Microsoft Weekly: butt-shaped Xbox controllers and 9 million broken Windows PCs

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we look at a security update knocking out almost 9 million Windows PCs, Windows Update changes, Windows 11 version 23H2's broad availability, butt-shaped Xbox controllers, gaming news, and more.

Table of contents:

1. Windows 10 and 11 news
2. Windows Insider Program
3. Updates are available
4. Reviews are in
5. Gaming news

Windows 11 and 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.

Without a doubt, the biggest event of this week (and maybe the entire year) was CwordStrike's misstep that caused thousands of systems to go down worldwide. A misfired update broke Windows PCs, throwing them into a boot loop and disrupting operations for multiple companies across the globe.

CrowdStrike quickly confirmed the problem, admitted its guilt, and offered a fix (there was one from Microsoft as well and even detailed step-by-step isntructions). However, the situation is very serious, and in the first interview, CrowdStrike's CEO said that restoring operations could take longer than expected. Later on, Microsoft revealed that the outage knocked out over 8.5 million PCs worldwide.

Interestingly, while only Windows-based machines were affected, months ago, CrowdStrike broke Debian and Rocky Linux. The irony is that no one noticed that.

Moving to more positive news, Windows 11 version 23H2 is finally available for everyone. On July 17, Microsoft announced that Windows 11 version 23H2 is now broadly available for every user with compatible devices. That means those still on Windows 11 21H2 or 22H2 can go to Settings > Windows Update, click "Check for Updates," and get to version 23H2 as soon as possible.

Microsoft announced some big changes to how Windows Updates work. Starting with Windows 11 version 24H2, the operating system uses checkpoint cumulative updates that allow you to get features and security enhancements via the latest cumulative update through smaller, incremental differentials containing only the changes since the previous checkpoint cumulative update. This means that you can save time, bandwidth, and hard drive space.

By the way, did you hear the news that you can now almost officially run Windows on your iPhone or iPad? All that is thanks to the new UTM emulator, which finally made it to the App Store. The updated App Store rules now allow emulators, so you can now get one and run MS-DOS, Windows XP, and other operating systems on iOS-based devices.

Windows Insider Program

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

After a month-long pause in releasing Dev builds, Microsoft finally gave Dev Insiders some much-needed love in the form of build 26120.1252. In addition, the company resumed the rollout of new features that it previously paused. Sadly, that was all Insiders got this week. No Canary, no Beta, no RP.

However, Windows Insiders received a bunch of app updates. The Photos app now features Designer AI integration, the Microsoft Store got search suggestions (ads) and game categories, and Paint received Pen back button support and lasso select for the side button.

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.

This week's update section kicks off with a new AI PC from HP. The company announced the HP OmbiBook Ultra 14-inch Laptop Next Gen AI PC (no joke, that is the official name) with AMD's new Ryzen AI 300 processor, which includes the AMD Ryzen AI NPU chip with the performance level of up to 55 TOPS. This appears to be one of the first non-Qualcomm devices to get Copilot+ PC capabilities.

Microsoft has released a new update for SwiftKey Beta on Android. The latest version now lets you dictate and type at the same time, which is a big update to the keyboard's capabilities and convenience.

Excel on the web received more improvements and features. You can preview links, easily rename sheets and adjust zoom, use new shortcuts for faster access, and send one-click feedback. Also, Microsoft improved Copilot integration into Word, allowing users to get summaries of longer documents. Microsoft says this is one of the most popular features in Word among Copilot users.

Microsoft Edge received two updates this week. The first one was 128.0.2708.0 in the Dev Channel. That release featured shutdown improvements, bug fixes, stability enhancements, and more. The second one was 126.0.2592.113 in the Stable Channel. It resolved the problem with the error code STATUS ACCESS VIOLATION, new tab page issues, and nine Chromium vulnerabilities of high severity.

VirtualBox, a popular cross-platform software for virtualization, received a new update. Version 7.0.20 is a maintenance update with TPM fixes on Windows, macOS-specific improvements, audio, USB, and UEFI changes, and more.

Finally, several Surface devices received new firmware updates. The Surface Pro 8 got a big update with multiple fixes, and a similar one arrived for the Intel-based Surface Pro 9.

Other notable updates include the following:

• .NET 6 is running out of support on November 12.

• Microsoft Designer is now generally available on supported platforms.

• Microsoft expanded the use of Draft with Copilot in Word documents.

• Microsoft added support for multiple authors on SharePoint Pages and News.

• Microsoft kicked off the new fiscal year with a huge set of incentives for its partners.

• Microsoft researchers have created a new AI LLM specifically for spreadsheets.

• CMA UK is investigating Microsoft's deal with AI startup Inflection.

• Dev Home 0.16 was released with new features, bug fixes, and more.

• Microsoft announced WDK NuGet to improve Windows drivers.

And here are the newest drivers released this week:

• Nvidia 560.70 WHQL with optimizations and DLSS 3 support for Stormgate, Dungeonborn, and Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn.
• AMD Radeon Software 24.7.1 with Anti-Lag 2 support for DOTA 2 and a ton of fixes.

