Our Picks

Most Neowin readers will be familiar with the concepts of beta software—an early release of software released for testing before the final, stable version.

Not every Windows user wants or can update their system to Windows 11 (quite a lot remain on Windows 10 despite its imminent end of support), but the gaming audience is more receptive to the new OS. Valve reports that in December 2024, Windows 11 reached a new all-time high on Steam.

Telegram continues its tradition of monthly feature updates with a new content drop for the messenger. The first update of 2025 (it was actually planned for late 2024, but Apple's review process delayed the release) brings improvements for gifts, filters, reactions, and more.

This may be our first and only look at what Microsoft was cooking up for dynamic wallpaper support on Windows 11.

New gaming monitors promise high refresh rate 4K OLED gaming without the need for a 32-inch panel.

Earlier this year in July, Microsoft announced that Windows 11 24H2 and Windows Server 2025 updates would be delivered using a new method. Called "Checkpoint Cumulative Updates," these are meant to lower download sizes and thus faster updates. Microsoft also says this will consequently reduce server-side load too.

I have written several times on switching over from Windows to Linux, as it can be advantageous for some people, such as those with older computers. What I haven't really spoken about are the top apps you should use after switching to Linux for the best experience; that's what I'll try to do now.

In October 2024, Windows 11 reached its all-time high market share, climbing to over 35.5%, according to Statcounter. This increase followed an unexpected decline when the operating system had been losing users for three months. Now, the story repeats itself. After dropping some market share in November, Windows 11 is once again in decline.

Windows 11 uses the icon cache extensively to display icons of applications and other elements of the operating system. It is designed to speed up the loading and display of icons.

Just in time for holiday tech-support sessions, here's what to know about passkeys.

Every year, Microsoft deprecates, removes, and kills various apps, services, and devices. Here's what hit the chopping block in 2024.

RAM prices are expected to get cheaper as the prices of DRAM and VRAM chips are expected to go down. The memory chipmakers aren’t going to be happy about it.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Gladiator II' tops the chart, followed by 'The Order'. 'Venom: The Last Dance' completes the top three.
 
 The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only.
 
Downloading content without permission is copyright infringement. These torrent download statistics are only meant to provide further insight into piracy trends. All data are gathered from public resources.

In 2024, Windows 11 received quite a lot of new features and small improvements for a better user experience. Even though its major update, version 24H2, is what many consider one of the worst updates in terms of bugs and stability, there are still positive things about the release and smaller patches the OS received in the outgoing year.

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we look at what happened during the final week of 2024. Spoiler alert: not much. A new known issue in Windows 11 version 24H2, some app updates, and more. We also published our annual list of the most popular stories published on Neowin in 2024.

The common charging standard brings USB PD support, improved labelling, and less e-waste.

From December 28th, a large percentage of the gadgets bought inside the EU are required to charge via USB-C.

What do eating rocks, rat genitals, and Willy Wonka have in common? AI, of course.

It's been a wild year in tech thanks to the intersection between humans and artificial intelligence. 2024 brought a parade of AI oddities, mishaps, and wacky moments that inspired odd behavior from both machines and man. From AI-generated rat genitals to search engines telling people to eat rocks, this year proved that AI has been having a weird impact on the world.

Windows 11 is far from perfect, but it does make Task Manager significantly better.
 
It's modern, has a search bar, and easy-to-understand graphs.
 
But what are some of the lesser-known features of the Task Manager? In this article, we're going to take a closer look at some of our favourite Task Manager features.

440-pound 1980s behemoth rescued from an Osaka restaurant days before demolition.

Windows users who are not satisfied with the stock UI in Windows 11 have plenty of apps to choose from to improve the default experience. StartAllBack is one such application, and it offers plenty of customization and improvements. With the latest update to version 3.9, StartAllBack received even more.

Every week we take a close look at the most pirated movies on torrent sites. What are pirates downloading? 'Venom: The Last Dance' tops the chart, followed by 'Red One'. 'Kraven The Hunter' completes the top three.
 
 The data for our weekly download chart is estimated by TorrentFreak, and is for informational and educational reference only.
 
Downloading content without permission is copyright infringement. These torrent download statistics are only meant to provide further insight into piracy trends. All data are gathered from public resources.

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we recap a rather quiet week ahead of the holidays. We have a bunch of new Windows 11 version 24H2 bugs, some gaming news, Office updates, an overview of everything Microsoft deprecated in Windows 10 and 11 in 2024, and more.

With 2025 less than two weeks away, it is time to recap all the features Microsoft deprecated or removed from Windows 10 and 11 in 2024. Although the list from 2024 is not as big as the one from 2023, Microsoft still deprecated quite a lot of features, so here is each one of them to give you a better look at what you can no longer use or what will soon be removed.

After upgrading to Windows 11 2024 Update, use this guide to learn and start using Windows Recall.

Earlier today, we covered a scary Microsoft 365 bug wherein Office apps like Word are displaying that the Microsoft 365 license will be "deactivated soon". Thankfully Microsoft has provided a workaround for it as well as how users can help the engineers investigate the issue better. You can find all the details in this dedicated coverage.