Microsoft has released a new broadcast development kit for Teams that will make it easy for production studios to integrate Teams feeds right into their cloud production workflows. The open-source project will require an Azure virtual machine to pull the audio and video feeds of Teams meetings directly from the Microsoft Cloud, and it will allow media producers to send Teams content to their online cloud studio without using any desktop app.
Just like Skype back in the day, Microsoft Teams has become a popular tool in the media industry to invite guests from a remote location. Microsoft released last year NDI-Out for Teams for that specific use case, but this new broadcast development kit for Teams should open a lot of doors for media producers who’ve been using cloud-based tools. Notably, the broadcast development kit will also allow producers to send SRT and RTMP feeds from their online cloud studio directly into a Teams meeting or another endpoint.
Microsoft has created a GitHub page for its open-source broadcast development kit for Microsoft Teams, where the company will be welcoming contributions and suggestions. Media producers can already use the solution for different scenarios including producing interviews, sharing a real-time conversation in a streaming platform, or creating a “watch party” in a Teams meeting.
Before Microsoft’s Your Phone app was around, there was Dell Mobile Connect, an app that worked exclusively on Dell XPS and consumer PCs (and on other devices with a workaround.) We’ve already compared the two solutions for connecting Android and iOS phones to Windows 10 before, but there’s now a new version of the app around. Spotted by Avinash Kodavalla on Twiter, the new app delivers on some new features, as well as a new design.
We downloaded the app on our XPS 13 2-in-1 and found that there’s quite a lot to like with this fresh version of Dell Mobile Connect. The new app now has a new “dashboard” main page where you can add various widgets for the core functions of the app. You’ll find widgets for contacts, messaging, mirroring, and files and notifications.
There’s also a new status indicator at the bottom of the app where you can peek at your phone’s battery life. Dell even moved the dialer to the middle of the screen so it pops up right when you need it. All the widgets can be resized and moved around to where you’d like them to fit. It’s a pretty clean experience overall that is highly customizable with the ability to switch background images. We invite you to check out some screenshots in the image above.
To be clear, this is a separate version of Dell Mobile Connect. It’s not an update to the existing app that is pre-installed on select Dell PCs. You’ll need to download the app for Android and Windows 10 or Windows 11 via the link below. Both apps have the “new” label on them so that you can distinguish between the two.
Officially, the app won’t work easily on non-Dell PCs as the previous sideloading workaround doesn’t work anymore. There is now a block when you boot up after downloading from the Microsoft Store. You can, however, tweak the registry to activate the new app on non-Dell computers, as noted by Nico Popy on Twitter. But this isn’t something we recommend doing.
If you’re looking for a new webcam, you’ll find all kinds and at many different price ranges. There are 4K webcams, 1080p webcams, wide-angle webcams, Windows Hello webcams, more. Just look to Amazon for examples. But if you really want a webcam that lasts, then something over the $100 price range would be worth it in the long run. You’ll get all the above, plus some more.
That’s where Dell comes in with its new UltraSharp webcam. With features like AI auto framing, high dynamic range, a 4K UHD sensor, and even Windows Hello, it is not your ordinary webcam — packed full of technologies that raise the bar for your video conferencing needs.
Specs & Price
The Dell UltraSharp webcam retails for $200 at Dell.com. Dell provided me one for review and have been using it for the last two weeks. The specs you need to know about this webcam are listed below.
Resolution/FPS: 4K UHD / 24, 30, Full HD / 24, 30, 60
HD / 24, 30, 60
Megapixel: 8.3MP
Field of view: 65, 78, 90 degree
HD Digital Zoom: Up to 5X
Autofocus: Yes
Auto White Balance: Yes
AI Auto-Framing: Yes
Microphone: None
Connectivity: USB-A
Inbox Detchable Cable: USB-C to USB-A 2m
Certifications: Teams, Zoom
Optimized Apps: Skype for Buisness, Go To Meeting, Google Meet, Google Hangouts, Blue Jeans, Slack, Lifesize
Webcam Dimensions: 1.65 in x 3.54 in
Webcam Mount Dimensions: 1.25 in x 2.56 in x 0.37 in
As we mentioned at the top of the review, this webcam is also certified for Windows Hello. There’s a built-in privacy cover that’s detachable and can be attached to the rear via a magnet. You won’t find a microphone onboard, however. Most creators and those who buy this webcam will opt for a dedicated microphone or a headset. We have more on that later on in the review.
Design
If you’ve ever used an external webcam then you know the deal. Webcams are usually square or round objects. Dell’s UltraSharp webcam, though is very different. This webcam sports a design that reminds me a lot of the monocular that is often used in bird watching. Basically, it is a long cylindrical object, that’s made out of anodized aluminum.
Coming off my Microsoft Modern Webcam review, and using a Logitech C920 Pro webcam, the UltraSharp webcam feels very premium. That’s important considering the $200 price. It definitely doesn’t feel light in the hands. Instead, this webcam is a bit on the heavier side. But don’t let that worry you. Dell has a secret up its sleeve to support all that webcam weight.
Why do I say that? The other cool thing about the UltraSharp webcam has to do with the way mounting works. While the webcam has your traditional mount that can grasp onto the top of your monitor or laptop, the way you snap that mount into the webcam itself is quite cool.
To attach the mount to the webcam, you push it into a magnetic hole at the bottom. Dell even includes a tripod adapter, too, which snaps right into the bottom with no additional tools needed. Even the USB-C cable tucks neatly into the back, with the mount having a cable management system.
In all cases, you can use either of the two mounts to adjust the webcam as you see fit so that your eyes are at the best angle to maximize eye contact. It can swivel up and down, but it won’t move left and right. I wish this was possible, but I can see the limits of the mounting system preventing this from happening.
For privacy, there’s a magnetic cover. You can remove the cover from the front of the webcam (the lens) and then snap it to the rear. It’s a nice little touch that’s a big change from the shutters that you’ll find on other webcams from Lenovo.
Webcam performance
There’s a lot of cool technology inside of the Dell UltraSharp webcam. Dell is using a multi-element lens, which can help capture more light. There’s also a large Sony Starvis 4K sensor onboard for brighter images and better low-light performance. A proximity sensor and IR sensor can also detect your presence, pair up with Windows Hello in Windows 10 for quick logins. Finally, a glass cover protects the entire setup.
All that said, I judged the Dell 4K webcam by using it on our weekly podcast. You can watch the episode above to see the performance. Coming from using my Logitech webcam, I was shocked by the quality difference. The 4K sensor onboard the webcam really makes things look better and makes me never want to use a sub $100 1080p webcam ever again.
With the overhead lights in the room and my ring light on, you can see the fine details on my face and the natural brown color of my skin. The wrinkles in my shirt also stand out a bit more, and so did the whiskers around my mustache. I think the Dell does a better job of focusing and exposing my face rather than the background as other webcams do.
I say that because a lot of these details were missed (or overblown) when using my Logitech webcam, or there are a lot of shadows. You even can see my eyes clearly as I roll them around when reading through notes (I have small eyes.) This is a detail that the 1080p Logitech never could pick up on, instead of leaving it in the shadows of my glasses.
The Dell UltraSharp Webcam
The Logitech Webcam
Logitech's webcam in a dark room
Dell's UltraSharp webcam in a dark room
Dell's UltraSharp webcam facing a window
Logitech's webcam facing a window
Check out this gallery above to see the quality differences the webcam can make when jumping from 1080p on the Logitech to 4K on Dell. I these examples I am not using a ring light. These lighting conditions are how typically how most people will jump on a web call, and it’s amazing to see the difference that the 4K webcam can make to make you look. Dell’s webcam is really good on the details and exposure, especially when paired with external lighting.
AI and other features
While I spent the majority of the review talking about image quality, there’s still other stuff that needs to be mentioned. Of those are the software features powering the webcam. These include Digital overlap HDR, temporal Noise Reduction (3DNR,) and Spatial Noise Reduction. Dell is also using AI Auto-Framing, which can help keep you in focus. The other features can help keep accurate colors, eliminate video noise, and offer up cleaner images.
All of those features are controlled via the Dell Peripheral Manager software. It installs to your PC right as you plug in the webcam, without any extra downloads. I tweaked the settings a bit and had AI Auto frame turned on during a Teams call. This works a lot like Center Stage on Apple’s iPads, where the webcam is able to keep track and lock onto/follow your face during your call. It’s pretty cool when you see it in action. Of course, you can also manually control the view of the webcam, too. There are 65, 78, and 90-degree frames of view. And you can use the manual zoom trigger to zoom in and out or control your focus levels when autofocus is turned off.
Other camera control settings let you toggle the exposure of framerate priorities. Color and Image settings let you toggle to HDR, change the brightness and sharpness, contrast or saturation, and control the anti-flicker technology. Dell even has a “capture” section that you can use to capture video. It’s all a pretty comprehensive piece of software that ensures you get the most out of your webcam. You can see all these in action above.
Raising the bar and making me a believer in 4K webcams
Dell’s Ultrasharp Webcam isn’t your ordinary webcam. It’s a bit expensive at $200, but Dell’s solution will make you a firm believer in quality webcams. From AI auto framing to noise reduction, there are a ton of different features onboard that help make sure your teleconference calls will look amazing.
RAM, short for Random Access Memory, is one of the most fundamental hardware components of a computer that determines your system’s performance.
The amount of RAM you have controls the performance of your PC, whether you have one that works with 20 tabs and 5 apps open or a computer that crashes whenever you try to watch Netflix, so the more RAM you have, the better.
Because RAM is used for any task that requires fast access to computing resources, a limiter for your PC sounds like a good idea to try on.
Why is my RAM usage so high when nothing is running?
Believe it or not, even when it appears that you’re not using any app, there are lots of services that can still run in the background.
For instance, Microsoft Edge has a default feature to keep extensions running even though the browser is not running so that you open it faster when needed.
Apart from that, there might be other apps running in the background like the third-party antivirus or a syncing tool working as you’re reading this.
How to set maximum RAM usage?
You can easily limit the RAM use by going through the System Configuration app from Windows.
Keep reading and find out the best solutions on how to limit RAM usage of a program or a game, and get the fast, reliable PC you deserve.
How can I reduce excess RAM consumption in Windows 10?
1. Disable startup programs
Press the Windows key + R shortcut to launch the Run console.
Type msconfig in the box and press Enter.
Go to the Startuptab and click on Open Task Manager.
Right-click on the applications that you don’t want to run at startup and select Disable.
2. Adjust your Windows 10 for the best performance
Right-click on the Computer icon and select Properties.
Select Advanced systemsettings from the right-hand pane.
Under Performance, click on Settings.
Choose Adjust for best performance.
Click on Apply, then OK to exit.
Restart your computer.
3. Limit RAM usage in Windows 10/11
Press the Windows key + R to start the Run console.
Type msconfig in the box and press Enter.
Go to the Boot tab.
Click on Advanced options.
Check Maximum memory.
Click OK to save changes and restart your PC.
This solution was clearly outlined for Windows 10, but the procedure is identical on Windows 11 so you can use it on the new OS as well
4. Defragment the hard drives
NOTE
This solution is recommended only if you have a hard disk drive. It is not a recommended procedure for SSDs.
Press the Windows key + R.
Type dfrgui in the box and press Enter.
In the new window, click on the hard drives you want to defragment, preferably the drive in which Windows is installed.
Click on Optimize and follow the instructions on the screen to finish the defragment process.
After the process is complete, restart your computer.
5. Modify the Memory Management key in the Registry
Press the Windows key + R.
Type regedit the box and press Enter.
Navigate to the following path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory Management
Locate ClearPageFileAtShutDown, right-click on it and select Modify.
Change the value to 1.
Click OK and restart your computer.
This is actually a good method on how to limit RAM usage in Windows 10/11. That’s because if the Memory Management is not enabled, the system can perform erratically.
6. Use a great browser as an alternative
The usage of RAM is under the control of the OS and there is no way to force content to be cleared. So why not turn to a better browser?
We are talking about a special version of the Opera browser advertised as the world’s first gaming browser, as its main focus is to ensure the browser never gets in the way of your PC gaming experience.
Note that it includes unique features to help you get the most out of both gaming and browsing, but the best feature is GX Control.
This made Opera GX famous and much appreciated as it comes with a RAM limiter for PC, but it also deals with CPU, and network using your browser takes up. And it gets better than this.
The browser offers integration with various services, allowing you to easily access them from the sidebar.
From Twitch, Discord, YouTube, and Spotify to Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, and Twitter.
Right-click the Start button and select Task Manager.
Now, click on the Chrome arrow from Task Manager and look at the memory consumption column to see which of the tabs consume the most memory.
Right-click on the processes that use the most memory and select End task.
There’s nothing much to do when Chrome is hogging up memory other than closing up some tabs.
You can do it straight from the browser by clicking on some tabs’ X button but going through Task Manager as instructed above, will also give you some information on the tabs using the most memory.
Additional solutions to save your memory
➡ Uninstall the unwanted software – For example, there is no need to have a PDF reader if you have a browser as you can open any pdf file using any browser; the same goes for a video player, use only one software, for a single purpose.
➡ Use only one browser – If you have multiple browsers, use only one at a time
➡ Use the battery saver mode – If you’re a laptop user, then use it in battery saver mode as it will automatically reduce background processing.
How do I fix my 100% memory usage?
If the memory usage reaches 100%, your system gets stuck and the best way of getting back to normal is to restart your PC.
After the reboot, a lot of the apps and processes you were using will not restart and you will be able to go through all our solutions above to optimize the RAM consumption.
From this guide, you’ve learned how to limit RAM usage for a program, for browsers, and for the whole system.
Just remember, by regularly disabling wasteful background services and processes out of your RAM, the speed and performance will improve.
If you don’t actually need those 20 tabs open, close them, and only leave the ones you’re actually on, like this website.
Is your computer not using all RAM? This is a common problem but it can be easily fixed with the solutions from our other guide.
