Welcome back to our Windows 10 news recap, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

Developers can now release Chromium-based PWAs on the Windows 10 Microsoft Store

Chromium-based Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) can now be listed on the Microsoft Store on Windows 10.

Launching our preview service to build Chromium-based Edge PWA for the Microsoft Store: https://t.co/RJlKyppsnp with our friends from @MSEdgeDev

— PWA Builder (@pwabuilder) October 20, 2020

Microsoft starts rolling out the Windows 10 October 2020 Update

This week saw the Windows 10 October 2020 Update begin rolling out. The update is rolling out gradually, but some PCs with Conexant audio drivers will not be able to upgrade at this time.

Windows 10 versions 1909 and 1903 get Meet Now button in the Taskbar with new optional patch

A new optional patch is available for Windows 10 versions 1909 and 1903, which adds a Meet Now button to the Taskbar, as part of bringing the button to older Windows 10 versions. This button makes it easier to start Skype meetings.

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with more Windows 10 news.

Microsoft has just released the cumulative update build 20241.1005 (KB4589464) for Dev channel Insiders, which follows the release of the build 20241 on Wednesday. Today’s cumulative update includes no new features as the Windows Insider team is only flighting it to test its servicing pipeline.

Happy Friday #WindowsInsiders! We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 20241.1005 (KB4589464) to the Dev Channel. This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline.https://t.co/KeYCFXxiIV

— Windows Insider (@windowsinsider) October 23, 2020

The main new feature in this week’s build 20241 is theme-aware splash screen for UWP apps. This only rolling out to a subset of Dev Channels Insiders for now, and only 14 apps currently support theme-aware splash screens including Settings, the Microsoft Store, and Snip & Sketch. The build 20241 also brought minor changes for the Optimize Drives page in the Settings app, plus a long list of quality fixes.

We’re now getting used to seeing new Insider builds ship to Dev Channel Insiders on Wednesdays, and we hope next week will be no exception. Microsoft keeps dropping minor new features every week for now, but things may change soon as the next Windows 10 update (21H1) is expected to be more significant than the freshly-released October 2020 Update.

After a year of beta testing, Microsoft officially launched its cloud gaming service (Project xCloud) on Android devices last month, making it free for all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members. Xbox cloud gaming remains in beta in its 22 launch markets, but Microsoft is already planning to bring it more platforms beyond Android.

In the near future, Windows 10 PCs, iOS devices, and Samsung Smart TVs should support Xbox cloud gaming, but Xbox head Phil Spencer recently discussed the opportunity for Microsoft to launch its own Xbox streaming sticks as well. Spencer’s complete interview with Stratechery is behind a paywall, but The Verge shared the most interesting bits earlier today.

“I think you’re going to see lower priced hardware as part of our ecosystem when you think about streaming sticks and other things that somebody might want to just go plug into their TV and go play via xCloud,” Spencer said in the interview. “You could imagine us even having something that we just included in the Game Pass subscription that gave you an ability to stream xCloud games to your television and buying the controller.”

The idea of an Xbox streaming stick isn’t exactly new, and we first heard about it four years ago ahead of the launch of the Xbox One S. We later learned that Microsoft ultimately decided to cancel the streaming stick codenamed “Project Hobart,” though this was two years before Microsoft announced its “Project xCloud” game streaming service.

Spencer hinted that Microsoft could include an Xbox streaming stick with Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, and Google did something quite similar with its Stadia Founder’s Edition bundles that coupled a Stadia Pro subscription with Chromecast streaming sticks. In the same interview, the head of Xbox actually mentioned the possibility of a new “Xbox Game Pass Platinum” tier that would include access to new Xbox hardware.

If Microsoft is really launching its own streaming sticks, it would be interesting to see what kind of software the new devices would run. However, it may just be easier to continue working with partners to bring Xbox cloud gaming to more platforms including smart TVs, as well the Android-based Amazon Fire TV sticks and Google’s different Chromecast devices.

