Windows 11

Love it or hate it -- and it is something that has proved incredibly polarizing -- AI is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Microsoft is just one of a stream of tech firm investing heavily in the technology, and this includes the introduction of its AI-power assistant Copilot in both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Copilot has already shown itself to be controversial and divisive, but a recent announcement by Microsoft caused such ripples that the company has been forced to go on the defensive. Plans to have Copilot launch automatically in Windows 11 elicited a vocal response from some corners of the internet, compelling Microsoft to issue an additional statement.

Five-hundred-and-seventy-seven 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 remove the WordPad application from future versions of its Windows 11 operating system. While WordPad is going away, Microsoft is working on adding AI to the plain text editor Notepad.

USB4 is the latest USB standard, offering a maximum data transfer speed of 40Gbps. Backward compatible with previous USB versions and compatible with Thunderbolt 3, it supports versatile connections for data, power, and video signals.

The standard is currently receiving major version update called USB 80Gbps (also known as USB4 Version 2.0) that -- as you can guess from the name -- increases performance from 40Gbps to 80Gbps and enables the next generation of high-performance displays, storage, and connectivity.

Microsoft has released its first batch of cumulative security updates of 2024, including the KB5034123 update for Windows 11. While the security fixes are a good reason for installing this particular update, there are plenty of other enticements too.

The KB5034123 update addresses various non-security issues including Wi-Fi connectivity problems and a bug that caused Windows to shut down. The update also ushers in new lock screen options thanks to the addition of a "richer weather experience" complete with dynamic, interactive weather updates.

It is a few months since Microsoft announced plans to ditch WordPad. Back in September the company revealed that the cut-down word processor would no longer be updated and would be removed from the operating system completely in a future release.

This day has now arrived, with Microsoft chopping WordPad from the latest Canary build of Windows 11. And the removal is irreversible -- the company stresses that "WordPad will not be reinstallable".

Five-hundred-and-seventy-six 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.

Future Windows PC keyboards may have a dedicated Copilot key. First keyboards with a key will become available in late February. A tap on the key launches Copilot. It is unclear if additional shortcuts will be supported.

In a bold yet questionable move, Microsoft has introduced the “Copilot Key” for Windows 11 PCs, marking the first significant change to the PC keyboard in nearly 30 years. This development, part of Microsoft's ambitious AI integration plan, aims to make AI a seamless part of every Windows user's experience. However, this innovation raises significant concerns about its actual utility and potential drawbacks.

Firstly, the addition of the Copilot key seems to overlook the fundamental principle of simplicity in design. Keyboards have evolved over decades to become efficient input devices. Adding another key risks cluttering the keyboard layout, potentially leading to confusion and inefficiency, especially for users who rely on muscle memory for typing and shortcuts.

We've written about tiny11 on numerous occasions, and we're constantly impressed by what has been achieved in whittling Windows 11 to a bare minimum. Now the even lighter weight tiny11 core for ARM64 has been updated after months of radio silence; it is now based on Windows 11 23H2.

tiny11 core is seriously stripped back, meaning its hardware requirements are absolutely minimal. But it is also so bare bones that it’s not really recommended for daily use – it is designed not as a replacement for tiny 11, but as a "quick-and-dirty testbed or development platform".

Five-hundred-and-seventy-five 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.

The next, and maybe final Moment update for Windows 11 could land in February. It may introduce the long-awaited options to remove Edge, Bing Search and other components in the European Economic Area.

A few months have passed since we first heard about Microsoft's plans to simplify the process of reinstalling Windows 11. Once a lengthy and potentially nightmarish task that could involve the loss of files and settings, the reinstallation of Windows 11 is in line for a serious revamp.

A new option called 'Fix Problems using Windows Update' is in the pipeline. We have already seen it referenced in Dev builds of Windows 11, but now it has progressed up the line to the beta channel, signifying that a wider launch is imminent.

If you're waiting for the next big update to Windows 11, you likely won't have to wait much longer. The update, also known as Moment 5 or February 2024 Moment, may not be as significant as previous updates in terms of new features, but it will still introduce some important changes.

Key among the changes is the ability to uninstall Microsoft Edge -- something large swathes of users have been begging for since Windows 11 emerged. Many of the changes and additions to be introduced with the update are to ensure Windows 11 complies with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the European Union, and this (coupled with the name of the update) is why we can be near-certain about the release date.

For anyone who is a fan of the bright and shiny, they can kit out their PC with a range of RGB lighting. Controlling RGB mice, keyboard and other device has long meant battling with a bewildering selection of third-party software, and this is something Microsoft aimed to simplify with the introduction of Dynamic Lighting in Windows 11.

The feature has been available since the release of Windows 11 23H2, and now ASRock has launched new beta firmware that adds Dynamic Lighting support to its motherboards.

Five-hundred-and-seventy-four 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 a troubleshooting tool to fix a printing issue that identified non-HP printers as HP printers. The tool corrects the issue when run.

The upcoming end of Windows 10 support may lead to hundreds of millions of devices becoming obsolete, potentially contributing significantly to electronic waste. The industry predicts that the end of Windows 10 support in 2024 will affect customers' refresh plans, with one in three devices expected to be replaced in the next two years.

Despite the growing capabilities of partners to refurbish and resell PCs, devices not supported by Windows 11 will not be viable for reuse, exacerbating the industry's e-waste problem.

A number of Windows 11 users are reporting Wi-Fi connectivity issues after installing the December 2023 Patch Tuesday update. The KB5033375 cumulative update was released for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2, and the release was followed by complaints from users unable to connect to networks.

Microsoft has acknowledged the issue in relation to not only KB5033375, but also the earlier KB5032288 preview update. There is good news in that home users appear to be unaffected, but things are less rosy for enterprise and education users.