Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

A number of Windows 11 users are reporting Wi-Fi connectivity issues after installing the December 2023 Patch Tuesday update. The KB5033375 cumulative update was released for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2, and the release was followed by complaints from users unable to connect to networks.

Microsoft has acknowledged the issue in relation to not only KB5033375, but also the earlier KB5032288 preview update. There is good news in that home users appear to be unaffected, but things are less rosy for enterprise and education users.

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Microsoft has been killing off -- or at least warning of the impending death of -- a number of features of Windows recently. The likes of Steps Recorder and speech recognition are among those to have been ditched, replaced with Snipping Tool and voice access respectively.

The latest additions to the list of deprecated features are Microsoft Defender Application Guard for Edge and legacy console mode. The former affects Microsoft Edge for Business, while the latter is being converted into an optional feature that won't be part of a default installation.

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For some people, controlling a computer with their voice is a necessity, for others it is simply another means of input to supplement the mouse and keyboard. Microsoft has supported voice control of Windows for quite some time, and the company is working on some major updates to the "voice access" feature that will be available to everyone soon.

In the most recent beta build of Windows 11, voice access has a huge number of new and improved features including support for multiple displays. But perhaps the most exciting addition is the new voice shortcuts features which makes it possible to create custom commands to trigger actions.

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Last month, users of Windows 10 and Windows 11 started complaining about an odd problem that saw printers being renamed and the HP Smart app being forcibly installed. It took Microsoft a little while to acknowledge the issue, but ultimately the company conceded that the fault did not lie with HP.

But what those affected by the weird bug have been waiting for is a fix; this is now available in the form of KB5034510: Microsoft Printer Metadata Troubleshooter Tool - December 2023. Microsoft says that the tool will restore any previously downloaded model information and icons and will "remove HP LaserJet M101-M106 model information, icons, and application associations" as well as uninstalling the HP Smart app for anyone without an HP printer.

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For users concerned about privacy, Proton Mail represents a tantalizing alternative to the likes of Gmail. Previously accessible through a web browser, both Proton Mail and Proton Calendar can now be accessed through a new desktop app.

Available in beta for Windows and macOS, and with a Linux version in the pipeline, Proton Mail's desktop app sees the Swiss company beating Google to the punch. To start with, the app is only available to people with a Proton Visionary plan, but will open up to everyone in early 2024.

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Overclocking CPUs and GPUs is understandably popular, particularly among gamers -- after all, who doesn't like the idea of getting something for free? But overclocking hardware is not without risks, and you could not only cause damage, but also void your warranty.

But if something does go wrong with your processor because of overclocking, would the manufacturer ever know? If the company is AMD, then the answer is yes. The firm has revealed that Ryzen Threadripper 7000 series processors have a hidden fuse that blows when it is overclocked.

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With the release of the KB5033375 update, Microsoft has delivered not only a series of security patches to Windows 11, but also an important upgrade to Copilot.

The AI-powered digital assistant has proved problematic for many users, and now Microsoft has taken steps to fix things. There are also fixes for lots of non-Copilot related issues, and a power consumption reducing update for Dynamic Lighting.

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The time of the month for Microsoft to release its security updates for Windows has rolled around again. The company has released the KB5033372 update for Windows 10, bringing not only security fixes, but other improvements and new features -- including Copilot.

As the KB5033372 update includes security fixes, it is rolling out to all Windows 10 users automatically. This means that everyone will be given access to a preview version of Microsoft's AI-powered digital assistant.

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Laptops are soon going to benefit from a major memory boost thanks to the recognition of a new standard. CAMM2 is the successor to the familiar SO-DIMM form factor, and its significantly smaller size opens up potential for more memory to be installed into less space.

JEDEC, the organization that defines many computing and electronics standards, has published JESD318: Compression Attached Memory Module (CAMM2) Common Standard. CAMM2 is 57 percent thinner than SO-DIMMs and also has the potential for higher clock speeds. The memory has already been used by Dell as a proprietary memory type, but now it is likely to see wider adoption.

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Concern surrounding Elon Musk and his control of Twitter, or X as he decided to rename it, caused an exodus of users seeking a new social media home. The likes of Mastodon and Bluesky have proved popular, but it was Meta's Threads that generated the greatest levels of excitement.

Right from the offset, however, Threads fell victim to strict European data privacy regulations meaning it was unable to launch in the EU. Now this is set to change, with Meta counting down to an EU launch of Threads on December 14 giving the potential for millions of new user to access the service.

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Google upset a lot of people recently when synchronization issues caused a "small subset" of Google Drive users to lose months' of data. The number of people affected is not known, but even a small subset of a large userbase is, potentially, a huge number.

Now there is some good news. In releasing an updated version of Drive for desktop, Google is giving users access to file recovery options that should make it possible to regain access to files that were lost.

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Meta has separated Imagine, its AI-powered image generation tool, from its chatbot by giving the service its own dedicated website. In breaking the image generator out of its messaging apps, Meta will be hoping to see faster uptake and increased interest.

The idea behind Imagine is much like the plethora of other AI image generators. Using Meta's own Emu technology, it will create four images based on text prompts and descriptions provided by users. Images are securely watermarked to make it difficult to pass off an AI image as a photo or a human-made creation. But the launch of the service will prove controversial as it will forced interested users into creating a Meta account.

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If you have noticed that Windows suddenly thinks you have an HP LaserJet M101-M106, you are not alone. The same is true if you've spotted that the HP Smart app has installed itself on your computer.

These are issues that have been affecting users of Windows 10 and Windows 11 for a little while, but Microsoft has only just acknowledged that a problem exists.

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With support for Windows 10 coming to an end in under two years, Microsoft has been trying to encourage everyone to upgrade to Windows 11. The reality is that this is not something that all Windows 10 users want to do, and it is not possible for many because of hardware requirements.

Now Microsoft has relented. The company has made a somewhat surprising move in giving all Windows 10 users the chance to pay for Extended Security Updates (ESU) when Windows 10 reaches end of service. Until now, the ESU program has only been available to larger organizations and enterprise customers. In opening it up to home users, Microsoft is effectively admitting that it foresees large numbers of people continuing to stick with Windows 10 -- so the company has decided to try to profit from this fact.

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This is the time of the month when Microsoft releases preview versions of Patch Tuesday updates, and the company has unleashed the KB5032288 update for Windows 11 in keeping with this.

While the KB5032288 update addresses a number of issues in Windows 11, it is primarily concerned with fixing problems in the recently added Copilot. With Copilot being described as being "in preview" and the update being a preview version, we're in the interesting position of seeing the release of a preview version of an update for preview software. Let's dive in.

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