Feel free to use the comments section below to let us know what worked for you. We’d love to know your opinion.
Microsoft Teams on the desktop will soon support the new native notifications experience by default. The company has confirmed via Microsoft 365 Admin center that the app will use the Teams built-in option as the default notification setting for all new Windows and macOS users starting in August.
Currently, the Microsoft Teams desktop app uses its own notifications system and native notifications are available with an opt-in option in Settings. These built-in notifications in Microsoft Teams are different from the OS-level notifications available on both Windows and Mac devices. They can be managed directly through the app and do not adhere to the device settings.
With this release, all Microsoft Teams alerts will show up in the Notification Center along with other incoming messages for new desktop users. However, the app will still let them switch between Teams own notification style and the native OS notifications via Settings. “New users will be defaulted to receive Native Notifications (rather than Teams Built In) which provide a host of benefits like support for focus assist mode, notifications in action center and OS improvements. A user can choose to change their notification style to settings -> notifications -> notification style,” the company explained.
Microsoft says it plans to begin rolling native notification support in late August, and it should be generally available in early September. However, this change will not affect existing desktop users who have already configured their default notification settings. Do you prefer the native OS toasts or the Teams built-in style? Let us know in the comments below.
As you might remember, a few years ago, a brand new company entered the field and claimed that it has cracked the code to a zero-latency experience.
We are talking about Blade Group, a French company that has collected over $77 million in funding, from other tech giants such as Microsoft and Intel.
Its service, Shadow, provides access to a Windows 10 PC experience via a dedicated connection in the cloud.
Similar to its competitor LiquidSky, there’s no particular game service or app store required, users just have to install applications from their usual sources such as the Windows Store or Steam.
Windows 11 users have installed the preview OS on Shadow
Before we get into the details, you might ask yourself, what kind of tech specs are these Shadow devices running? Is it enough to support an operating system such as Windows 11?
Well, you might be surprised. These gadgets are no pushovers and come equipped with a modern setup, enough to be compatible with Microsoft’s upcoming OS.
And although nobody really thought about installing Windows 11 on such a device, there are some who tried and actually succeeded.
Information started becoming available across social media platforms, recently. Apparently, the future Microsoft operating system runs smoothly on these devices.
One Windows 11 user has already updated his OS to the Insider preview build and he is quite pleased with it, as he made it clear on Reddit.
July 15, 2015, Microsoft released the RTM of Windows 10 and a postmodern ear of Windows operating system of productivity was under way.
While Windows 10 is marking its relatively stable six-year anniversary last week, a holistic view of it would arguably include its conception period during the turbulent rollout of Windows 8.1, a few years prior. Colloquially the tech industry had dubbed Windows 10 as the answer to Windows 8 and 8.1, and for all intents and purposes, it has served that roll for the past six years.
Windows 10 can be viewed as a course correction to the ambitious, albeit late, intentions of Microsoft to corner a portion of the tablet-led, smartphone reinforced wave of mobile computing. In 2013 Microsoft rolled out Windows 8 in conjunction with its Windows Phone efforts to replicate the burgeoning success Apple and Google were having with tablets and smartphones.
With hindsight being 20/20 Microsoft was arguably ahead of an industry slowly converging on concepts and features presented in Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 though Windows 10 Mobile. Between a unified app store across platforms, shared UI design between smartphones and desktops and cloud sync data, competitors such as Google and Apple have both evolved many of the Windows 8 and Windows Phone concepts and seen relative success with their respective implementations.
Unfortunately, for Microsoft, the company got in its own way trying to extol the virtues of its unified mobile and desktop Windows vision. From bungled high-profile mergers to unceremoniously clearing the deck of employees and executives who brought Windows 8 to life, Microsoft arguably made every unwise decision possible in the span of three years, to try and muster excitement for its inexplicable Frankenstein OS.
Windows 10, the anti-Windows 8
Which leads us to the discussion at hand, Windows 10 which could be considered the anti-Windows 8 debut in 2012 with a bold modern design, live tiles, charms bar, bottom placed URL boxes, full screen Start Menus, new development platforms and languages, but three years later, much of that was shelved.
Windows 10 favored more of the legacy look and feel of Windows 7, where the Start Menu was shrunk back, the web browser URL returned to the top, charms bar completely removed and replaced with a muted share page and evolved Windows 7 designed language as well as backtracking on modern development platforms by supporting legacy development languages further.
At the time, Windows 10 was a break for developers, Windows engineers, Microsoft’s marketing team and even its OEM partners. While there was still plenty of work being done to hone the Windows 10 experience on various fronts, Microsoft cut its marketing budget for Windows 10 in comparison to Windows 8. The relatively reduced marketing budgets represented the company not having to educate consumers nearly as much about using the OS as it had with Windows 8. In addition, OEM partners concentrated R&D on mainly two form factors versus previous spaghetti/wall attempts that included swivel hinges, double screen lids and more.
Windows 10’s relative return to normalcy allowed for a refinement period that Windows 8 and 8.1 did not, and in doing so, users were allowed to use their desktop operating systems in more familiar patterns in conjunction with their growing comfort with smartphones and tablets.
Digging a bit below the surface, Windows 10 was also a more iterative development endeavor. As Microsoft took its foot off its ambitions of being a competing mobile threat, in the traditional sense, the company focused on cloud computing while putting Windows 10 development on a slow track feature release path. Doing away with more traditional one to two year publicized “big box” releases, Microsoft instead moved towards a slow drip of bi-annual updates for the operating system.
While the quality of the user-facing features brought through this bi-annual release cycle remains arguable, the cadence allowed Microsoft to address many of the shortcomings of Windows 8, much quicker and less publicized than any other version of its operating system release.
Refinements on the Start Menu were molded over four years that brought finer customizations to the size of tiles, pinning, folders, the size of the Start area, notifications and more to ease users off the Windows 8 and 8.1 ledge. The UI of Windows 10, while returning more to Windows 7 form, was also allowed to evolve over the first four years to continue to incorporate Windows 8 elements while addressing the loss of accessibility and functionality the prior OS introduced.
Windows 10 even attempted some of its own Windows 8-out-side-of-the-box development by introducing a voice assistant, facial recognition biometric authentication, dedicated gaming tools, support for augmented reality and virtual desktops. The features that came out of Windows 10 were mostly designed to accompany users growing mobile workflow rather than replace it as Windows 8 arguably tried to.
In a world where Microsoft no longer offered a smartphone companion component, Windows 10 became the desktop equivalent of an appliance with a touch screen. Washer and dryers, refrigerators, and automobiles outfitted with large touch panels have evolved to incorporate mobile convivences users are growing more accustomed to as did Windows 10.
Instead of being the in-your-face tablet hybrid operating system of Windows 8, Windows 10 became the familiar Windows 7 operating system many millions grew to love while also incorporating a large touch-panel interface for added convenience. Microsoft engineered Windows 10 to be more like a Samsung refrigerator where its main functions still work as remembered and required but come with added convenience, and less like a Samsung 3D TV which core technology relied on shifting user trends.
Windows 10’s legacy and support
As users’ trends continue to shift, we’re seeing Microsoft react with Windows 11, which arguably is Windows 10 evolved. Yes, every release of Windows is an evolution of what preceded it; however, Windows 11 appears to share the largest set of influences from one release to the next from the past decade. With that in mind, Microsoft is also putting Windows 10 on a similar support path as Windows 7 where its enterprise and legacy consumer presences will live on just as long if not longer than its own development.
Windows 7 saw the last of its support end January 14, 2020, a little over ten years after it debut. Windows 8 will see a similar, “Extended Life” support timeframe but its disproportionate install base coupled with a shortened mainstream support roadmap paints a much different level of dependency than its predecessor.
Windows 7 is among Microsoft’s most “loved” operating systems, gaining critical acclaim from its OEM partners, SMB’s, enterprise, and the industry. Granted, Windows 7 existed in a time where it didn’t have to compete in large part with smartphones or tablets for users’ attention, it remains to this day as one of the most iconic operating systems from Microsoft.
While Windows 10 has had a much bumpier road to acceptance than Windows 7, it’s on a similar trajectory as Windows 7 regarding adoption and overall industry fondness, which could cement its legacy as a marker product from Microsoft.
With Windows 10’s install base inching the billion user-install marker, the 2025 mainstream support roadmap clearly taps Windows 10 as the worthy successor to Windows 7 that Windows 8 fails to be. Timeframes aside, Windows 10 offers Windows 7, Vista and XP users a larger landing area as they parachute into more modern computing experiences. The left aligned Start icon and menus, jump lists, inclusion of enterprise Internet Explorer 11 (Active X support), Windows Media Player, and legacy context menus are all comforts readily afforded legacy Windows users with Windows 10.
As with Windows 7, extensions for Windows 10 support could push it beyond Microsoft’s intended cut off timeframe, which is not entirely a terrible thing. There is arguably a world that exists where Windows becomes the foundation of enterprise use while Windows 11 (sharing much of the same code) becomes the flashier creative sink for Windows engineers.
There is evidence of this public split-testing between operating system releases where Windows 10 and Windows 11 will both be updated/released in the Fall of this year. One will receive its enterprise update package squelching IT admin concerns regarding updates, while the other represents a concentrated effort to align with consumers consolidated productivity and creative trends.
Where Windows 10 brings additional security support for bio authentication, it’ll be Windows 11 that’ll experiment with the Start Menu, taskbar, widgets, new Windows Store, and UI overhaul, at the same time.
It’s not hard to see Microsoft continue to issue enterprise level tweaks to Windows 10 in the coming years while it marches forward with Windows 11 being the benchmark for future consumer-facing feature development. Unlike the Windows 8 to Windows 10 transition, Microsoft did not have a steady user-appreciated fallback operating system to offer legacy users during its development transition.
Anyone who was not ready to move to Windows 10 was arguably led back to Windows 7 and ostensibly left two generational development cycles behind as far as features and support were concerned. However, with the way Microsoft has lined up Windows 10 to Windows 11, anyone hesitant about the future of Windows can watch from the sidelines without losing large core-technological advancements, features, and designs for the next few years.
Windows 11 development is a large question mark now, but with Windows 10 continuing mainstream support until 2025, it seems likely, a few productivity and enterprise features gained through Windows 11 development will find their way back to Windows 10 in some form, which is something neither Microsoft nor Windows users seems to want with Windows 8 but, perhaps, wished for with Windows 7.
Windows 11 will be the first version of Windows to ship under the leadership of Chief Product Officer Panos Panay, and the first preview builds already show a very welcome attention to detail. If it takes some time to get used to the new Start Menu or the centered Taskbar, Windows 11 introduces a lot of new subtle animations that Panay himself highlighted last week.
Yesterday, a new post on the Windows Developer blog offered an in-depth look at the redesigned Context Menu and Share Dialog in Windows 11. Xander Fiss, a Microsoft Product manager working the Windows Shell explained that the company wanted to address the many shortcomings of the Windows 10 context menu, which was “exceptionally long” and poorly organized. “Many commands run in-process in Explorer, which can cause performance and reliability issues,” Fiss also explained.
Fortunately, the Windows 11 context menu should make things better for Windows users by better organizing commands. As an example, the “Open” and “Open with” commands are now group together, and Common commands are placed right next to where the menu is invoked.
If the new context menu looks much more compact, no commands have been removed: the “show more options” menu will actually load the Windows 10 context menu, providing access to low-use Shell verbs and apps that have yet to be updated to support Windows 11 App extensions.
The Share dialog in Windows 11 has also been redesigned to make Nearby sharing easier to use. For users who often need to email themselves, the section of the Share dialog dedicated to the email app will also display your contact card as the first entry in the contact list.
Lastly, the Windows 11 Share dialog will allow all apps including unpackaged Win32 apps to appear as targets, and PWAs downloaded via Microsoft Edge are also supported if they implement the Web Share Target API. Microsoft has shared some best practices for developers on the full blog post, and we invite you to check it out for more details.
For now, the app will only support chat conversations but Microsoft is planning to add support for audio and video calling, meetings, screen sharing, and more in the near future. Once the app is available on your Windows 11 testing machine, a Chat icon will appear in the taskbar but you’ll also be able to launch it with the WIN + C keyboard shortcut. The app will open as a pop-up window that will float above the taskbar, but you’ll be able to open the full windowed experience by clicking “Open Microsoft Teams” from the Chat flyout.
This new Teams app supports native Windows notifications as well as inline replies, and you can also accept or decline calls right from the notifications. To start chatting with your personal contacts, the app will suggest you to sync your Skype and Outlook address book, but you can also start chatting with anyone by entering an email or a phone number. If your contacts aren’t already on Teams, they will get an invite to join the Teams network.
In the future, Microsoft plans to make this re-architected Teams app on Windows 11 a first-class experience for consumers, with support for Together Mode and live emoji reactions in meetings, the ability to share your screen or drag-n-drop photos, videos, and other files with your contacts, and more. It remains to be seen if this built-in Teams for consumer experience on Windows 11 will be better received than the Skype app for Windows 10, but Teams has been enjoying some real momentum since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We are beginning to roll Chat from Microsoft Teams to only a subset of Insiders at first, and over time will increase to more Insiders. Insiders will also need to reboot to see it enabled,” the Windows Insider team said today. If you do have access to this new Teams app on your Windows 11 testing machine, let us know what you think of it in the comments below.
Last year, Microsoft launched the public preview of its new project management tool “Project Moca” in Outlook for the web, allowing users to manage multiple tasks, events, and emails in a consolidated manner. Now, Project Moca is dropping its preview tag and the company has unveiled its plans to move all spaces created in Project Moca to the new calendar board.
Microsoft has announced in a message on the Microsoft 365 Admin center that this change will start rolling out in late July. “Thank you for using the public preview of Project Moca! It was a success, and we will begin migrating content from Project Moca to the new Outlook Calendar board view in July. All boards and content will be migrated and users will not lose any data,” the company explained.
