Although Windows 12 likely won’t be making an appearance any time soon, that hasn’t stopped designer Addy Visuals from sharing his take on Microsoft's future operating system.

If you haven’t viewed it yet, you can watch his video in our post here. Now Addy has made the wallpapers from his Windows 12 concept available to download for free.

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When Microsoft releases a new update for Windows 11 or launches a new build of the operating system, there is much interest in the new features that have been added, as well at the security fixes and bugs that have been addressed. And with the recent release of Windows 11 Build 22572, Microsoft has sped up performance in a small but important way.

One problem that some users have been complaining about for a little while now is that the right-click menu has been rather slow. With the latest build, Microsoft confirms that steps have been taken to speed things up.

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There is a lot of attention focused on Windows 11 and the update releases for it, but we shouldn't forget that there are millions of people running Windows 10. Far from being a dead operating system, Microsoft is not only still producing updates, but has an active Insider program for Windows 10 that continues to see the arrival of new features and options.

The latest example of this comes with the release of the KB5011543 update which brings Windows 11's search highlight feature to Windows 10. The update includes a number of other important changes and additions, and takes the operating system up to Windows 10 21H2 Build 19044.1618.

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Since the launch of Windows 11, there has been a compatibility issue between the operating system and VirtualBox. People attempting to use Oracle virtualization software found they were unable to start virtual machines and saw error messages with Hyper-V or Windows Hypervisor installed.

As a result of this problem, Microsoft introduced a safeguard block which prevented people with VirtualBox installed from upgrading to Windows 11. But following work by Oracle developers to address the issue, Microsoft has now lifted the block.

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Over the years Microsoft has found various ways to squeeze advertising into Windows. We've seen the addition of "recommended" apps in the Start menu, aggressive pushing of Microsoft Edge and Office, and more. Now Microsoft is experimenting with ads in File Explorer.

This is not the first time the file browser has been used for advertising purposes; five years or so ago, the Windows 10 version of File Explorer was used as a platform for OneDrive ads. Now ads have been spotted by some users in the latest builds of Windows 11, with Microsoft again using banners to promote its own products and services.

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Three weeks ago, rumors began to surface that despite Microsoft having only released Windows 11 late last year, the software giant was already beginning work on its successor, Windows 12.

Windows 11 market share is growing rapidly but at the moment it’s only on about 20 percent of systems, so Microsoft won’t be in any rush to debut that operating system's replacement.

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We recently reported that privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo had taken the decision to downrate sites that publish Russian propaganda and disinformation. At the time, CEO Gabriel Weinberg said that the move came because the company was "sickened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the gigantic humanitarian crisis it continues to create"... but this may not be the whole story

The announcement by DuckDuckGo caused upset on the left and right of the political spectrum, but it seems that the ire and claims of censorship might have been misplaced. It is actually Microsoft that is to blame. Or maybe the EU.

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It is about six months since Microsoft acquired the video editor Clipchamp, and many people hoped that this could signal the return of the much-missed Windows Movie Maker. And this is -- almost -- what is happening.

In the latest preview build of Windows 11, Microsoft has integrated the video editor into the operating system, taking the unfortunate decision to retain the terrible name. Appalling moniker aside, the arrival of Clipchamp is something to be welcomed as it's a great, user-friendly editor that will keep beginners (and beyond) more than happy.

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There are lots of ways that people think Microsoft could improve Windows, and one request that has cropped up for years is that Explorer be given a tabbed interface. So popular has the idea been, that over the years there have been numerous third-party tools that bring tabs to Explorer.

But now Windows 11 users can look forward to something more official. Microsoft has, at long, long last, decided that it is time to give Explorer users the tabs they have been requesting for so long. Signs that the feature is on the way have been spotted hidden in Windows 11. More importantly, while not officially launched yet, you can enable the feature now.

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Microsoft rolled out a new Windows 11 build to Insiders in the Dev Channel today and took the opportunity to announce a new search feature arriving early next week.

The upcoming 'Search highlights' feature will show "interesting moments in time" each day in the Windows 11 search window, including major holidays and anniversaries.

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Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel know that Wednesday is typically the day when Microsoft rolls out new Windows 11 builds. Today sees the arrival of Build 22572, and this one comes with two new inbox apps and a good number of improvements and fixes.

From this build, Microsoft Family -- the software giant's parental control toolkit -- is now available as a inbox app (that is, an app included with the OS), as is Clipchamp, the company’s new video creation tool.

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Last month, Microsoft confirmed an issue affecting Windows 10 and Windows 11 that means data was left behind after a system wipe. With the Patch Tuesday updates for March, the company has addressed this problem and more.

The fix comes in the KB5011493 update which also includes a number of other fixes as well as new features and options. The new features -- including multiple monitor support for taskbar clocks, weather widget updates and more -- were seen last month, and this time around it is a mandatory update thanks to the inclusion of security patches.

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There have been a lot of updates for PowerToys released so far this year, and the pace shows no sign of slowing. It is only a week or so since the last release, but already there is another update to install.

While PowerToys v0.56.2 does not yet include any of the new utilities we have seen glimpses of, it is an important bug-fixing release. But more than just addressing problems with the likes of FancyZones this latest release also introduces new settings for other PowerToys utilities.

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We are, slowly but surely, moving towards the release of Windows 11 Version 22H2, also known as Sun Valley 2, and this is very evident to Windows Insiders. We very recently saw the release of Windows 11 Preview Build 22567 to Insiders and then there was the KB5012427 update for testing the servicing pipeline.

Now Microsoft has released a second Cumulative Update Build of Windows 11 for Windows Insiders signed up for the Dev Channel. The KB5012432 update takes Windows 11 up to build 22567.200, but this time Microsoft is not making it available to everyone -- not even all Insiders.

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While there have been dozens of PowerToys releases since Microsoft revived the much-loved utilities collection for the Windows 11 era, the software is still in preview.

Usually, it is the new sub-1.x versions that Microsoft pushes out which give cause for excitement, but there is also much to be learned about the future direction of the software from data on GitHub. Recent Pull Requests in the repository shows that Microsoft is working on not only new add-ons for existing PowerToys, but also completely new utilities. So, what can we expect to see? Is TweakUI for Windows 11 on the horizon?

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