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Mouse gestures are now available for testing in Microsoft Edge by Taras Buria Earlier this year, Microsoft confirmed that it plans to add mouse gestures support to the Edge web browser, allowing users to perform quick actions and access various features faster. Later, a screenshot revealed that Edge would let you customize more than 14 different gestures. If you have been waiting for this feature, good news: mouse gestures are now available for testing in preview versions of Microsoft Edge. Microsoft has not announced mouse gestures yet, and enabling them requires adding a command to the browser's shortcut. However, the feature is available for everyone to try, unlike the other changes Microsoft frequently rolls out in waves (controlled feature rollout). Note that mouse gestures are available in Microsoft Edge 114 (and newer), which is coming to the Stable Channel this week. For now, mouse gestures are only available in Edge Beta, Dev, and Canary. Here is how to enable them (via Deskmodder). Enable mouse gestures in Microsoft Edge Go to edge://settings/help and ensure you have Edge 114 or newer. Right-click your Microsoft Edge shortcut and select Properties. You can also right-click Microsoft Edge on the taskbar, then right-click Microsoft Edge in the jump list, and then press Properties. Click the Target field in the Properties window and place one space after the path, then paste the following command: --enable-features=msEdgeMouseGestureDefaultEnabled,msEdgeMouseGestureSupported Click Ok to save the changes. Launch Microsoft Edge using the modified shortcut. Now you can use mouse gestures to perform various actions by moving the mouse while holding the right-click button. Microsoft Edge will highlight your mouse track and show a hint indicating what action the gesture will trigger. You can customize gestures by navigating to edge://settings/mouseGesture or Menu > Settings > Appearance > Mouse Gesture. Unfortunately, the feature does not support custom shortcuts, so there is room for improvement. Still, it is great to see Microsoft implementing a much-requested feature, especially after rejecting it for many months.

Microsoft Edge Dev 115.0.1880.1 brings redesigned history, InPrivate improvements, more by Taras Buria Microsoft has released a new weekly Edge update for testing in the Dev Channel. Version 115.0.1880.1 includes several fixes and improvements, such as a slightly redesigned history hub with page previews, InPrivate improvements on iOS, and a new option for the Drop feature on Android. Here are the details. What is new in Microsoft Edge Dev 115.0.1880.1? New features: History now has the option to display thumbnail images. iOS: Added Exit InPrivate mode button. Android: Added Save to album option to … menu in Drop. Reliability improvements: Fixed browser crash when allowing permission to Microphone access. Fixed browser crash when clicking on Send feedback button on Sidebar. macOS: Fixed browser crash when playing video in full screen. Other changes: Re-added shortcut Ctrl + Shift + X for Web select. Fixed PDF keeps opening last page even when PDF view settings for last viewed location is disabled. Fixed certain websites not rendering correctly. Android: Fixed certain websites displaying something went wrong error message. WebView2: Fixed initializing the CoreWebView2Environment throws SystemArgumentException: The path is not of a legal form when using assembly merging (#3428) Fixed CoreWebView2WebMessageReceivedEventArgs.AdditionalObjects throws a Microsoft.CSharp.RuntimeBinder.RuntimeBinderException exception (#3474) Enterprise: Fixed sharing PDF file not working after it is downloaded from SharePoint on iOS. VisualSearchEnabled policy is now available for all platforms. You can download Microsoft Edge Dev from the official Edge Insider website. If you already use the Dev Channel, head to edge://settings/help to install the latest release. However, it is worth noting that many users report hangs and crashes after updating to version 115.0.1880.1, so it is better not to use Edge Dev or Canary as your primary browser. Microsoft plans to release Edge 115 to all users in the Stable Channel on the week of July 20, 2023. Insiders in the Beta Channel will get it next week.

