Microsoft has tried for some years now to phase out Windows Media Player (WMP), replacing it with Groove Music and Microsoft Movies & TV for audio and video playback respectively.

Today though, it gives users what they really want -- an updated version of Media Player for Windows 11.

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Microsoft has released a slew of emergency updates for various editions of Windows Server following the discovery of an authentication issue caused by this month's Patch Tuesday updates.

The updates (KB5008601, KB5008602, KB5008603, KB5008604, KB5008605 and KB5008606) are available for Windows Server 2008 SP2 up to Windows Server 2019. Although these are emergency, out-of-band updates, system administrators will still need to manually download and install them on affected domain controllers as Microsoft is not making them available via Windows Update.

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Microsoft has just released the latest preview version of Windows Subsystem for Linux, bringing with it a lengthy changelog.

With the launch of Windows Subsystem for Linux Pre-release 0.50.2.0, Microsoft has introduced a new icon (featuring, of course, a penguin), but there's far more to this release than just this visual update. The latest version fixes various WSL issues, updates the Linux kernel, and includes numerous other changes and additions.

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Solid state drives continue to get faster, with PCIe 4.0 variants leading the pack nowadays. Of course, most PCs don't have PCIe 4.0 support, so these ultra-fast drives are reserved for enthusiasts and those with brand new computers. If you have such a cutting-edge PC, you will probably want to get a PCIe 4.0 SSD to maximize your performance. True, it is largely for bragging rights and benchmarks, but you might as well go for the best if the difference in price isn't totally obscene.

Today, KIOXIA unveils its latest solid state drive. Called "BG5," it uses PCIe 4.0 x4 to achieve up to 3,500 MB/s read and 2,900 MB/s write. Yeah, this DRAM-less SSD is actually a bit slow compared to other PCIe 4.0 drives, but it does have a very cool feature -- it is being offered in the M.2 2230 form factor. This means it will fit inside Microsoft's all-new Surface Pro 8.

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On Wednesday this week Microsoft rolled out a new build to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. That build added a new sharing option to the taskbar and also fixed a number of issues.

Today, in time for the weekend, the software giant rolls out a build that offers a long list of improvements for those in the Beta and Release Preview channels.

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Windows 11 is a great operating system, and if your computer is compatible, you should upgrade from Windows 10 immediately. It is an absolute joy to use, and I find it to be the prettiest version of Windows yet.

If you want to make it even prettier, today, Microsoft shares a beautiful new Windows 11 wallpaper from artist Kervin Brisseaux. The company says the background image "merges the updated design of Windows 11 with the magical, vibrant nature of the holidays." Oddly, Microsoft fails to disclose which holidays those actually are.

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Four-hundred-sixty-four in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

Microsoft released an out-of-band patch for Windows 11 this week, which addresses application startup issues.

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It’s no secret that Microsoft wants people to use its Edge browser. It advertises it in Windows 10 and 11 and of course it’s the default in both of those operating systems too.

The Chromium version of Edge is very good, but plenty of users prefer a different browser, like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. You can use any browser in Windows, but Edge will still spring into life if you click on a link from within the operating system.

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Wednesday isn’t typically the most exciting day of the week, but if you’re a Windows Insider on the Dev Channel you’ll know this is the day when -- baring a few rare exceptions -- Microsoft rolls out a new flight for Windows 11.

Last week the software giant added the ability to mute calls via the taskbar, and today in Windows 11 Build 22499 it takes things a step further, adding the ability to share content from open app windows on the taskbar to Teams meeting calls.

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Microsoft has pushed out two releases that will delight developers. In addition to the performance-boosted .NET 6, there is also Visual Studio 2022 in its first 64-bit iteration.

Entering the 64-bit world means that Visual Studio is now capable of handling more complex projects easily, and the much-anticipated Hot Reload feature makes it possible to edit source code while apps are running and see immediate results. .NET 6 is a Long-Term Support release that introduces native support for Apple Arm64 Silicon in addition to improved Windows Arm64 support.

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Patch Tuesday has rolled round again, and Microsoft has released a cumulative update for Windows 11.

The KB5007215 update addresses security issues that have been found in the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system, and also fixes other problems. Among the issues patched are a screen rendering problem affecting various apps. Microsoft has also released a video including some Windows 11 tips.

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It’s been rumored for a while, but today Microsoft finally took the wraps off Windows 11 SE, its education-focused operating system.

Built specifically to support the K-8 classroom, Windows 11 SE will be available on devices from Acer, ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, and others, as well as on the new Surface Laptop SE (pictured above) which Microsoft says has been "custom built for students".

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After a series of a preview builds and a recent release candidate, Microsoft's PowerShell 7.2 has now hit General Availability.

Based on the newly released .NET 6, this is a Long Term Support (LTS) version that will enjoy support from Microsoft for three years. In addition to bug fixes and performance improvements, PowerShell 7.2 boasts numerous new features including new APIs to use in scripts.

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There is a lot to like -- love, even -- about Windows 11, but it is not to everyone's taste. Microsoft would have to pull off an incredible feat to produce an operating system that made everyone happy, and it is little surprise that Windows 11 falls short for many people.

Microsoft is, of course, eager for as many users as possible to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11. The company has not gone as far as forcing installations, but it is still offering upgrades that could be installed by another user of your computer. Don't want Windows 11? Here's how to block it.

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Users of Microsoft Office are in line for an interesting font-related upgrade that will make it easier to manage typefaces across multiple devices,

Microsoft is introducing an updated font picker in Word (and, presumably, other Office apps) and there are a number of improvements to look forward to. Key additions include the ability to sync fonts between devices and an easy means of seeing which fonts are used in a document.

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