Microsoft noted that users will now be able to view all their existing Moca boards as a calendar board view by clicking the model switcher dropdown in Outlook on the web. Furthermore, the company plans to notify users about these changes via in-product notifications.
As a part of this change, the software giant is also bringing some new capabilities and enhancements to the new Calendar board view. This means that users will be able to lock their views and find their existing To Do task lists as well as calendars. The app will also automatically redirect all existing Project Moca spaces links to the calendar board in Outlook on the web.
This new calendar board view is available on both Outlook.com (for consumers) and Outlook for the web (for commercial users). The feature should help students and professionals to keep their tasks, emails, calendar events, notes, and more in more place. Do you use the new Outlook calendar board? Let us know in the comments down below.
Microsoft has quietly started testing a new notifications experience for Edge Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). Last week, Windows Insider MVP Florian B spotted the improved notification banner on one of his PCs running the Microsoft Edge Canary builds, and the company is apparently doing some A/B testing with this new design.
The existing notification banner for installed PWAs shows that all notifications are coming from Microsoft Edge. However, that might change soon, as the Edge Insider team is updating the notification banner to better highlight the name of web apps. The new PWA notifications are more compact, with the name of the progressive web apps now appearing in the title bar (as shown below).
Hey @MasterDevwi , on some devices with edge canary, PWA notifications look like this. On other devices, it's the classic Edge notification. Is this A/B testing or did i miss a flag somewhere ? pic.twitter.com/SLQawfkuCS
This feature is currently available in preview for select Edge Insiders, and it is expected to begin rolling out to the Stable channel in September. “Beginning with Microsoft Edge version 94, notifications from progressive web applications PWAs will no longer show as coming from Microsoft Edge, but rather will display the name of the web app instead,” the company explained on the Microsoft 365 roadmap.
Overall, these improvements should be a welcome addition for those who use PWAs on Windows 10. This change should make it easier for users to keep track of their emails, messages, and more. Did you also notice the new notifications experience in Microsoft Edge PWAs on your PCs? Let us know in the comments below.
Recently we covered Windows 11 build 22000.65, and today we have a new build that we want to show you. Microsoft has just released Windows 11 build 2200071, so let’s see what it offers.
This version brings a couple of visual improvements, but it also fixes a wide range of issues that were present in the previous builds.
Join us while we take an in-depth look at all the new features and the bugs that this new build brings.
What does Windows 11 build 22000.65 offer and should you install it?
What’s new in Windows 11 22000.71?
New Entertainment widget
With build 22000.71, we finally get a new widget. The new widget is called the Entertainment widget and it helps you find a movie to watch on Microsoft Store.
This widget works basically as a shortcut to the movie on the Microsoft Store, and once you click the desired movie, it will open the movie’s page in the Microsoft Store.
The Entertainment widget will cycle between several movies, thus allowing you to find something interesting to watch. Of course, you can manually cycle between the suggestions by hovering over the widget and clicking the arrow icons.
Although the widget looks great, it currently just works as a shortcut, and hopefully, Microsoft will expand its functionality in the near future. Overall, it’s a welcome addition, but sadly, it’s not available for all users.
Currently, this widget is available only for Windows Insiders in the following countries:
United States
United Kingdom
Canada
Germany
France
Australia
Japan
Context menus with acrylic material
The context menu has been visually updated, and now it uses acrylic material. This makes the context menu slightly transparent and gives it a vague texture when you open it.
The context menu in the previous build looked great after the redesign, but it felt a bit flat. By changing its look, Microsoft tries to add a bit of texture to the context menu by blending it lightly with the background.
This looks great in action and we love how the new context menu looks, but we hope that Microsoft will leave the option to switch back to the older design for the users that don’t like this change.
Improved Taskbar previews for apps
Microsoft updated the Taskbar previews for apps on Windows 11 build 22000.71, and now the previews have the same look as the other elements on Windows 11.
The previous build didn’t have rounded corners for the app previews and the preview didn’t use the acrylic material, thus looking a bit flat.
Microsoft decided to change that with this build and now the previews have rounded corners, thus matching other UI elements. This is a small but welcome change that makes the user interface more consistent.
New folder split button in File Explorer
File Explorer got a minor change, and Microsoft is testing a new type of button called the SplitButton. This type of button is divided into two parts, and the left part of the button will perform a default function.
As for the right part of the button, it comes with an arrow that opens a flyout menu that allows you to perform different tasks.
In this build, the SplitButton is available only for the New folder button in the File Explorer allowing you to create shortcuts or other file types from the toolbar.
Although this type of button can be useful, we don’t see much use for it at the moment. Most users will rather create a new folder or a shortcut from the context menu than use the toolbar icon for it.
Overall, this type of button has its use, and hopefully, Microsoft will find a good way to utilize it.
Windows 11 build 22000.71 bugs
Entertainment section not working in Microsoft Store
This build brings us a new widget called Entertainment and by clicking it, you’ll open the Entertainment section in the Microsoft Store.
Unfortunately, nothing is available in the Entertainment section, so the widget doesn’t do much at the moment, however, we expect this to be fixed in the near future.
Higher SSD temperature
It seems that this build might be a bit heavier on disk usage since the temperature of the SSDs is rising for some users. In general, users reported a temperature increase on their SSD up to 5 degrees.
This isn’t anything alarming, and hopefully, Microsoft will address this in the future.
Inconsistencies with Sound settings and system tray
In the Windows 11 build 22000.71, when you right-click the sound icon in the system tray and choose Sound settings, instead of opening the Sound settings, you’ll open the Settings app instead.
This is just a small inconstancy, and hopefully, Microsoft will fix it soon.
Missing Taskbar icons
Some users reported that all their Taskbar icons are missing. This includes pinned icons, Start Menu icon, Search icon, date and time – everything.
This is an inconvenient bug, and it’s usually fixed by turning the PC off and back on. This isn’t the only problem, and there are other Taskbar issues in Windows 11 build 22000.71.
The Search icon isn’t visible properly
Many reported that the search icon isn’t visible properly on the latest build. However, this is just a visual glitch, and the search feature is still working properly.
It seems that this is a persistent glitch that can’t be fixed simply by restarting your PC.
Bugs with small Taskbar icons
Users have found a way to enable small Taskbar icons by modifying the registry. However, Microsoft seems to have made some changes, thus resulting in a couple of bugs with small icons.
After the update, the time and date will be cut off if you’re using this registry tweak. It seems that Microsoft doesn’t want users to use small icons and it seems determined to disable this tweak completely.
Non-rounded corners when closing app previews
Microsoft has just introduced rounded corners for the app previews in the Taskbar, but this feature has a tiny visual inconsistency.
When you hover over the app preview and you try to close the app, you can see that the X button doesn’t have rounded corners. This is just a tiny inconsistency, and it should be fixed in near future.
Text bubbles in the system tray have fixed width
Several users reported that on Windows 11 build 22000.71, text bubbles in the system tray have fixed width.
This is a visual glitch, and if the text bubble has a lot of text, it will expand in height instead of width to accommodate all the text.
We tried recreating this issue on our test machine, but we weren’t able to do it, so it seems that this problem is only affecting certain users.
Missing widgets icon in Settings
Several users reported that their widgets icon is missing in Settings. Since this widget is missing, they can’t show or hide the widgets icon on the Taskbar.
We didn’t manage to replicate this issue, so we assume that it affects random users.
Windows Update section is blank
Users reported that the Windows Update section in the Settings app is blank for them. While the users can click the contents of the Windows Update section, nothing is being shown.
This is an unusual bug, but it seems that restarting your PC usually fixes this.
Go back button isn’t working
In this build, the Reset this PC and Go back buttons in the Settings app don’t work at all. Since they don’t work, you can’t go back to the older build from the Recovery section.
If you want to go back to the older build, your only choice is to use the Advanced startup option instead.
These aren’t the only bugs that this build brings, and if you want to learn more, check our Windows 11 build 22000.71 bugs article for more information.
How can I install Windows 11 build 22000.71?
Click the Start Menu and navigate to the Settings.
In the left pane, select Windows Update.
Check if the updates are available. If you see that a new build is available, click on Download now.
Wait while Windows downloads the update.
Once the update is downloaded, click Restart now button.
Keep your PC turned on and wait while the update is being installed. Your PC will restart a couple of times during this process.
Once the process is finished, you’ll be ready to use the new build.
Installing Windows 11 build 22000.71 is simple, and it can be installed just like any other Windows Update.
Is Windows 11 build 22000.71 better than the previous one?
The new update brings a couple of interesting features, most notably the Entertainment widget and the new context menu.
The new Entertainment widget looks great, but currently, it doesn’t work properly, so you can’t use it.
On the other hand, visual changes such as an updated context menu and rounded app previews in the Taskbar are welcome changes that make this build more visually appealing than the previous one.
Lastly, this build fixes a lot of bugs from the previous versions, which is always welcome. Is this build better than the previous one? Absolutely, and the new context menu and app previews make it worth upgrading.
Windows 11 build 22000.71 looks a lot better than its predecessor with the visual changes, so if you haven’t tried it already, be sure that you install it and give it a try.
Have you tried the latest Windows 11 build and what did you think of it? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section.
If you weren’t aware, Microsoft has released a public preview of the Teams Walkie Talkie app for iPhones, which is designed to help frontline workers communicate.
Also, the Teams Walkie Talkie app for Android has been available in preview for over a year and was released for Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro devices late last year.
In summary, the app provides push-to-talk services for frontline workers. It allows participants to talk one at a time, taking turns talking and listening, just like with walkie-talkies.
How can I use my phone as a walkie talkie with Microsoft Teams?
So, once you set it up, the Walkie Talkie app can be accessed from an icon in the navigation bar.
Teams users can only connect to one channel at a time, but they can switch channels to listen to or speak on a different channel. The app also shows how many people are currently connected to each channel.
Similar to a walkie-talkie, the app has a microphone button that users press and hold to speak. Then, they release the button to listen to the other speaker.
To give you another example, it’s the same as the push-to-talk option on Discord.
This push-to-talk experience enables clear, instant, and secure voice communication over the cloud, turning employee- or company-owned iOS and Android smartphones and tablets into a walkie-talkie
One of the many benefits is that users don’t need to worry about frequency static, which can affect analog devices.
Teams will also offer a shield from crosstalk and eavesdropping and can work across large geographic regions since it works over Wi-Fi or cellular networks.
As the tech giant mentioned, frontline or first-line workers are a key segment in Microsoft’s growth plans for Microsoft 365/Office 365.
Are you excited to use this new Teams feature? Let us know in the comments section below.
Before you go, don’t miss our guide on how to perform a Teams Walkie Talkie setup and use this feature.
It’s time to also pay attention to the little things that Microsoft has decided to include in the upcoming operating system.
And if Windows 10 introduced a new design for emojis some years ago, the launch of Windows 11 was a good opportunity for the tech company to finally give its emojis a makeover.
Recently, the Redmond tech giant revealed that it has redesigned its 1800+ emojis with a new 3D look, which is a huge improvement over the previous flat ones.
New 3D, detailed emojis coming to Windows 11
These highly expected new 3D emojis will start rolling out in the holiday season for Windows and Microsoft Teams, with other Microsoft 365 apps such as Yammer and Outlook to follow throughout 2022.
Over 1,800 emojis exist within Microsoft 365, and we’ve been working for the past year to dramatically refresh them by creating a system that is innately Fluent. We opted for 3D designs over 2D and chose to animate the majority of our emojis.
The new 3D emojis from Microsoft already went live in the company’s Flipgrid education app, and everyone’s looking forward to seeing them appear on the Windows OS.
Design teams have also created brand new emojis inspired by this new hybrid work era. Another interesting fact for the Windows fans out there’s that Microsoft is also bringing Clippy back to life.
The tech company will now turn the former Office Assistant into its new paperclip emoji across Microsoft 365 apps.
Beyond emoji, we’re bringing our Fluent aesthetic to life within Microsoft 365 via more expressive themes, illustrations, backgrounds, and more.
This initiative was expected by many users, as they just couldn’t picture Windows 11 running with the outdated and flat emojis that the previous OS used.
Many more changes are coming to the future operating system, according to Microsoft, and we can’t wait to discover them all and share them with you.
Do you like the new emojis that are being added to Windows 11? Let us know in the comments section below.
Microsoft’s game-focused strategy with the Xbox Series consoles, under Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer’s leadership, alongside Microsoft’s scooping up of game studios including Bethesda, among other innovations, appear to be paying off, as NPD reports that Xbox Series X|S were the highest-grossing consoles in the United States in June, using dollar sales as the metric.
US NPD HW – June dollar sales of Xbox consoles set a new record for the Xbox platform, besting the previous high set in June 2011.
Current data aside, the Xbox platform also beat its previous dollar sale record, set in June 2011 during the Xbox 360-era.
Despite Xbox’s strong figures, Nintendo’s Switch remains the top-selling console in terms of devices sold, with the console being the most sold of 2021 so far, whether you look at it from a dollar sale or number of units sold point of view. For Sony’s PlayStation 5, it remains the fastest-selling console in US history, if portable consoles are excluded, for its first 8 months.
Overall, the video gaming market continues to perform well, with video game hardware sales jumping by 112% in June 2021 compared to June 2020, reaching a total of $401 million, but this falls short of the $617m figure achieved in June 2008.
Rare’s Sea of Thieves, published by Xbox Game Studios, saw a healthy jump in the game charts in June, rising from 36th place to the top 20, no doubt the Pirates of the Caribbean expansion release helped increase interest in the game. Sony’s ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart was the best-selling game in June, but keep in mind that it launched in June; it hit an all-time record of dollar sales in a game’s launch month of any title in franchise history.
Over the past several weeks, Microsoft has been battling against security vulnerabilities identified in the Windows print spooler service, leaving computers across the world potentially exposed to malicious attacks. In June, a patch for a remote code execution flaw was released, but this didn’t resolve a similar flaw, later nicknamed PrintNightmare. Following the discovery of the PrintNightmare flaw, another patch was released, however, this didn’t fix the flaw in all configurations.
