windows Mail and Skype. At the time, Microsoft was trying to position Skype as the client to sync your SMS messages with. Pinned contacts could send you nudges that would appear as 3D animations above the Taskbar. Clicking on a contact would open a dedicated person flyout that let you quickly interact with the person without leaving your current app.

My People was also open to third-party developers, which meant apps like Instagram or Twitter could also integrate into the My People flyouts. Unfortunately, basically no third-party developers updated their apps to support My People, which ultimately led to the feature being killed off just a couple of years later.

My People is still present in Windows 10 to this day, but it's now defaulted to being off, whereas it was originally automatically enabled on all Windows 10 PCs.

Windows 10: Defining Windows Today

Windows 10's long tenure on the market is nothing short of impressive, but that also means the OS did a lot more than just 10 things that defined it. Notably, Windows 10 is what killed Microsoft's own web browsing engine, replacing Edge UWP with a version built on Chromium. There's also Your Phone, which began life on Windows 10 and was the first time Microsoft truly embraced Android as an extension of the Windows PC.

Windows 10 did so much to set the narrative for the Windows we have today. It wasn't perfect, and some could argue that Windows 10 killed Microsoft's chances of evolving Windows to run on more than just desktops and laptops, but we believe it brought more to the table than it took away.

Now, Windows 11 is the latest version, replacing Windows 10 even though Microsoft said at the time that Windows 10 would be the last version of Windows. With hindsight, that was a terrible idea. But at least we've got something new to play with now.

Windows 10 will finally be put to rest later this year, as mainstream support comes to an end. Rest in peace, Windows 10.

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Posted Wednesday 30 July 2025 at 4:33 am AEST (my time).

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Windows 10 is 10 years old today

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 18:30:42 +0000

It's July 29, 2025 in many parts of the globe right now, which means that Windows 10 is officially 10 years old as of today. Although the OS was first announced in September 2014, it hit general availability on July 29, 2015 after almost a year of Technical Previews (that is what we called Insider Previews back in the day). It was made available as a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8/8.1 users, and reviewed quite well at Neowin on launch.

Although the operating system's launch was a bit rocky - remember the telemetry brouhaha? -, Windows 10 eventually found its footing and became highly popular among customers. It's only now that Windows 11's market share has almost caught up with Windows 10, which further cements its status as an icon among other versions like Windows 7 and Windows XP.

Windows 10 was a big step up from its predecessor in many ways. The operating system is credited with introducing many new features including a revamped Start menu that most people finally liked, a revamped UI with modern aesthetics, Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Action Center, Windows Hello, and more. Of course, not all of these features were popular, but the effort that Microsoft put into the OS was clear; this was no Windows 8.

Over the past week or so, Neowin has been celebrating 10 Years of Windows 10 in our dedicated section here, you can find some of our features listed below:

Of course, as we celebrate Windows 10's tenth birthday, we should also keep in mind that the OS is reaching end of support on October 14, 2025. You can extend support for a year through paid or "free" means, but it's definitely the end of the line for OS. You can read all about this topic in our dedicated guide, penned by Neowin Editor Taras Buria.

As we turn the page on the OS, remainers have to consider whether they can or should upgrade to Windows 11 or switch to something else entirely, like a Linux distro. But that is a topic that warrants a detailed discussion and set it aside for some other day. For now, utilize the comments section to let us know how long have you been using Windows 10 for, what are your favorite features in the OS, and what are your fondest memories of it!

Image vector: Party Popper PNGs by Vecteezy

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Posted Wednesday 30 July 2025 at 4:30 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft mysteriously offered a Windows 11 upgrade to this unsupported Windows 10 PC — despite it failing to meet the "non-negotiable" TPM 2.0 requirement

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 18:29:38 +0000

A Windows 10 user reportedly received an offer to upgrade to Windows 11 despite having a TPM 2.0 chip disabled on their PC.

Since Windows 11 shipped in 2021, Microsoft has received a lot of backlash, predominantly due to the operating system's stringent minimum system requirements and its flawed design elements compared to its predecessor. These have heavily contributed to Windows 11's loose grip in the market share, as it only recently managed to surpass Windows 10 as the most dominant desktop OS in the world, with a 50.88% hold on the market share.

But in a surprising turn of events, BornCity recently reported on a bizarre incident where Microsoft seemingly offered an upgrade to Windows 11 to unsupported hardware, even though it did not meet the system requirements (via Neowin).

A reader of the German blog further disclosed that they had disabled TPM on their device to prevent a forced Windows 11 upgrade. However, their Windows 10 PC still got an offer to upgrade to Windows 11 while using a Lenovo IdeaPad S145-15IWL [81MV014QGE] laptop powered by an Intel 8th Gen i5 processor, which makes it an ideal candidate for the Windows 11 upgrade.

As you may know, a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 is one of Microsoft's stringent requirements for running Windows 11. It is designed to provide "hardware-level security services for your device," keeping your private information and credentials safe from unauthorized users with encryption on a physical chip.

To that end, BornCity speculates that the unusual occurrence might be a result of a bug or a particular BIOS setting. Microsoft hasn't made any announcements or changes to its stringent minimum system requirements for Windows 11. In December, the company categorically indicated that TPM 2.0 was a non-negotiable requirement, designed to help future-proof Windows 11.

Windows 10 Start menu on a 5th generation Surface Pro.

(Image credit: Daniel Rubino | Windows Central)

Yes, in a little over 2 months, on October 14, 2025, Microsoft is poised to pull the plug on Windows 10. The software giant has ramped up its campaign for Windows 11, using bold claims and bait like its sophisticated Copilot+ PCs are 5x faster than a 5-year-old Windows device to get users to make the upgrade.

The company has seemingly moved on from using aggressive tactics like using full-screen multipage popup ads to urge Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11. Instead, the company is using a different approach and urging users to since it will no longer release critical Windows 10 security updates past the cutoff date.

That said, users hell-bent on sticking to Windows 10 have at least 3 options that will allow them to continue using the operating system securely, including enrolling in Microsoft's Windows 10 ESU program, which will set you back $30 per device.

Alternatively, you can continue receiving these security updates for free for an extra year by syncing your PC settings data with the cloud via a Microsoft Account. Of course, you can also continue using your Windows 10 PC without conforming to any of the alternatives listed above, but that could open your PC up to privacy and security nightmares.

Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) has petitioned Microsoft's decision to cut support for Windows 10 and asked it to reconsider with an extended lifeline, as the move could lead to "the single biggest jump in junked computers ever." However, Microsoft is highly unlikely to reconsider its decision, especially after extending a lifeline for Windows 10 users with its conditional extra year of free security updates. But that doesn't cut it for PIRG.

According to PIRG:

"Microsoft has already made some concessions after public pushback: providing ESU for individuals for the first time, affordable pricing for schools, and now their new OneDrive option. What they haven't done is commit to automatically providing longer support for Windows 10 or loosening the hardware requirements for Windows 11. It's obvious that users are frustrated. They feel yanked around and don't think this [latest] announcement provides a viable solution."

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Posted Wednesday 30 July 2025 at 4:28 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft is revamping Windows 11’s Task Manager so its numbers make more sense

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 18:28:07 +0000

Changes are rolling out to Windows Insider testers in the Dev and Beta channels.

Microsoft devotes most of its time and energy these days to promoting new AI- and Copilot-related features for Windows 11, but the company's Windows Insider builds are still full of small tweaks and changes aimed at improving longstanding Windows features for people who just want to use their PC the way they always have.

New updates that began rolling out to testers in the Windows Insider program yesterday include a couple of small but meaningful changes for Windows power users. First, Microsoft is changing the way the Taskbar works on secondary monitors, allowing users to click it to see the calendar and Notification Center on all monitors, not just the primary display.

Microsoft is also making a change to how the various tabs in the Task Manager measure CPU usage to make it more consistent (and less nonsensical).

In brief, the current Task Manager uses different methods for calculating CPU usage in different tabs. The Processes tab, in particular, used a method for calculating CPU usage that didn't account for the number of CPU cores in a system, allowing processes to report that they were using "100 percent" of your CPU even if they were really only using a single core. The Performance and Users tabs used a different calculation method that did account for the total number of cores in a system. The upshot is that different tabs in the same app could tell you very different things about how much of your CPU was currently tied up by the apps you were running.