Finally, here is this week's Microsoft 365 Roadmap Weekly, which includes the latest features coming soon to Microsoft's productivity apps. Look out for new Copilot capabilities in Excel, a new keyboard shortcut for Outlook on Windows, and more.

Reviews are in

Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week.

Robbie Khan has a new controller review to check out. This week, the GameSir Kaleid and Kaleid Flux made it to Robbie's testing labs. The verdict is pretty mid. These gamepads offer great performance and solid ergonomics (the looks are also spot-on), but they are plagued by their steep price tags, mushy buttons, cable quirks, random connectivity drop-outs, and more.

On the gaming side

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

Forza Horizon 5 received a new content update. "Cars & Coffee" is now available on PC and Xbox, offering gamers new cars, a new location with a built-in photo studio, a fresh premium DLC with four Japanese vehicles, and more. By the way, several days ago, Forza Horizon 5 hit the 40,000,000 players mark.

Another Microsoft-owned game that received a new content update is Sea of Thieves. Its Season 13 is kicking off on July 25, offering gamers the chance to take on Captain Flameheart and its ship, The Burning Blade. Also, look out for new Skeleton Camps and other content.

We are pretty far from the holiday season, but some companies are already making their Christmas-related announcements. Hallmark, for one, revealed an Xbox-themed ornament that will let you put the original Xbox with its humongous controller on a Christmas tree. Moreover, those ornaments will play the main theme from Halo: Combat Evolved.

Activision announced the dates of its upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 beta tests. The Early Access test will begin on August 30 and it will run through September 4. The Open Beta for everyone will happen on September 6-9.

Xbox Insiders in the Alpha and Alpha-Skip Ahead Rings can try improvements for the game installation process. Now, they can select what additional content should be installed alongside a base game. That will come in handy if you want to save some space or get the game quicker by skipping additional, often storage-heavy DLCs.

Microsoft is getting ready to close the Xbox Marketplace for Xbox 360 users, so it launched the final list of discounted games. And to celebrate this legendary console generation and give Xbox X|S users a nostalgia trip, Microsoft released an animated "Blades" background for the current-gen Xbox consoles.

Amazon is now selling a special bundle that includes the Robot White Xbox Wireless Controller, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, and one month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. In case you missed it, Amazon's Fire TV sticks recently received official Xbox Cloud Gaming support. Amazon is now selling you a starter pack with everything you need to begin playing without purchasing a console.

Also, check out this: a butt-shaped red Xbox Wireless Controller inspired by Deadpool's "perfectly rounded tush." Sadly, you cannot purchase this masterpiece, so the only way to get it is to participate in Microsoft's latest Xbox sweepstakes.

Speaking of movies and Xbox, Paramount canceled the Halo TV series. The show ended after just two seasons, but it might get renewed for a third season on a different platform.

Microsoft announced a new wave of games for Xbox and PC Game Pass subscribers. They include Magical Delicacy, Flock, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, Dungeons of Hinterberg, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, and EA Sports College Football 25.

As usual, there is also news for GeForce NOW subscribers. For starters, in a somewhat big move, Microsoft made it possible to launch Xbox games on Nvidia GeForce NOW directly on the official Xbox website. This gives users more options to play games from the cloud.

Next, GeForce NOW subscriptions are now 50% off. You can get yourself a membership for half its price until August 18. Finally, there are nine new games, which include The Crust, Nobody Wants to Die, Norland, Content Warning, and more.

Not all Game Pass news was positive this week, though. The FTC slammed Microsoft over this month's Xbox Game Pass changes, claiming the new tier is a degraded product. Microsoft responded with an appeal letter stating that the FTC's letter was misleading.

Deals and freebies

This week was choke-full of deals and free games. For starters, this week's Epic Games Store giveaway lets you score Arcade Paradise and Maid of Sker. These two games are available to everyone for free until Thursday.

Also, the Epic Games Store Summer Sale is now in full swing. You can save on hundreds of games, which are discounted until August 1, 2024. Go get some while the offer lasts!

You still have some time to score a bunch of fighting games. The Steam Fighting Festival is still live (ending soon), offering gamers dozens of face-punching titles with discounts of up to 90%. Get those games while you can!

Ubisoft is letting everyone try Avatar: Frontiers Pandora on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S for free until July 28, 2024. If you are interested, you still have time to check it out on your console. By the way, we have a detailed review of the game, which you can read here.

As usual, we have more deals collected in our weekly Weekend PC Game Deals series. Check them out if you want more.

Other gaming stories from this week include the following:

• The Fallout: London fan-made DLC won't support the Epic Games Store version of Fallout 4.

• The latest Ara: History Untold video dev diary offered a look at the game's government system.

• Microsoft-owned Bethesda Game Studios developers have voted to unionize.

• New Soulframe gameplay footage revealed more of the upcoming fantasy MMO.

   

Microsoft Weekly image background by Gruendercoach on Pixabay.

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