Microsoft Weekly: big Windows 11 updates and big layoffs

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we look at a big round of layoffs at Microsoft Gaming, a big Windows 11 preview build with many new features, browser feature updates, and more.

Table of contents:

1. Windows 11 and Windows 10 news
2. Updates are available
3. Gaming news
4. A blast from Microsoft's past
5. Random fact about Microsoft

Windows 11 and Windows 10

Here we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And of course, you may find a word or two about older but still supported versions.

This week, Microsoft released optional non-security updates for supported Windows 11 and 10 versions:

Interestingly, despite Microsoft implementing EU-compliant changes, the company's browser and search engine may avoid EU regulation due to their insignificant market shares.

As a reminder, January 2024 is the final month when Microsoft released optional updates for Windows 11 version 22H2. From now on, only version 23H2 is entitled to non-security updates, which are also known as C-updates. If you do not need bug fixes mentioned in the release notes, feel free to skip these updates. Otherwise, head to Windows Update and install the needed update manually.

In addition to releasing the latest roundup of optional updates, Microsoft confirmed a bug in Windows 10. According to the company, IT Admins may face a 0x80073cf2 error when using the Sysprep.exe tool in the Audit mode. Fortunately, there is a temporary workaround. Also, this bug does not affect "regular users," so there is no need to panic.

Microsoft also published a new support article detailing further WMIC deprecation. The company will turn off WMIC by default in Windows 11 starting January 29, 2024. Future Windows releases will remove WMIC for good.

Following the recent speculation about Microsoft making 16GB of RAM a baseline for Windows "12," a new report emerged, citing unnamed sources within Microsoft claiming that the so-called Windows "12" is delaying. The update that we expect later this year will arrive as version 24H2, an AI-centric release for next-gen AI PCs.

Windows Insider Program

Here is what Microsoft released for testing in the Windows Insider Program this week:

The latest Canary build contains plenty of interesting novelties. One of the most notable ones is a redesigned setup experience, the first big change for that area since the days of Windows Vista. You can check it out in our Closer Look article.

Another neat new feature in build 26040 is a new compression wizard with new options, such as compression format, algorithm, ratio, and more.

Finally, one of Surface-exclusive AI features, Voice Clarity, is now available to all Windows 11 users with x64 processors. Voice Clarity improves your voice in real-time during calls by depressing background noise, canceling echo, and reducing reverberations. Before build 26040, Voice Clarity was only available on ARM devices with dedicated Neural Processing Units.

Updates are available

This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties.

If you frequently use the Snipping Tool app to take screenshots or record videos, you are up for a treat. Microsoft will soon update Windows 11's default screenshot tool with the ability to add basic shapes, such as lines, arrows, circles, and squares. The feature was spotted recently in the latest Windows Insider preview version, and a public announcement should not take too long to arrive.

Do you remember Copilot Pro, Microsoft's new paid AI assistant? According to multiple reports, Microsoft launched Copilot Pro to a rocky start, with numerous users complaining about poor performance, the lack of Copilot Pro in mobile apps, and other inconveniences.

Despite some hurdles with Copilot, Microsoft's ventures in the AI market are already paying off big time. This week, the company joined Apple in its exclusive "3 trillion market cap" club. And no, Microsoft is not going to release the throttle. A new report revealed that Microsoft is working on smaller and cheaper AI models to optimize costs.

Microsoft announced an upcoming update for Sticky Notes, a long-forgotten app for taking quick notes directly on the desktop. The app's official X account made a sudden comeback earlier this week, promising users "the biggest announcement." Details are scarce, but at least it is not a web-based revamp.

Finally, Microsoft released Edge 121 in the Stable Channel. The release notes include AVIF and AV1 support, the ability to plant an e-tree in Wallet, new website typo protection policies, and more.

Moving to third-party browsers and updates, here is the latest Firefox release in the Stable channel. Version 122 is now available with improved search suggestions, a better built-in translator, passkeys support on macOS, and more. If you use Firefox as your main browser, you are most likely already running version 122. To check it, head to Menu > Help > About Firefox.

There is something new for Chrome users as well. Google unveiled three new AI-powered features to improve your browsing experience. Those include a theme generator, a tool to help you write, and a tab manager to fix your poor tab skills. All those changes will be available as a part of Chrome 121 for users in the United States.

In addition, Google released the first native Chrome version for Windows on ARM. It is now available for public testing in the Canary Channel.

Other notable updates released or announced this week include the following:

• Microsoft Teams will soon receive multiple changes for the meeting gallery, giving users more flexibility and convenience during online meetings with their webcams turned on or off. In addition, there are new tools in preview to help you control audio and video during meetings.
• Microsoft Mesh 3D avatars and spaces are now available for Teams users on PC in VR.
• OneNote on Windows now features Loop components, allowing Microsoft 365 Insiders to add extra editable pieces of content, such as lists, tables, and tasks. Those components then sync across all platforms in different Microsoft apps.
• Microsoft Forms can now automatically sync data to Excel on the web.
• Ventoy 1.0.97 is out with FreeBSD 14.0 support, boot fixes, and more. For those unfamiliar, Ventoy is a popular third-party app for making bootable USB media.