The new Task Manager uses "standard metrics to display CPU workload consistently across all pages and aligning with industry standards and third-party tools," calculating CPU usage in the Processes tab the same way it calculates usage in its other tabs.

Microsoft has been testing this change on and off for a few months, starting back in February, but then disabled it "to fix some issues." This week's builds are the first to re-enable the change, suggesting that Microsoft is getting closer to rolling it out to the general public. For people who want to view the old CPU usage numbers in Task Manager for whatever reason, a new disabled-by-default "CPU Utility" column can be added to the Details tab.

Copilot+ features, and annoying “features”

Microsoft continues to roll out AI features, particularly to PCs that meet the qualifications for the company's Copilot+ features. These betas enable "agent-powered search" for Intel and AMD Copilot+ PCs, which continue to get most of these features a few weeks or months later than Qualcomm Snapdragon+ PCs. This agent is Microsoft's latest attempt to improve the dense, labyrinthine Settings app by enabling natural-language search that knows how to respond to queries like "my mouse pointer is too small" or "how to control my PC by voice" (Microsoft's examples). Like other Copilot+ features, this relies on your PC's neural processing unit (NPU) to perform all processing locally on-device. Microsoft has also added a tutorial for the "Click to Do" feature that suggests different actions you can perform based on images, text, and other content on your screen.

Finally, Microsoft is tweaking the so-called "Second Chance Out of Box Experience" window (also called "SCOOBE," pronounced "scooby"), the setup screen that you'll periodically see on a Windows 11 PC even if you've already been using it for months or years. This screen attempts to enroll your PC in Windows Backup, to switch your default browser to Microsoft Edge and its default search engine to Bing, and to import favorites and history into Edge from whatever browser you might have been trying to use before.

If you, like me, experience the SCOOBE screen primarily as a nuisance rather than something "helpful," it is possible to make it go away. Per our guide to de-cluttering Windows 11, open Settings, go to System, then to Notifications, scroll down, expand the "additional settings" drop-down, and uncheck all three boxes here to get rid of the SCOOBE screen and other irritating reminders.

Most of these features are being released simultaneously to the Dev and Beta channels of the Windows Insider program (from least- to most-stable, the four channels are Canary, Dev, Beta, and Release Preview). Features in the Beta channel are usually not far from being released into the public versions of Windows, so non-Insiders can probably expect most of these things to appear on their PCs in the next few weeks. Microsoft is also gearing up to release the Windows 11 25H2 update, this year's big annual update, which will enable a handful of features that the company is already quietly rolling out to PCs running version 24H2.

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Posted Wednesday 30 July 2025 at 4:27 am AEST (my time).

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Here are all the new features Microsoft added to Excel in July 2025

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 18:26:39 +0000

It's that time of the month again: when Microsoft recaps everything new that it introduced in Excel during the past four weeks. This roundup is useful because it allows us to see the improvements across every platform. Excel is one of the most widely used spreadsheet tools out there and Microsoft regularly enhances it to make it enticing to even more customers.

In July 2025, Microsoft added lots of new capabilities to Excel. Starting off with a feature shared between Windows, Mac, and the web, we have Compatibility Versions. These are basically multiple versions of Excel functions which exist because Microsoft does not want to break the calculations in existing workbooks but it still wants to roll out improvements to those who want them. As such, Version 1 reflects the historical calculation behavior and will be the default for all existing workbooks. Starting from January 2026, Version 2 calculations will kick in as the default for any new workbooks.

Next, we have Auto Refresh for PivotTables for Insiders on Windows and Mac, and it does exactly what it says on the tin. You don't need to manually refresh this data structure anymore, which is something that was highly requested. Insiders on Windows can also leverage the revamped Get Data dialog, which also has integration with the OneLake catalog.

Meanwhile, Excel for Mac has borrowed a productivity-focused feature from Windows where you can now open multiple sheets, workbooks, and panes side-by-side. This should facilitate comparisons since it also packs synchronous scrolling.

Similarly, Excel for the web netted the ability to refresh external data sources leveraging Power Query. This previously required downloading the file and opening it in a desktop version of Excel to trigger a refresh. And finally, enterprise customers can now easily request elevated privileges to a file, directly within Excel for the web.

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Posted Wednesday 30 July 2025 at 4:26 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft Edge is turning into AI browser with new Copilot Mode

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 23:27:00 +0000

Microsoft Edge is getting a new experimental Copilot Mode, a special mode that uses the power of AI to upgrade your browsing experience with advanced features, multi-tab context, and other features.

Copilot Mode starts with a redesigned and simplified new tab page (users spotted the first version of Copilot as a new tab page a few months ago). It only has a Copilot composer, which combines the classic chat experience with web search and navigation. When browsing, Copilot is available in the address bar, and when clicked, it shows up as a dynamic pane without obstructing the original web page. Microsoft says that you can use it to declutter the web page, convert data, and cut right to the chase, say, when you read a recipe with a ten-page-long introduction.

Copilot Mode also supports multi-tab context. With your permission, it can see all of your tabs and understand the context of your browsing. This eliminates the need for frequent tab switching, especially when you deal with dozens of tabs at once.

Microsoft is also working on letting Copilot tap into your history and credentials so that it can better understand context and perform actions on your behalf, like booking reservations or performing other tasks. You can type your request into the composer or interact with the assistant using your voice.

Finally, Copilot Mode will make it easier for you to jump back into the previous topics. Copilot Mode will offer you topic-based "journeys" with additional suggestions for what to do next.

With tools like this, privacy could be a big concern for many users. As such, Microsoft assures that users will always be able to determine whether Copilot Mode is on or off with distinct visual cues. The feature is also optional, and you can toggle it on or off at any moment and continue using Edge in standard mode.

With Copilot Mode on, you enable innovative AI features in Edge that enhance your browser. It doesn’t just wait idly for you to click but anticipates what you might want to do next. It doesn’t just give you endless tabs to sift through but works with you as a collaborator that makes sense of it all. It keeps you browsing, cuts through clutter, and removes friction to unlock your flow – all built to the highest Microsoft standards of security, privacy, and performance trusted by billions of people and businesses worldwide – with you as the user always in control.

Copilot Mode is now available on Windows and macOS as an experiment in all markets where Copilot is available. For now, this experience is free for all who want to opt in, which suggests that Copilot Mode could become a premium feature. You can try Copilot Mode by heading to this link.

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Posted Tuesday 29 July 2025 at 9:26 am AEST (my time).

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Windows 11 gets an important taskbar update and more in the latest builds

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 23:25:41 +0000

Microsoft has released two new Windows 11 preview builds. One is available in the Dev Channel (build 26200.5722, KB5062669), and one in the Beta Channel (build 26120.5722, KB5062669), with both sharing a single changelog. Here is what is new.

The biggest change in today's updates is the new agent in Settings for Intel and AMD-powered Copilot+ PCs. It lets you find and adjust Windows settings using natural language, even if you do not know the exact name of the feature you need. You can just tell the Settings app the problem you have, and it will try to fix it for you.

Other changes include updates to the Second Chance Out of Box Experience screen (SCOOBE), which is now a single-page screen with toggles for various settings. Click to Do now has a new tutorial for first-time launches, and the left pane of the search results in the Windows Search box now has a grid view for related images that match your search.

There is one long-requested taskbar feature. If you have two monitors or more, the notification center and the calendar flyout can now be invoked from any display. Also, the recently updated logic for the way Task Manager calculates CPU utilization is once again available for testing.

Here is the list of everything fixed in today's builds:

[Taskbar]

Fixed an issue where the Task View icon in the taskbar might be unexpectedly invisible if you turned it off and back on in Settings (the space was reserved and you could click it to open Task View, but nothing showed in the space).

Fixed a race condition which could lead to the Widgets icon not displaying in the taskbar although it was enabled in Settings (no space reserved, clicking the area did nothing).

[Login and lock]

Fixed an issue which was causing the text for lock screen widgets to be unreadable in some cases because it was white on a light background.

