Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

One of the changes in Windows 11 that continues to generate lots of complaining is the removal of a vertical taskbar option. Microsoft decided that it wanted everyone to have their taskbar anchored to the bottom of the screen, and that was the end of that.

But not anymore. Now there is a way to vertically align your taskbar in Windows 11, giving you the chance to make better use of a widescreen/ultra-widescreen monitor’s available space. It doesn’t matter whether your preference is for the left or the right -- both are possible.

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Introduced a couple of years ago, the Suggested Actions feature of Windows 11 was designed to make life easier, simplifying dealing with information encountered on websites, in documents and so on. Now the feature is being ditched.

Microsoft introduced Suggested Actions as a productivity-enhancer that worked across all aspects of Windows. While the company has said nothing about why it is killing off what is ostensibly a useful tool, the answer can probably be summed up in two letters: AI.

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There are still various obstacles in the way of updating to Windows 11 24H2, but Microsoft has just removed one of them. Until now, systems with a USB scanner that used the eSCL scan protocol were blocked from installing the update, but this block has now been lifted.

This is not all that is to be found in the update, of course. There is a somewhat controversial switch to a shortened date format in the taskbar as well as a batch of important security fixes.

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Mozilla has removed support for Do Not Track from Firefox, with the company stating that it was a setting that was largely ignored by websites anyway.

More than this, Mozilla believes that Do Not Track sometimes served to reduce privacy, rather than increasing it. The suggestion for affected users is to start using options within Global Privacy Control (GPC) which are legally enforced in some countries, and far more widely respected by websites regardless of legislative requirements.

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We’ve reached that point of the year. Spotify Wrapped has happened, and now it’s time for endless ‘year in review’ and ‘best of 2024’ outpourings. Not wanting to miss out, Google has revealed the top trending searches of 2024.

The very nature of listing the top trends is that they are popular, and therefore predictable. As such, the appearance of searches relating to the US election was to be expected, as was people looking up the meaning of “demure”. So what else does Google have to share with us?

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For all of the focus on AI, for many people, the future lives in quantum computing. Google is among those who agree, and the company has just unveiled its latest advancements in the field -- its quantum chip, Willow. Like quantum physics and quantum mechanics, the numbers and concepts involved in quantum computing are extraordinarily difficult to imagine.

Revealing its advancements, Google says that its quantum chip took less than five minutes to perform tasks that would take even the fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years. Providing some sense of perspective, Google points out that this is “a number that vastly exceeds the age of the Universe”. So what is it that makes Willow so special -- and so fast?

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The number of roadblocks standing in the way of updating to the latest version of Windows 11 seems never-ending. The latest issue affects people using certain versions of Google Workspace Sync.

Following the appearance of error messages and problems between Outlook and Google Workspace Sync, Microsoft has taken the decision to block the availability of the Windows 11 2024 Update. There is good news, however. The fix is easy to implement, so updating to Windows 11 24H2 is far from being an impossibility.

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There are many barriers to running Windows 11, and even if you are using the operating system, you may find that you’re not able to run the very latest version. A variety of problems means that Microsoft has put update blocks in place for systems that meet certain criteria, but is gradually easing up on some of them.

Gamers are among those who have found themselves unable to update to Windows 11 24H2, especially fans of Ubisoft titles. With some of the issues having been resolved, Microsoft has now partially lifted the block on updating.

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Finding the right platform through which to make meaningful and valuable connections can be difficult, and this is certainly true for LGBTQIA+ professionals and business owners. LinkedIn may be the go-to platform for establishing business connections, but it is very broad and almost too big.

Stepping in to fill a significant gap in the market is Famm Connect, which is billed as “the first mobile app for LGBTQ+ professionals” and the “queer LinkedIn”. The aim is to create a safe environment to establish connections and relationships.

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The battery indicator in the Taskbar of Windows 11 is – as it has been for many years in previous versions of Windows – entirely functional. But there has always been potential for it to be more.

Now Microsoft is taking action to help the humble battery indicator to reach its potential and ascend beyond merely being good enough. New features means that it will tell you more than just how much charge you have left.

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0patch has revealed a 0day vulnerability that affects all desktop versions of Windows as well as Windows Server. In all, a staggering 21 different editions of Windows have the security issue which is described as a URL File NTLM Hash Disclosure vulnerability.

The security patching firm has reported the issue to Microsoft but -- as has been the case in the past -- the Windows-maker has yet to produce a fix. Stepping up to fill the void, 0patch has released free micropatches for all affected versions of Windows.

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If you’ve been waiting for Windows 11 24H2 (also known as the Windows 11 2024 Update) to roll out to your computer, you might be in luck.

For anyone who doesn’t want to go to the hassle of forcing the update, there is the option of sitting back until Microsoft takes care of things for you. And there is good news on this front. The company has announced that Windows 11 24H2 has “entered a new stage of availability” and is now more widely available.

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There can be few Windows 11 users who are unfamiliar with having their computer borked by a bad update from Microsoft. Every month, the regular release of updates is followed by the acknowledgement of the issues caused and then, perhaps some time later, workarounds and fixes.

Microsoft’s latest advice is to use Windows Update to fix problems that may well have been caused by updates installed by Windows Update. Confused? While not a new option, Microsoft is now pushing and explaining the “Fix problems using Windows Update” feature more, having updated it for Windows 11.

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Microsoft could be hit with over £1 billion ($1.27 billion) in charges if a huge class action case brought against the firm by UK businesses succeeds.

The case centers around Windows Server, with Microsoft being accused of overcharging customers for the software. The licensing terms of the associated Azure, the lawsuit says, mean that users are channelled towards using Microsoft’s cloud offering because it pushes up the prices of services from rivals like Google and Amazon.

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With official support for Windows 10 coming to an end next year, those who are still using the operating system are faced with a difficult choice. They can stick with using Windows 10 as an unsupported OS, perhaps turning to a third-party patching service to plug security holes.

Or they can look to upgrade to Windows 11. But this presents a problem. A lot of computers that run Windows 10 are not able to run Windows 11 because of the TPM 2.0 requirement of the newer OS. For anyone hoping Microsoft might finally relent and ease up on this requirement, Microsoft has restated its position, making it clear that it will not be backing down.

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