Articles about Microsoft

When Microsoft announces the deprecation of a feature or service, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it was because few people use it. This may be the case in some instances, but with the deprecation of WSUS driver synchronization, the company is making it seem otherwise.

So many reminders have been issued about the loss of this particular service, it is hard to think that Microsoft isn't aware that the cull will affect a lot of people. And now yet another reminder has been published!

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Microsoft is moving closer to quantum computing supremacy with the arrival of its new Majorana 1 chip, a development which could potentially have a far-reaching impact on cybersecurity. While the Windows-maker touts this as progress, the reality is far more concerning. The encryption that protects banking transactions, government data, and personal communications could soon be worthless.

Microsoft's advancement comes down to Microsoft’s new topoconductor material, which enables a type of quantum computing that scales far beyond anything possible today. “We took a step back and said ‘OK, let’s invent the transistor for the quantum age. What properties does it need to have?’” said Chetan Nayak, Microsoft technical fellow. “And that’s really how we got here -- it’s the particular combination, the quality and the important details in our new materials stack that have enabled a new kind of qubit and ultimately our entire architecture.”

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I appreciate calling Windows XP “Microsoft’s greatest OS” will elicit snorts of derision from a good number of you. That honor probably belongs to Windows 7, or maybe even Windows 10 (once Microsoft ironed out the many problems that plagued it from the start). But certainly, Windows XP was a classic, and a huge step up from the operating systems that preceded it.

If you miss XP but aren’t crazy enough to run an OS that (mostly) hasn’t had security updates in over a decade, FreeXP might be just what you’re looking for. It’s not XP, and it’s not from Microsoft, but it looks and feels just like it.

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The last round of security updates saw Microsoft release the KB5051987 update for Windows 11. As this patch addresses a number of security issues with the operating system, it is a mandatory update that will be automatically installed for most people.

As we’ve seen time and time again, the automatic installation of security updates is a good thing... until it isn’t. And with the KB5051987 update, there are numerous problems that raise the question of whether it is advisable to have Microsoft pushing out obligatory patches that can wreak havoc.

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You can tell that people aren’t overjoyed with Windows 11 by the number of great third-party tools that have been developed to fix the OS. The most recent of these is Talon, which can debloat Windows 11 in just two mouse clicks, removing all the bundled junk that Microsoft has shoehorned into its OS, including Microsoft Edge, OneDrive, Copilot, and Clipchamp.

Winhance is another such tool, but it works differently and can be used to debloat and optimize Windows 11 -- and, perhaps just as importantly, keep it that way. Although it’s been designed for Windows 11, it will work just as well on a fully updated version of Windows 10 22H2.

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The integration of Fedora into Microsoft’s Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is on the brink of completion, and the Fedora crew is rallying the community for assistance. A testing event is pegged for Monday, February 17, 2025, offering enthusiasts an opportunity to experiment with Fedora under WSL prior to its formal release. If you’re equipped with either Windows 10 or 11 and have some free time, here’s your moment to make a contribution.

This Fedora testing event is essentially a community-organized quest for bugs. It welcomes all -- whether you’re a die-hard Fedora supporter or simply intrigued by the idea of Linux within Windows. Requirements include an x86 or AArch64 setup with virtualization capabilities, a readiness to adhere to guidelines, and the capacity to handle downloading large test images.

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

Microsoft is pushing the new Outlook for Windows to Windows 10 systems automatically with this month's security updates for the operating system.

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Windows 11 is the OS Microsoft thinks you should have -- not the one you actually want. It's good, but it's also packed with a ton of features that you don’t need and will never use.

There are a number of great tools you can use to strip out unwanted features from the OS, making it faster and more lightweight, but they tend to be too complex or require an advanced degree of technical know-how to use properly.

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Word, Microsoft's powerful and popular word processor, is capable of extraordinary things. From template building to fancy formatting and even AI-powered editing and proofing, your copy of Word stands ready to help you supercharge your productivity and save you time and energy. You just need to learn how it's done. And, thanks to this easy-to-understand book, learning is the easy part!

This latest edition of Word For Dummies is packed with the essentials you need to turn any old copy of the famous word processor into a document-creating, table-formatting, graphics-editing super app. You'll even learn how to customize your version of Microsoft Word so it's absolutely perfect for you, at home and at work.

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The biggest problem with saying goodbye to Windows 10 or 11 is knowing what to use instead. macOS is a great choice, but you’ll probably need to buy a Mac to run it, so that makes it an expensive option.

There’s no shortage of Linux distros you can use, including the big ones like Ubuntu and Mint, but they aren’t for everyone. One relatively new choice is the stunning Oreon 10 which we declared had "arrived to replace Microsoft Windows" when it launched last December. That OS has just received a big update, but it’s what’s coming next that has us most excited.

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Windows 10 may not have long left to live (officially, at least), but this does not seem to be stopping Microsoft from using the operating system to piss people off. There are still a few months of updates for Windows 10, and the most recent is the cumulative KB5051974 update.

In addition to one of the last batch of security fixes Windows 10 users can expect, the KB5051974 update sees Microsoft doing -- once again -- that thing which wins it few friends: forcibly installing apps. This time around it is the new Outlook for Windows app that’s been force-fed to users.

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Elon Musk has a reputation for rewriting the rules, and his latest venture at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is no exception. He’s brought on a 19-year-old known as "Big Balls" to help overhaul how the government operates, causing quite the stir, not only because of the nickname, but because of his young age.

"Big Balls" isn't just a provocative moniker regarding large testicles, however. Actually, this name more likely embodies courage, bold decision-making, and a defiance against conventional challenges. These are the traits that fuel breakthroughs, and let's face it -- big tech could benefit from infusing some of that spirit into their operations.

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If you’ve had enough of Windows 11, or are considering moving away from Microsoft when the tech giant pulls the plug on Windows 10 later this year, there are plenty of options available to you, ranging from the likes of Nitrux Linux to the just-updated, gorgeous EndeavourOS 'Mercury'.

The successor to EndeavourOS 'Neo' has been in development for quite some time, but it's a great update and not only fixes loads of problems but also introduces some great new features.

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There are plenty of people who do not use Microsoft Edge -- it is a long way from being the most popular browser out there. And just like Internet Explorer before, there are also plenty of people who hate Edge so much that they want to uninstall it.

As there is no obvious way to do this if you take a look through the options in Windows, you might well search online for instructions. Search Bing (or the Start menu) for “how to uninstall Microsoft Edge” and there’s an entry at the top of the results that links to the office “Uninstall Microsoft Edge”. This really is an official Microsoft page, bearing the description: “Learn how to uninstall Microsoft Edge from your device”. But this is a blatant lie from Microsoft.

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Windows 12 has been the subject of leaks and speculation, which can be totally fun to discuss and imagine. But let’s be honest, folks -- that operating system is not likely to arrive this year. In fact, it could still be several years away. On a positive note, however, that should give Microsoft plenty of time to make sure the OS is actually worth using.

As a regular Linux user, I have some very serious demands if I’m ever going to consider switching, and Microsoft has a golden opportunity to get things right. Here are five things the company needs to deliver before I even think about going with Windows 12.

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