Here are the new drivers released this week:

• AMD Radeon Software 24.1.1 with AMD Fluid Motion Frames for all DirectX 11 and 12 games and the initial support for the recently announced Radeon RX 7600 XT graphics card.
• Intel 31.0.101.5186 and 5234 WHQL with support for Palworld, TEKKEN 8, and other games. In addition, the new drivers from the "blue team" offer massive performance improvements in multiple DirectX 11 and 12 titles.
• Nvidia 551.23 WHQL with the initial support for the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, several fixes, and DLSS 3 support for a bunch of games.

Finally, here are the latest additions to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, a page where you can track the upcoming features for Office apps, Teams, Outlook, and more. This week, Microsoft added folder improvements for Outlook, channel enhancements for Teams, and more.

On the gaming side

Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts and more.

This week's gaming section starts on a minor note: Microsoft announced a new round of layoffs, eliminating around 1,900 employees from its gaming division. Activision-Blizzard, which Microsoft purchased in October 2023 for almost $69 billion, will be hit the most. In addition, Microsoft will let go of some of the people working at ZeniMax and Xbox.

The irony of this story is that the company has just crossed a $3 trillion market cap, and now it is firing almost two thousand people to "ensure [Microsoft is] all aligned on the best opportunities for growth."

Besides cutting down from 22,000 employees in the Microsoft Gaming division, the announcement resulted in Blizzard its unnamed survival game. Shortly after the announcement, a new report revealed the alleged extent of the latest round of layoffs at Microsoft, with multiple studios losing from 10% to 30$ of their staff.

Despite the layoffs, Microsoft-owned studios continue their game-making job. Turn10 Studios announced an upcoming update for Forza Motorsport. It will bring back the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife location in Germany and several gameplay improvements, such as the ability to skip practice in the career mode.

Halo Infinite will get its next free content update on January 30. It will introduce a new multiplayer map, fresh content for the map editor (Forge), and a new mode for mod-makers.

Microsoft announced a new program for indie games on Xbox this week. Called Indie Selects, it aims to showcase great indie titles on Microsoft's consoles using a dedicated section in the Xbox Store. Indie Selects will be a permanent hub for projects from small companies and indie developers, with refreshes coming every Wednesday.

Speaking of Xbox stores, iPhone users in Europe might soon get one. This week, Apple announced significant changes in its App Store policies, which will soon allow app sideloading, third-party payments, and third-party stores. Epic Games is already working on one to bring back Fortnite to iPhone, and Microsoft might soon join the party.

In addition, Apple is now allowing game streaming apps like Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia GeForce NOW.

As promised, Nvidia opened public access to its RTX Remix toolset that allows modders to remake old Windows games with modern graphics, effects, and technologies. Look out for future releases of Half-Life 2 RTX, Deus Ex RTX, Unreal Tournament 2004 RTX, and many more.

Do you remember the Vapor Special Edition controller with its swirly finish? As it turned out, Microsoft is busy preparing another one. According to a recent leak, Microsoft will announce a new special edition Xbox gamepad on January 31, 2024. Specific details, sadly, remain a mystery. In case you have forgotten what the Xbox Vapor Special Edition Controller looks like, here is a picture of one:

Those playing PC games using Nvidia's GeForce NOW streaming service can now (pun intended) access ten more games and a few upgrades on Android. The latest additions include Enshrounded, Firefighting Simulator - The Squad, Stargate: Timekeepers, and more. In addition, GeForce NOW Ultimate subscribers can benefit from higher resolution on Android, now available at up to 1440p 120FPS.

Deals and freebies

Infinifactory is the latest free game from the Epic Games Store. In this puzzle game, you play as a human whom aliens have abducted to assist them with some whacky production on complicated production lines. Your goal is to control conveyor belts, welders, pushers, and sensors to build the products your extraterrestrial overlords need. You can download Infinifactory for free until the next Thursday.

If you need more deals, check out our weekly Weekend PC Game Deals series.

A blast from Microsoft's past

John Callaham's weekly "Look back" series provides throwbacks into the past, detailing the company's products, partnerships, mishaps, and successes from years ago.

This week's blast from Microsoft's past is about the software giant trying to sue a maker of a Linux distro with Windows app support. In December 2001, Microsoft filed a lawsuit against Lindows, claiming the company was trying to confuse users with a product whose name resembled Windows. More than two decades later, that distro and the company responsible for it are still in business.

Random fact about Microsoft

And here is a randomly selected piece of trivia about the company, Windows, and other Microsoft-made things.

Did you know that Microsoft had a sort of "Insider Program" for Windows back in 1995? And did you know that users had to pay for the privilege of beta-testing Windows 95? A key for the beta would set you back $19.95 (because 1995, get it?), and it would expire in November 1995. After that, you would have to buy a proper Windows 95 license key.

Today, however, you do not need to pay for access to Windows beta versions. The Windows Insider program is open to all users, but you still must activate the operating system with a valid Windows 10 or 11 key (old Windows 7 keys sadly no longer work).

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