Did some work to address an underlying issue which could lead to the taskbar being slow to load when unlocking your PC after coming out of sleep. This issue could also have led to the password field and other login screen contents not rendering when transitioning from lock screen to login screen after sleep. If you continue experiencing issues, please report them in the Feedback Hub under Install and Update > Logon hangs.

[File Explorer]

Fixed an issue where if you tried to use the unblock open in Properties for a file, it will still show as blocked when you opened Properties the next time.

[Start menu]

Fixed an issue for those with the new Start menu where if you used touch to navigate the new Start menu, it wasn’t working reliably. For example, it didn’t support the swipe-up gesture.

[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.

[Administrator Protection]

Fixed an underlying issue where the Xbox app wouldn’t launch when administrator protection was enabled. This may have also impacted other apps too, showing error 0xC0000142 or 0xC0000045.

[Settings]

Fixed an issue where under Settings > System > Storage > Disks and Volumes there might show a link for BitLocker drive encryption although it wasn’t supported in that case. Clicking it would result in BitLocker opening and displaying error 0x80004005.

[Other]

Fixed an issue causing Insiders to see multiple error pop ups about unexpected elements when opening Group Policy Editor.

Fixed an underlying issue causing a small number of Insiders to experience a bugcheck with error DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL in the latest builds.

Fixed an underlying issue impacting installers for certain apps on ARM64 PCs, which could result in a long stall during the installation process.

Fixed an issue where external graphics cards connected over Thunderbolt were unexpectedly not discoverable in some cases.

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.

[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”.

[Click to Do (Preview)] The following known issues will be fixed in future updates to Windows Insiders:

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.

You can find the official announcements here and here.

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Posted Tuesday 29 July 2025 at 9:24 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of June): 2,864

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Windows 10 is turning 10: Here are top 10 features and changes it introduced

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 23:23:57 +0000

It is hard to believe, but Windows 10 is nearly 10 years old. On July 29, the operating system will mark its tenth anniversary, only a couple of months ahead of the end of mainstream support. Despite its fair share of failed features and controversies, especially on the privacy side, Windows 10 is considered the best modern Windows, even though a lot of its reputation stems from the misfired Windows 11 launch in 2021. Still, Windows 10 was a big deal for Microsoft and the PC industry overall.

In this article, which is part of Neowin's Windows 10 anniversary series, we take a look at the ten biggest achievements, features, and milestones that the outgoing operating system brought to the ecosystem. The list is subjective and in no particular order, so if you have 10 other changes or features on your mind, welcome to the comment section.

10. Windows Insider Program

The Windows Insider Program was announced in late 2014, and with it, Microsoft changed the way it develops its flagship consumer products (for better or for worse, depending on how you look at it). Now, enthusiasts and regular users have received a chance to shape the future of Windows by actively participating in its development in the form of testing regular preview updates, sharing feedback directly with Microsoft, tuning in to webcasts, and more. The program became a smashing hit, with 1 million testers achieved in two weeks. Later, it spread to other products like Skype (rest in peace), Xbox, Office, and more.

Some argue that the program has lost its way over the years, and the overall quality of Windows has decreased after Microsoft offloaded a massive chunk of testing to the public, but there is no denying that the introduction of a public beta program for Windows was a big success.

9. Biggest launch ever (and free)

Not really a feature, but Windows 10's launch is worth mentioning as a big milestone for Microsoft and Windows overall. For the first time, Windows 10 became a free full-scale system upgrade for Windows 7 and 8.1 users. Since we are talking Microsoft, of course, there were plenty of unsolicited upgrades and nagging. Still, the launch of Windows 10 was a big success. During the first year, over 350 million devices were upgraded to Windows 10, primarily because it was free and its hardware requirements were incredibly accessible for even the lowest-end devices.

8. Windows as a Service

Windows 10 introduced a new idea of a continuously evolving operating system that does not need a major version update every three years or the so-called "Service Packs." Instead, Microsoft switched to bi-annual feature updates with new features and capabilities. This, in addition to some market speak of some of Microsoft's execs, led many to believe that Windows 10 would be the final Windows without a true successor. Microsoft debunked that idea with Windows 11 in 2021, but the latter still carries the idea of Windows as a Service with yearly and now even monthly feature drops and updates.

7. Activation Improvements

With Windows 10, Microsoft improved activation significantly by allowing users to link a license to a Microsoft account. This approach made it possible to retain an existing license after changing a major PC component, such as a motherboard. While it was possible to transfer a retail license from one Windows 8.1 PC to another, with Windows 10's digital entitlement, activation became much easier. Windows 11 also has this capability.

6. Windows Subsystem for Linux

Windows Subsystem for Linux was introduced in 2017, and with it, Microsoft dropped a true bombshell on the developer community. With WSL, Windows 10 became a much more attractive platform for code makers, allowing them to run Linux apps and distros within Windows without resorting to virtual machines or dual-booting. The best part is that Windows Subsystem for Linux, unlike Windows Subsystem for Android, was not a one-time thing that Microsoft quickly abandoned. Later on, the company introduced WSL 2 with major improvements, and it continues to support and enhance this feature.

5. Windows Hello

Biometric authentication existed before Windows 10, but it was rather messy and non-mainstream. With the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft introduced a modern, more secure way to log into Windows with support for IR-cameras for facial recognition, fingerprint scanners, security keys, and PINs. And it was not just for logging in. Apps and browsers can utilize Windows Hello to give users a more convenient way to authenticate. Additionally, Windows Hello made biometric authentication on Windows devices a standard, and now, it is hard to imagine a modern, even quite affordable computer without a fingerprint reader or an IR camera.

4. Start menu

Even though I think Windows 8.1 was extremely underrated, and its Start menu was fine (I will die on this hill), there is no denying that it was also one of the main reasons why the OS failed hard. With Windows 10, Microsoft went back to the drawing board and gave users what they actually wanted: A compact or full-screen menu that was a mix of the classic Windows 7 Start menu and Windows 8's live tiles. While it went through several iterations and upgrades (folders, for example, arrived much later), Windows 10's Start menu is universally considered the best Start menu ever.

3. Xbox Play Anywhere

After releasing Windows 10, Microsoft finally stopped treating PC users as second-class citizens. Windows 10 significantly improved PC-Xbox integration, particularly by introducing the Xbox Play Anywhere program. It allowed purchasing a game one time and having the ability to play it on PC or Xbox and sync your progress across computers and consoles.

2. Microsoft Defender

Windows 10 was the first operating system to ship with a built-in antivirus by default. And no, this time, it was not a lame or low-effort attempt to stir users away from third-party AV vendors. This time, Microsoft introduced a proper antivirus, saving users from the need to purchase expensive AV solutions. True, some features are controversial, especially among PC gamers and enthusiasts, who are discontent with performance overhead. Still, Microsoft Defender topped various AV benchmark charts many times, and it continues to be one of the best security providers for your average Joe. After all, you can always turn it off if you have to.

1. Dark Mode

It is hard to give Microsoft high praise for this one, considering how undecooked dark mode remains these days. However, Windows 10 deserves its credit for introducing the first proper dark mode for desktop PC. When combined with Night Light, another useful feature, Windows 10 became much more eye-friendly for late-working users or those with OLED displays. Now, Microsoft, could you please finally complete it and make it not suck?

With Windows 10 ending its run in October 2025, one could only wonder if Windows 11 will ever be able to achieve even half of Windows 10's success. Only time will tell.

This story is part of our "10 Years of Windows 10" collection, in celebration of the operating system's tenth anniversary. Over the next few days and weeks, you'll be able to find more content on this topic in our dedicated section available here.

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Posted Tuesday 29 July 2025 at 9:23 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of June): 2,864

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OneNote is finally getting two highly requested features

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 23:22:51 +0000

A few days ago, we learned that Excel is getting a highly requested PivotTable feature in the form of auto-refresh for this particular component. It seems like the company is looking to grant even more wishes as it has revealed that a couple more highly anticipated capabilities are coming to OneNote too.