As of Thursday, Microsoft has begun to warn of yet another newly-discovered vulnerability in the Windows Print Spooler service (via Ars Technica). This flaw allows attackers who already have access to a system to run malicious code using limited system privileges to elevate their privileges, enabling the attacker to access more sensitive areas of the Windows system, potentially resulting in the ability to run malware each time the machine is started, as an example. Using this flaw, Microsoft warns that an “attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.”
For this latest flaw, Microsoft has recommended that customers disable the Windows print spooler service in order to reduce the potential of their devices being left exposed to hacks.
This latest flaw is being tracked under CVE-2021-34481, and was discovered by Jacob Baines, from cybersecurity firm Dragos. According to Baines, this latest flaw in the Windows Print Spooler service was reported to Microsoft in June, with Baines saying that he was “surprised” Microsoft has now decided to warn of the vulnerability, “because it was very abrupt and not related to the deadline I gave them (August 7), nor was it released with a patch.”
As it stands, there is currently no patch for this latest flaw, with the only workaround being to stop and disable the service. A patch is being worked on, according to Microsoft, but there is currently no ETA on when this would be made available.
Even though everyone is flagging constant problems with this important OS tool, we have to remember that these are still preview builds, and a complete, bug-free version is not yet available.
Update: Build 22000.100 fixes a lot of taskbar bugs
As many users have come to realize, the new Insider build for Windows 11, which is 22000.100, fixes a lot of the problems with which we struggled after installing the previous build.
And even though this new software version comes with issues of its own, the important thing is that it also eliminates most of the bugs that affected the taskbar.
— (Ranit De)BeAst BaymaXX?????? (@RanitDe3) July 23, 2021
Taskbar icon textbox size issue
On the more peculiar side of visual glitches, a Windows 11 user wanted to alert his fellow Insiders about an apparent issue that is centered around the taskbar icons.
Apparently, according to Reddit user BearBearAs, the tiny textbox, that appears when you hover with the mouse cursor over icons in the taskbar, has a set size and text fits weirdly in it.
He is addressing the width of this textbox, which doesn’t seem to adjust, depending on the quantity of text displayed by the OS.
Taskbar preview close button still has the Windows 10 style
Apparently, in their rush to fine-tune the upcoming OS and bring it to 2021 standards, Microsoft may have left some tiny design flaws embedded in Windows 11’s fabric.
Although the mini preview window has the same rounded corners and fluent design as all the other windows within the future operating system, the close button appears somewhat primitive.
It’s too large, and it looks as if it has remained the same since Windows 7. Another small design element that the Microsoft team surely has to look into.
Users that stumbled upon this visual glitch were quick to report it on social media platforms, so that others may also know what’s going on.
Widgets app missing from taskbar elements
So when someone asks if there’s something missing from the Windows 11 taskbar, you can say that there is indeed something missing, and that is the Widgets app.
For some users, this app is not present on the taskbar, and neither in the Settings menu, where you turn certain features on or off.
Even heading over to the Settings menu in order to check if it was disabled by default did not bring any positive results, as the Widgets app is nowhere to be found.
Search icon is barely visible
Another report that has to do with bugs and glitches that plague the 22000.71 build is coming from Reddit as well. This time it’s about a visual glitch on the new Windows 11.
This, however, does not take away from the tool’s functionality, as the report mentions that it still works fine, it’s just barely visible. Know that simply restarting your system will not fix this issue.
Rest assured that the tech company responsible for the OS will surely fix any visual bugs before they actually release a full, working version to the public.
After completing the installation of the Windows 11 Insider preview build, one Microsoft OS user has noticed that he doesn’t have a taskbar at all.
After restarting the PC, the taskbar did show up eventually, but there is no search option and the system shows the internet connection as being inactive.
Users included in this category can say that the others are lucky to have a working taskbar to test on, in the first place. Build 22000.71 brings a lot more problems than we thought, especially involving the taskbar.
Reddit user Brockos502 brought to everyone’s attention the fact that, after installing the new preview build, his Windows 11 taskbar is completely blank, with absolutely nothing on it.
No Start menu, no apps, no tolls, no clock. The only element that apparently survived the transition is the tiny upward-facing arrow, that brings up a menu with tools and some open apps.
Taskbar fit has been altered after installing new build
The spacing issue seems to have also transitioned to the new build, along with the fact that the taskbar now looks badly cropped, and doesn’t fit as it should.
We can all imagine how annoying this could be, as we are all expecting progress, with every new preview build that Microsoft releases. It feels, however, that some problems can’t be fixed, for the moment.
Apparently, the taskbar is much darker and less transparent on this build
Not everyone is quite that happy with some of Microsoft’s choices, as far as the design of some Windows 11 elements goes. And since we are discussing the taskbar, here’s one more aspect that many disagree with.
Many of the users that took the initiative to test the upcoming OS were appreciating the transparency of the new taskbar
However, now that can kiss all that goodbye because Microsoft seems to have other plans. As some Insiders have spotted, the taskbar is less transparent and much darker than it was on the previous build.
This decision caused quite a stir within the Windows community, as many users are appalled by this change and would like it to be reverted.
Taskbar completely vanishes after clicking on any icon
We saved the best, or in this case worst, for last. None of the above-mentioned taskbar bugs is as serious as the one we are about to show you.
Reddit user Which-Lingonbery654 has come across a pretty interesting bug that breaks the Windows 11 taskbar.
After clicking on the time and date button, located in the bottom right corner of the screen, the taskbar froze, then vanished for quite a few seconds. After that, it reappears and regains its functions.
Some users were suggesting restarting the system and turning on the focus assist feature, but that did not solve the problem.
In case you didn’t already know, Microsoft has released yet another preview build for the upcoming operating system, which Insiders can already test and review.
So, the 22000.71 build for Windows 11 is available for downloading and installing, if you are a Windows Insider, of course.
And, as with any new software, we are bound to run into some nasty bugs, that somehow limit our experience on the new OS.
This article will list the known bugs that plague this build of Windows 11.
Windows 11 is still a test build, so no drivers are available yet
Al across the internet, Windows Insiders are pointing out that certain peripherals or other hardware elements aren’t working properly anymore.
The most important aspect to keep in mind when dealing with the new operating system is that most companies that provide the services and components we need are not producing drivers yet.
Neither is Microsoft, for the above-mentioned products and it will be a while until these drivers will become available. Until then, all we can do is contribute to the testing phase of Windows 11, and report the problems we come across.
Heavier disk usage with Windows 11 22000.71
Although this Insider preview build hasn’t been available for long, some users have already flagged issues that made them wonder what is wrong with their systems.
For example, one Reddit user that was testing the new Windows 11 version, has observed that his SSD heats up a bit more than usual.
Reddit user Nightroll2344 warns his fellow Insiders that, after installing the latest build of Microsft’s future operating system, they might run into a surprise when using File Explorer.
Disk space values are incorrectly shown by the system, causing confusion among users.
Laptop hotkes are no longer functional
After installing this build, Windows 11 Insiders are also pointing out that their laptop hotkeys have been stripped of their functionality.
This can prove to be a real nuisance for those of us who have grown accustomed to using hotkeys for every action, instead of clicking.
I enrolled my computer into the Windows Insider Program and wasn’t able to install and Windows 11 preview builds at that time. However, after a week or two, it prompted me to install the lastest Windows feature update. After restart, it installed Windows 11. It was functioning perfectly at first. However, I wouldn’t be posting here if I didn’t have an issue with it.
I was using it as normal for a few hours, and go to use the restroom and return to my computer with a rather unpleasant suprise. I wasn’t too scared since it was just a green screen of death (with a stop code of Memory Management) and it would just restart, but as it restarted the computer, it freezes on the boot screen with the Dell logo unable to load Windows. It can POST, but isn’t able to boot at all.
This is not the first time that Windows 11 users mention their systems failing with errors such as green, blue, or black screens.
Don’t panic, though, as it is important to keep in mind that these software versions of the operating system are still previews designed for public testing, so errors are quite common and expected.
Search icon is barely visible
Another report that has to do with bugs and glitches that plague the 22000.71 build is coming from Reddit as well. This time it’s about a visual glitch on the new Windows 11.
This, however, does not take away from the tool’s functionality, as the report mentions that it still works fine, it’s just barely visible. Know that simply restarting your system will not fix this issue.
Rest assured that the tech company responsible for the OS will surely fix any visual bugs before they actually release a full, working version to the public.
Windows 11 update makes system slow and unresponsive
We’ve talked about the new Windows 11 build taking a higher toll on hardware, and also displaying some visual glitches.
Now let’s look deeper into how this new OS build actually affects some devices, by running slow and chaotic.
This Reddit user is left speechless when he is simply stuck while in the Settings menu, and only a system restart can, apparently, solve this issue. But, after performing the restart and trying again, the problem persists.
One of the first things that everyone who installed Windows 11 will surely notice is the visual overhaul that Microsoft designed for the new OS.
But, as we mentioned before, there are certain bugs that affect different users in different ways. And this new preview build is not an exception to this unwritten rule.
One user that tried using Windows 11 on a Virtual Machine (VM), observed that his operating system lacks the transparency effect that kind of made the upcoming OS famous, visually.
I’ve got the dev build of Windows 11 on a VM right now. I just recently activated it, and usually one of the visual features you get with activating Windows is the inclusion of the aero “blurred” transparency effect in windows, taskbar etc. But I haven’t been able to get that working. I have available all the personalization options as a fully activated version, and even the toggle for transparency is active. But yet the effect is still not present. This is a big visual aspect of the new operating system and being a very visually “picky” person it bugs that I’m not able to use this. I’ve restarted, reset, tried messing with regedit, and other options but still no success. I come here as a last resort so any help would truly be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
However, this problem could be caused by the fact that the VM needs the graphic drivers in order to deliver a full visual experience. We will monitor this case, to see if others are affected in a similar way.
Out of all the bugs that have been reported for the new Windows 11 build, this has got to be one that annoys them the most.
Microsoft’s new software seems to also affect the way that the operating system adjusts the brightness to the ambient light and conditions.
According to Wu998, after installing the new OS build, the Ambient Light Sensor did not auto-adjust the system’s brightness as expected.
What he also reports is that, sometimes, the system’s brightness control had no response or an extremely slow one.
Although this is not a system-threatening glitch, we all expect it to work, as for many, adjusting the brightness manually can be a nuisance, so most of us rely on the automatic change.
CPU overclock works differently on Windows 11
While trying to boost performance, a Windows 11 user found out the hard way that things are a bit different now.
In his Microsoft Answers post, he shared his issue with the rest of the Windows 11 Insiders that are actively testing the new build.
I have 8700k cpu which was overclocked to 5.0Ghz so the cpu multiplier is 50. The moment I upgraded to Windows 11 Preview I noticed my cpu frequency dropped to 4.7Ghz. So I went back to my BIOS and changed multiplier to 47 just to check if frequency stay at 4.7Ghz. However, to my surprise it went down to 4.4Ghz.That means Windows 11 always lower your cpu frequency by 300Ghz which is a lot. Also I noticed that multiplier is down to 44 in Windows. I can go and change cpu multiplier to 53 however this is insane. I am looking for any suggestion or solutions to this problem.
It was later discovered that the problem was actually the negative offset. Other, more tech-savvy users have specified that this is not a Windows 11 system-related problem.
As Microsoft does not build CPUs, there is no such thing as CPU multipliers, and there never were, as far as the Windows OS collection is concerned.
Neither Intel nor AMD support overclocking. There’s no rule forbidding it, but if you want to perform an unsupported activity on an unfinished, experimental operating system, you need to anticipate that the experience will be challenging.
Text misalignment visual glitch
Circling back to the visual glitch topic, the range of these bugs is far wider than initially expected by us all. And although this one is somewhat barely noticeable, the trained eye of a seasoned Insider will surely spot it.
While browsing through the Settings menu, a Windows 11 user discovered that the text is slightly misaligned. He was quick to post this issue on Reddit, so others can also be aware of this.
Not such a big issue, and surely one that will certainly not make it to the final build of Windows 11, prior to release.
Windows Settings not saving and not opening correcly
After recently installing the Windows 11 Insider preview build, one user is concerned that he can no longer reverse changes that he made back in Windows 10, and got transferred to the new OS.
Disabling the Settings app from running in the background seems to be affecting this Redding user even on the preview Windows 11 builds, as he said so on social media:
I recently upgraded to Windows 11 through the insider program, but whenever I attempt to open any shortcut into the settings, it opens at the default home settings menu, causing me to have to press the shortcut twice.
The closest I can think of what’s happening is I’ve disabled settings from running in the background during the time I had Windows 10 and that same setting has saved over to Windows 11, but I’m unable to find a way to turn it back on and I’m hoping there’s a simple fix or someway to re-enable it as a background app from the registry.
Fixing the Microsoft Store actually breaks the Microsoft Store
The upcoming OS, which will start rolling out officially at the end of this year, according to Microsoft, has more bugs than users were expecting to deal with.
Here’s a bug that influences the Store app in a way that wasn’t exactly expected, according to Reddit.
Hey, so I wanted to download Minecraft from Microsoft store on Windows 11 but it didn’t show like any price or any download button, so i decided to use the fix option in applications and functions. After that i waited for around an hour and it still has that yellow progress bar. I tried resetting my pc but that did nothing, what do i do?
After performing the actions described in the post, this Windows 11 user’s Store icon appeared as inactive in the system’s menu, therefore no longer accessible.
Steam is preventing system from shutting down
We’ve all been in the situation where we want to restart or shut down our system but there are still some processes in the background, and Windows prompts you before taking any further action,
The options were simple: wait for the applications to end their processes or shut down anyway. However, on Windows 11 the situation seems to be a bit different, as some users are describing.