Statcounter: Edge falls below 10%, Safari continues climbing by Taras Buria The first day of a new month means it is time for Statcounter's latest findings. The May 2023 report is now available with details about the most popular browsers and their market share changes. Click here to learn how Statcounter gathers its data. To no one's surprise, Google Chrome is still the number one go-to browser on most platforms. Its desktop variant holds a 66.02% share with minor fluctuations from month to month. In May 2023, Chrome lost 0.2 points. Apple's Safari, the only non-cross-platform desktop browser, is cementing its new place after taking over Microsoft Edge in April 2023. Safari's customer base increased from 11.89% to 12.79%, further gapping Microsoft Edge. The latter once again dipped below the 10% mark and reached a 9.91% share (-0.98 points). According to Statcounter, Edge is not the only browser having problems with increasing its market share. Firefox continues bleeding customers, and in May 2023, its share decreased from 5.59% to 5.28%. For reference, in July 2022, its market share was at 8%. Opera is the fifth most popular desktop browser, with a market share of 4.02% (+0.9 points). Finally, the honorable mention goes to Internet Explorer and its 0.45% share. Google Chrome - 66.02% (-0.2 points) Apple Safari - 12.79% (+0.9 points) Microsoft Edge - 9.91% (-0.98 points) Mozilla Firefox - 5.59% (-0.31 points) Opera - 4.02% (+0.9 points) And here is the mobile side of the market, where Google, Apple, and Samsung hold over 93% of users. Interestingly, Google Chrome lost a notable chunk of customers during the last three months. Safari, on the other hand, is experiencing a continuous spike. Google Chrome - 61.09% (-0.67 points) Apple Safari - 27.81% (+0.81 points) Samsung Internet - 4.97% (+0.14 points) Opera - 1.8% (-0.09 points) UC Browser - 1.54% (-0.17 points) You can find more information on the official Statcounter website.

Microsoft details Windows 11 performance gains it delivered, reiterating it as most reliable by Sayan Sen Microsoft recently released the latest feature update for Windows 11 version 22H2 dubbed Moment 3. Almost simultaneously, a special configuration update via the Controlled Feature rollout (CFR) was also quietly published by the tech giant. A few days after, Microsoft also released a list of performance-related enhancements that it made throughout the year to "more than one billion users worldwide". It is essentially a rundown of what changes were introduced over the past year on Insider channels that have now made their way to the Moment 3 feature. Microsoft's Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer Panos Panay had once reminded people that its latest OS was all about quality; and once again, the firm has reminded users that Windows 11 is the "most reliable version of Windows ever" in the list of highlights. The blog post says: Among the highlights from the last year: We improved frequently used shell interactions like Taskbar, Notifications, and Quick Settings by as much as 15%! Getting users into productivity faster by improving the time it takes to get to the desktop by 10% and reducing the impact of startup apps by over 50%. Making PCs more sustainable with our new Energy Recommendations and Carbon-Aware Windows Update. We see a 6% average reduction in energy consumption for the users who use the recommended energy settings Windows 11 is the most reliable version of Windows ever, with recent updates continuing to improve reliability. Microsoft Edge starts up faster than ever before and saves memory with features like Sleeping Tabs, which saves up to 83% of memory for background tabs. The new Teams app for Windows is 2x faster while using half the resources. Among the improvements, Microsoft has detailed the enhancements made to startup apps on Windows 11 which can lead to over 50% lesser impact on the system resources. As you can see in the graphic below, the "User initiated app" is able to launch much sooner in the "After" section, whereas, in the "Before" part, it had to wait for the Startup App 4 to initiate. Microsoft has also detailed File Explorer improvements wherein there is up to a 67% reduction in deletion time for bulk files. The average reduction time seems to be around ~40%. There are also improvements to gaming. Microsoft says that high report mouse stuttering issues are greatly reduced. It explains: The Windows input stack was being pushed to its limits with high report rate mice and their input being delivered to not just the game, but also multiple background processes. In turn, that caused a significant amount of time processing input rather than providing as many cycles as possible for rendering the game experience. We set out to reduce the amount of processing time it took to handle input requests by throttling and coalescing background raw mouse listeners and capping their message rate. Prior to these changes, we observed on a Surface Laptop Studio with a 1000 Hz mouse, a test bed of background listeners, and popular games that there was significant stutter. After the improvements, on the same setup, we now deliver a smooth, uninterrupted gaming experience and preserve the low latency, high precision input experience in games while being efficient with input for background listeners! The company has provided a list that summarizes all the improvements made: While the examples above highlight some of the improvements in the February and May updates, there are many other improvements available today, including: Taskbar improvements to ensure Taskbar is readily available after logging in Task View performance improvements when devices are under heavy load Improved performance of Windows Notification Service Improved launch time of Quick Settings and Notification Center Reduced threads, dlls, and graphics device count in Explorer Reduced CPU usage of explorer Reduced memory usage of Notification Center Touch keyboard performance improvements Resource usage reductions in multi-user scenarios Reduced voice access and Narrator latency in larger documents Improved voice typing activation time Improved speed of theme changes Reduced size on disk by leveraging features-on-demand via the Store For developers, there is a lot coming in the May release too. Some highlights that intersect fundamentals: New enhanced kernel minidump format for better debugging Live kernel dumps can now be collected directly via Task Manager New richer, more actionable third-party reliability data views in Partner Center Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA) is now supported and available on Arm devices You will find more details on the Microsoft blog post linked here.