The first of these enhancements is the ability to merge cells in a OneNote table, just like you can do in Excel. This grouping can be both horizontal and vertical, and the content should align accordingly. There's not much else to say about this, it does exactly what it says on the tin. That said, it is important to note that Insiders have the ability to display merged cells across all OneNote platforms, but the ability to actually create merged cells is just available on Windows, Mac, and iPad for now. iPhone, Android, and web support are planned for a later date.

Next, we have a quality-of-life (QoL) improvement in the form of the paste text only shortcut, also known as Paste Without Formatting. On Windows, this shortcut is Ctrl + Shift + V, while for Mac, it is Cmd + Shift + V. This is similar to other Microsoft 365 applications like Word and Teams, and the hope is that it will help keep content consistent and clean in terms of fonts, colors, and styling. Another way to trigger this behavior is the right-click context menu > Paste Text Only, as well as the Home > Paste > Paste Options > Keep Text Only toolbar.

It is important to note that the pasted text will adopt the formatting of your OneNote target, not the original source. Also, this feature is currently available for Insiders on Windows, Mac, and the web only. That said, if either of the two capabilities is not visible to you right now despite meeting the minimum criteria mentioned here, it might be due to the staggered nature of the rollout.

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Posted Tuesday 29 July 2025 at 9:22 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of June): 2,864

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Linux dev quits after "personal attacks" from user over Kapitano antivirus tool

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 23:21:37 +0000

Kapitano was a tool with a simple job: to give the ClamAV scanning engine a modern face on Linux. It relied on the ClamAV database, a massive, constantly updated list used to sniff out all sorts of nasties like viruses, worms, and Trojan horses.

Since ClamAV is primarily a command-line tool, it depends on a GUI (frontend) for users who prefer not to live in the terminal. There are apps like ClamWin on Windows, ClamXav on Mac, and, until recently, Kapitano on Linux.

Screenshot of Kapitano

Now, the dev behind the Linux frontend, "zynequ," has marked the project as "Not Maintained" following what they described as personal attacks and harsh words.

It all started when a user created an issue on the project's Codeberg page with the title, "Kaptiano resulted in 24 positives- for win.exploits and Trojans." In the post, they claimed the antivirus frontend was generating false positives on their Linux Mint system.

The user noted that all the flagged files were related to the Kapitano Flatpak itself and ended with a rather aggressive warning. The whole thing seemed "strange," they said, concluding with, "program has ZERO reviews, and should remain that way until source code is verified by an independent source. DO NOT DOWNLOAD!"

Zynequ, the project's author, responded by calmly referencing the wiki and explaining that the problem was with ClamAV itself, not his application. Kapitano, built with GTK4 and libadwaita, is just a wrapper that sends commands to the clamscan utility but has no say in what gets flagged.

For reference, this is the code that is related to your concerns: https://codeberg.org/zynequ/Kapitano/src/branch/stable/src/utils/clamav.py

On method scan_for_malware and update_malware_definitions, you can see that it just calls clamscan and freshclam.

The developer also called the user out for the "personal attacks" and addressed the zero reviews situation, pointing out that this was hardly a conspiracy since the project was very new, having launched back in June. They insisted that there is nothing "fishy" about their code and that it is fully open for review.

Things escalated from there. After Zynequ closed the issue, the user created a duplicate one, then proceeded to resubmit the complaint under issue #13, this time with a different title: Kapitano developer is a malicious actor. Get this malware distributor blocked.

After a heated back and forth with the dev, the user finally posted, "Your project is off of my laptop disk. Let it rest. Goodbye."

This exchange is what led to the zynequ publishing their final note. They explained that Kapitano was "a hobby project, created in my free time without any financial support," and that it's hard to stay motivated when "personal attacks" are directed towards you.

I'm sorry to say that this project is no longer being maintained.

Recently, I had an unpleasant experience [...], where I was accused of distributing malware. Although I explained that the issue wasn't caused by the app, the conversation escalated into personal attacks and harsh words directed at me.

This was always a hobby project, created in my free time without any financial support. Incidents like this make it hard to stay motivated. That said, I'm genuinely grateful to everyone who tried the app, and I appreciate the attention it received.

Zynequ noted that the project's code was now released into the public domain under The Unlicense, meaning anyone could fork it and do whatever they want with it. Kapitano will be delisted from Flathub, and the Codeberg repo will still be alive for a few months before they delete it and close their account for good.

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Posted Tuesday 29 July 2025 at 9:21 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of June): 2,864

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Firefox add-ons store has a new layout

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 07:47:27 +0000

Mozilla has updated the layout of extension listings on its add-ons repository. It's a redesign, alright.

For those new to Firefox, I'm talking about addons.mozilla.org, also known as AMO.

Regular readers maybe aware that I used to review Firefox add-ons regularly until a few years ago. Though I don't do that anymore, I still visit the AMO to discover new extensions, and keep myself up-to-date. I was doing the same thing today, but something didn't look quite right. For a second, I actually wondered if I was on the correct website. Whenever I visit the AMO, I immediately look to the left, to check when the add-on was updated, developer's page, support link, etc. It's sort of like muscle memory.

The sidebar wasn't there anymore. I was fairly certain that I didn't see this design a few days ago, when I installed the Tab Stash add-on. Silly me, why not just look at the Internet Archive?

I was right. Here is an archived version of the uBlock Origin listing on the AMO from July 25, which was three days ago. (Live link here)

This is the new layout, it shows all the information the older design used to, there's no problem with that.

But there are some issues. Like I mentioned earlier, you could just glance at the sidebar to learn more about an add-on, now you have to scroll like 4 times to get the same details. The wasted space on the sides could have been put to better use. BTW, this is on default zoom.

Anyway, what's new with the AMO layout?

Mozilla has not changed the way the add-on's icon, name and developer name are displayed. The developer's name is still clickable, to discover other extensions they created. (Refer to the above images)

The Recommended, and the "Available on Firefox for Android" badges have been moved below the add-on's name. You will find 2 new elements in the header, a star rating + number of user reviews, and the total number of users. Clicking on the star/reviews button takes you to the user reviews section of the add-on.

Mozilla displays the screenshots of the add-on directly below the header. The image viewer is newer, and shows the number of screenshots that are available. There is also an X button in the corner to close the gallery, which seems pointless because you can just click anywhere to dismiss the image viewer.

Next comes the description section, "About this extension". Nothing much to say here, this is controlled by the add-on developer. Let's move on. he next section shows the rating/reviews, it's the same 5-star rating system, only it looks a lot longer than before.

Following that, we come to the "Other popular extensions", which promotes other add-ons that you may like.

The Permissions and data section lists all permissions that an add-on uses. It is similar to the old design. Next, we have the "More information" panel where you can find the add-on's homepage, support site, version number, size, last updated, related categories, license, privacy policy, version history, and tags. The "Add to collection" menu is available here as well, which seems out of place. Wouldn't it be better if it was in the reviews section?

The AMO's last section of the add-on page displays the release notes of the extension. Though the new design is wider, it still has a "Read More" button to view the complete list of changes. And finally, we have the "More extensions by developer section".

Placing the "Other Popular Extensions" section above the permissions and details about the add-on seems like a bad idea. It would have been more appropriate to place the panel at the end of the page, or on the sides which are empty.

The old layout isn't perfect, it has some blank space in the middle, but that could have been used for something else, maybe to even relocate the release notes and "more extensions by the developer" sections.

Take a look at the old vs the new comparison. The blank space at the bottom is because the newer design is longer.

Here is a higher quality version, side-by-side comparison of the old vs new layouts (1.2MB image). I think the redesign looks similar to Chrome's Web Store.

What do you think about the new AMO layout?

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Posted Monday 28 July 2025 at 5:45 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of June): 2,864

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Linux 6.16 released as Linus Torvalds warns of potential 6.17 delay

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 07:45:48 +0000

Following the seventh release candidate of Linux 6.16 last week, Linus Torvalds has released the stable version for Linux distributions to take and roll out to their users, bringing more hardware support. Torvalds called it a “nice and calm” final week for the development cycle, which meant we didn’t need to see an eighth release candidate.

Looking forward to Linux 6.17, Torvalds has warned of a “slightly chaotic” merge window due to extensive family travel in August for a wedding and a big birthday. His travel schedule means that he will be away for about half a month, split between the US and Finland. This could impact his ability to process pull requests efficiently during the second week of the merge window when significant new features are being added.

