Articles about Microsoft

In a recent survey, there were two big new features in Windows 11 that had people excited. 35 percent said the centered Start menu was their favorite new feature, while 26 percent said it was native Android support they were most looking forward to.

Well, if you’re one of those people keen to run Android apps on your Windows 11 PC, there’s some bad news. The feature isn’t ready, and it won’t even start being tested by Insiders for months yet.

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There has been quite a lot of speculation regarding the date when Windows 11 will be made available to non-Insiders with clues pointing towards October 20.

However, Microsoft today reveals when the OS will start to arrive, and that will actually be October 5. However, before you mark that date in your calendar and start counting down the days, there are caveats that mean you probably won’t get it then. In fact, you might not even get it until the middle of next year.

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The system requirements for Windows 11 have been confusing from the moment they were announced, and Microsoft's changes to them has done nothing to make the situation clearer for most people

Microsoft's own PC checking tool, released to help people determine the compatibility of their system with Windows 11 was criticized and then pulled for failing to provide enough helpful information. It has since been updated, but now Microsoft has launched a new way to check whether your computer will run Windows 11 -- performing a check via Windows Update.

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Ahead of September's Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has released a preview of the KB5005103 update for Windows 10.

This non-security update addresses a number of issues, most notably fixing a problem which prevented certain MP4 files from playing. A second key fix sees Microsoft addressing a problem that reset syncing for Microsoft OneDrive to "Known folders only" after installing an update for Windows.

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Security researchers have discovered a serious security vulnerability in Microsoft Azure that could given an attacker unfettered access to any and all of the databases stored on its Cosmos DB service.

Researchers from security firm Wiz found that it is not only possible but trivial to obtain the primary keys to databases. The vulnerability, dubbed ChoasDB, may have existed since the introduction of the Jupyter Notebook back in 2019, and it gives attackers the ability to access, edit and delete data or entire databases. Microsoft is unable to change primary keys itself, and has emailed customers to advise them to do so; but the company has been criticized for failing to contact sufficient numbers of users.

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When Microsoft first released details of the system requirements for Windows 11, there was a mixture of confusion, annoyance and disbelief. The need for TPM 2.0 sent people running off to find out what on Earth this is, and many were disappointed to learn that a number of relatively recent CPUs were not supported.

Seemingly aware of the frustration the minimum requirements were causing, Microsoft has relented a little. Even though there will be no official upgrade path from Windows 10 to Windows 11, it will be possible to manually install Window 11 on hardware that is not technically supported. Microsoft, of course, is hardly shouting about how to do this, and points out that the system requirements exist to ensure the best possible experience. And while these warnings are to be expected from the company and will be ignored by many people, there is one very important factor to keep in mind if you are thinking about taking advantage of a loophole to install Windows 11.

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When Microsoft first announced Windows 11, users turned to the company’s PC Health Check app to see if their systems would be able to run the new OS.

For a lot of users, the answer turned out to be no, although the app didn’t explain why. Because this was far from helpful, Microsoft two months ago took the step of removing the app. Now, today it makes it available once again, with the promise that it will actually do what it’s supposed to this time around -- tell you if your PC can run Windows 11, and if not, why not.

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When Microsoft first announced the minimum system requirements for its upcoming operating system, most people didn’t take much notice. Surely Windows 11 wouldn’t be too different from Windows 10, right? Wrong.

Primarily as a result of its support for TPM 2.0, Windows 11 won’t run on a lot of systems, especially older ones. This caused a lot of negative feedback, leading Microsoft to reconsider whether or not it had made the right call, and today it announces its findings.

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Although Microsoft is expected to release Windows 11 this October, there’s still plenty of work to be done on the new operating system between then and now.

Today the software giant releases Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.168 to everyone in the Dev and Beta Channels, but with the warning that Dev Channel builds are set to become less stable in the future and Insiders who aren’t prepared to take that risk should consider switching to the Beta Channel.

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Microsoft has released a compatibility fix to Windows Setup to address a problem in Windows 10 versions 2004, 20H2 and 21H1. The issue means that some people trying to install the latest cumulative updates (LCU) for Windows see a PSFX_E_MATCHING_BINARY_MISSING error.

The procedure for installing the update and then fixing the problem is a little out of the ordinary, but Microsoft has provided full details about how to complete the process so future LCUs can be successfully installed.

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If you are an Xbox fan, there's a good chance you already own one of Microsoft's newest game consoles. Whether it is Xbox Series S or X, both gaming systems play the same games, but the latter is more powerful than the former. With all of that said, the latest Xbox consoles can still be hard to buy due to low supply and high demand. The COVID-19 pandemic has definitely contributed to this.

For those of you that still don't have one of the latest consoles, today, Microsoft unveils an insanely cool new variant of the Xbox Series X. To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the much-respected Halo franchise, the Windows 11-maker announces a new Limited Edition Halo Infinite Xbox Series X ($549.99) will launch on November 15. It comes with a digital copy of the upcoming Halo Infinite game. In addition, the company is selling a Halo Infinite Limited Edition Elite Series 2 controller ($199.99). While pre-orders have largely sold out already, you can still score a Halo Infinite Xbox Series X pre-order today.

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The PowerToys collection of utilities is much loved, and understandably so. Over the last couple of years, developers have been busy bringing more and more tools to Windows 10 users and now there is something for Windows 11 users.

For now, there is no word about new, Windows 11-specifc PowerToys utilities, but users of the latest version of Microsoft's operating system do have a design overhaul to look forward to.

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Just about every piece of software worth its salt has embraced the dark mode trend. Both visually appealing and gentle on the eye, there is a great deal of love for darker hues, so it's little surprise that Windows 11 includes a dark mode.

But there's more; Microsoft has taken dark mode to the next level. In addition to dialing down the color, Windows 11 also includes special sound effects that accompany dark mode to create a different experience.

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We already know a lot about Windows 11, thanks in part not only to the Microsoft PR machine, but also the preview builds that are available for everyone to try out. One thing that has been partly clouded in mystery, however, is just when the operating system will be released.

Microsoft has given various vague suggestions about Windows 11 being ready for the holiday season, and documentation shows the company accepting driver updates from hardware manufacturers until the end of September. The company has once hinted at an October launch date for Windows 11, and now this has been repeated, strengthening the belief that the release is now less than two months away.

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There are a lot of great desktop environments for Linux, such as Cinnamon, KDE Plasma, and Xfce to name a few. With that said, only one can be the best, and that is GNOME. If you prefer a different environment, you are simply wrong or ignorant on the subject. You know what? That's fine. As they say, ignorance is bliss, so if you are happy not using GNOME, more power to you.

For those of us superior Linux users that prefer GNOME, it is time to get excited. You see, as of today, the GNOME 41 Beta is officially here! Keep in mind, the Beta tag is quite literal -- unless you are a Beta tester or Linux developer, you shouldn't be bothering with it just yet.

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