Microsoft is adding a new keyboard shortcut to paste unformatted text in Word
Having very recently introduced a new Paste As Plain Text module to PowerToys, Microsoft is now bringing the same option to Word.
Following the lead of many other applications, Microsoft's word processor is gaining a new keyboard shortcut that can be used to paste text and strip it of any formatting. Microsoft is calling the feature Paste Text Only, and it is available in both Word for Windows and Word for Mac.
The next killer app: What the OpenAI investment means for Microsoft
Earnings season in January 2023 was a bit of a mixed bag for cloud providers. The latest financial reports show that, following a dip in cloud revenue, Microsoft’s earnings missed Wall Street estimates at the end of 2022. The negative economic climate that took hold in 2022 is clearly having an impact, forcing users to make difficult decisions about their cloud spending.
But as always, the best of Silicon Valley is relentlessly planning for the future -- not focused on present uncertainty. So enters ChatGPT. The news that Microsoft had put $10 billion additional investment into OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, shook the tech industry.
Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 25314 to the new Canary Channel
As well as releasing a new Windows 11 build to the 'rebooted' Dev Channel, Microsoft today gives Windows Insiders their very first Canary Channel flight, Build 25314.
Announced earlier in the week, the new Canary Channel will be the "place to preview platform changes that require longer-lead time before getting released to customers". Examples of this will include major changes to the Windows kernel, new APIs, and so on.
Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 23403 on the rebooted Dev Channel
Microsoft announced a massive overhaul to the Windows Insider Program earlier in the week, which includes 'rebooting' the Dev Channel and introducing a new Canary Channel for more experimental features, and where we may well see the first signs of Windows 12.
This week’s new Insider flight, Build 23403, is the first to arrive in the rebooted Dev Channel. If you're wondering what the rebooting means, Microsoft explains:
Microsoft releases PowerToys v0.68.1 with fixes for new Paste As Plain Text module
Just last week, Microsoft released PowerToys v0.68.0 complete with not one but two new utilities -- Mouse Jump and Paste As Plain Text.
Now a few days have passed, the company has released a small but important update, taking the collection of utilities up to version v0.68.1. Among the changes are a new default shortcut for Paste As Plain Text to avoid a conflict with Windows 11's new volume mixer.
This isn't Windows XP -- it's a new version of Windows 10, and you can install it now for free
If you want to run a modern operating system like Windows 10, but miss the simplicity and aesthetics of Windows XP, then we have some great news for you.
Windows EXPERIENCE Freestyle Update is a free Windows 10 mod that does a fantastic -- and virtually flawless -- job of mimicking Windows XP, and you can download and install it now directly from the Internet Archive.
Forget all the talk about Windows 12, could Windows 11.1 Pro win you over?
Although Windows 11 hasn’t been out that long -- it was only released towards the end of 2021 -- there is already a lot of talk about its successor, presumed to be called Windows 12 (although you never know with Microsoft). If you want to find out what to expect from that OS, you can read about it here.
But even if Microsoft is planning Windows 12, it won’t be out for at least a year or two, and that leaves plenty of time for the company to turn Windows 11 into a raging success. Could Windows 11.1 be the answer?
Microsoft is launching a new Canary Channel for exceptionally experimental builds of Windows 11 (and Windows 12?) in a major Windows Insider Program overhaul
Microsoft has detailed some of what it has planned for Windows 11 over the coming year, including big changes to the Windows Insider Program. As well as "rebooting the Dev Channel from the ground up", the company is also launching a new Canary Channel where we could see the first signs of Windows 12.
The idea of Canary builds will be familiar to many web browser users who like to be on the cutting edge. The likes of Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge have Beta, Dev and Canary builds offering varying degrees of stability and experimentation. Now Microsoft is updating the Windows Insider Program so it will have four channels -- Release Preview, Beta (22000 series), Dev (23000 series), and Canary (25000 series).
Microsoft Outlook for Apple macOS now free
The stock Mail application that comes with macOS is pretty damn good. While there may be better email clients for Mac, you can't argue with the price of Apple's official offering -- FREE. And now, there is yet another gratis email client for Mac, and it is one you should already be familiar with -- Outlook!
Yes, folks, Microsoft's wildly popular email program is now totally free to use on macOS. As of today, the Apple Silicon-optimized app no longer requires a license or subscription to Microsoft 365. The now-free Mac app even supports a useful Hand-off feature, allowing you to easily move between Outlook on iOS and macOS. How cool is that?
Microsoft is going to use AI to improve the look of the Windows 11 desktop
AI is more than just the latest trend in technology, it is absolutely unavoidable. The likes of ChatGPT and Microsoft's recent OpenAI-driven update to Bing may have brought artificial intelligence to the fore, but it is everywhere... and spreading.
We already know that Microsoft is looking to enhance Windows 11 with AI, and this can already be seen with the introduction of the AI-powered Bing to the taskbar. But there are also signs that the company will be using the technology to make the desktop look better.
Best Windows apps this week
Five-hundred-and-thirty-two 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 the second Moments update as a preview update for Windows 11 earlier this week. It brings tabs to Notepad, third-party widgets, new apps, and AI-powered Bing Chat to the operating system. Users who have interface modification tools installed should avoid the update for now, as it may result in startup issues.
Windows 12: What we know and don't know about it, and what could happen
Is Microsoft working on the next version of Windows? Will it be Windows 12? If the answer is yes, how will it look like and differ from Windows 11?
There is quite a bit of uncertainty regarding Windows right now. Microsoft ended support for the popular Windows 7 and the not-so popular Windows 8 operating systems in January 2023, and in less than 3 years, Windows 10 is added to the list of operating systems that are no longer supported. This would leave Windows 11 as the sole version of Windows that is available and supported officially.
Microsoft finally appears to be listening! Windows 11 users can disable Start menu recommendations
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Windows 11, but one of the most contentious issues with the operating system has been the recommended content Microsoft pushes on users in various ways.
One medium through which these recommendations -- everything from apps that may (but probably won't) be of interest, to tips and advice -- are delivered is via the Start menu. Hidden away in the latest build of Windows 11, however, is an official toggle that makes it possible to turn off these ads... er, recommendations... once and for all.
Microsoft releases emergency patches for Intel CPU vulnerabilities in Windows 10, Windows 11 and Windows Server
Following a security disclosure by Intel way back in June of last year about vulnerabilities affecting its processors, Microsoft has issued a series of out-of-band fixes for the flaws.
In all, Intel revealed details of four data-exposing chip flaws (CVE-2022-21123, CVE-2022-21125, CVE-2022-21127 and CVE-2022-21166) described collectively as Processor MMIO (memory-mapped I/O) Stale Data Vulnerabilities. Now Microsoft has released a total of six emergency updates for various versions of Windows 10, Windows 11 and Windows Server.
Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 25309 with an enhanced volume mixer
A couple of days ago, Microsoft began to rollout a big update for Windows 11. The Moment 2 update introduces a number of major features, including AI-powered Bing preview on the taskbar.
Of course, development on future updates for Windows 11 continues uninterrupted and today the company releases a new build for Insiders in the Dev Channel.