Apparently, after pressing the Shut Down button on the Insider preview build, the Steam app is actually preventing the system to power off, while still lingering for minutes.
We’ve all seen the different behavior patterns that the new OS displays when we try to play video games on it. Some games work just as before, or even better, while others simply won’t run or break during the experience.
Many of the other Windows 11 users that reacted to the post are warning him that the system on which he installed the preview build is already outdated. Pair that with gaming and it seems like the perfect recipe for disaster.
Touch not working properly on Onenote UWP
Allegedly, the new operating system preview build is also affecting the way you can interact with certain apps via touch sensors.
Reports of Windows 11 breaking every tool we used to utilize on the previous OS are coming in daily and it seems that Microsoft is struggling to keep up with this enormous volume of bug fixing.
Hi all – I dont know if its just me but I’m having problems with touch on the UWP app in windows11 (22000.71) build.
Basically I cant use my fingers to select text. I can double touch on a word to select it but I cant expand the selection to select more that one word or sentance at t time.
I also cant move images around by touch.
Has anyone else come across this?
Playing videos causes screen to continuously flicker
The situation seems to persist even after changing the browser used for playback. According to the user that flagged this issue, nothing changes whether he is using Chrome or Edge.
Similar reports can be found across the internet, involving weird system behavior after the installation of the Insider preview builds for Microsoft’s new OS.
Have you encountered any system bugs while trying out the new Windows 11 build? If so, share your experience with us in the comments section below.
If you still haven’t jumped on the Windows 11 bandwagon yet, there is some exciting news for you. Microsoft has decided to release a new version of Windows 10, called 21H2, which will be the next feature update for this OS.
As a part of this launch event, if we may call it that way, the Redmond-based tech company also releases Windows 10 21H2, build 19044.1147 (KB5004296).
A new update is coming to Windows 10
Speaking of this new preview build, which is 19044.1147, Microsoft stated clearly that it will only be available to some Insiders.
We are talking about the ones who were moved from the Beta Channel to the Release Preview Channel because their PC did not meet the hardware requirements for Windows 11.
Also worth knowing is that this build will be released via Microsoft’s seeker experience in Windows.
In order to install the new software, the above-mentioned Insiders will need to go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and choose to download and install 21H2.
Some of the new features that revolve around security, management, and productivity, include:
WPA3 H2E standards support for enhanced Wi-Fi security
Windows Hello for Business supports simplified passwordless deployment models for achieving a deploy-to-run state within a few minutes
GPU compute support in the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows (EFLOW) deployments for machine learning and other compute intensive workflows
What other changes has Microsoft made through 21H2?
As with any update to an existing version, the tech company has to come with some new upgrades, features, or even services.
So, in order for Windows 10 to take the leap from 21H1 to 21H2, Microsoft has designed and applied the following changes:
Fixed an issue with searchindexer. After you sign out, searchindexer continues to hold handles to the per user search database in the profile path, “C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\\”. As a result, searchindexer stops working and duplicate profile names are created.
Fixed an issue that prevents gaming services from opening certain games for desktop users.
Fixed an issue that prevents you from entering text using the Input Method Editor (IME). This might occur, for example, after startup if you have set the power options to shut down a laptop by closing its lid.
Changed the functionality for uploading new activity into Timeline. If you sync your activity history across your devices using your Microsoft account (MSA), you cannot upload new activity into the Timeline. You can still use Timeline and see your activity history (information about recent apps, websites, and files) on your local device. This does not affect Azure Active Directory (AAD) accounts. To view web history, Microsoft Edge and other browsers provide the option to view recent web activities. You can also view recently used files using Microsoft OneDrive and Microsoft Office.
Fixed an issue that might cause the File Explorer window to lose focus when you are mapping a network drive.
Fixed an issue that causes File Explorer to stop working after reaching 99% completion when you are deleting many files on a mapped network drive.
Fixed a timing issue in the Group Policy Registry Telemetry that causes Group Policy extension processing to fail.
Fixed an issue that repeatedly rebuilds the Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) filters. This issue occurs when a device is enrolled in a mobile device management (MDM) service and “MDMWinsOverGP” is set.
Fixed an issue with an MDM service that fails to correctly apply certain junk mail rules.
Fixed an issue that always reports the update build revision (UBR) as zero (0) on a device during enrollment to an MDM service.
Fixed an issue that causes the enrollment of the Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) certificate to fail with the error, “0x80090027 NTE_INVALID_PARAMETER”. This issue occurs when the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) provider (the Microsoft Software Key Storage Provider) stores the key.
Fixed an issue with auditing events 4624 and 5142 that display the wrong event template when Dutch is the display language.
Fixed an issue that causes System Integrity to leak memory.
Fixed an issue that plays the sound for selecting something in a game loudly when you press the trigger button on a game controller.
Fixed an issue that prevents power plans and Game Mode from working as expected. This results in lower frame rates and reduced performance while gaming.
Fixed an issue in which “Network Internal Access” appears on the taskbar network icon on systems that access the internet from certain domains.
Fixed an issue in which the Network Connectivity Status Indicator (NCSI) fails to detect internet connectivity after you connect to a virtual private network (VPN).
Fixed an issue that causes printing to stop or prints the wrong output. This issue occurs when you print using a USB connection after updating to Windows 10, version 2004 or later.
Fixed a rare issue that might degrade performance in applications that call Gdiplus.dll!GdipMeasureString in a tight loop with a new font on each call. This issue occurs after installing Windows updates released on and after February 2021.
Fixed an issue that incorrectly routes some audio channels when streaming using certain fixed channel layouts.
Fixed an issue that always displays devices that RemoteFX USB redirects as “Remote Desktop Generic USB Device” instead of the actual device name.
Fixed an issue in which Set-RDSessionCollectionConfiguration does not set the camerastoredirect:s:value custom property.
Fixed a Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) domain controller memory leak that is reported in Privileged Access Management (PAM) deployments.
Fixed an issue that prevents you from accessing a network drive that maps to a Distributed File System (DFS) root after you sign out.
Fixed an issue that prevents you from reconnecting to mapped network drives after you sign in and displays an access denied error. This issue occurs if you use the net use /deep option to create multiple drive mappings to different paths on the same encrypted file share.
Fixed an issue that prevents access to files on a Server Message Block (SMB) share when you enable Access Enabled Enumeration (ABE).
Fixed an issue that prevents the Windows Server service from starting if SrvComment is greater than 128 characters.
Fixed an issue in the Windows Network File System (NFS) client that might prevent you from renaming a file after mounting an NFS share. This issue occurs if you rename the file using File Explorer but does not occur if you rename the file using command line.
Fixed an issue with an unhandled Open File dialog critical exception. As a result, Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) applications might close unexpectedly.
Fixed an issue in which the Storage Sense page in Settings might incorrectly report the size of some storage devices that use the GUID Partition Table (GPT). The affected devices will incorrectly report in Storage Sense that the size is twice as large as the size reported in File Explorer. Note: This issue does not affect storage devices that use a master boot record (MBR).
Know that, once an Insider updates their PC to Windows 10, version 21H2, they will continue to automatically receive new 21H2 updates through Windows Update using Microsoft’s servicing technology.
If you want to check if you’re running Windows 10, version 21H2, just type winver into the Windows search box on the Taskbar. It should show as Version 21H2.
Have you already tried the new build? Share your experience with us in the comments section below.
We have an update about the visual refresh, #OfficeInsiders. It’s now available to 100% of users in the Beta Channel. NOTE: You may need to restart your app once or twice to show the new experience. Thanks for your patience! https://t.co/RbiM1llTVN
The much-anticipated visual refresh brings a consistent user interface across all Office apps, and it includes rounded corners, a new customizable ribbon, and a neutral color palette. “With this update, we deliver an intuitive, coherent, and familiar user interface, using the Fluent Design principles, across all your applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, Project, Publisher, and Visio. We aligned this visual refresh with the design of Windows 11 to provide seamless experiences on your PC,” the Office Insider team explained.
Microsoft says that this redesigned Office UI will also offer automatic theme switching based on the Windows theme, and Insiders will notice some significant dark mode improvements in Word documents. The Office Insider team noted that the Quick Access Toolbar is now hidden by default, and Insiders will be able to opt-in or out of the new design by clicking the “Coming Soon” option available at the top of the apps.
This new UI update will be automatically available to all Insiders running version 2108 of the Office apps (build number 14301.20004 or newer) on Windows 10 or Windows 11. However, it’s still a work in progress, and there are still some issues that could lead to design inconsistencies. We hope that the company will address these problems before making it available for everyone.
Microsoft officially announced its new Windows 365 Cloud PC offering earlier this week at its annual Inspire conference, and the subscription service will be available for enterprise customers starting in August. Microsoft hasn’t confirmed the pricing details for all the different configurations yet, but we’ve already heard that a Windows 365 Cloud PC with a dual-core CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage will be priced at $31 per user/month.
There will be 2 different flavors of Windows 365 when the subscription service becomes available next month: Windows 365 Business will be for SMBs interested in deploying Cloud PCs for up to 300 users, while Windows 365 Enterprise will let bigger organizations deploying cloud PCs for an unlimited number of users.
If Microsoft’s Azure Virtual Desktop already made it possible to access Windows through the cloud, Windows 365 promises to make this even easier for enterprise users by removing the complexity of traditional VDI deployments, and by providing customers multiple configurations with a per-user, per-month pricing. With a Cloud PC, customers will be able to access a Windows 10 or Windows 11 machine with instant-on startup, and this should be a really attractive proposition for any organization in need of a secure environment to run Windows apps, including power-hungry ones.
There’s no dedicated Windows 365 offering for Education customers right now, even though accessing a Windows Cloud PC from an iPad or a cheap Chromebook would be a great use case. Microsoft is also ignoring consumers and Windows enthusiasts, though it makes sense for Microsoft to target SMBs and bigger organizations first with Windows 365.
Still, I’m probably not the only one who sees the idea of easily accessing a Windows PC from a web browser on any device really appealing. As someone who uses Windows virtual machines on many devices including Macs, the instant-on and resource-friendly aspects of a web-based solution are real killer features. I’d happily pay for a Windows 365 for consumer subscription if this meant I never have to touch Hyper-V or Parallels Desktop for Mac again.
With Microsoft’s new Chromium-based Edge browser headed to Xbox consoles soon, I can imagine using Microsoft’s Cloud PC solution to turn an Xbox console into a productivity machine, or even a gaming PC for running Steam games. Xbox Insiders have been having fun using the new Edge to access Google Stadia or other web-based services on the console, and having access to the Cloud PC on the console when you need it would definitely be a killer feature.
Microsoft made cloud gaming really affordable with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, but maybe the economic equation isn’t as simple to bring Windows 365 to consumers right now. However, we’ve already seen startups like Shadow offering access to a high-end PC to run the Windows apps and games you want on any device, and the service is currently priced at $29.99/month. The tech specs can vary by market, but for this price, you can expect a 4 cores/8 threads CPU, a GeForce GTX 1080 or equivalent, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage.
It remains to be seen if Cloud PCs could become the next big thing in the technology world, but Shadow was recently acquired by OVHCloud, one of the biggest cloud computing companies across the world which apparently has big ambitions for the Cloud PC service. However, Windows 365 and Shadow are probably not going to hurt PC sales in the near future.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic led to a renewed growth for the PC market despite chip shortages, though recent reports from IDC and Gartner recently pointed out that this growth has begun to slow down. However, the upcoming launch of Windows 11, which has higher than expected minimum hardware requirements will likely boost PC sales in the holiday season and afterward.
Windows 365 will be available for business customers starting August 2, and it will be interesting to see if it can become a big new source of revenue for the company. Microsoft’s Panos Panay didn’t lie earlier this year when he said that 2021 would be a big year for Windows, and Windows 365 will make it easier than ever to bring the OS to any device. This could be the version of Windows that will change the PC world as we know it, but a consumer version of Windows 365 can’t come soon enough.
Microsoft Teams is getting a new setting that will allow users to choose a default setting for opening the shared Office files. The software giant has recently announced in a message on the Microsoft 365 Admin center that this update will begin rolling out to all desktop users by the end of this month.
Currently, Microsoft Teams on the desktop only provides an option to view Office files (shared within chats and channels) directly within the app. However, this will change next month with the addition of a new default option in Settings. “This new feature allows users to set a default of browser, desktop or Teams when opening Office files (Word, Excel, and Power Point) that are shared in Teams,” Microsoft explained in a message on the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
To change their default setting, users will need to click their profile picture, choose Settings >> General >> and then scroll down to the Files section. They will see a dropdown menu to choose between the following options:
Teams: This is the default setting that will use Office viewer to open the document.
Desktop app: Microsoft Teams will use the appropriate desktop app to open the Office file on both Windows and Mac.
Browser: Microsoft Teams will open the document in read-only mode via Office Online.
In addition to this, Microsoft Teams users will also be able to change the default setting when opening a document. You can see how this new menu will look below.
It is important to note that the app will require users to install Office version 16 or newer to enable this setting on their desktops. Moreover, this option will only be available for Office documents, and the Teams app will continue to use Office viewer for PDF files. Let us know in the comments below if you think this option will help to manage shared files in Microsoft Teams?
Remember the Apple ads? “What’s a computer?” is something that Apple has wanted you to think about for quite some time now. Yet, Microsoft has fired back with some Surface Pro 7 ads that mock the iPad Pro.
No matter how you look at it, the Surface Pro 7 and the iPad Pro are two different machines. Recently, though, the iPad has tried to cross those lines and become more of an actual laptop replacement — especially with the addition of the “all-powerful” Apple M1 chip inside.
Being the curious person I am, I went out and traded up my iPad Air 3 for an iPad Pro 12.9 inch model. I specifically tried to use it as my main computing device as part of an experience. And, while the hardware is beautiful, there are some shortfalls that limit the experience for me. Here’s the Surface fan’s review of Apple’s latest flagship iPad.