The merge window usually lasts two weeks, followed by the first of seven or eight release candidates. The merge window sees major new features added before testing takes place during the release candidate period. With all that’s going on, Torvalds wants to get as much done in the first week as possible and gave regular contributors a heads-up and has so far received 50 pending pull requests due to his proactive measures.

While Torvalds is doing as much as he can to avoid issues, he conceded that if he can’t process all the pull requests in the second week, he “might delay rc1 a bit just to catch up”. He said that this extension doesn’t mean leniency for late requests, so anyone looking to submit code should still be prompt or face waiting until Linux 6.18.

If some of the pull requests were not processed during the second week, Torvalds says he may delay the release for a couple of days, so the new features should make it if submitted on time. However, the more hectic things get, the greater the chance that we see more release candidates.

Despite all this, Torvalds still believes we could still have a normal release window; it’s just that things could get delayed, and he’s providing a warning to let everyone know what’s happening if delays occur.

With regard to Linux 6.16, most people should avoid trying to install this on their Linux installations manually as there will be a high chance that it fails due to its low-level nature in the software stack. If you’re fortunate, you’ll have a distribution that pushes it as an update, but if you’re on something slower like Ubuntu, you might be waiting until the next big distro update.

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Posted Monday 28 July 2025 at 5:45 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of June): 2,864

RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Five things Windows 10 never fixed

Sun, 27 Jul 2025 19:52:59 +0000

Windows 10 is fast approaching its tenth birthday, and to celebrate the occasion, we have been publishing features about the OS. These include items like our top 10 stories about Windows 10 from the past decade, 10 features that just never took off, and the operating system itself being one of the main reasons why Microsoft customers are so conscious about privacy now.

As we turn the page on Windows 10, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at some lingering issues or elements in the operating system that Microsoft hasn't been able to fix, despite the OS reaching ten years of life. Please keep in mind that the list below is not in any particular order:

Settings vs. Control Panel

Back in 2015, Microsoft told customers that it was working on deprecating the legacy Control Panel in favor of its modernized Settings app. Of course, this meant transitioning all existing Control Panel functionalities to this new interface, but Microsoft rightly emphasized that this was important to reduce code complexity and make the overall system leaner. However, fast-forward 10 years, and this is still a work in progress, even in Windows 11.

The Redmond firm has been focusing on migrating elements to the Settings app, but still seems unsure if it wants to truly kill Control Panel or not. It's baffling at this point, really, but at least there are fewer reasons to use the legacy application now.

Error 0x80070643

This Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) error has been plaguing Windows 10 for over a year, but it's unfortunate that Microsoft can't fix it in an automated fashion and requires customers to perform manual steps. Now, the company has just settled on telling customers that they should just pretend that the error is not there, which, granted, isn't super difficult to do since it doesn't impact any critical workflows.

Tablet Mode

As the name implies, Tablet Mode in Windows 10 is a touch-friendly UX, which contains several changes in Windows 10 to make it easier to use with your hands. However, the company has never been able to really nail the concept despite multiple pivots in strategy leading up to Windows 11. It's just not that user-friendly, and it doesn't really boost productivity in a meaningful way. You're better off keeping your keyboard attached and just using that.

Windows Search

Look, I love Windows Search; you can read my whole essay on the topic. However, I do accept the functionality's shortcomings too. It just prioritizes Bing Search too much in some cases, especially when your search term is the slightest bit off from what is required. In a way, it does promote Bing to more customers, but I do think that ship has sailed, and at this point, Microsoft is risking alienating its user base even further with each passing day.

UX inconsistencies

Image via Microsoft

In 2017, Microsoft announced the Fluent Design scheme for Windows 10. Although it looks great on the surface, the problem once again lies with Microsoft's execution. We are 10 years into the life of an operating system that is fairly mature by now, but still, we can see modern design elements along with legacy elements throughout the OS. This problem extends to the system theme too, where dark mode is not consistently applied across applications, even in those developed by Microsoft itself.

What Windows 10 elements continue to irk you? Let us know in the comments section below!

This story is a part of our "10 Years of Windows 10" collection, in celebration of the operating system's tenth anniversary, falling on July 29, 2025. Over the next few days and weeks, you'll be able to find more content on this topic in our dedicated section available here.

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Posted Monday 28 July 2025 at 5:52 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of June): 2,864

RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Our top 10 stories about Windows 10 from the past decade

Sun, 27 Jul 2025 19:51:00 +0000

Windows 10 is approaching its 10th anniversary in a couple of days, and to celebrate this occasion, we have been publishing content that reminisces the decade that we have spent with the operating system. So far, we have talked about 10 features in Windows 10 that just never took off, as well as Windows 10 being the primary reason why we are so conscious about privacy now. Now, we are taking a look at our Windows 10 coverage from the past 10 years, highlighting the 10 stories that were read the most by our audience.

Please note that this list is sorted in ascending order, which means that out of this collection of 10 stories, we will be moving from least views to most views. Also keep in mind that an additional criterion for the stories in this piece was that while they can contain information about other topics too, the core focus should be around Windows 10. Without further ado, let's begin!

10. Windows 10 May 2021 Update is live - here's what to expect

This is a rather interesting piece due to the background surrounding it. While Microsoft only releases one feature update for Windows now, it used to roll out two back in the day; H1 and H2. The H1 update was typically a major update with lots of new features, while H2 was a relatively minor release that was mostly an enablement package to light up certain disabled capabilities.

With the Windows 10 May 2021 Update, also know as Windows 10, version 21H1, Microsoft flipped the script a bit, and made this supposed feature update an enablement package too. At that time, this became the operating system's smallest feature update with only three enhancements revolving around Windows Hello, Windows Defender Application Guard, and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). Not particularly interesting.

Still, a lot of you read this piece, those were exciting times as Microsoft was reportedly working on Windows 10X too. However, the company ended up canceling the OS within a month within a few weeks following the release of the Windows 10 May 2021 Update.

9. Clean installed Windows 10 22H2 vs Windows 11 23H2 benchmarked for performance

Our readers are typically quite interested in performance benchmarks and while we regularly cover results from third-party testing in our news stream, we decided to conduct our own testing on this particular occasion. We essentially pitted the latest available versions of both Windows 10 and Windows 11 on "clean" systems.

Our findings across various CPU and GPU benchmarking tools revealed that Windows 10 and Windows 11 are pretty close in terms of performance. While one sometimes tops the other in a particular category, the difference is very negligible. This conclusion was important for a couple of reasons. It emphasized that despite Microsoft's attempts to convince you otherwise, Windows 11 doesn't sport a major increase in performance. But more importantly, it also served as proof to our readers that Windows 11 isn't worse off in gaming either, so this shouldn't be a factor when you are considering upgrading.

8. Microsoft's app that promises Windows performance improvements has some shady stuff inside

Over a year ago, Microsoft released a PC Manager app in the Microsoft Store as a means to optimize and boost the performance of your Windows 10 and Windows 11. However, an investigation from our readers revealed some rather shady stuff. For one, the Deep Cleaning option in the app was rather aggressive and would end up deleting the Windows Prefetch folder, which is something that even Microsoft doesn't recommend that you do.

Secondly, the app contained affiliate links with trackers to some Chinese software websites that were offering utilities. It's rather odd that a first-party official Microsoft app wasn't polished on release, but it once again cemented the belief that "optimizers" aren't ideal.

7. Save your computer from Microsoft's Windows 10 end-of-life planned obsolescence

Image via GMUNK

This is one of our more recent pieces surrounding the upcoming end-of-support deadline for Windows 10. This editorial penned by our News Editor Paul Hill talks about the impact that this deadline will have on the environment as old PCs are eventually dumped in landfills. Although Paul does highlight the ways in which you can officially or unofficially extend support (ESU, 0patch, Flyby), he believes that the best option right now is to switch to a Linux distribution.

Paul lays out several options including GNOME, KDE, Cinnamon, Mint, LXQt, Fedora SilverBlue, Lubuntu, and more. Despite Neowin being a Windows-focused website, this article received a lot of views and fairly positive feedback too.

