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Those circled icons mean that some of your tabs have become inactive.

You may have noticed recently that of the tabs on your Chrome browser have circles around the tab’s icon and that the icon itself is smaller and slightly faded. What’s that all about — and can I change them back?

On Thursday, Microsoft released a new Microsoft Store Windows 11 app update for Canary and Dev channel Insider users. As it turns out, that wasn't the only thing that was updated for Microsoft Store users. The store's official desktop website got a new design that makes it look much like the Windows 11 app.
 
The Microsoft Store site now employs a design where you can browse through cards to see new apps, categories, special offers, and more. If you click on the Games or Movies & TV tab on top, you will see that card design is also available below the main ones, with New and Notable Games and Best Selling Games getting their own cards, and New Movies and Features Movies getting the same look.

Windows 11 build 25967, released on October 5, 2023, changes how the Quick Settings menu works when using more than six buttons. Now, instead of making the UI bigger, Microsoft wants you to scroll it, which might sound questionable for some, considering how much screen real estate and resolutions modern computers have.
 
However, there is some logic behind the reworked Quick Settings. Microsoft says the new layout will ensure users can access all available toggles without editing the list to add or remove specific buttons.

Yesterday, we published a story detailing the possibility of Microsoft making the next-generation Windows release a subscription-based operating system. Code change in Windows 11 version 23H2 from the Release Preview suggested that Windows "12," or whatever Microsoft plans to call Windows 11's successor, would be available as a subscription, like Microsoft 365, Xbox Game Pass, and other services. As it turns out, those assumptions are likely false.

By Susan Bradley (AKA The Microsoft patch lady)

This week offers a perfect example of why I don’t rush to update.

Ultimately, I want to understand the changes coming to my desktop and ensure that I know exactly what they do.

A little over a week ago, Microsoft announced Copilot for Windows. What that means is complicated, and we don’t really know all the details; it seems we will learn more, based upon what Microsoft dribbles out.

That’s reason enough to elevate MS-DEFCON to 1, its highest level.

Rumors about a consumer subscription version of Windows have been floating around for several years. It is the next logical step for Microsoft in its quest to make continuous revenue from its products.
 
Microsoft transitioned Office already. While still available for a one-time payment, Office is also available as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription for Enterprise customers, businesses and consumers.
 
These two product versions are not equal. The subscription-based version of Office gets a continuous stream of features and improvements, which the perpetual license version of Office does not get.

At Neowin, we often cover interesting Windows concepts as our community consists mainly of Windows enthusiasts and the readership loves going through some of those interesting ideas presented. Part of the charm of such fan-made concepts is that they often highlight what the fans of that product deeply desire to have.
 
One of these concepts we wrote about recently is dubbed "Windows 11.2" and it has some cool and interesting features that Windows lovers and users alike would have probably found useful and enjoyed had it been in the real thing.

A few months ago, Microsoft redesigned the Windows 10 and 11 inbox weather app with new design, information, ads, and MSN News. After a few raised eyebrows from upset customers, Microsoft removed ads and MSN news to give a cleaner and simpler experience. However, not everyone is a fan of the new slightly crammed and overloaded design. If you are one such customer, Lively Weather may become your go-to weather app on your Windows computer.
 
Lively Weather is a third-party UWP app available for free in the Microsoft Store. It uses Open-Meteo weather data to generate forecasts and arrange them in a simple, easy-to-read blocky UI with subtle animations (suspiciously similar to the Weather app on iOS and iPadOS). Available information includes temperature, wind, humidity, pressure, air quality, and sunset/sunrise. Clicking a specific block will open an hourly forecast with a brief explanation.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Gran Turismo' tops the chart, followed by '_Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One'. ‘Blue Beetle' completes the top three.
 
The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only.
 
These torrent download statistics are only meant to provide further insight into the piracy trends.

All data are gathered from public resources.

Microsoft has resolved a known issue that caused Outlook Desktop to unexpectedly prompt users to reopen previously closed windows.
 
"This problem has been addressed in Version 2309 Build 16827.20130. To install the update immediately, select File > Office Account > Update Options > Update Now," Microsoft says in an update to the original August support document acknowledging the bug.

The Microsoft 365 Roadmap website was pretty busy this week, especially on the Microsoft Team side of things. There were also some new Outlook and OneDrive additions to the roadmap over the last seven days.

Earlier this week, we looked at the launch of the first version of Microsoft Word in 1983. We mentioned that there were a number of conflicting dates for the actual launch of the program. Thankfully, that's not the case for the release of another major Microsoft software product, Excel.
 
All of the online resources we have seen including Microsoft's own history page, show that the first release of Microsoft Excel happened on September 30, 1985, or 38 years ago today.

When Mozilla launched the redesigned version of Firefox for Android in 2019 as a preview, it changed several key features of the browser. The classic Firefox for Android browser was not restricted when it came to the installation of extensions. While some extensions were not compatible, usually because they were designed with desktop operating systems in mind, many extensions could be installed.

