Articles about Microsoft

It is the time of the month when Microsoft releases updates for Windows, and as such the company has released a pair of patches for Windows 11. Specifically, we have two cumulative updates in the form of KB5022845 for Windows 11 22H2 and KB5022836 for Windows 11 21H2.

The KB5022836 update takes Windows 11 up to build 22000.1574, and it also includes the changes and improvements that were part of the KB5019274 update preview released last month.

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Tomorrow, February 14, is Valentine's Day and this is the day Microsoft has chosen to finally break up with Internet Explorer 11.

As we reported towards the end of last year, Microsoft is releasing a software update that will permanently disable Internet Explorer 11 in Windows 10. Rather than being an update for Windows itself, Microsoft is instead pushing out an irreversible update to Microsoft Edge.

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Microsoft only recently updated its Linux-style package manager for Windows, WinGet, adding support for zip files. But at the moment, fans of the tool are reporting that it is not working, with many seeing "InternetOpenUrl() failed" errors.

The problem stems from something of an embarrassing SNAFU for Microsoft. The company appears to have forgotten to renew the SSL certificate for WinGet.

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There is something of a boom in PC peripherals and accessories brightened with RGB lighting. If you're a fan of such adornments, you'll be aware that the software used to control such lighting is very varied. But Microsoft is working on a solution.

Soon, Windows 11 users will be able to use in-OS settings to control RGB lighting, eliminating the need for third-party software. The feature is currently undergoing development and, while it is hidden away in Windows 11 build 25295 on the dev channel, there is a way to enable it right now.

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Microsoft has issued a warning to Windows 10 and Windows 11 users with system Intel GPUs. The company says that people who have installed November's cumulative update for Windows (the KB5019980 update) may experience issues if they also have certain versions of the Intel graphics driver installed.

The problems affect apps and games that make use DirectX or Direct3D to render content, and can cause apphelp.dll errors to appear.

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Microsoft has announced a big shakeup to the support and troubleshooting options that are currently available in Windows 11. The company says that over the course of the next three years, it will be gradually retiring the Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) and MSDT Troubleshooters currently used by many people to diagnose and fix problems with the operating system.

The ultimate plan is to remove all existing troubleshooters and kill off the MSDT platform using an update for Windows 11. The changes are something that we've heard hints and rumors about previously, but now it has been confirmed. So, what does it mean for Windows users?

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With Microsoft having changed its approach to releasing major updates to Windows 11, users are still familiarizing themselves with the idea of Moments. Moment 1 has already been released, adding tabs to Explorer and more.

We are still waiting for Moment 2 which is due to launch soon, but a new leak shows that Microsoft is already working away on Moment 4. For now, little is known about Moment 4, other than the fact that it is also known as Windows 11 23H2, and is being referred to internally as Sun Valley 3 or SV3.

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Windows 11 Insiders in the Dev Channel today get a new Windows 11 build to play around with. Build 25295 comes with a decent selection of fixes and improvements, but that’s not all.

There’s also a new commercial policy which makes it possible to enable features introduced via servicing that are off by default.

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The recent big tech layoffs have profoundly impacted industries outside of technology because the sector has long been seen as a driving force for innovation and economic growth. The layoff announcements by companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon have raised concerns about the tech industry's future and the ripple effects throughout the economy.

Below are several major tech companies that have laid off employees as they navigate the challenges of a rapidly changing industry:

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An investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has concluded that Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard could lead to higher prices, fewer choices and less innovation.

The UK regulator has been looking into the planned takeover for a number of months, and has now warned that the merger, "could make Microsoft even stronger in cloud gaming, stifling competition in this growing market". The CMA also says there is a risk of, "weakening the important rivalry between Xbox and PlayStation gaming consoles", ultimately harming gamers who cannot afford expensive consoles.

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Last month, Microsoft ended support for its Windows 7 and 8.1 operating systems officially. Windows 7 was kept alive by the company for business and Enterprise customers for the past three years through an Extended Security Updates program, but that ran out on the same day as support for Windows 8.1 ended.

Google and Microsoft announced that their browsers, Chrome and Edge, would not support both operating systems after support end. Chrome 109 and Edge 109, released in January 2023, are the last supported versions. The next stable versions, scheduled for a release in early February 2023, won’t support Windows 7 or 8.1 anymore.

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Yesterday, Microsoft announced it would be bringing AI to its Edge browser thanks to a partnership with ChatGPT owner OpenAI. Today the software giant adds something that many people will be less keen on -- Acrobat PDF technology.

Describing the move as the next step to in their "commitment to transform the future of digital work and life", Microsoft and Adobe say this addition will give uses a unique PDF experience with extra features that will remain free of charge.

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Amp up your collaboration skills and rock the modern workplace by harnessing the power of Microsoft 365 with this one-stop guide to the world's leading productivity platform.

The Microsoft 365 productivity solution for the workplace is a cloud-based service with many features for effective and secure collaboration virtually or in person. Whether you start your day with meetings in Teams, respond to Outlook emails, create documents with Office apps, or even automate your work with artificial intelligence, Microsoft 365 has you covered. But first, you must unlock the potential of this powerful solution to showcase your ability to keep up with the modern workplace and make an impact in your organization. To do that, you need Microsoft 365 For Dummies! 

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Microsoft has released an update for PowerToys that fixes a slew of bugs as the company strives for stability in its utility collection.

The release of PowerToys v0.67.1 comes within a week of the last major update to the much-loved software which saw the addition of a new quick access system tray launcher. This time around, there are big fixes for FancyZones, Power Toys Run and more.

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It is fair to say that the upcoming changes to Microsoft Teams are more than a little confusing. The impending launch of Microsoft Teams Premium means that various features that have been free so far, will only be available to those willing to pay a monthly or annual fee.

The existing free tier -- which Microsoft is now referring to as Microsoft Teams Free (classic) -- will vanish on April 12, 2023. There is a new free tier launching called, sightly puzzlingly, Microsoft Teams (free), but anyone opting for this will not only have to sign up for a new account, but will also lose access to the data associated with their old, free account.

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