6. Windows 10 version 20H2 is here - here's what you need to know

Remember when I said earlier that the H1 package used to be a major feature update for Windows 10, while H2 was mostly an enablement package? Well, at that time, we were talking about Windows 10 21H1, which turned out to be a minor update with only three new features. This piece was about the preceding update, Windows 10 20H2, which should now give you some reference point of how small the next update was.

This roundup piece covered all the new capabilities and enhancements present in the Windows 10 version 20H2 update, including Start menu improvements, theme-aware tiles, All Apps redesign, tablet mode upgrades, the new Chromium-based Edge, and more. At that time, we called this a minor update, because we didn't know that Microsoft would be ditching its established conventions and making Windows 10, version 21H1 even smaller.

5. Windows 10 reaches 70% market share as Windows 11 keeps declining

Although Windows 11 is just about to overtake Windows 10 in terms of market share according to the latest reports, this wasn't always the case. In fact, just over a year ago in May 2024, Windows 10 stood strong at 70%, while Windows 11 was limping at 25%. However, with Windows 10's death approaching fast, Windows 11 has finally turned a corner and both operating systems now occupy roughly 48% each of the Windows market. Things can only improve from here.

4. Microsoft admits it can't fix Windows 10 KB5034441 "0x80070643 - ERROR_INSTALL_FAILURE"

Windows 10 users are often greeted with error 0x80070643 when dealing with the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). Although it can be manually fixed by customers, Microsoft says that it is impossible to resolve it in an automated manner controlled by the company itself. This particular issue has been a major annoyance for Windows customers in the past couple of years and in recent months, Microsoft has been telling customers to just ignore it and is reiterating that it can't ever be truly fixed. You have to wonder what the complexity of the problem is for Microsoft to issue such statements, but at least it doesn't impact anything critical.

3. Microsoft finally lifts two-year old block preventing Windows 10 users from upgrading to 11

Although we recently wrote an article about Microsoft finally lifting a long-standing Windows 11, version 24H2 block, the news story we'll be discussing in this section is slightly older. This piece is from April 2024 when Microsoft finally resolved a two-year-old update block surrounding the Intel Smart Sound Technology Audio Controller driver (Intel SST). It was particularly annoying that a problematic driver version was what was blocking customers from upgrading to Windows 11, and even I can relate since it impacted my daily driver too.

That said, it is important to note that this was an external block since the driver in question was manufactured by Intel. Fortunately, Microsoft was able to work with Intel to release driver updates which finally lifted this block.

2. Windows 10 version 1909 is coming - here's what you need to know

As you may have observed, our roundup articles do quite well here on Neowin. This particular piece is about the features present in Windows 10 version 1909. This was a rather unfriendly naming scheme that Microsoft dropped later, but just to give you context, it refers to Windows 10, version 19H2, which makes it almost six years old!

Since this is an H2 update, this was an enablement package too, with improvements in tow for notifications, lock screen, desktop environment, battery life, accessibility, and more. Even though Microsoft rolled out two feature updates at that time, it seems like the company really put effort into packing as many capabilities as it could into each release.

1. Windows 10 version 2004 is here - here's what you need to know about it

The magnum opus of our Windows 10 coverage in the past decade is... another feature roundup! This time, it's about Windows 10, version 2004 (or 20H1), which is the version immediately succeeding the one that we just talked about previously. Since this was an H1 release, it was a massive, massive upgrade.

Customers were treated to a new Cortana app, Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL 2), Notepad enhancements, Windows Search upgrades, Windows Sandbox and virtual desktop improvements, and just so much more. It's almost impossible to recap them all in a way that gives justice to all the capabilities in tow. No wonder our readers flocked to this article, making this our most-viewed Windows 10 story of the past 10 years.

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Posted Monday 28 July 2025 at 5:50 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of June): 2,864

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The next time you look at Microsoft Copilot, it may look back — but who asked for this?

Sun, 27 Jul 2025 03:24:32 +0000

Copilot Appearance adds an expressive face that reacts in real time.

"What if you could see Copilot react and speak as you chat?" asks Microsoft in a new blog post. The tech giant is testing out a Copilot feature that has a virtual face express real-time emotions while speaking with you.

Copilot Appearance enhances the voice experience of the AI tool by showing different facial expressions based on the topic of discussion. The feature is in its early stages right now and available for testing to a subset of users in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada.

Copilot can show real-time visual expression while you speak with it. (Image credit: Microsoft)

If you are among the lucky few who can test the feature, you can enable Copilot Appearance through the Voice settings of Copilot. Microsoft notes that if you do not see the toggle for Copilot Appearance that you are not in the test flight group.

Those who have access can disable the feature through the same section of Copilot's settings.

Copilot Appearance is a small step toward the vision of Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman.

Who asked for this?

A digital assistant having an avatar is hardly a new idea. Microsoft's infamous Clippy first launched in 1995, after all. But this new personification effort seems destined to take things to a new level.

Suleyman has long believed that Copilot will evolve into a "real friend," moving beyond a traditional digital assistant.

"I mean, this is going to become a lasting, meaningful relationship. People are going to have a real friend that gets to know you over time, that learns from you, that is there in your corner as your support," said the executive when he discussed a controversial Copilot update that shipped last year.

Suleyman took the idea further in his recent comments, explaining that Copilot will have "a kind of permanent identity, a presence, and it will have a room that it lives in, and it will age."

His most recent comments came during an appearance on The Colin & Samir Show.

The new Copilot Appearance gives users a face for the digital assistant. And that experimental face is expressive.

Perhaps my question of "who asked for this?" is a strange thing to hear from a tech journalist. I've used digital assistants for decades and AI is part of my workflow. But I just wonder who is asking for expressive AI that "ages" with you and has a "room that it lives in."

Does an AI assistant need to be your "real friend" as predicted by Suleyman? Could a tool powered by AI even be a genuine friend?

I asked several of my friends about this topic and each of them used the word "weird" to describe Suleyman's quotes. None of them said they wanted an AI friend.

Even those that use AI professionally or in everyday life thought the concept of a "real friend" that's actually an AI tool was strange.

Of course, this is anecdotal. My circle of friends may not represent the wider population. I'd love to know your thoughts on AI being a "real friend." Please share them in the comments below!

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Posted Sunday 27 July 2025 at 1:23 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft shares Defender update for new Windows 11/10 ISO installs

Sun, 27 Jul 2025 03:22:26 +0000

Aside from new Windows setup and recovery updates, Microsoft has also published a new Defender update for Windows 11/10/Server installation images this week. This update package is necessary as a Windows installation image may contain old, outdated anti-malware definitions and software binaries. Aside from better security, these updates can also provide improved performance benefits in some cases.

When a new Windows installation is set up, there may be a temporary security risk due to outdated Microsoft Defender protection in the OS installation images. This happens because the antimalware software included in these images might not be up to date. Thus Microsoft says that these updated definitions essentially help close this protection gap.

Microsoft delivered the latest security definitions for Windows images via security intelligence update version 1.431.54.0. The Defender package version is also the same.

It applies to Windows 11, Windows 10 (Enterprise, Pro, and Home editions), Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019, and Windows Server 2016. Microsoft writes:

Version information

Defender package version: 1.431.452.0

This package updates the anti-malware client, anti-malware engine, and signature versions in the OS installation images to following versions:

Platform version: 4.18.25060.7

Engine version: 1.1.25060.6

Security intelligence version: 1.431.452.0

From Microsoft's security bulletin, we learn that the security intelligence update version 1.431.452.0 was released this past week adds threat detections for various backdoor and phishing exploits, trojans, and more. For those wondering, the latest intelligence update is version 1.431.155.0 at the time of writing.

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Posted Sunday 27 July 2025 at 1:21 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft released Windows 11 KB5062839, KB5063689 setup and recovery updates

Sun, 27 Jul 2025 03:21:40 +0000

This week Microsoft released new dynamic updates for Windows 11; updates for Windows 10 were not released this time.

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:

KB5062839: Setup Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025: July 22, 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:

KB5063689: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025: July 22, 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: KB5062839, KB5063689.