Specs, Ports & Price
The model I purchased for review is the base 12.9-inch model. It comes configured with 128 GB of storage, 8 GB of RAM, and the Apple M1 processor inside. The display is Apple’s new Liquid Retina XDR display (featuring mini LED tech) display, sized at 12.9 inches.
As for ports, there’s a lone Thunderbolt 3 USB-C port on the bottom supporting data of up to 40GBps, and connections to 4K and 5K displays or newer Thunderbolt 3 accessories. That’s an improvement over the last iPad Pro which didn’t have Thunderbolt support. There’s no headphone jack on this year’s iPad Pro, nor is there a fingerprint reader like the iPad Air 4. You’ll have to settle for FaceID via the new 12MP, f/1.8 front-facing camera.
Pricing on my configuration is at $1,099, not including the Logitech Keyboard ($229) and Apple Pencil ($125) I purchased as extras. You can step up configurations a bit to $1,200 for 256GB of storage. You can also buy 512GB for $1,400 or 1TB for $1,800. There’s even a model with 2TB of storage. While it’s overkill, you can get 16GB of RAM on the models with 1TB or 2TB storage.
Design
There’s a saying that goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This is something that Microsoft has lived by for a while, and Apple, too. The design of the Surface Pro lineup hasn’t changed since it was introduced, with the exception being the Surface Pro X. I can also say the same for the iPad Pro, which hasn’t changed much since the third generation back in 2018 that dropped out the fingerprint reader in favor of slim bezels.
But going back to the design, The iPad Pro sports an aluminum design that the new iPhone 12 Pro Max mimics. The shiny corners are squared off and flat. There’s even a nifty spot on the top for the Apple Pencil, just like the spot on the side of a Surface for the Surface Pen.
Overall, it is a simple design that makes the iPad feel very premium (and heavy) like holding a slab of slimmed-down marble in the hands. Just be aware you don’t find flashy colors here, as the iPad only comes in Space Gray and Silver. That silver finish is broken up at the top and bottom of the rear of the iPad with gray antenna bands.
Physically, the iPad Pro 12.9 inch measures 11 x 8.5 x 0.25 inches. It weighs 1.5 pounds and even closer to 2.5 pounds with my Logitech Keyboard. That’s still close to the Surface Pro 7 which measures in at 11.5 x 7.9 x 0.3 inches and 1.8 pounds with the keyboard. The weight and big screen might make the iPad Pro hard to hold in the hands for some people, but for me, it wasn’t a problem. If you think it’s too big, try the smaller 11-inch Pro instead.
One more obvious thing, too. There is no in-built kickstand. I opted to buy a Logitech case which adds one in. As an alternative, Apple’s Magic Keyboard is one, which will “float” the iPad up over the keyboard for you. It’s ridiculously priced at $350, though. But if you really want to use your iPad as a laptop replacement, it’s a must.
Performance
The performance here is important, as the iPad Pro sports the M1 processor found in the base MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. That leaves it with a ton of promise and power, but it does feel a bit short due to the limits of iPad OS. But don’t let me spoil the fun. Let’s jump into the good stuff first.
Looking at everyday performance, this iPad Pro is a champion for my workflows. Much like a Surface and all the other laptops I’ve reviewed, it tackles my workflow without issues. Using Safari sessions open side by side split-screen mode, I’m able to have 6+ tabs open at once.
Tabs don’t reload, and my content always stays put. Even copying files for my Podcast off a USB-C SSD was a quick task. It’s quite a change for me coming from an iPad Air, which always reloads tabs in the background and required the need for Lightning to USB-C dongles.
I also was able to open multiple apps at once in the background. YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Safari, Teams basically everything I could open, did open, and the iPad Pro handled it with charm without any delays. It’s definitely laptop-level performance when it comes to social media, web browsing, and what I like to call “casual computing.”
Day 1: Safari really respects the rules of the web for desktop like Edge and Chrome does on Windows. Websites scale to the web version. Didn't have issues. I just set to 75% scaling and it's like I'm using a Windows PC. Poor photo. But an example here. pic.twitter.com/7slGUcTttj
If you look at the Geekbench scores, you can see why. IPad Pro picks up a 7,298. Geekbench is skewed a bit for mobile devices, but that outdoes the Surface Pro 7’s 5,000 score. I also attempted to encode a video in iMovie to test the M1 chip, and the process was quite frustrating due to the mobile version of the app and the new iPad-style layout. (I’m too used to iMovie on MacOS)
When I got it to work, the iPad Pro pushed out a 1-hour long 1080p podcast via iMovie in under 5 minutes. It beat out the 12 minutes on my dedicated video editing machine, with RTX graphics. Even gaming worked well, with Call of Duty: Mobile loading up within a few seconds, animations staying smooth, and no dropped frames.
The only real performance flaws of the iPad has to do with apps and iPadOS itself. I spoke about this when I reviewed my iPad Air 3, but it’s pretty much the same experience as before. While Surface and Windows are home to productivity-first desktop apps, the iPad Pro is based on mobile-first apps. Apps are catered to mobile, and not for desktop with some missing features, as I found out when editing in iMovie or even using Microsoft Word.
Basically, as a Surface user, in using the iPad Pro as a “main computer,” I needed to get used to the reality of missing features in my apps. It takes some getting used to and is totally doable for some people who just depend on the web. But, in most cases, it is not easy and I had to go back to my PC for certain tasks.
Day 2: needed to download B-roll and other stuff for the video version of the podcast. But couldn't figure out to use the iPad version of iMovie. I had to go back to my PC. Ended up doing it as a remote PC on my iPad. I guess I'm cheating?! pic.twitter.com/t5NcBVyyfQ
That’s not to forget the fact that despite bringing the M1 chip to the iPad lineup, there are no Mac apps on the Apple App Store. You’re still dealing with iPad apps, most of which don’t leverage the 8GB of RAM and the power of the M1 chip. If Apple were to bring Mac apps to the iPad, then the full power of the M1 chip would be unlocked. It’s a really overpowered iPad as is.
Oh, and the iPad Pro doesn’t have the ability to extend to another monitor (it only lets you mirror.) It also doesn’t have a true file system or an in-depth file explorer app like a Surface or Windows PC does. That really kills any big chances at using an iPad in place of a PC, as you’ll need to depend on gestures and multitasking on the display. Apple improved the files app a bit in iPad OS 15 with progress bars for copying/pasting, but it’s a small step. The Surface doesn’t have any of these problems.
With Microsoft just announcing Windows 365, it will be interesting to see how the iPad Pro handles it. A cloud powered-version of Windows could take the iPad to a new level. We’ll have to wait and see how things work compared to just remoting into an existing PC via the network.
Display & Bloom issue
Coming from using a Surface Pro 5, and Surface Go 2, the display on the iPad Pro is quite refreshing. It’s a lot like the Surface Pro X, with slim bezels all around. The difference, though, is the refresh rate, and display technology.
The iPad Pro sports a “ProMotion,” Liquid Retina XDR 120 Hz display. This means content on the screen refreshes quickly and is much smoother when scrolling. The use of mini-LED technology in the panel also means that the iPad can dim pixel zones independently. It makes HDR content look amazing, but otherwise speaking, the difference between a regular LED screen is barely noticeable when not watching HDR movies, TV shows, or other stuff.
With HDR content, compared to an AMOLED screen on my HP Envy, the iPad does look a bit similar. In nature videos, flowers looked vibrant and realistic, and the light orange of sunsets just looked so lifelike. The screen can get pretty bright when playing back HDR content, and around 500 nits when not viewing HDR. That’s around the same peak brightness as the Surface Pro X.
But mini-LED has its faults. One of those is “Bloom,” where you see bleeding in the pixels. This wasn’t too noticeable for me, except when looking through the settings in a dark room at night with the iPad in dark mode, or even in YouTube’s media player. Everyone has experienced this one way or another, and Apple has acknowledged it already. It’s hard to produce the effect for a photo, but it’s something to get used to.
Battery Life
Finally, we hit the battery life aspect of the iPad. Battery life really depends on how you use your device, but for me, I got to around 13 hours during my mixed usage. It’s really amazing to see that level, as this rivals even the best Windows laptops, even laptops with Qualcomm processors. Where iPad falls short in battery has to do with recharging, though. Unlike the modern Surface devices which support quick charge via Surface Connect, iPad doesn’t charge quickly with the included charger. A 15-minute charge only boosted the battery by about 9% in our tests.
Apple Pencil
Now, for the pencil. Apple Pencil Gen 2 has a built-in battery that charges when it’s snapped to the top of the iPad. It’s a lot like the Surface Slim pin, which charges in the Surface Pro X’s keyboard. The Apple Pencil, though, depends on Bluetooth, so you need to keep Bluetooth on the iPad to use it (unlike Surface Pen.)
Overall, Apple Pencil feels like a real pencil, in the same way that the regular Surface Pen does. I just wish it had an eraser. I needed to tap the pencil to switch to an eraser each time, unlike Surface Pen where the top is the eraser. Drawing, though, is plenty smooth, especially thanks to the ProMotion Display.
Cameras
When it comes to the cameras, I wish most Windows PCs were as good as the iPad Pro. The iPad Pro sports a “center stage” selfie camera on the front. This makes it seem as though the camera is on a gimbal, as it’s able to follow you around. But it’s actually a software trick that uses the 12MP f/1.8 lens to zoom in and out. During Facetime calls if I moved left or right, the camera was able to track me and keep me in the field of view. It’s quite magical. The only downfall to this is that the camera is on the side, and not on a top bezel like on a Surface, so you need to adjust where you’re sitting during calls.
As for the rear camera, you’ll find a 12-megapixel, f/1.8 wide-angle main lens. There’s also a secondary 10MP, f/2.4 ultra-wide-angle camera, and LIDAR sensor. This is an iPad and not a DSLR, so don’t expect professional photos. For that, buy an iPhone!
Not to replace your computer
I got an iPad Pro to see if it can replace my Surface and my computer. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. While it’s an excellent device, iPad OS holds back the full potential of the iPad Pro, and even the potential of the M1 chip inside. You can buy one if you want to change the way you work and switch over to using mobile-first apps but be prepared for missing features. Trust me when I say it, as much as Apple wants the iPad to be a Surface replacement, it can not. The iPad will always be a tablet and not your main computer.
Windows 11 is definitely on everyone’s lips for good reasons that it’s running smoothly and it has a great design but also for its inherent bugs as an early build.
However, a new question arose on the Microsoft Community board: Are we going to see a 32-bit version of Windows 11?
As the question stirred a lot of debate, we’re going to make some documented assumptions ourselves and give you a proper answer.
Will there be a Windows 11 32-bit version?
Microsoft didn’t clearly specify that there’s not going to be a Windows 11 32-bit version but all the data shows that we’re not going to see such a thing.
We’re going to start from the Windows 11 requirements and they clearly stipulate that for running the new OS, you need a 64-bit capable processor.
However, that’s not proof that there’s not going to be a 32-bit version of Windows 11. You can perfectly run a 32-bit system on a 64-bit processor.
Next, 32-bit systems are obsolete. We can list only a few Linux distributions that still support the outdated architecture and MacOS crossed to the 64-bit camp a long time ago.
Even Windows 10 will only use 64-bit builds
Another important clue comes from the Windows 10 Requirements page that is clearly stating that Windows 10 will only use 64-bit builds:
Beginning with Windows 10, version 2004, all new Windows 10 systems will be required to use 64-bit builds and Microsoft will no longer release 32-bit builds for OEM distribution. This does not impact 32-bit customer systems that are manufactured with earlier versions of Windows 10; Microsoft remains committed to providing feature and security updates on these devices, including continued 32-bit media availability in non-OEM channels to support various upgrade installation scenarios.
So, not even the soon-to-be expired OS will be available in its 32-bit form so we don’t expect to be otherwise with Windows 11.
However, there’s absolutely no reason to believe that you won’t be able to run 32-bit applications on your 64-bit system.
And another question can push through: How will users running a Windows 10 32-bit version be able to upgrade to a Windows 11 system?
The answer here is pretty simple: They won’t be able to do that unless their computer meets the requirements.
But if you are running a 32-bit system because your processor is not 64-bit compatible, you will clearly not be able to upgrade to Windows 11.
Do you have any other questions or you just want to discuss the subject, leave a comment below.
Microsoft Edge will soon get a new “Extended Stable” release cycle for organizations interested in receiving Edge updates every 8 weeks. Microsoft announced back in March that Edge would switch to a 4-week release cycle to match what Google is doing with Chrome, but the company is aware that this faster release cycle may not be ideal for enterprise users.
This new “Extended Stable” release cycle option will be available with Microsoft Edge 94, which is expected to be released in late September (the Edge Stable channel is currently on Edge version 91). This Extended Stable option will stay on even-numbered revisions and update every 8 weeks, and there will be a biweekly security update.
“If an organization selects the 8-week “Extended Stable” release cycle with Microsoft Edge 94, they will receive subsequent feature updates with Microsoft Edge 96, Microsoft Edge 98, and so on. While feature updates will be packaged and delivered with new version releases based on the selected release cycle, important security patches and fixes will be delivered as needed independent of the selected release option to help maintain browser security,” the Edge team explained today.
Once Microsoft Edge 94 and this new “Extended Stable” release cycle option become available in late September, IT Admins will be able to opt-in by using the “TargetChannel” Group Policy and selecting the “Extended Stable” option. It will also be possible to opt-in with Microsoft Endpoint Manager by selecting the “Extended Stable” release option via Intune.
If the move to a 4-weeks release cycle should be very welcome for most Edge users, it’s good to see Microsoft taking into account the needs of enterprise customers with this new “Extended Stable” channel option. Microsoft Edge will continue to automatically install updates in the background even for managed PCs on the Extended Channel, but organizations who prefer to manually update the browser will also be able to find packages in the Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) catalog.