Microsoft Edge 113.0.1774.57 by Razvan Serea Introducing the new Microsoft Edge. Rebuilt from the ground up to bring you world-class compatibility and performance, the security and privacy you deserve, and new features designed to bring you the best of the web. Microsoft Edge is also available on iOS and Android, providing a true cross-platform experience. The new Microsoft Edge provides world class performance with more privacy, more productivity and more value while you browse. Built on the same technology as Chrome, Microsoft Edge has additional built-in features like Startup boost and Sleeping tabs, which boost your browsing experience with world class performance and speed that are optimized to work best with Windows. Microsoft Edge security and privacy features such as Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, Password Monitor, InPrivate search, and Kids Mode help keep you and your loved ones protected and secure online. Microsoft Edge has features to keep both you and your family protected. Enable content filters and access activity reports with your Microsoft Family Safety account and experience a kid-friendly web with Kids Mode. The new Microsoft Edge is now compatible with your favorite extensions, so it’s easy to personalize your browsing experience. Microsoft Edge 113.0.1774.57 changelog: Fixed various bugs and performance issues. Download: Microsoft Edge 113.0.1774.57 (64-bit) | 145.0 MB (Freeware) Download: Microsoft Edge 113.0.1774.57 (32-bit) | 134.0 MB View: Microsoft Edge Website | Release History Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware

After Bing search bar, Microsoft now bringing Edge sidebar to Windows desktops very soon by Sayan Sen It is probably not unfair to say that Microsoft really wants people to use its Edge web browser. The company has often adopted somewhat desperate means to coax more users into trying Edge and choosing it as their default browser, or at least just getting more people to use it, as well as Bing. Just considering the Windows 11 era, the company first came under fire due to the way it set up the default app options as it was seemingly quite tedious to go through the process. There have been aggressive ads and promotions as well, like the time Microsoft called Google Chrome "so 2008" and suggested that Edge was more secure than Chrome. And of course, from time to time Edge also wants you to choose it as the default browser. More recently, via Patch Tuesday, Microsoft made a weird change that was bringing up the Default Settings page every time a user opened Google Chrome. Aside from those, Microsoft is also simultaneously adding more and more Edge elements to Windows desktop gradually. The company added a desktop search, first in the Windows 11 Dev Channel; and then just a couple of months ago in March, an Edge update brought the desktop search to Windows 10 as well via an option in the Settings. Soon, Microsoft Edge will also gain the ability to attach the sidebar to the Windows desktop. There will be a "popout" icon at the base of the sidebar which will allow for this. The feature is already present in one of the recent Edge Canary builds​. Edge sidebar on Windows desktop A new entry on the Microsoft 365 roadmap under feature ID 124911 provides more details on it and reveals Microsoft's intentions behind the change: Microsoft Edge: Option to attach the Edge sidebar to the Windows desktop Users of the Microsoft Edge sidebar will soon have the option to access their apps and sites directly from their Windows desktop. As an opt-in experience, users can attach the sidebar to their Windows desktop by clicking a "popout" icon near the base of the sidebar in the browser. This enables a side-by-side experience that works with any Windows app—including Microsoft Edge itself. Users enjoy streamlined access to the same set of powerful AI tools and web-based services, including Bing Chat, without launching a browser window, enhancing productivity regardless of where they are in Windows. Administrators can control the availability using the StandaloneHubsSidebarEnabled. As per the roadmap, Microsoft is expecting the feature to be generally available (GA) from next month, i.e., June 2023.

Microsoft announces Edge redesign with Mica, rounded corners, and more by Taras Buria Microsoft has some excellent news for those rocking Edge as their primary desktop browser. During the Build 2023 conference, the company announced its browser redesign with the fan-favorite Mica material, rounded tab corners, content containers, revamped animations, and other visual changes. Microsoft says the updated design was inspired by customer feedback and the company's desire to create an aesthetically pleasing, easy-to-use browsing experience. As a result, Microsoft Edge now features the Mica material on its toolbar, tab strip, sidebar, and other parts. In addition, the company is bringing rounded corners for tabs detached from the address bar to make the toolbar, address bar, and tab strip more visually distinct. Finally, you will notice that the profile button has a new home—now it sits in the top-left corner, giving you easier access to profile-related controls and settings. Another notable change in the new Edge is the container system providing a structural change for a better experience when working with multiple items at once. Edge will place the main content and additional elements in containers with rounded corners complementing the rest of the browser's visuals. The updated Microsoft Edge is not all about visuals. The company is bringing new capabilities to progressive web apps (PWA) powered by Microsoft Edge. PWAs published in the Microsoft Store will receive support for Payment Request API to allow querying digital product details, viewing existing purchases, checking purchase history, and processing the payment flow between the Microsoft Store and users. Also, Microsoft is making it easier for developers to optimize their progressive web apps for the sidebar in the Edge browser. According to the company, only a few lines of code are necessary to optimize a PWA for running in Edge's sidebar. You can learn more about the latest PWA improvements and other app-related changes in the Microsoft Store in our dedicated coverage. Also, be sure to catch up with the rest of Build 2023 news here.