Microsoft did something quite singular by launching Xbox cloud gaming first on Android devices, while both Google Stadia and Amazon Luna are also available on TVs and PCs via a web browser. However, the company opted for the right business model by making cloud gaming a free Xbox Game Ultimate perk, with new games supporting cloud gaming every month. Over 100 Xbox Game Pass games are currently playable on Android devices, and 11 of them are now playable with touch controls.

PDP is releasing a new media remote (via WC) for Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S video game consoles and it’s now available to pre-order from Amazon and other retailers.

The new PDP Media Remote for Xbox is set for release on November 5th and will work with both the current Xbox One generation of consoles and the next gen Xbox Series X and S. It can be used to power on or off an Xbox, control volume, navigate media apps such as Netflix and Disney+, and control media playback.

The remote is also officially licenced by Microsoft and features motion-activated backlit buttons.

While this new remote’s design is pretty cool, it’s worth mentioning that current Xbox One media remotes will also work with the Xbox Series X and S so there’s no need to upgrade if you already have one.

Microsoft’s Larry Hyrb today confirmed via Twitter that both the Series X and S have IR receivers so the current accessories should work fine. “Xbox One Media Remotes will continue to work with Xbox Series X|S as part of our commitment that you can bring your existing accessories forward with you,” Hyrb said in his tweet.

Xbox One Media Remotes will continue to work with Xbox Series X|S as part of our commitment that you can bring your existing accessories forward with you. The design team hid the IR receiver inside the bind button #PowerYourDreams pic.twitter.com/vNQ2FJsgRh

— Larry Hryb ???????? (@majornelson) October 22, 2020

This news should please quite a few Xbox One console owners who enjoy using the remote though it may frustrate Kinect fans once they find out that Microsoft added an IR receiver to the next gen consoles to support the media remote though wouldn’t add support for the Xbox One Kinect sensor which just needs a USB port (with the adapter), something the Xbox Series X and S each have two of.

Do you use the Xbox media remote? Will you buy this new one? Are you frustrated with the lack of Kinect support? Share your thoughts with the community in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest and Twitter for more Xbox gaming news.

Microsoft’s relatively new survey and quiz-creation tool, Microsoft Forms, officially launched today and is now available to use either on the web or via an Office mobile app.

Anyone can use Microsoft Forms though a Microsoft account is required for the creation of quizzes and surveys. The tool is free to use though Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family subscribers are provided with more design templates and can increase the number of respondents that can complete their creations.

Interested in creating a quiz or survey with Microsoft Forms? You can do so via the Microsoft Forms website here. Here’s one I threw together in less than a minute.

Have you created a Microsoft Forms survey or quiz? Let us know what you thought of the service in the comments below and then follow us on Twitter and Pinterest for more Microsoft news.

References to a possible upcoming Xbox VR service have been spotted in the code for the Windows PC version of Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The code was first spotted by a Flight Simulator forum user by the name of Cygnifick and was subsequentially confirmed by WC. The code in question contains references to PC_VR and Scarlett_VR, the former obviously referring to the confirmed upcoming support for VR on the Windows version and the latter strongly suggesting potential VR support for an Xbox console, likely the Xbox Series X.

The Scarlett codename had previously been used to refer to both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles while they were in development so the connection is very strong. What’s unknown is whether Scarlett VR could be an Xbox-branded virtual reality accessory or service along the lines of Sony’s PlayStation VR or maybe just added support for a Windows Mixed Reality headset.

It’s also possible that this is just something that Microsoft is experimenting with and has no plans to take any further. If Microsoft was planning to bring VR to Xbox consoles, Microsoft Flight Simulator really would be the killer app to launch alongside it.

Microsoft’s Phil Spencer spoke about VR on the Xbox Series X as recently as February this year. He confirmed that there were currently no plans for VR on Xbox at the time though said that that could change if more gamers began demanding it.

Would you like to see virtual reality support come to the Xbox Series X or other future Xbox consoles? Let us know why or why not in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest and Twitter for more Xbox gaming news.

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Windows Insiders on the Release Preview ring can download a new patch for the Windows 10 October 2020 Update. This is the 20H2 Build 19042.608 (KB4580364), which will also roll out to Windows Insiders on the Beta ring later today.