Microsoft’s future Xbox controllers could well take some inspiration from Sony’s Dualsense controller for the PlayStation 5. Speaking with the team from the Kinda Funny Gamecast, Xbox head Phil Spencer shared his appreciation for the PS5 DualSense, which received praise for its unique impulse triggers and haptic feedback features (via Video Games Chronicle).
As we’ve seen since the beginning of this console generation, some PS5 games use the Dualsense controller in pretty interesting ways, whether it’s Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War changing the trigger resistance when you switch weapons, or FIFA 21 adding trigger resistance when you spring with tired players. These little things can really make a difference to improve immersion, and it’s certainly something that Phil Spencer and the Xbox team have been looking at.
“We’re definitely thinking about different kinds of devices that can bring more games to more places. There’s probably some work that we’ll do on the controller. I think Sony’s done a nice job with their controller and we kind of look at some of that and [think] there are things that we should go do.
“But [we’re] probably not in the more bespoke accessories place right now,” he added. “We just look at what happens on Windows and other places and see if there’s a unique opportunity for us. Right now I don’t think there’s anything that’s obvious to me.”
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Series S consoles shipped with slightly redesigned controllers last year, which added a new Share button, textured grips on the triggers and bumpers, and a USB-C port for charging. The new Xbox controllers also come with a hybrid D-pad that resembles the one on the Elite Series 2 controller, though with a pretty cheap feel and clicking noises that can be quite annoying.
Maybe Microsoft will wait for a mid-gen console refresh to introduce a redesigned controller, just like it did during the previous console generation when the Xbox One S shipped with a slightly different controller. Xbox’s Phil Spencer doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to copy the DualSense’s best features, and he probably doesn’t really need to. So far, the Xbox team seems more focused on new platform features, with the new Chromium-based Edge browser expected to make its way to Xbox consoles with the next system update coming next month.
Microsoft has announced a new preview release of Windows Terminal, bringing the version to 1.10. This update brings a few new features, including a command palette button in the dropdown, Settings UI updates, support for bold text, and more.
First off, Microsoft has replaced the Feedback button available in the dropdown menu with a new command palette button to improve its visibility. “We noticed that the Feedback button inside the dropdown menu was hardly used, and we figured this was highly valuable real estate. We decided to change this button to a command palette button to make the command palette more discoverable (because who doesn’t love the command palette?),” Microsoft explained release notes.
This update enhances the Quake Mode feature in the tool that lets users bring up a new window on the top half of their screens with a keyboard shortcut. Thanks to the latest release, the minimized Quake mode window will now be available in the system tray, and users will be able to quickly re-open it by double-clicking on the taskbar icon.
Microsoft also said that it’s going to bring back the “Defaults” page into the Settings UI so that users can configure default settings across all profiles. “We are currently working on designing a new UI solution and we’ve received some feedback that a page for “defaults” is highly requested in the settings UI,” the Windows Terminal team said. The new Settings UI is still a work in progress, so users are encouraged to provide feedback on the GitHub issues page.
Other changes include the addition of bold text support to the terminal console as well as an option for Windows Terminal users to add custom actions. In addition to the aforementioned changes, Windows Terminal 1.10 brings a bunch of bug fixes and improvements, and you can find the full changelog below:
Miscellaneous improvements
???? You can now explicitly set your language preference for the terminal. This setting can be found on the Appearance page of the settings UI.
???? The percentage sign is now added to all opacity slider values (Thanks @chingucoding!).
???? You can now close tabs by index (Thanks @ianjoneill!).
???? Font settings can now be represented as an object in your settings.json file.
Bug fixes
???? There should be many fewer crashes (hopefully none ????) when opening the settings UI.
???? Closing tabs should no longer crash in the terminal.
???? You can now open a new tab using the command line without the terminal dismissing.
???? Default terminal in version 1.10 is much more reliable in 22000.65. Default terminal in 1.10 is not compatible with 22000.51 and 1.9 is not compatible with 22000.65.
???? Performance and reliability improvements.
Last but not least, the Redmond giant has also bumped the Stable version of Windows Terminal to version 1.9. Unfortunately, some features are still limited to preview users, such as the ability to edit actions from Settings or set the tool as the default terminal.
The latest versions should be available as an automatic update to users that installed Windows Terminal from the Microsoft Store. As usual, you can also grab them manually now from the GitHub releases page.
Back in December, 2019, I was saying that the future of Windows lies in the cloud. However, even then we were referring to what was at the time Microsoft’s Azure Virtual Desktop. Now Microsoft has taken a huge leap forward and has revealed Windows 365, as it was leaked just a couple of days ago.
The new Cloud PC service will enable customers to create installs of Windows 10 or even the newest Windows 11 in the cloud and stream the OS to virtually any device out there. Now how about that? Aimed at enterprise and EDU customers, Windows 365 will essentially let you run the latest Windows features from your browser on your Mac, iPad, or Android devices.
Built on Azure Virtual Desktops, the service is similar to XCloud service, which allows you to stream games from the cloud. Pricing hasn’t been yet disclosed, but we know the service will become available in the beginning of August, just in time for the busy Q4 season.
Windows 365 will be a subscription-based service with no minimum requirements, ranging from super small to huge companies. This could become a potential disruptor in the market if it comes at the right pricing; and we will definitely give it a try here at Reflector Media, as well.
Of course, virtualization and remote access to computers isn’t something new, but what we’re looking at here is Microsoft looking to deliver a very clean and streamlined product that is ready for the post-pandemic world of hybrid work.
Now let’s have a look at some of the features that we believe are going to matter for your business and which seem very interesting. As a side note, I’m not a professional IT Pro, so I will be happy to hear you out in the comments.
1. Ease of Use
There are plenty of virtualization and cloud PC solutions available on the market, with Microsoft’s own Azure Virtual Desktop or other solutions from companies like Citrix. But from the looks of it, it seems that Microsoft is trying to make the service as easy to use as possible.
Wangui McKelvey, general manager for Microsoft 365, highlights the important of the instant-on boot experience that will allow workers to stream their Windows session across their entire ecosystem:
Windows 365 provides an instant-on boot experience. You can pick up right where you left off, because the state of your Cloud PC remains the same, even when you switch devices
Windows 365 will work on any modern web browser as a login or through Microsoft’s Remote Desktop app, which sounds very streamlined.
2. Pricing
Yes, I know that at the moment we don’t have all the details with regards to Windows 365 pricing, but there’s a good enough hint. The same McKelvey went on to say the following:
Windows 365 is really going to make a huge difference for organizations that wanted to try virtualization for various reasons but could not — maybe it was too costly, too complex or they didn’t have the expertise in house to do it
By asserting that Windows 365 comes as an alternative to solutions that were too pricey, it’s obvious that Microsoft has made a very smart analysis in the back and will come up with a very aggressive pricing scheme.
This is going to be very very interesting to observe how it evolves, because at the moment businesses have different solutions at their disposal when it comes to managing their employees’ software costs. Will Windows 365 prove to be a cheaper option? We think so.
3. Faster and Safer Deployment
Another very appealing feature is the fact that your IT department will be able to create Cloud PCs within minutes. This will enable your enterprise to potentially solve such issues as having to rely on actual physical hardware. Furthermore, with the increasing number of cyber attacks, the procedure of safeguarding remote workers isn’t always an easy process.
The deployment of an entire Windows PCs in the cloud in a matter of minutes could be the answer to that. This sounds like it would also reduce the number of problem caused by faulty Windows Updates.
Furthermore, small businesses that likely have no IT support, will be able to set up everything by themselves (we’re definitely going to release a guide on how to do it). The bigger companies will be able to rely on Microsoft Endpoint Manager.
We’re now halfway through the week which means it’s time for a new Microsoft Edge Dev build. Coming in at 93.0.946.1 this week, this fresh release is adding Windows 11 visual effects, tweaking the share menu, finishing feature rollouts, and a lot more. We’ve got you covered with a look at everything you need to know.
As always, there’s the added features first. With the share menu, Microsoft added the ability to share websites directly to email or social media sites. Microsoft also added a flag to enable visual changes in Windows 11, and enabled by default the setting to hide the title bar when Vertical Tabs are enabled. Here’s a look at everything else that’s new that you need to know.
Added the ability to upload payment card info from a webpage to your Microsoft Account in order to sync it across devices. Note that this is currently only available in the United States.
Added a dialog after installing a PWA or website as an app that gives easy access to the capability to pin the app to the taskbar, Start menu, or desktop.
Finished feature rollout of quiet notifications, device authentication before filling a password, adding web captures to collections.
Added management policies (note that updates to documentation or administrative templates may not have occurred yet):
Enabled management policies from Chromium
Enabled mainstream support for keyboard accessible tooltips in web content.
Added support for Open XR Extended Features.
Of course, every new Edge Dev build comes with reliability fixes and changed behaviors. We recapped some of these for you below, and invite you to check the full list at Microsoft, if you’re curious. (Hint, there’s a lot!)
Fixed a crash when interacting with extensions.
Fixed a crash on Mac when updating the browser.
Fixed a crash on Windows 11.
Fixed an issue where the browser sometimes crashes after re-opening a PWA or installed app.
Fixed a crash when clicking the Efficiency Mode button.
Fixed an issue where Favorites to non-webpages sometimes don’t open.
Fixed an issue where Web Capture area selection stops unexpectedly.
Fixed an issue where text notes in Collections sometimes aren’t saved properly.
Fixed an issue where the button to send feedback doesn’t work.
Fixed an issue where popups are sometimes rendered offscreen.
Known issues in this latest release are the same as the past. Microsoft hasn’t yet fixed the problems which have plagued Edge in the past. You’ll still see wobbling when scrolling, favorites being duplicated, Kaspersky Internet Suite, tabs and extensions crashing, playback errors on YouTube, and extensions not working on Linux.
Happy downloading, Edge Insiders. As always, remember to submit your feedback to Microsoft. This helps make Edge great for everyone.
As with every new patch that Microsoft issues either for an emerging issue, or as a part of Patch Tuesday, there is bound to be some sort of bug, or bugs, that affect users in unexpected ways.
This month’s update rollout event also brought some problems to the surface, that started after users installed the latest batch of cumulative updates.
And, as you would expect, this kind of triggers a neverending chain of events, where the future patch fixes problems with the current one, and so on.
These are the problems that Windows 10 users noticed after downloading and applying the latest cumulative updates.
KB5004237 will prevent you from connecting via RDP
This is the first issue to emerge out of the depths of social media, where Windows users usually inform others of their ordeals.
Apparently, after installing KB5004237, which is an update released by Microsoft as a part of the July Patch Tuesday event, for 2021, things went a bit crazier than expected, as Reddit user GiliamOS exemplified.
After rolling out the two patches to a batch of test machines, connecting to them via RDP you see a corrupt connection. It works, but is visually unusable. Rolling back the patches fixes it, but come on Microsoft!
Anyone have ideas post-patch install how to fix this? Changing color depth, res or “experience” makes no difference.
At first glance, it seems that the cumulative updates entered some sort of conflict with the display drivers that he had installed on his device.
The post’s author even confirmed that, after checking, he realized that the driver version he had installed, came from Microsoft, instead of Nvidia.
There aren’t that many reports of users dealing with the same issue, just yet. And this is because there are some patches that affect different users in different ways, while some cause the same problem for everyone involved.
We will keep an eye out and monitor the situation, while also keeping you informed on any new details.
KB5004237 may also prevent you from charging the laptop battery
Another user complained on the Microsoft Answers website that he is unable to charge the battery of his Dell Precision 7530 laptop after installing the new KB5004237 patch:
So this thing started happening recently when battery wont charge, but the time remaining is shown in this manner when the charger is plugged in. Is this a cause of concern?
Additional information about the system: Dell Precision 7530, barely an year old. The laptop is able to boot up on battery power i.e when the charger is not connected to the system.
In the screenshot provided by the user below, you can see that when he is connecting his charger, the battery is not showing that it’s charging but the remaining time for battery energy is extremely high.
Apparently, he already tried a lot of procedures like disconnecting the power supply and battery and reconnecting them, performing a BIOS update, reinstalling the battery drivers, and performing the Power troubleshooter to no avail.
Unfortunately, we have no official solution from Microsoft about how to circumvent this problem. We will monitor this issue and get back to you with a solution as soon as possible.
The new KB5004237 may change the fonts on your system
After installing the new KB5004237, a user is complaining on Reddit this time that his system was set on the Marlett font and he can’t read anything anymore:
The last Windows 10 update really messed up my fonts in Windows. Noticed it immediately in my email program. Tried to install dot net, and those fonts were messed up as well on the install screen. Now noticing that right click menus on the desktop are the same way, as well as file and folder names. It’s all gibberish. Any suggestions? Can’t do screenshots because Windows 10 is largely useless, although some programs are okay. Where there should be readable text, there’s just garbage. Programs like Edge work fine so far, or Skype.
Now, if you’re checking the Marlett font, you will see that it is a true-type font developed by Microsoft and used since Windows 95 used for user interface icons from menus and windows.
Definitely, it cannot be used for any text and can be seen as gibberish even for a more trained eye.
Unfortunately, we don’t have any official feedback from Microsoft and there is hardly anything to do unless you know your way precisely to uninstall the patch from the update history.
We will keep an eye on the development of the situation and update this article as soon as there are new developments.
Update Error 0x8007000d after installing KB5004237
After finishing an automatic repair triggered by the system, a user reported on Reddit that he received the error 0x8007000d after installing the KB5004237 update.
Hello everyone! Yesterday my laptop booted up to repair screen automatically. I think the EFI partition was damaged or something. I managed to fix by formatting it. Now when I want to update Windows to KB5004237 I get error 0x8007000d. I tried SFC /scannow and it fixed some things. I then ran DISM which also fixed some things. But I still got the error. I tried resetting the Windows Update components, but that also didn’t work. I tried the in-place upgrade but that also failed. Can anyone help me?
The error 0x8007000d appears when the system can’t find an essential file in the installation package.