Microsoft announces public rollout of Edge Workspaces by Taras Buria Microsoft's annual developer conference, Build, has brought us lots of news about the company's products. Edge, for example, is about to get a revamped UI with the Mica material, rounded tab corners, and other visual changes. For business customers, Microsoft has prepared a dedicated experience called Microsoft Edge for Business that aims to make it easier to keep private data separate from work without resorting to another browser. Edge Workspaces is another feature debuting today—Microsoft has announced the upcoming public rollout for all Edge users. Edge Workspaces is a tool for collaborative work in Microsoft's desktop browser. It allows sharing tab sets with other people and watching changes in real time. With Edge Workspaces, everyone can view the same project websites and the latest working files in one place. The feature was initially unveiled at Microsoft Ignite earlier this year, and the company has spent a few months testing it with a limited number of Edge users. Now it is about to roll out to all customers within the next few months, and those wanting to participate in the preview can join via this link. In addition to providing the convenience of a single space for project-related pages, Edge Workspaces ensure security and privacy for sensitive files and apps, with only approved people having access to them. Getting started with Edge Workspaces is easy: click the workspace button in the upper-left corner, give your workspace a proper name, select a color, then share the invitation with others. After that, you can open webpages, files, and apps within the workspaces and watch everyone working together in real-time. Unlike Microsoft Edge for Business, Edge Workspaces will be available for all customers, not just those with managed devices and work accounts. You can catch up with the rest of the Microsoft Build 2023 announcements here.

Microsoft announces Edge for Business—a dedicated mode for companies and organizations by Taras Buria In addition to announcing a major design overhaul and a few PWA-related improvements in its browser, Microsoft revealed a new set of features coming to enterprise customers and organizations using Microsoft Edge. "Microsoft Edge for Business" is the new work-focused browser experience with dedicated visual elements and a rich set of enterprise controls, security, and productivity features. It will be the standard browser mode for organizations activated when the user logs in using Azure Active Directory or AAD. Microsoft Edge for Business aims to fix problems caused by hybrid work with blurred lines between personal and work experiences. On one side, customers want to keep their private data, passwords, browsing history, and other parts of daily browsing separate from their organization. Conversely, IT Admins strive to maintain their company's safety and security. As a result, many organizations support multiple browsers that, in turn, make the experience less secure and convenient. This is where Microsoft Edge for Business comes into play. The new work-focused Microsoft Edge experience separates your personal and work life into dedicated windows with their own icons, caches, browsing data, passwords, storage location, and more. Also, Microsoft wants to make the switching process automated and seamless by launching Microsoft Edge for Business whenever you log in with your work account to Microsoft 365 and other websites. And since each organization and user have their own needs and preferences, Microsoft allows customizing lists of websites that trigger switching between personal and work experiences. Microsoft Edge for Business in action In addition to making the browsing experience more convenient for the end users, Microsoft Edge for Business makes life easier for IT Admins with a single browser for all tasks. Microsoft says such an approach reduces the surface area for cyberattacks and ensures personal data remains private and off enterprise sync. Microsoft Edge for Business is available for public preview on managed devices starting today. According to Microsoft, the feature will be available on non-managed devices in the coming months. You can learn more about Microsoft Edge for Business here. Catch up with the rest of Microsoft Build 2023 announcements here.

Edge's built-in VPN to offer 5GB of free data to everyone by Taras Buria Last year, Microsoft started testing a built-in VPN for the Edge browser. Dubbed "Secure Network," the service provides basic VPN capabilities that let you circumvent restrictions, reduce risks when using public networks, prevent tracking, mask your location, and more. Unlike traditional VPN services, Edge Secure Network does not allow selecting countries, and the amount of data you get is minimal. And while we do not expect Microsoft to add more powerful VPN features to its browser, the data limit seems to have changed. Early versions of Edge Secure Network allowed using 1GB of free traffic. Later, Microsoft increased the limit for some users to a more impressive 15GB. After months of testing, the company seems to have set its mind on how much free data to provide to Edge customers. As spotted by u/Leopeva64-2 (Reddit), Edge Secure Network will offer 5GB of free traffic per month. The change is now available to some Edge insiders in the Canary Channel. Here is how Microsoft describes Edge's built-in VPN: Secure Network is a built-in VPN that can help secure your network connection from online hackers, protect against online trackers and keep your location private. You'll get 5GB of free Secure Network data each month when you sign in to Edge with your Microsoft Account. Microsoft clarifies that Edge Secure Network is not intended to use with streaming services—the browser automatically reroutes streaming and video content outside Secure Network to ensure your cap is not gone, reduced to atoms in one hour. Therefore, 5GB of free traffic should be enough for basic browsing. In addition to limiting its capabilities on streaming services, Edge Canary lets you enable Secure Network on select websites only or force the VPN on all pages. Edge Secure Network seems like a great addition to the browser's ever-growing list of features. That assumes you trust Microsoft enough to let the browser route all your traffic through the selected servers. Some may have a problem with that after the recent debacle with Edge leaking your websites. Let us know in the comments what you think about this.

