Articles about Microsoft

If you've been following news about the Insider builds of Windows 11 over the last couple of years, you're probably aware of the incredibly useful utility ViVeTool; we've referred to it many times here on BetaNews. This handy piece of software makes it possible to unlock Windows 11 features that Microsoft is testing with select groups of users.

It turns out that Microsoft has its own internal tool which works in very much the same way as the likes of ViVeTool. Called StagingTool, it provides access to features and options of Windows 11 that would otherwise be unavailable, and Microsoft has just leaked details of its existence.

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Today is a big day for Windows Insiders. The August 2023 Bug Bash has begun (running through until August 7) and there's a new Windows 11 build for testers in the Dev Channel to get their hands on.

Windows 11 Build 23516 features the usual selection of fixes and improvements, and also improves the screen casting experience that lets users wirelessly extend a display to another nearby PC, TV or other external screen.

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A PowerToys release cycle focused on stability and improvements may not sound terribly exciting, but with the newly hatched PowerToys v0.72.0 Microsoft has delivered significant updates that you won't want to miss out on.

Although there are no brand-new modules to explore, PowerToys Run has new plugins to work with. There are also a huge number of bug fixes and improvements across pretty much all areas of the utility, and a great new feature for Mouse Highlighter. On top of this, Microsoft has managed to dramatically slash the installation footprint of the PowerToys collections.

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When you've spent any amount of time using Windows 11 with two or more monitors, it's hard to go back to a single display setup.

But while working with multiple screens is a great productivity boost, it is far from being a perfect experience. Thankfully, Microsoft feels the pain of Windows 11 users and is bringing some helpful changes to settings that will make the experience far more pleasant.

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With so many apps and websites vying for our attention, notifications and alerts have become part and parcel of being a technology user. For some time, Microsoft has used the Windows 11 system tray to indicate that there are notifications that should be looked at -- but this notification indicator is about to become less useful.

In the latest build of the operating system, the company has made an unusual change that means the system tray no longer shows how many notifications are there, just the fact that there are notifications. It is not clear what prompted the decision to remove notification counts, but is likely to be a polarizing change.

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Five-hundred-and-fifty-three 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 plans to end support for the Mail and Calendar apps for Windows at the end of 2024. The new Outlook for Windows application will replace the apps and users will be migrated automatically to the new application starting in August 2023.

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Today is a big day for Windows 11 Insiders in the Dev Channel as the software giant releases a new test flight, Build 23511. The main highlight in this release is a big improvement to Windows Spotlight.

Microsoft has previously tried out various treatments for Spotlight and has now settled on a single experience that the company says "includes previewing images at full screen, multiple opportunities to learn more about each image and a minimized experience."

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After promising to bring a dark mode option to Bing, Microsoft has started the rollout slightly earlier than previously suggested.

The company is in the process of introducing the option of a darker visual look in both Bing Search and Bing Chat. As is usually the case with apps and websites, the dark mode offered by Bing can be enabled or disabled so it is in line with system settings, but there is also the option of opting for light or dark mode regardless of the system-wide settings that are in place.

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As part of this month's batch of update previews, we've already seen the KB5028245 update for Windows 11 21H2. For those who are running the more recent Windows 11 22H2, however, there is now the KB5028254 update.

There are many, many similarities between the KB5028245 and KB5028254 updates, and this should come as little surprise. The cumulative update for Windows 11 22H2 does have differences, though, including boosting the accuracy of brightness settings.

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Microsoft’s newest cloud-based operating system allows you to access your PC from any device. Windows 365 For Dummies teaches you the ins and outs of this game-changing OS.

You’ll learn how to make the most of Windows 365 -- get your work done, share documents and data, monitor storage space, and do it all with increased security. Oh, and did we mention you can do it from literally anywhere?

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As we approach the end of the month, we reach the time when Microsoft releases preview versions of the updates that will get official launches next Patch Tuesday. This time around, it is the KB5028245 update for Windows 11.

With this cumulative update, Microsoft addresses a series of problems in Windows 11 21H2, including a VPN issue that could lead to excessive ARP requests to the network gateway. Also fixed are a bug that causes incorrect reporting of the L2 cache, and another that prevents the Windows Notification Platform from issuing notifications from apps.

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Microsoft has been somewhat indecisive with regards to the Mail and Calendar apps for Windows 10 and Windows 11, changing the deadline for a switching to Outlook for Windows more than once.

But now the company has confirmed that it plans to go ahead with its plans to kill off Mail and Calendar -- and it has also revealed that users will be forcibly switched to Outlook for Windows. The timescale for the switch is still slightly hazy, but it is definitely coming... starting later this year.

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Microsoft recently unveiled a new default font for Microsoft 365 in the form of Aptos, and now the company has announced that Office is getting a visual refresh with a new default theme for Windows, macOS and Android users.

The theme is gradually rolling out, starting with Microsoft 365 insiders, and it is about more than just a new typeface. With a firm focus on accessibility, the new look means a change of color palette across all Office apps. There are plenty of other visual changes too, including increased line weights and new default styles in Word and Outlook.

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The number of formats for ebooks is a little bewildering. While PDF may be queen, there are plenty of other formats vying for attention. Some are proprietary, but others are open -- including the widely used EPUB format, which Microsoft Edge can now open.

In the very latest build of its web browser, Microsoft has re-introduced EPUB support having removed it a few years ago. The feature is not enabled by default, and there are steps you need to take if you want to use Microsoft Edge as an EPUB reader.

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Windows 11 Insiders in the Dev Channel have a new test flight to install today, and Build 23506 comes with a good number of fixes and improvements, as well as some new features.

Chief among the new additions is a passwordless experience with Windows Hello for Business (WHFB). This, Microsoft says, "provides organizations with a strong, phish-resistant credential, helping customers move to a passwordless future", and it's available to try now.

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