The only feature in this new build is the new Meet Now button in the Taskbar, which will let users quickly set up a video meeting on Skype. This Meet Now button should roll out to all users with next month’s Patch Tuesday, and Microsoft is also bringing it to Windows 10 versions 1909 and 1903.

The 20H2 build 19042.608 also brings various bug fixes, and you can find the full list of changes and quality updates below:

• Earlier this year we introduced Meet Now in Skype. Meet Now makes it easy to connect with anyone in as little as two clicks for free and each call can last up to 24 hours. Today, we’re excited to share that we will be extending this capability in Windows 10 by bringing Meet Now right to the taskbar. In the coming weeks, you will be able to easily set up a video call and reach friends and family in an instant by clicking the Meet Now icon in the taskbar notification area. No sign ups or downloads needed.
• We fixed an issue with using Group Policy Preferences to configure the homepage in Internet Explorer.
• We gave administrators the ability to use a Group Policy to enable Save Target As for users in Microsoft Edge IE Mode.
• We fixed an issue with untrusted URL navigations from Internet Explorer 11 by opening them in Microsoft Defender Application Guard using Microsoft Edge.
• We fixed an issue that occurs when using the full suite of developer tools in Microsoft Edge for remote debugging on a Windows 10 device.
• We fixed an issue that displays nothing on the screen for five minutes or more during the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) session.
• We fixed an issue that prevents certain Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) users from searching for files using File Explorer.
• We fixed an issue that causes a device to stop responding after you have been using a pen for several hours.
• We fixed an issue that causes an application to stop responding temporarily, which causes extra z-order operations that affect the Topmost property of a window.
• We fixed an issue that might cause DDE apps to stop working.
• We fixed an issue that causes the ImmGetCompositionString() function to return the full-width Hiragana when using the Microsoft Input Method Editor (IME) for Japanese instead of returning the half-width Katakana.
• We fixed an issue that occurs when you first sign in to an account or unlock an existing user session using Remote Desktop Services (RDS). If you enter an incorrect password, the current keyboard layout changes unexpectedly to the system default keyboard layout. This keyboard layout change might cause additional attempts to sign in to fail or lead to account lockouts in domains with low account lockout thresholds.
• We fixed an issue that displays the incorrect CPU frequency for certain processors.
• We fixed a performance issue that occurs when PowerShell reads the registry to check if the ScriptBlockLogging registry key is in the registry.
• We fixed an issue that randomly changes the time offset of the time format returned by the command exe OS Get localdatetime/ value.
• We fixed an issue that prevents Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V) from assigning the Microsoft Outlook Signatures.
• We fixed an issue that prevents Hybrid Azure Active Directory joined devices from updating portal information when a device name or Windows version changes.
• We fixed an issue that might prevent the Smart Cards for Windows service from starting.
• We added a new Microsoft Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) provider named “Microsoft-Antimalware-UacScan”. This ETW provider reports the details of the context for each User Account Control (UAC) request in the ETW provider manifest.
• We fixed an issue with virtual private network (VPN) connections that use Secured Password (EAP-MSCHAP v2) for authentication and have enabled the “Automatically use my Windows logon user name and password” property. When you connect to this type of VPN, an authentication dialog box incorrectly prompts for your credentials.
• We now display Recovery Partitions in the diskpart utility.
• We fixed an issue that causes stop error 0xd1 in sys. This issue occurs when moving certain arrays from one cluster node to another.
• We fixed an issue that causes the IAutomaticUpdatesResults::get_LastInstallationSuccessDate method to return 1601/01/01 when there are no active updates.
• We added support for the Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.1 and 1.2 protocols when connecting to SQL Server using the data providers in Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC).
• We fixed an issue with SQL Server that might cause performance issues if you configure a Linked Server provider to load out-of-process.
• We fixed an issue that might degrade Windows performance and prevent the LanmanServer service from starting when third-party software uses LanmanServer custom file system controls (FSCTL).
• We fixed an issue with deduplication that causes long wait times on Resilient File System (ReFS) Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV).
• We fixed an issue that might prevent some applications from behaving correctly. This occurs when you publish them as Remote Application Integrated Locally (RAIL) applications using Remote Desktop Services (RDS) and change the docking for an AppBar
• We fixed an issue with a deadlock in the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCPIP) driver that causes the operating system to stop working or stop responding.
• We fixed an issue that causes the Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) to stop responding for new connections. However, RRAS continues working for existing connections.
• We fixed an issue that causes the RRAS administrator Microsoft Management Console (MMC) to stop responding randomly when you are performing administrative tasks or at startup.
• We fixed an issue with starting Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2) on ARM64 devices that occurs after installing KB4579311.