Microsoft is working on a new mode for Edge in Canary channel specifically for gamers by John Callaham Microsoft is trying out a new feature for its Edge web browser that is specifically targeting the PC gaming community. The company has added gaming features in the past too, like "Clarity Boost".It's called Edge for Gamers, and Microsoft slipped it in quietly in a recent update to the Canary channel for Edge insiders. The new Edge for Gamers feature was spotted by "Leopeva64" on Twitter earlier in May. It's located when users click on the Appearance option in Edge's Settings. The description of the feature states: Level up your experiences in and out of game with a gaming homepage, sidebar apps for gamers, efficiency mode for PC, gaming dark mode, gaming themes and more. "Leopeva64" added in his Twitter post, and a follow up post, that when the toggle is turned on, Edge's dark mode is also turned on automatically. It also loads the Windows Discord and Twitch apps automatically in the sidebar. That would be a nice touch for PC gamers who wanted to chat with other players, or quickly stream their PC game sessions, without having to load those apps separately. Turning on the game toggle also reportedly redirected Edge users to the Themes section of its Add-ons Store, presumably so users can purchase and download gaming-related themes. Finally, yet another toggle reportedly pops up that's labeled "Improve your PC gaming experience with efficiency mode". It says that when this mode is turned on, it will cut down on Edge's CPU usage which should put more CPU performance in any active game sessions. Since this new "Edge for Gamers" toggle appeared on the Canary channel, it's possible that Microsoft could, and likely will, make some major changes and additions to the mode before it's released for all Edge users. Alternatively, it's also possible Microsoft may not move forward with the new toggle after it gets tested with Canary Edge channel subscribers. Via: Windows Report