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we look at the latest feature update for Windows 11, questionable File Explorer changes, no more Windows 11 activation with old keys, fresh Windows Insider builds, plenty of Surface updates, gaming news, and more.

Microsoft Copilot needs to hurry it along if I'm to actually use it.

Microsoft's new AI Copilot for Windows 11 is now rolling out, but it's still too slow to be something that people are actually going to want to use. I highlighted this issue when the Windows Copilot first launched in preview back in June; the AI model takes too long to process your commands or queries, to a point where it makes more sense to do the task or find the information yourself.

This week, the Windows 11 22H2 Moment 4 update went live under KB5030310 (build 22621.2361). As such, Microsoft has also released upgrades to improve the Windows out-of-the-box experience (OOBE) with new KB5030323 and KB5031274 updates.
 
The March OOBE update, for example, added a Shim to improve compatibility with Component Object Model (COM) objects. Meanwhile, the April OOBE update also addressed compatibility issues, but this time it was related to the registry.

In December 2022, we published a short PSA, reminding users they could still activate Windows 11 and 10 with valid Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 keys. This practice dates back to 2015 when Microsoft launched Windows 10 with a one-year free upgrade window. Besides letting Windows 7/8 users upgrade for free to Windows 10, Microsoft allowed activating its newest OS using keys from the previous releases.
 
Upgrade from Windows 7 and 8 to Windows is no longer possible, and it now seems that Microsoft is removing the loophole to prevent users from activating Windows 11 with old Windows license keys.

Four years since the launch of the Raspberry Pi 4, the Raspberry Pi 5 has arrived with a performance boost and house silicon that adds support for PCIe 2.0.

Despite doubts that the Raspberry Pi 5 would launch this year, the latest version of the microcomputer has arrived with some notable upgrades at a $60 starting price. Not only is it supposed to perform better than its predecessor, but it’s also the first Raspberry Pi to come with in-house silicon.

By Susan Bradley (AKA The Microsoft patch lady)
Every month, I read headlines claiming that the latest patches for Windows 11 22H2 are causing major issues and impacting gazillions of users.
Every month, I also note that the deployments of Windows 11 in my home and office are well behaved. Some of that is surely the result of my tender ministrations, such as using an alternate menu system. But for the rest, Windows 11 is not some sort of monster stomping through neighborhoods and ruining lives.

Back in July, Microsoft for the first time, publicly announced Windows 11 version 23H2. Alongside that, the company also clarified that the system requirements for the feature update will remain unchanged.
 
While many thought, including Neowin, that the recent September 26 feature update was 23H2, Microsoft clarified later that it had been planned for a different date. However, Microsoft did roll out a bunch of 23H2 features early with the Moment 4 update. In case you missed it, it has been live since last night.

The Patch Tuesday update, which is the monthly Windows security update, is known to often arrive with some issues or bugs. However, the latest one for September, KB5030211, had no known issues, and very few reported issues online or on the Feedback hub. Microsoft though has managed to ruin it as it has seemingly begun pushing the new Windows Backup app on Windows 10 Pro 22H2 and LTSC systems without the option to easily uninstall it.
 
The Patch Tuesday update brings this change unannounced as the release notes did not mention such a thing. The issue was brought to the attention by a Reddit user Esky013, who is presumably an IT administrator, on the Intune subreddit. They explained:
 
After applying the September CU for Windows 10 22H2 (KB5030211), there is a shiny new Start Menu shortcut for Windows Backup. It doesn't work in any of the environments we look after ("This feature is not supported by your organisation") due to policies applied, and we don't want or need it in the Start Menu. If it's not there it will save the questions from users, too.

Do more in less time with our pick of keyboard shortcuts.

Getting around Windows 11 is a lot easier if you know a keyboard shortcut or five. You can then speed through tasks and across apps without having to fumble around for the mouse and trackpad (or even take your eyes off the screen).
 
These are some of my favorites that I turn to again and again on a daily basis. From helping you go between apps more quickly to navigating your system, there should be at least something here for everyone.

Microsoft has been repeatedly caught showing unwanted ads in Windows 11, including in notifications, Bing, and Edge. This has been a growing concern for users for some time — so, of course, people want to disable ads in Windows 11 whatever it takes. 
 
You may recall that Microsoft tested ads on Windows 11’s Settings page in an insider build back in May. It wasn’t the one and only time: they once showed huge banner ads promoting Edge on Chrome‘s download site, and the list goes on. 

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Blue Beetle' tops the chart, followed by 'Barbie'. ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' completes the top three.

The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only.  

These torrent download statistics are only meant to provide further insight into the piracy trends.

All data are gathered from public resources.

The next Windows 11 feature update, unofficially called "Moment 4," will be available for the general public in the Stable Channel on September 26, 2023. However, you can install it now if waiting is not an option. This guide will show you how to install Windows 11 Moment 4 update now and after the September 26, 2023 release.