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Posted Sunday 27 July 2025 at 1:20 pm AEST (my time).

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PSA: Some other versions of Windows are losing support on October 14 too

Sat, 26 Jul 2025 17:22:19 +0000

All of us here at Neowin likely know pretty well by now that Windows 10 is reaching end of support on October 14, 2025. You can extend support through paid and "free" means, but if you don't, you won't get any more security or feature updates following the aforementioned date. We also highlighted that the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) version Windows 10 22H2 is also reaching end of support on that date. Now, Microsoft has reminded customers that yet another variant of Windows is reaching end of life on October 14, 2025 too.

On the Windows Release Health dashboard, Microsoft has published a reminder that the Enterprise, Education, and IoT SKUs of Windows 11, version 22H2 will hit end of support on October 14 as well. It is important to keep in mind that the Home and Pro variants of Windows 11, version 22H2 already reached end of life on October 8, 2024, and the extra year of lease on life will end for other SKUs within a few months too.

Windows 11, version 22H2 for IoT, Enterprise, and Education was released on September 20, 2022, which means that they would have received just over three years of support by the time they "die", compared to the regular two years for Home and Pro. Customers on any of these versions should consider upgrading to version 23H2 or 24H2 as soon as possible, which have end of support dates of November 10, 2026 and October 12, 2027, respectively.

Staying on a supported version of Windows is crucial as that allows you to receive regular security updates on your machine. If you're an IT admin, you should immediately begin planning a migration to a supported version of the operating system, and if you're an employee or someone using these versions of Windows in some other scenario, go to Settings > System > About and check out Windows Specifications > Version.

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Posted Sunday 27 July 2025 at 3:21 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of June): 2,864

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Microsoft is adding some very useful features to Word, Teams, Outlook, and more

Sat, 26 Jul 2025 17:20:01 +0000

Microsoft 365 is the Redmond tech firm's premier solution for Office apps and cloud storage, among other things. Microsoft offers both consumer- and enterprise-oriented subscriptions for this solution, enabling customers to take full advantage of cloud-powered capabilities, in contrast to the LTSC versions of Office. Microsoft 365 apps and services regularly receive new updates and the good thing is that Microsoft tracks them in a very transparent way on its public roadmap.

The Redmond company has updated its Microsoft 365 Roadmap with a lot of items in the past week or so, and there are several interesting features there that may excite its customers. For starters, Word is getting a very useful utility that will likely help people writing detailed documents using the software. Microsoft is integrating third-party citation providers in the Reference tab, so that users can quickly add citations. This is being made available to GCC, GCC High, and Department of Defense (DoD) customers on desktop and web this month.

There are several improvements on the way for Copilot Notebooks too. Users can customize the format, style, and duration of Audio Overviews in the application through natural language prompts. These Audio Overviews can then be saved on OneDrive so that they can be shared with others too. All of these capabilities are landing on the web next month.

Speaking of Copilot, Microsoft is moving the navigation pane for Copilot Chat from the right side of the app to the left. Apart from retaining the existing features, this repositioning allows Microsoft to add new capabilities such as an All Conversations tab, while also streamlining the overall navigation experience. This is being implemented for all customers using Outlook and Teams on the web from next month.

In the latter software, Microsoft is also introducing regional settings that gives controls over the app's language and datetime formats. This is being made available for all Teams customers on Android, iOS, desktop, and the web from next month. Meanwhile, the desktop version of Teams is exclusively gaining the ability next month to search for meetings and participants in the search bar and take actions directly from there. Available actions include viewing recaps, accessing the dedicated meetings tab, and RSVP-ing.

Microsoft added 39 items to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, so you can understand that the selection of items described above is only scratching the tip of the iceberg. Check out other upcoming capabilities like Universal Print enhancements and more Copilot improvements on the dedicated webpage here.

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Posted Sunday 27 July 2025 at 3:19 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of June): 2,864

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KDE Plasma 6.5 will notify you if your printer's ink is low

Sat, 26 Jul 2025 17:18:33 +0000

This week, the KDE team continued work on the upcoming Plasma 6.5.0 as well as Plasma 6.4's fourth bug fix release, 6.4.4. As usual, both Plasma versions saw several UI tweaks, bug fixes, and performance improvements. The most notable changes are discussed in this article.

Let's start with Plasma 6.5. The desktop environment is getting a useful feature that tells you when your printer is low on ink.

This works by having the system check the Common Unix Printing System, or CUPS, for marker levels after a print job is created or completed. CUPS stores attributes like marker-levels in its printers.conf file, and once a level is determined to be low, it triggers a marker-supply-low-warning that Plasma will now use to inform you.

UI improvements scheduled for 6.5 include disabling key repeat for certain global shortcuts, like toggling Overview, to prevent rapid screen flashing that could be a seizure risk. There is a better "Someone started sharing this screen" notification that now appears only after a connection is fully established.

You will also find standard KDE styling with the "Confirm deleting network connection" dialog, and more consistent spacing in the Global Menu widget. As for bug fixes in 6.5, a layout bug that caused visual overflow in the printer setup page has been corrected.

An issue that stopped you from using the virtual keyboard in the Application Dashboard search field is fixed, and XDG portal-using apps can now request screencasts of new virtual outputs. Finally, the clipboard configuration window's size and position information has been moved from the state config file to the settings file.

Moving on to 6.4.4, the hitboxes for desktop items now correctly match their visual styling. This means no more accidentally selecting an invisible box around a file. And when you mark a notification as low priority, it will now correctly appear in your history if it arrived during Do Not Disturb mode, so it does not just vanish.

If you're experiencing a Kwin crash on login, particularly in a QEMU virtual machine, 6.4.4 has a fix for that on the way. Other bug fixes 6.4.4 brings include:

A fix for the Global Menu widget's single-button mode for X11 users.
The search field in the Wayland version of the Global Menu widget works again.
An annoying bug in the Global Shortcuts XDG portal that made apps think they had no shortcuts has been resolved.
Plasma Browser Integration's built-in Share feature has been repaired.

Plasma 6.4.4 will drop on the 5th of next month. You can find more details on the official KDE Blog.

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Posted Sunday 27 July 2025 at 3:17 am AEST (my time).

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7 things you didn’t know your Microsoft account does on Windows 11

Sat, 26 Jul 2025 03:18:14 +0000

Check out the seven ways your online account integrates with the operating system.

On Windows 11, your Microsoft account is more than just a way to sign in to your profile. It's the key to unlocking a set of features that can help you manage, secure, and recover your devices.

From tracking a lost laptop and restoring settings to managing device access and saving BitLocker recovery keys, the Microsoft account dashboard offers several tools that many users overlook.

In this guide, I'll highlight seven ways a Microsoft account integrates on Windows 11, and what you need to do to improve your privacy.

7 Microsoft account features tied to your PC on Windows 11

These are the features on your Microsoft account that you may not know are integrated with your computer.

1. You can view and manage your PC inventory

When you set up Windows 11 for the first time and sign in with your Microsoft account, your computer is automatically linked to your account and added to your online inventory, alongside any other device where you've used the same credentials.

On the "Devices" page, you can view key details for each system, including the computer name, operating system edition and version, system type, serial number, and more.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

If you're no longer using a specific device, you will also find the option to remove it on this page.

Since the operating system assigns a random name during setup, it's important to rename your device to make it easier to identify in your online inventory and on your local network.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

Alternatively, you can also view this inventory from Settings > Accounts > Linked devices. The information on this page comes from your Microsoft account.

2. You can reset your PC password online

Although during the creation of a new account, Windows 11 prompts you to create a Windows Hello PIN, the account is usually linked to your Microsoft account. This means that in the event you forget your login password or PIN, or something happens to your credentials, you can easily recover your account using your Microsoft account online.

For instance, if the Windows Hello PIN (Face or Fingerprint) fails, you can try to sign in with the same password you use to log in to your Outlook email.

In case you can't sign in to your Windows account using your password, you can reset your Microsoft account online from another computer to regain access to your device.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

As you can see, your online account is more than a way to access Microsoft online services. It's also a recovery tool.

It's important to point out that changing the password will update the authentication credentials anywhere you're using a Microsoft account, including Outlook.