Microsoft started rolling out the Windows 10 October 2020 Update on Tuesday, but not all Windows 10 users will be able to immediately download it from Windows Update. It’s still possible to install the Windows Update manually, and joining the Release Preview ring is one of them. You can learn more about the other methods on our dedicated post.

After replacing its legacy Edge browser with a new Chromium-based version this year, Microsoft is now allowing app developers to submit Chromium-based Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) to the Windows 10 Microsoft Store. The PWABuilder team has just announced the preview release of the new Edge PWA platform, providing developers a straightforward way to package Chromium-based PWAs for the Microsoft Store.

Launching our preview service to build Chromium-based Edge PWA for the Microsoft Store: https://t.co/RJlKyppsnp with our friends from @MSEdgeDev

— PWA Builder (@pwabuilder) October 20, 2020

Microsoft started welcoming PWAs to the Windows 10 Microsoft Store two years ago, and at some point the company experimented with crawling and indexing quality PWAs from the Web to automatically list them in the Microsoft Store. This plan never really took off and quality PWAs remain a rarity on the Store, with Twitter being one of the rare exceptions.

By embracing the Chromium open source project, Chromium-based PWAs can leverage new Web Standards APIs to make PWAs behave even more like native apps. These PWAs will still run in their own window without the browser UI, appear in the Start Menu, in the taskbar (if you want to), as well as the Apps & Features section of the Settings app.

One of the advantages of the transition to Chromium is that PWAs available in the Microsoft Store will be automatically updated via Microsoft Edge. this is a key advantage for PWAs over Electron or Webview based apps, as there is nothing the developer needs to do for their PWA to be running on an up-to-date version of Edge”, explained Justin Willis, Program Manager on the PAX Web team.

In this first preview release of the new Edge PWA platform, some features that were supported for EdgeHTML PWAs are currently missing. The list includes Live Tiles support and splash screens, and the PWABuilder team isn’t confirming yet if they will be added later. “We will keep the community updated as we continue to iterate on the preview,” Willis wrote.

To get started with the new PWABuilder preview, you’ll just need to visit pwabuilder.com where you can submit the URL of your PWA. The online tool will then analyze your PWA and then package it so you can submit it to the Microsoft Store or other app stores. It remains to be seen if the Microsoft Store will soon get many more quality PWAs, but Microsoft is now making it really easy for developers to have a presence on its app store.

Terry Myerson, former Microsoft’s Windows and Devices chief, announced his new healthcare company “Truveta” today. Myerson says that he has launched this new initiative to drive innovation and develop new patient-care therapies.

“Today is an exciting day as we begin our journey as Truveta. Our inspiration is our vision – Saving Lives with Data. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our world, loved ones, and daily lives, the opportunity to apply data in the development of breakthrough health solutions has never been clearer. We will pursue this vision in close collaboration with health systems, life science researchers, physicians, and others in the health community. We are energized by our compassionate vision and humbled by the complexity ahead,” said Myerson.

Thanks to his candid post on Truveta blog, we get a bit of insight into what his audience can expect to see him doing next in the healthcare industry. Myerson noted that the amount of health data had grown dramatically over the last few years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare industry is expected to generate around 2,314 exabytes of new data in 2020. However, the data is currently unstructured and inaccessible for insights across diagnosis, treatments, geographies, or demographics.

With this new company, Myerson aims to develop solutions for generating insights to improve diagnoses and patient care. He also added that his team plans to collect feedback from the health care industry to guide their efforts. Right now, Myerson is rapidly building a team, and there’re several open positions for job seekers. If you are interested, feel to check out the official website to learn more.