Microsoft Weekly: bugs, apps, IE not dead, and the overall calm before Build by Taras Buria Another weekend—another issue of Microsoft Weekly, your regular seven-day recap of everything that happened in the world of Microsoft. This week was relatively tame and quiet, something you can call the calm before the storm Build, Microsoft's annual developer conference. It is kicking off next week, and we expect many announcements from the software giant. But before that, time to look back at this week full of Windows bugs, apps, updates, Bing, and other news. Confirmed Windows Bugs and other troubles This week, Microsoft confirmed several issues and bugs in its operating systems. It all started with multiple users reporting cryptic errors when installing the latest Windows 11 cumulative updates. In addition, some complained about VPN slowdowns that Microsoft subsequently confirmed. Later, Microsoft admitted it could not fix issues with the Local Security Authority feature and offered a temporary workaround. Interestingly, LSA is not the only problem Microsoft has a hard time fixing: the company confirmed the return of the bug causing issues with the Start menu, Office apps, Window Search, UWP apps, and other components. This time, the only workaround as we wait for a real fix is to uninstall specific apps, which might not be acceptable for many. Finally, Microsoft detailed a weird bug causing internal hard and solid-state drives to show as removable media in Windows 11. Funny enough, it is one of those ancient annoyances from the Windows Vista era, and it still haunts modern Windows versions, such as 11. Luckily, Microsoft has provided a workaround. It is not all bad news It is not all negative, though. This week also brought some good news, such as the updated Windows Clock app, in which Microsoft finally mended its "game-changing" feature. After months of neglect, one of Windows 11's productivity-boosting capabilities is working again. Another great improvement (do not praise Microsoft for it) is the Weather app infected with ads and MSN News. After a wave of criticism, Microsoft removed all banners and news, resulting in a much cleaner and more pleasant application. Other app-related news includes the global rollout of the Phone Link app for iOS that now allows you to send iMessage (sort of) from your PC, make calls, and receive notifications. Windows PCs now play much better with iPhones, and it is excellent. Besides, Microsoft has released an update for the Windows Photos app with support for the WebP image format. Windows 11's built-in photo viewer is now much better at handling still exotic and unconventional for many formats, such as WebP or AVIF. Internet Explorer lives... wait, what? This week, Microsoft reverted some of its initial plans to bury the good-old Internet Explorer for good. The company explained that Windows updates would no longer remove visual references from its operating system (icons on the taskbar or Start menu), leaving companies in control over determining the timing to remove IE11. Also, Microsoft would ensure some exceptional scenarios still allow access to IE11 within Edge. So there you go, Internet Explorer is still not dead™. EU and China say "Go," and Microsoft loves GeForce Now Every week brings new developments to the ever-going saga of Microsoft trying to get its hands on Activision-Blizzard. After failing to score the green light from the UK, the software giant received approval from the European Union and China. One of the biggest and most interesting gaming-related news (especially in light of CMA's discontent with the Microsoft-ABK deal) is Microsoft bringing its games to Nvidia's GeForce Now streaming service. The company has announced its plans to let gamers stream Gears 5 and more projects in the future using GeForce Now and not just Xbox Cloud Gaming or xCloud. Finally, if you are looking into something new to play, check out the latest addition to the Xbox Game Pass library that now includes FIFA 23, Railway Empire 2, Planet of Lana, and more. Bing or be careful who you call ugly in Middle School Bing is no longer Microsoft's unloved child; it gets new updates almost weekly. On May 16, Microsoft announced new AI-powered features to its mobile apps, such as Bing, SwiftKey, Edge, and Skype. Those updates will help you leverage the power of artificial intelligence in your daily life and make things much easier than before. Not so long ago, Microsoft opened Bing Chat to all users, leaving no customer in the waiting line. This week, the company made another notable change with Bing no longer requiring a Microsoft Account to access its artificial intelligence power. It is worth noting, though, that you will not get all features when accessing Bing without an MSA, so the best experience still requires an account. In addition, Microsoft is rolling out a bunch of features it promised to deliver earlier. Users can now share their conversations with Bing or export them into PDF, text, or Word documents. Finally, the character limit was increased from 2,000 to 4,000, and the service now supports video overlays and extra enhancements in Edge. Bing's rapid growth and customer interest have made some manufacturers consider swapping Google with Microsoft's upgraded search engine. However, things are not changing in favor of Bing as Samsung has not decided to ditch Google on its smartphones. No_builds week The Windows Insider program was quiet this week, with no new builds for those rocking Canary and Dev Channels. All eyes of insiders are now on the upcoming Build 2023 conference, where we want to see some Windows 11-related announcements and details about future updates. Regarding future updates, reliable sources confirmed this week that the upcoming Windows 11 23H2 update would still arrive as an enablement package based on the 22H2 version with a minor build bump. Although we haven't got any preview builds to test, Microsoft released a few apps and Xbox updates for early trials. For example, the Windows Subsystem for Android received a few neat features improving security and performance thanks to anti-virus software support and memory reallocation. The Xbox app for Windows got a few bugs squashed, and Xbox Insiders received an updated Home experience with improved Reward points integration. As for unofficial updates and projects, the original Surface Duo received another set of drivers that enabled this tiny dual-screen device to run Windows 11. Version 2305.45 brought improved sensor support, compatibility with the Surface app from the Microsoft Store, and more. Accusations and a new investigation This week, Twitter sent a letter to the Microsoft CEO complaining that the company has been "improperly using Twitter data" without paying and sharing it without permission. A Microsoft spokesperson was quick to react and told The New York Times that the software giant does not pay Twitter for its data and that Microsoft would review the complaint and respond to it accordingly. Another not-so-positive story of the week is a new antitrust investigation from the EU. The watchdog is now looking into accusations of Microsoft behaving anti-competitively and abusing its access to confidential information to leverage and compete with other cloud providers. Fun, useful, and free stuff Internet Explorer is not the only Microsoft product refusing to die this week. In a surprising move, Microsoft announced a giveaway of an unopened Zune player to help promote Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Although the giveaway sounds extremely exciting, there is one catch: Microsoft does not know if the never opened Zune works ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Adam Bottjen, your source of weekly tips, has published a new guide describing how to stop Edge from automatically loading on Windows startup. It is a handy tip for those wanting to maximize performance on startup and ensure Windows boots as "clean" as possible. Now to the freebies and discounted stuff: Epic Games is giving away free copies of the highly acclaimed Death Stranding. Also, many games are discounted during the Epic Games Store Mega Sale (coupons included) and you can save up to 90% on games in this weeks Deals with Gold that remain live until Monday. Finally, John Callaham published a guide to all the major streaming gaming events in the next few weeks to help everyone keep up with the upcoming announcements. Dates, time, and where to watch—everything included. Signing off And that is all for the week of May 15, 2023. As we approach the annual Build conference, brace yourself for a massive drop of Microsoft news next week. And to never miss a single Microsoft announcement and support us, subscribe to the Neowin Newsletter.