Corrupted system files and broken Windows update components are some of the reasons why you may encounter this error.
BSoD code 0xc000021a when installing the KB5004237
One of our readers signaled in our comments section that he experienced the BSoD error 0xc000021a when installing KB5004237:
KB5004237 update led to BSOD 0xc000021a. Had to undo the update using the USB installation media drive.
Unfortunately, the only way around this issue was to revert the update by using his USB installation media. However, that seems to be the only reasonable thing to do in this case.
Unable to send e-mails with third-party clients after the KB5004237 installation
One of our readers complained in our comments section that after installing the KB5004237 he could not send e-mails by using his third-party e-mail client service:
I use a third party email service after installing this update KB5004237 I could not send emails. I could and did receive emails but every time I tried to send email I received a error message referring to SMTP. I uninstall the update and the system went back to working just fine. I wait a couple of weeks and see what transpires. BTW I install the same update on my wife’s laptop and no issues (so far).
This is a most unfortunate event since it can be disruptive to the workflow and can cause communication discrepancies.
However, he managed to get rid of the problem by reverting back to the installation of the KB patch. That is the way to go around the problem until Microsoft finds another possible way.
Have you stumbled upon any issues after installing this month’s cumulative update batch? If so, share your experience with us in the comments section below.
This operating system version is the latest one yet, and it was released by Microsoft in May 2021.
Rumors back then were that this version was going to bring a major visual overhaul, which later turned out to be the Sun Valley project, which later transformed into Windows 11.
Windows 10 version 2009 (20H20) [October 2020 Update]
Windows 10 version 20H2 is the latest Windows 10 OS version, and it was released in October 2020.
Obtaining the latest update is incredibly easy, especially if you already have Windows 10 v2004, and can be easily achieved via the Windows Update menu.
Windows 10 version 1909 is among the most popular and most used versions of Windows 10 currently available. As its name suggests, Microsoft released it in November 2019.
This feature update doesn’t pack as many new features as previous releases. Key changes include: Windows Defender Credential Guard is now compatible with ARM64 devices, enhanced Windows Sandbox capabilities, Windows Virtual Desktop is now available to all users, and more.
Windows 10 version 1903 is also named Windows 10 May Update. Code-named “19H1”, it is the seventh Windows 10 version released by Microsoft in May 2019.
Windows 10 May Update offers, among others, an improved Start menu and a new tool named Windows Sandbox.
On November 13, 2018, Microsoft re-released the Windows 10 October Update (version 1809). It is also code-named Redstone 5, the last of the series named in this manner.
Among many other features, it offers dark theme support in File Explorer and a touch keyboard powered by SwiftKey.
This was one of the largest Windows 10 updates and among many new features, it brought the fullscreen mode and reading enhancements and many convenience features added to Microsoft Edge.
Microsoft service for Home and Pro editions was stopped on April 9, 2019, but will continue for Enterprise and Education editions until April 14, 2020.
Here is the list of monthly roll-ups released for Windows 10 version 1709 after the major update code-named Redstone 3 but most known as Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.
Probably the most interesting feature is the launch of Paint 3D and 3D Viewer. Also, Cortana was integrated with third-party apps.
Microsoft service for Home and Pro editions was stopped on October 9, 2018, but will continue for Enterprise and Education editions until October 8, 2019.
Here is the list of monthly roll-ups released for after the major update code-named Redstone 2 aka Windows 10 Creators Update.
On April 10, 2018, Windows 10, version 1607, reached the end of service in their Home and Pro versions, and on April 9, 2019, it ended support for Enterprise and Education editions.
Still, Microsoft will continue to offer support for Enterprise LTSC editions until October 13, 2026. Microsoft recommends updating to the latest version of Windows 10 to continue receiving security and quality updates.
Among many new features, Microsoft brought a redesigned Start screen and the “all apps” menu was removed.
Windows 10 version 1511 was launched on November 12, 2015. It was code-named “Threshold 2” and it was the first major update to the initial Windows 10 version.
On October 10, 2017, Microsoft ended support for Home and Pro editions of Windows 10 version 1511, and on April 10, 2018, it also ended support for Enterprise and Education editions.
Microsoft brought with Windows 10 November Update a pre-installed Skype video, messaging and phone apps.
Windows 10 version 1507 was the initial release of this operating system. Microsoft launched it on July 29, 2015, and it was code-named “Threshold 1”.
On May 9, 2017, Microsoft ended the support for all editions of Windows 10 version 1507 excepting Enterprise LTSC. Support for this edition will continue until October 14, 2025.
At the annual Inspire conference, Microsoft is going big on sustainability. The company announced a new cloud offering to help address sustainability needs and also detailed some significant updates on its own sustainability efforts.
First, there’s the new cloud offering known as the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability. This (in preview) offering will help companies think about their carbon emissions, set stability goals, and take measurable action when using the power of the Microsoft Cloud. The offering brings along “comprehensive, integrated, and automated insights for organizations to accelerate each stage of their sustainability journey,” per Microsoft’s Judson Althoff.
Examples of some scenarios in the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability include the ability for companies to offer customers a scorecard to track progress against their carbon emission goals. Customers will also be able to pinpoint specific emission areas and track if they are meeting their emission reduction goals. Finally, CIO’s can early report on IT carbon emissions by connecting emissions data into one view for reporting.
As for what’s going on at Microsoft when it comes to sustainability, there’s a couple of big announcements. Microsoft is announcing a 100/100/0 (where 100% of the electrons [energy,] 100% of the time are generated from zero emissions) goal. Microsoft will also be purchasing contracts to help bring more zero carbon energy onto the grid and move more high carbon intensity energy off the grid. Additionally, Microsoft is planning on releasing a set of in-depth capacity-building tools and resources to help companies report their greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions, develop clean energy strategies, and reduce their energy-related emissions.
We also want to note that Microsoft received a zero carbon certification for their Puget Sound and Silicon Valley campuses. Meanwhile, in Redmond, Microsoft revealed a Thermal energy center, which uses geothermal wells to heat and cool the campus. You can learn more about these announcements over on Microsoft’s sustainability blog.
With a growing user base of 145 million daily active users, Microsoft Teams is a big topic at the company’s annual Inspire partner conference that just kicked off this morning. Teams has slowly but surely become a versatile platform where users can access many Microsoft 365 services as well as third-party apps, and Microsoft announced this morning a new Dynamics 365 integration in Teams that will let users view and edit Dynamics 365 data within Teams at no extra cost.
With Dynamics 365 data access now included with Microsoft Teams, employees will be able to view and edit Dynamics records right within their Teams workflow, with automated notifications when other employees when they make key changes on records. Dynamics 365 users will also be able to add a Teams meeting when creating an appointment, and also capture notes during a Teams call that will be automatically be saved in the Dynamics 365 record.
In addition to this new Dynamics 365 integration, Microsoft Teams is also welcoming new collaborative apps from partners including Atlassian Confluence, SAP C4C, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Workday. Later this summer, Microsoft Teams will also ISV partners to sell their apps directly within Teams, and benefit from Microsoft’s new commercial marketplace fees that have just been reduced from the standard 20% industry fee to 3%.
Lastly, Microsoft Viva, the company’s new employee experience platform within Teams will also add 21 new partner integrations later this year. Workday, Qualtrics, and ServiceNow will follow the existing partnerships with Headspace, SuccessFactors, and other apps that bring together various tools for employee engagement, learning, and wellbeing.
Microsoft is holding its Inspire 2021 digital conference this morning where Microsoft 365 CVP Jared Spataro announced some important updates for Dynamics 365, Teams, and Viva. The company is launching a new Dynamics 365 integration in Microsoft Teams that will be available for Microsoft 365 customers at no additional cost.
“Together, Teams and Dynamics 365 offer powerful new ways for everyone across an organization to seamlessly exchange and capture ideas in right in the flow of work. We’re also eliminating the tax that has historically held organizations back from this kind of integration, making these experiences available within Teams to any user, at no additional cost,” explained Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365.
Microsoft Teams users will now be able to access Dynamics 365 data within the app. This feature will let them view and collaborate on projects directly from the Microsoft Teams chats or channels. Dynamics 365 is also launching a feature that brings the ability to add Teams meetings to appointments and capture notes directly with the calls. Automated notifications are also in the works, which will make it easier to push alerts and adaptive cards through specific chats and channels.
Microsoft also announced new and enhanced collaborative apps from its partners that are coming soon to its Teams collaboration service. This will primarily allow for “real-time and asynchronous collaboration” for chats, meetings, and more. The company is also making it easier for ISVs to manage their purchases by selling the apps directly within Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Viva updates
Later this Fall, Microsoft Viva, a new employee experience platform integrated into Team, is getting better with a bunch of new partner integrations that should enhance the employee experience. These integrations will make it easier for customers to provide employees with insights and tools tailored to their specific needs.
Some new APIs will also be available soon, such as Viva Connections APIs that will let partners integrate their apps with the Viva Connections dashboard. Coming soon, new Viva Learning APIs will also allow apps to integrate data from third-party learning providers in order to access content in Microsoft 365 services, including Office.com, Microsoft Search, Teams, and SharePoint.
In addition to this, there are a bunch of new benefits for partners to help them build and market Microsoft Teams and Viva apps, and the list includes 1:1 consultation services with Microsoft experts, access to technology, marketing resources, and more.
Microsoft 365 Lighthouse and Project Orland
Last but not least, Microsoft has announced the availability of its two new security offerings called Project “Orland” and Microsoft 365 Lighthouse. Microsoft says that these tools will make it easier for its partners to provide “managed security services and identify new growth opportunities.”
First of all, Microsoft 365 Lighthouse, which has been available in private preview since last year, is launching in public preview today. The unified portal helps to ensure that the data, devices, and users of all Microsoft 365 Business Premium customers are secure by providing access to standard security configuration templates.
Project “Orland” is another new security tool that is now available in private preview for Microsoft 365 subscribers. The new experience has been designed to empower CSP partners to develop a more holistic approach for driving customer engagement. It uses machine learning techniques to help organizations retain and increase their Microsoft 365 customers.
If you’re interested, you can sign up for the Project “Orland” private preview program on this page. Microsoft has also announced a new PC cloud service which will be generally available in August this year, and you can learn more about it in our separate post.
Windows 365 allows streaming Windows 10 or Windows 11 (when it’s available), including apps, data, and settings, as a cloud service. It takes the operating system to the Microsoft Cloud, securely streaming the full Windows experience to your personal or corporate devices.
Microsoft calls this thin client implementation as Cloud PC, which uses both the power of the cloud and the capabilities of the device to provide a full Windows experience. This new hybrid personal computing category is well timed considering the accelerated digital transformation of businesses across the world post the pandemic and evolving hybrid workplaces.
Windows 365 allows organizations to empower distributed workforces, temporary and seasonal employees, and workers with a need for specialized workloads in a flexible and secure manner – regardless of their location or device. It also allows organizations to ramp on and off according to the needs of the business allowing them to scale for busy periods without the logistical challenges of issuing new hardware. Organizations will be able to choose the size of the Cloud PC that best meets their needs with a per user per month pricing.
Windows 365 Features
Microsoft insists that this new paradigm isn’t just about allowing and securing remote access but alleviating user experience and improving productivity. Windows 365 is built on Azure Virtual Desktop and it essentially simplifies the virtualization experience. Of course, large enterprises which require greater customization and flexibility would rather opt for Azure Virtual Desktop to modernize their VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) in the cloud.
Windows 365 offers a consistent Windows experience, no matter the device/operating system – Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, or Android. It supports business apps like Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, line of business apps, and more as well as the Office suite.
It provides an instant-on boot experience that enables users to stream all their personalized applications, tools, data, and settings from the cloud across any device and allow them to pick up right where they left off. The state of a user’s Cloud PC remains the same, even when they switch devices.
Device Management
While small businesses can use a simple, self-service model to procure Cloud PCs for their organizations, enterprise IT can use Microsoft Endpoint Manager to procure, deploy, and manage Cloud PCs for their organization. Windows 365 is consistent with how IT manages physical devices right now. The Cloud PCs will show up right alongside physical devices in Microsoft Endpoint Manager, and the IT team can apply management and security policies to them just as it’s done on all other devices.
IT can also scale processing power and monitor the performance of the Cloud PC to make sure the users are getting the best experience. There’s also built-in analytics to look at connection health across network to make sure the Cloud PC users can reach everything they need.
Windows 365 is built with a focus on a Zero Trust architecture. It stores information in the cloud, not on the device, and encryption is used across the board. All managed disks running Cloud PCs are encrypted, all stored data is encrypted at rest, and all network traffic to and from the Cloud PCs is also encrypted.
Availability
Windows 365 will be generally available on August 2, 2021 to organizations of all sizes. Organizations will have two edition options – Windows 365 Business and Windows 365 Enterprise – with multiple Cloud PC configurations based on performance needs.
FIFA 22 is the latest entry in the incredibly long-running video game franchise that began way back in 1994 with FIFA International Soccer. The upcoming game is getting separate releases for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X. Both versions are basically the same though the Xbox Series X release does naturally offer superior visuals.
A special bundle containing both releases is available for around $20 more than an individual version for those that are planning to upgrade to an Xbox Series X console in the near future and want to play the best version of the game. It should be noted that the Xbox One version of FIFA 22 will play on an Xbox Series X console, it just won’t get the enhanced graphics.
Pre-orders of either version of FIFA 22 will get the following:
FUT Team of the Week 1 Player
Kylian Mbappé Loan Item, for 5 FUT matches
FUT Ambassador Loan Player Pick, for 3 FUT matches
Career Mode Homegrown Talent, local youth prospect with world-class potential
Those pre-ordering the Ultimate Edition which comes with both versions will get all of the above bonuses plus the following:
Limited-Time Bonus: Untradeable FUT Hero item on December 1
Four Days Early Access, start playing FIFA 22 on September 27
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