Microsoft Teams has recently received a new update on the desktop that includes two new features that should help to improve productivity at work. These features were spotted by Tero Niemi, a User Adoption Consultant who focuses on Microsoft Teams.

First and foremost, the app now allows Teams users to enable the Full screen mode in the new meetings experience. The “Full screen” option is available in the More actions menu (…), as shown in the featured image. Once clicked, the meeting window should fill up the whole screen. As a result, the app will automatically hide the title bar on the top and task bar on the bottom of the window.

Additionally, beginning with this new update, Teams meeting organizers can now view and manage meeting options directly in the new meeting experience. This new meeting options panel supplements the current meeting options webpage, and it brings the ability for organizers to open meeting options as a sidebar during the meeting.

In the Teams meeting window, click the More actions menu (…) to access the Meeting options. The new experience makes it faster and easier to control settings such as who can present, allow attendees to unmute, and more.

It is worth noting that both features are currently available in the Teams desktop app with the new meeting experience. Classrooms and Webinars can have a large number of people, and at times it’s hard to manage meeting options while the meeting is in full swing.

This change has been made based on user feedback, and it’s good to see Microsoft is now focusing on shipping updates for Teams at a much faster pace. Additional improvements are also on their way to Microsoft Teams, and more information is available on our dedicated Teams Hub.

Accessibility, the ability for people with “visual, auditory, motor, speech or cognitive disabilities and their various assistive technologies” to interact with websites, is a too often overlooked area of web development. There are a number of tools to help devs make sure their sites are accessible, and now one of the best of them is available as an extension for the Microsoft Edge browser.

Deque Systems makes axe, a tool that installs in a browser’s developer console (axe is already available to Chrome and Firefox), and can then analyze a web page for accessibility issues, providing a list of issues that could hinder accessibility.

A blog post on Deque System’s web page announced the new Edge Extension today, noting that over 135,000 people each week use the extensions, and promises “zero false positives,” concentrating their tests on problems that can accurately be detected via automation.

“The axe extension helps developers catch over 50 percent of accessibility problems while coding, dramatically reducing the time and cost of manual accessibility testing,” says Dylan Barrell, Chief Technology Officer at Deque Systems. Now development teams using Chrome, Firefox or Edge can easily check for accessibility defects right from the browser.”

We’ll be using the axe extension to identify and correct accessibility concerns, and running the tool shows that we have some work to do, including making sure to label page content with landmarks, provide unique title attributes, and improve color contrast. It’s something that we, like most small (and some large) developers overlook, but can place unintended barriers by not following some simple rules.

You can install the axe extension for Edge from the Microsoft Store and try it out for yourself, just open the F12 developer tools on a page you want to check, navigate to the “axe” tab, and click Analyze.

Last month, Microsoft allowed Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to play over 100 games from the catalog on Android devices via Project xCloud, which the company now calls “Cloud Gaming.” You need an Xbox Wireless controller or third-party controllers to play Xbox games on Android phones or tablets, though Microsoft is working hard to add touch controls for games in the catalog.

Minecraft Dungeons was the only game that supported touch controls on Android at launch, but 10 new Xbox Game Pass games are getting touch controls starting today. The list includes Dead Cells, Guacamelee! 2, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Hotshot Racing, Killer Instinct, New Super Lucky’s Tale; Slay The Spire, Streets of Rage 4, Tell Me Why, and UnderMine.

“Touch controls have been one of the top-requested features for cloud gaming, so to build this collection we worked closely with players and game designers to create a familiar experience, and support a level of play that you’re used to with a physical controller. For each title that uses Xbox touch controls we’ve worked to create an experience designed specifically for that game on mobile devices,” explained Catherine Gluckstein, GM & Head of Product, Project xCloud.

Microsoft plans to bring touch controls to more Game Pass titles available on Android over time, and it’s good to see that each game can have customized buttons that don’t necessarily reflect the different buttons on the Xbox Wireless Controller. Google’s competing Stadia cloud gaming service also added touch controls support earlier this year, though the company simply started by adding all buttons from the Stadia controller on smartphone screens.