Microsoft Edge 113.0.1774.50 by Razvan Serea Introducing the new Microsoft Edge. Rebuilt from the ground up to bring you world-class compatibility and performance, the security and privacy you deserve, and new features designed to bring you the best of the web. Microsoft Edge is also available on iOS and Android, providing a true cross-platform experience. The new Microsoft Edge provides world class performance with more privacy, more productivity and more value while you browse. Built on the same technology as Chrome, Microsoft Edge has additional built-in features like Startup boost and Sleeping tabs, which boost your browsing experience with world class performance and speed that are optimized to work best with Windows. Microsoft Edge security and privacy features such as Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, Password Monitor, InPrivate search, and Kids Mode help keep you and your loved ones protected and secure online. Microsoft Edge has features to keep both you and your family protected. Enable content filters and access activity reports with your Microsoft Family Safety account and experience a kid-friendly web with Kids Mode. The new Microsoft Edge is now compatible with your favorite extensions, so it’s easy to personalize your browsing experience. Microsoft Edge 113.0.1774.50 changelog: Fixed various bugs and performance issues. Stable channel security updates are listed here. Download: Microsoft Edge 113.0.1774.50 (64-bit) | 145.0 MB (Freeware) Download: Microsoft Edge 113.0.1774.50 (32-bit) | 134.0 MB View: Microsoft Edge Website | Release History Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware

Microsoft testing reorder buttons in Edge Sidebar, a widely-requested feature by Rahul Naskar Last year when Microsoft launched the Sidebar feature in Edge, users were divided on how useful it could be. Luckily for Microsoft, it wasn't one of the scenarios where the company was criticized for adding new functionalities, as the Sidebar was and still is optional. For those who like Sidebar in Edge, Microsoft is taking concrete steps to improve the experience and not just listening to feedback but also acting on them. Microsoft is working on a new Edge Sidebar feature to allow for more customizations. Many users have complained that they should have the option to reorder buttons in Edge Sidebar. It will let users put the Sidebar buttons in whatever order they like. To address this issue, Microsoft is currently working on the ability to reorder buttons in Edge Sidebar. Reordering buttons in the Sidebar will be easy. You will be able to drag the button using your mouse cursor and drop it where you like it to be on the Sidebar. Microsoft is currently testing it with select users in Edge Canary, which means there is no guarantee that we will be able to use it right after installing the browser on your PC. However, if you are one of the lucky ones to see the new Sidebar functionality in Edge Canary, remember that there are some bugs in it, as pointed out by Leopeva 64-2 on Twitter. This is understandable, given that it's in the early stages of development. We are hoping that things will only improve from here. In Edge Canary Microsoft is already TESTING the option to reorder the Sidebar buttons (the feature has some bugs right now), many users had requested this option:https://t.co/YrvDXMCo2k . pic.twitter.com/9baiQa4UVW — Leopeva64 (@Leopeva64) May 18, 2023 Besides the ability to reorder Edge Sidebar buttons, Microsoft is also working on thumbnail options for Edge's "Favourites" hub to allow users to preview a small image representation of a larger web page image. It is also in the early stages of development and is limited to select Edge Canary users. Meanwhile, you can download Edge Canary here from the official Microsoft Edge Insider website.

Microsoft shares more details on Edge opening Outlook links that irked users by Sayan Sen Microsoft, back in February, introduced a big change in Outlook and Teams as browser links would, bydefault, open in the Edge sidebar pane. Many IT admins and system admins, and users in general, weren't all that pleased. Microsoft explained that its intention was to improve the workflow by eliminating task switching as much as possible. This feature is available since Outlook Build 16.0.16227.20280 or later according to the company's documentation. The company released a support article with a FAQ section that covered the basics. These were: Why is Microsoft making this change? Will this replace my default browser setting in Windows? I want to open links with the browser set as the default in Windows Settings.  How do I do that? Will this change affect me if I’m using a Mac? Since we published the news though, Microsoft updated the article to add another point about Gmail receiving support for the feature in the future. Does this functionality work for all email accounts? Currently, the ability to view your email message in the Edge sidebar pane in a side-by-side view with web content is enabled for work and school accounts as well as Microsoft accounts, such as Outlook, Hotmail, Live and MSN. We’re working on enabling this functionality for third-party accounts in Outlook starting with Gmail to create a consistent experience for users across mail providers. Since then Microsoft has updated the support article's URL since the company also changed the title of the document. Previously, the article was named "Stay in your flow with Microsoft 365 on Microsoft Edge" which was now renamed to "Outlook emails open next to web links in Microsoft Edge". It added three more points to the FAQ section. These explain how users can stop an email from auto-opening in the Edge sidebar pane, or how to remove the Outlook app icon from the sidebar pane. How can I stop my email from auto-opening in the Microsoft Edge sidebar pane? How can I remove the Outlook app icon from the Microsoft Edge sidebar? How can I set Microsoft Edge as my Windows default browser? Interestingly, Microsoft has also added a question related to users trying to make Edge the default browser in Windows. This is something Microsoft loves reminding users about. Recently, the company apparently made a controversial change via Patch Tuesday update that was forcing the Windows Default Apps settings page to pop up every time Google Chrome was fired up.