3. Microsoft account stores your BitLocker recovery key automatically

Starting with version 24H2, Windows 11 enables BitLocker Device Encryption by default on new installations, and the encryption key is automatically stored on your Microsoft account.

From a security aspect, enabling encryption during setup adds an extra layer of protection for your device and files. The only problem is that many users are not aware of this feature, and the real issue occurs when the computer fails to start, and they are prompted to enter the description key.

If you're using an online account to access Windows 11, the system automatically uploads the BitLocker recovery key to this page.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

To ensure that your recovery key remains secure, you can print it out and store it in a safe location.

4. Your location is periodically send to your Microsoft account

A Microsoft account also works with the "Find My Device" feature to track your computer's last known location.

Once enabled (usually by default), you can access your Microsoft account online, select your device, and view where it last connected to the internet.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

If the device is still connected to the internet, you can use the "Lock" option to remotely lock the device and prevent other people from accessing your data.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

If you prefer not to send the device's approximate location to Microsoft periodically, open Settings > Privacy & security > Find my device, and turn off the "Find my device" toggle switch.

5. Microsoft Store has can only work on up to ten PCs

Although it's not usually advertised, you can only use the Microsoft Store with the same account on up to ten computers. If you reach the limit, you may be unable to download apps and games on some of your devices.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

In this case, you cannot use the Microsoft Store to resolve the issue. Instead, you have to open the "Microsoft Store device management" page on your Microsoft account, and from this page, you can unlink a device to allow another computer to continue downloading apps and games.

6. You can clear your PC synced data

When you set up your computer with a Microsoft account, Windows 11 automatically syncs your settings and preferences to the cloud. In the event that you need to reinstall the operating system on the same computer or set up a new device, you can quickly restore your apps and settings on the new setup.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

Although you can't review the data stored in the cloud, your online account includes a "Cloud synced settings" option at the bottom of the "Devices" page, which allows you to clear this information. However, if you're planning to clear your data from your Microsoft account, it's recommended to turn off the "Remember my apps" and "Remember my preferences" settings from the "Windows Backup" settings from Settings > Accounts.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

When using the option to clear your data stored in the cloud (which does not include your files in OneDrive), the deletion doesn't happen immediately. Microsoft will erase the data during the next backup schedule.

7. Apps have access to your data even after being uninstalled

On Windows 11, when you configure a new application and use a Microsoft account, you will also be granting the service permission to access your personal information (such as email, name, gender, display image, and more) associated with your online account.

Although if you frequently use the app, you may need it to access your information, the problems come when you stop using the app, because the service will continue to have access to your information.

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)

If you want to protect your privacy, once you stop using the app, it's always recommended to open the "Privacy" page on your Microsoft account to revoke app access to your information.

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Posted Saturday 26 July 2025 at 1:16 pm AEST (my time).

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Microsoft lifts another long-standing Windows 11 24H2 block, allowing more people to upgrade

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 18:41:43 +0000

In October 2024, Microsoft released Windows 11 version 24H2 with quite a long list of known bugs and upgrade blocks. Ever since, Microsoft has been slowly patching those bugs and lifting blocks one by one. Now, the company is removing another upgrade block, letting more Windows 10 and Windows 11 users upgrade to the latest version ahead of the upcoming end of Windows 10 support.

The block in question affects PCs with Easy Anti-Cheat, an anti-cheat solution embedded in many popular games, such as PUBG or Fortnite. According to the official documentation, the compatibility issue affects systems with Intel's Alder Lake+ processors and the vPro platform with Easy Anti-Cheat drivers released before April 2024. Affected systems crash to the blue screen of death (now black screen of death) with the "MEMORY_MANAGEMENT" error. However, blue screens of death do not occur if games do not use outdated drivers that are present on the device.

The upgrade block was placed on September 30, 2024, and now, nearly ten months later, Microsoft has lifted it. As of July 24, 2025, affected systems can finally install Windows 11 version 24H2 via Windows Update. Note that Windows Update might still prompt you to update games that use an incompatible Easy Anti-Cheat version.

Compatibility issues with Easy Anti-Cheat are only present in Windows 11 version 24H2, so if you are running older Windows 11 versions or Windows 10, there should not be any crashes, even with outdated drivers.

Windows 11 version 25H2 is coming in a couple of months, but its predecessor still has several upgrade blocks in place. There are compatibility issues with Intel Smart Sound Technology drivers, hanging apps that use the camera, audio output losses on PCs with Dirac Audio, and sprotect.sys driver issues.

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Posted Saturday 26 July 2025 at 4:40 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of June): 2,864

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Excel is getting a highly requested PivotTable feature

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 18:40:39 +0000

Microsoft Excel is one of the most popular software out there, both in the enterprise and personal space. It has a variety of use-cases including data analysis, data crunching, visualizations, and even planning and organization assistance. Microsoft regularly updates Excel with new features, and now, it is introducing a notable feature for PivotTables.

Prior to today, PivotTables required a manual refresh from the user whenever new data was inserted into them. This wasn't a particularly complicated process, but it was tedious, so based on significant user feedback, Microsoft has decided to implement auto-refresh capabilities in PivotTables. The good thing is that Auto Refresh is enabled for all new PivotTables by default, but you can choose to disable it by selecting a PivotTable, navigating to the PivotTable Analyze tab, and then clicking on Auto Refresh.

It is important to note that Auto Refresh is applicable on a per data source level, which means that the feature's state (on or off) will apply to all PivotTables derived from that source. Additionally, if Auto Refresh is disabled or a PivotTable is unable to synchronize, a message at the bottom of your workbook will say "PivotTable Refresh Needed". Once you click on it, all outdated PivotTables will refresh. Finally, you should keep in mind that external and asynchronous data sources do not support Auto Refresh and that the feature may become unavailable when a co-author is using an older version of Excel or if you are playing around with volatile functions like RAND() and NOW() in your data source.

Auto Refresh for PivotTables is available right now in the Beta Channel for Excel for Windows version 2506 (Build 19008.2000) or later, and Excel for Mac version 16.99 (Build 250616106) or later. If you don't see it yet, it's better to wait as new capabilities are often rolled out in a staggered manner.

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Posted Saturday 26 July 2025 at 4:40 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of June): 2,864

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Windows 11 build 27909 is out with fixes for battery indicator and more

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 18:39:28 +0000

This week's Friday Windows 11 preview build comes from the Canary Channel with a few fixes here and there. No new features or noticeable changes in build 27909, so Windows 11 Insiders get to test several fixes and general improvements.

Here is the changelog:

[General]
- This update includes a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience for Insiders running this build on their PCs.
[Administrator Protection]
- Fixed an underlying issue where the Xbox app wouldn’t launch when administrator protection was enabled. This may have also impacted other apps too, showing error 0xC0000142 or 0xC0000045.
[Settings]
- Fixed an issue where the battery percentage was unexpectedly missing from the top of System > Power & Battery in the last few builds.
[Remote desktop]
- Fixed an issue causing extreme graphical distortion and rendering issues using remote desktop on Arm64 PCs in the last couple builds.
[Other]
- Fixed a high hitting pcasvc.dll crash in the previous build.
- Fixed an underlying issue where if you disconnected the device you were casting to from outside of Media Player, Media Player would still show an option to disconnect from the device.
- Fixed an issue which was causing Remote Credential Guard scenarios between the latest Windows 11 builds and Server 2022 (and below) to fail.

The list of known issues includes the following:

[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”.
- There’s an issue starting with the latest builds causing a small number of Insiders to experience repeated bugchecks with KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE after upgrading.This may occur when connecting to VPN.
- This Canary Channel flight comes with a delightful blast from the past and will play the Windows Vista boot sound instead of the Windows 11 boot sound. The fix should be coming in a future Canary Channel flight soon.
[Settings]
- We’re investigating an issue in this build which could cause Settings to crash when interacting with the options under Settings > System > Power & Battery.
- We’re investigating an issue where some of the apostrophes across text in Settings and settings-related dialogs are not displaying correctly and are showing random characters.

You can find the announcement post here.

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Posted Saturday 26 July 2025 at 4:38 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of June): 2,864

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