Articles about Windows 11

There was no new build for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel last week, and it looked as if we might not get one this week either, but at the death Microsoft releases a new build in time for the weekend.

Build 22610 introduces some new group policies for IT administrators, an update to the Family Safety Widget, and a large number of new fixes. However, it also introduces two known issues to be aware of.

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Four-hundred-eighty-eight 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.

Adoption of Windows 11 appears to have slowed down in the past two months according to recent usage statistics by third-parties.

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Installing updates for Windows can often be something of a gamble, but this is particularly true when we're talking about the preview versions Microsoft makes available ahead of the monthly Patch Tuesday releases.

The latest problematic patch is the recently released KB5012643 update for Windows 11. Due for a wider release in May, Microsoft has already made a preview version available for those who like to get updated as soon as possible. But some people who have installed the update are reporting problems with flickering screens.

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Last month, we reported on how Windows 11's growth had stalled dramatically, with the new operating system’s usage share in March increasing by just 0.1 percentage points.

One bad month doesn’t necessary mean bad news for Microsoft’s latest OS, but two bad months? Well, that hardly paints a rosy picture.

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In recent builds of Windows 11, Microsoft has been giving Task Manager more attention than usual. We have already seen the addition of new keyboard shortcuts and a new Efficiency mode, but there are more changes on the way.

Having given Task Manager a modern makeover, complete with support for dark mode, Microsoft is now giving users the option of adding a splash of color to the utility.

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These days you no longer need to stick with Microsoft's Windows operating system if you don't want to. There are some excellent Linux distributions you can run instead, like Ubuntu or Linux Lite, or macOS if you opt to switch to Apple hardware. You can even use iPads or Android tablets as laptop alternatives if you prefer.

In 2013, Microsoft Windows accounted for over 90 percent of the total desktop operating system market, but that figure has dropped significantly in the past decade in the face of increased competition.

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Microsoft has released a big new update for Windows 11 that addresses a number of issues with the operating system. Key changes included in this update include fixes for various problems with video subtitles.

With the KB5012643 update, Microsoft has also introduced a change that means the temperature is now displayed on top of the weather icon on the taskbar. Other features of the update include improvements for servicing the Secure Boot, and a fix for a memory leak.

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Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel can usually expect to receive a new Windows 11 build on a Wednesday, although this sometimes slips.

If the company doesn’t manage to get a new flight out on that day, then there’s a good chance it will arrive on Friday instead, in time for the weekend. Sometimes though, for reasons out of the software giant’s control, quality issues mean no new build.

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Four-hundred-eighty-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.

The Microsoft Store may soon be the home for third-party widgets that users may download and install. The Widgets feature of Windows 11 displays first-party content only at the moment.

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The developers over at Canonical have been busy baking a yummy new version of Ubuntu recently, and following a brief beta period, it is finally time to take the open-source operating system out of the oven. Yes, folks, the stable Ubuntu 22.04 is finally here!

Code-named "Jammy Jellyfish," Ubuntu 22.04 is an "LTS" version, which stands for "Long Term Support." Yeah, that means exactly what it sounds like. The Linux distribution will be supported for a long time -- five years to be exact. Very nice.

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As organizations move to fully embrace cloud, the significant benefits of running IT infrastructure via cloud services are becoming even more evident. Not only do cloud-based services come at a far lower cost than physical platforms and deployments, IT leaders are also able to side-step much of the risk and 'heavy lifting' around tech investment and maintenance by moving this out of local data centers. They can also enjoy expert third-party systems management and reliable service delivery, without having to give up much of the control for end users.

Microsoft 365 is a great case in point. The procurement model for this ever-expanding suite of high-qual­ity IT services is based around a price per user. It is easily scalable as teams and organizations grow and can therefore help to optimise budgets, avoiding payment for infrastructure that may go unused. It’s also growing, with new features and functionality added every day that will keep IT departments at the cutting edge of optimal business processes.

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Microsoft has announced that it is beginning the final phase of disabling the SMB1 file-sharing protocol in Windows. Having already disabled SMB1 by default in Windows 10 and Windows Server, the company is now doing the same for Windows 11 Home.

While conceding that the ditching of SMB1 may "cause a consumer pain among folks who are still running very old equipment" and acknowledging that this is a "group that's the least likely to understand why their new Windows 11 laptop can't connect to their old networked hard drive", Microsoft says that the time has come for the aging technology to be dropped.

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Windows 7 introduced a useful hidden God Mode that displays all of the admin tools and control options on a single screen. Because Microsoft has yet to phase out Control Panel entirely, this feature works just fine in Windows 11.

It’s very easy to action God Mode -- you just need to create a folder and give it a special name -- and there are actually quite a few alternative God Modes available. Here’s what you need to do.

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While some versions of Windows 10 are reaching the end of support and many people are making the upgrade to Windows 11, Microsoft continues to push newer editions of Windows 10 to users.

For those people who either do not want to upgrade to Windows 11 -- or find that the hardware requirements mean that they are simply not able to -- there is Windows 10 version 21H2 (Windows 10 November 2021 Update as it is also known). Microsoft has just announced that this particular edition is now designated for broad deployment.

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Widgets in Windows 11 have proved somewhat divisive, but it is safe to say that the feature has not proved as popular as Microsoft would have hoped.

Part of the problem is the lack of interesting and useful widgets that are available, and Microsoft has previously hinted that it may offer support for creations from other companies which could be installed and updates via its own software store. Now further evidence has emerged that Windows 11 users could soon be able to install third-party widgets via the Microsoft Store.

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