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It's the second Tuesday of the month, which means it's Patch Tuesday time again. As such, today Microsoft is rolling out the monthly security update (also called "B release") for October 2023 on Windows Server 20H2, and Windows 10 for the latest supported versions, 20H2, 21H2, and 22H2.

Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system checks several hardware components of a PC during setup to make sure the PC meets the minimum system requirements. Microsoft claims that the change was necessary to improve security and functionality of Windows 11. Critics argue that Windows 11 runs fine on systems that do not meet the requirements and that lots of Windows 10 and older customers are left behind, as upgrade paths are not available.
 
In any event, options to bypass Windows 11 system requirements check have been discovered relatively early. Tools like Ventoy or Rufus prepare installation media specifically for the bypasses, but there are also manual options that users have.

Microsoft and Google are working on automatic tab organization options in Edge and Chrome.
 
Tabs play an important role for most users who use a desktop or mobile web browser. All modern browsers support tabs, which essentially allow users to open multiple websites and services at once in a single browser window.

AMD and Nvidia's bitter rivalry has been going on for years, and in essence, both graphics card makers have one goal in mind: to offer gamers better graphics at a lower price.
 
AMD has unveiled its latest innovation, AMD FSR 3, or AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3. This new technology promises to enhance your gaming experience by providing stunning visuals and improved performance.

The Microsoft 365 roadmap site got a few notable updates in the past week. One of them we have already reported on as the new Microsoft Teams will get access to the Copilot generative AI assistant, with a rollout scheduled for November.
 
Here's a look at some of the other new posts made on the roadmap in the last seven days.

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we look at new Windows "12" rumors, Microsoft's plans to develop custom AI chips for Bing Chat and its components, fresh Windows 11 preview builds, taskbar changes, app updates, and many more.

Microsoft is slowly getting people prepared for the full release of Windows 11 23H2, the latest feature update for the Windows 11 OS. However, there are lots of unconfirmed rumors that the company is getting ready for a major update that may or may not be labeled as Windows 12.
 
The latest evidence for such an update came not from an unnamed source inside Microsoft but from a public quote from an Intel executive. Seeking Alpha posted a transcript of a recent event during the Citi 2023 Global Technology Conference (via PC Gamer). The transcript has an interview with Intel CFO David Zinsner.

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.