Best Windows apps this week
Six-hundred-thirty-nine 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.
The latest cumulative updates for Windows may have uninstalled the Copilot application accidentally. Microsoft is working on a solution. Affected users are asked to reinstall the Copilot app from the Microsoft Store.
Microsoft brings Copilot back from the dead after accidentally nuking it
Copilot remains a divisive addition to Windows, so there was a mixture of jubilation and despair when Microsoft released updates for Windows 10 and Windows 11 that had the unintended side effect of deleting the AI-powered digital assistant.
At the time, Microsoft acknowledged the accidental deletion and unpinning of the app and suggested Copilot fans manually download and reinstall the app while it worked on a proper fix. Now the company says it has things sorted out -- to the delight or chagrin of those affected.
Windows 11 build 26100.3613 hits the Release Preview Channel with an updated Task Manager that actually makes sense
Microsoft often likes to do things in a contrary fashion, particularly when it comes to Windows. But there are also times when the company sees that it doesn’t always makes sense to work against the tide, and makes changes to its software accordingly.
And this is just what has happened with the latest Release Preview build of Windows 11. This is a build that brings a lot of changes and new features, but one of the most interesting, useful and pleasing is an update to Task Manager that finally sees it complying with industry standards for the way it shows CPU usage.
Microsoft’s slow, piecemeal killing of the Control Panel in Windows 11 continues
The death of the Control Panel has been anything but quick and painless. The gradual migration to the Settings app has seen the Control Panel lingering on in a software hospice as Microsoft slowly chips away at it.
This legacy component of Windows remains home to various system settings that cannot be changed elsewhere, but hints have been spotted in builds of Windows Server that the end is drawing closer.
Hate Copilot? Microsoft just released a Windows update that erroneously deletes the AI assistant
The words 'known issues' in relation to updates for Windows are enough to strike fear into even the most hardened computer users. Microsoft is certainly no stranger to releasing updates that have problems -- or, if you want to be kind, unintended consequences. The latest SNAFU, however, is likely to please a lot of people.
With the release of the KB5053598 update for Windows 11 a few days ago, Microsoft has acknowledged that for some people it kills off Copilot. While the company refers to this as the app being "unintentionally uninstalled", this is a mistake that could have many fans.
This big Oreon 10 update might be the push you need to finally leave Microsoft Windows behind
If you’re thinking of leaving Windows 10 or 11 but aren’t quite sure if you’re ready to jump ship permanently, the good news is you can try some excellent alternative operating systems without commitment, using tools like VMware Player. One of our top recommendations is the stunning Oreon 10.
We declared it had "arrived to replace Microsoft Windows" when it launched last December, but since then the OS has received a number of improvements, and a new build has just been released that makes Oreon 10 an even more compelling alternative.
Best Windows apps this week
Six-hundred-thirty-eight 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 announced the end of the Remote Desktop app for Windows this week. The app, which is available as a Microsoft Store download, is being replaced by the Windows App for Windows. The change appears a bit hurried, as some features are not supported by the new app yet, but there are workarounds.
Microsoft admits that a recent Windows update may have made your printer act erratically
If your printer has been spontaneously printing at random, you’re not alone – and you can almost certainly blame a wonky Windows update from Microsoft.
The company has acknowledged a strange print issue affecting some users of Windows 10 and Windows 11 who installed recent updates for the operating systems. The peculiar behavior affects USB connected dual-mode printers that support both USB Print and IPP Over USB protocols and Microsoft has been forced to resort to a Known Issue Rollback (KIR).
Take control of Windows 11 and save a tasty 10% off the incredible Stardock Fences 6 during beta testing
Few people would argue that Windows 11 is perfect; in fact, for many people the operating system has many flaws and failings. A lot of the weaknesses of Windows have been addressed by the developers of PowerToys, but this is far from being the only suite of utilities out there.
Stardock is a company with a history of producing handy tools for Windows, and Fences is a productivity, organization and workflow enhancing tool that can make Windows 11 work for you. To coincide with the release of the latest beta version of the utility, the company is giving 10 percent off Fences 6. Here’s what this incredible tool has to offer.
'It just works': AcreetionOS is the easy-to-use alternative to Windows 10/11 -- switch to it now
The developers behind AcreetionOS have a few questions for you. “Have you been wanting to switch away from Windows? Are you looking for something that just works?” If the answer to both of those is yes, their brand new operating system might be just what you’re after.
We’ve been using the Arch Linux based AcreetionOS for a few days now, and while the user interface could use a bit of polish (it’s still very new, so that’s understandable), it’s a solid OS that’s easy to use and, yes, it really does just work.
CrossOver 25 makes gaming on macOS and Linux even better -- could it help gamers ditch Windows 11?
CodeWeavers has just released CrossOver 25 for macOS and Linux, and it’s packed with some seriously awesome improvements. Thanks to Wine 10.0 bringing over 5,000 changes, this update should make running both Windows games and apps on non-Windows systems smoother than ever. Could this finally convince gamers to dump Microsoft's OS?
Let’s be honest, Windows 11 hasn’t exactly won over everyone. Between forced updates, hardware restrictions, and Microsoft’s annoying obsession with AI features (that most people don’t even want), it has left many gamers looking for alternatives. That’s where CrossOver 25 comes in.
Best Windows apps this week
Six-hundred-thirty-seven 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 released a new version of its Copilot app on Windows to the Microsoft Store for Insiders. This one, finally, is a native application and no longer a progressive web app. May take some time before it lands on stable though.
Windows 20 is the upgrade Windows 11 should have been -- download it now
With Windows 11, Microsoft tried to make the new OS look different from Windows 10, mainly by centering the taskbar and Start menu. This wasn’t the most popular change for a lot of people.
As we’ve covered before, there are a good number of third-party tools that you can use to put the Start menu and taskbar back to how they were, as well as tweak other areas of the newest operating system, including improving icons and updating File Explorer.
Best Windows apps this week
Six-hundred-thirty-six 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.
One option for Windows 10 users who do not want to pay Microsoft for extended support is to switch to Linux once Microsoft's operating system runs out of support. Linux veteran Brian suggests to try a dual boot or VM instead at the beginning, to test the waters.
Install the KB5052093 update for Windows 11 to gain taskbar file sharing, Explorer improvements, and endless bug fixes
It's that time of the month when Microsoft releases preview versions of next month’s updates for Windows. For the eager -- and brave -- they provide a way to get early access to new features and options as well as fixes for problems.
Windows 11 users now have the KB5052093 update to download and install if they want to jump in ahead of Patch Tuesday, and this is a nice little update that not only patches a bunch of bugs, but adds a tasty selection of new bits and pieces. A highlight is the ability to use a single webcam in multiple apps.