Thumbnail options maybe coming soon to Microsoft Edge 'Favourites' hub by Rahul Naskar Microsoft Edge lost to the Safari browser in the race for second place even though the former is available to all major desktop and mobile platforms. However, the recent setback hasn't held Microsoft back from continuing its efforts to add new features to Edge. The software giant is now looking to add some visual treatment to the Edge "Favourites" hub to make browsing through bookmarks interesting. Microsoft is testing thumbnail options for the "Favourites" hub page in Edge Canary, allowing users to preview a small image representation of a larger web page image. Currently, you only get a list view of all the web pages you saved as "Favourites" in Edge. While the list view is more compact and creates room for more bookmarks to be displayed on that page, thumbnail preview does exactly the opposite, as its main aim is to give you a snapshot of the web page you saved. Understandably, you can not see as many favorite items as you could in the list view when you switch to the thumbnail view. As spotted by Twitter user Leopeva 64-2, the "Favourites" hub page in Edge Canary displays a few thumbnail options, a couple of which include "Small thumbnail view," "Medium thumbnail view," and "Large thumbnail view." These different options are for different thumbnail sizes, and you can choose whatever suits your need. I originally uploaded GIFs in the tweet above, but for some reason Twitter turned them into static images (I think it was because I added descriptions lol), here are the GIFs: pic.twitter.com/iYPyF8ObOc — Leopeva64 (@Leopeva64) May 15, 2023 Thumbnail options for Edge "Favourites" are similar to Chrome's "Visual view," a feature Google added to its web browser last year. However, it is only available through a flag, even though it's been more than six months since Google introduced that functionality. On the bright side, the thumbnail view is not hidden behind a flag in Edge Canary, though it is available for limited users. This will hopefully change with Microsoft rolling it to more people in the coming days, if not months.

Edge 114 arrives in the Beta Channel with Workspaces and an extra taskbar for your PC by Taras Buria Shortly after releasing Edge 113 in the Stable Channel and Edge 115 in Dev, Microsoft is bringing Edge 114 to insiders in the Beta Channel for the final testing before the public launch next month. The latest release adds two new features: Workspaces (in preview) and a detachable, taskbar-like-looking sidebar. Edge Workspaces is the feature Microsoft announced several weeks ago. It allows inviting other users to your browsing session and sharing one set of tabs for collaborative work. You can view changes in real-time and see what other people do in the shared workspaces. Currently, Edge Workspaces is in the public preview, and you can learn how to participate using the official documentation. As for the updated sidebar (spotted earlier in Canary builds), it works just like it sounds. You can remove Edge's sidebar from the main window and fix it on your desktop, creating a weird-looking double-taskbar experience. The sidebar will remain pinned upon switching to other apps or minimizing Edge, and you can use it to access your favorite websites, built-in tools, Bing, etc. To try the updated sidebar, update Edge Beta to version 113 and click a "popout" icon in the bottom-right corner. Microsoft Edge 113 Beta is now available for download from the official Edge Insider website. Supported platforms include Windows 10 and 11, macOS, Linux, and Android. If you already use Edge Beta, update to the latest release by heading to edge://settings/help or the Menu > Help & Feedback > About Microsoft Edge.

Latest Edge Dev update improves vertical tabs, fixes AV1 media playback, and more by Taras Buria Microsoft Edge 115.0.1843.0 is now available for public testing in the Dev Channel. The release improves opening links in a new tab when using vertical tabs, allows resizing the Discover pane, fixes AV1 media playback issues, and more. What is new in Microsoft Edge Dev 115.0.1843.0? New features: You can now drag links anywhere in the Vertical Tabs area to open the link in a New Tab. Discover pane is now resizable. macOS: Added Control + Option + Command + Down shortcut to open spellcheck correction card. Enterprise: New policy: (Note: Updates to documentation and administrative templates may not have occurred yet) Added DiscoverPageContextEnabled policy. Added policy to configure recommended settings dialogs. Reliability improvements: Fixed browser crash when selecting text in the InPrivate window. macOS: Fixed browser crash when prompting proxy credentials. Android: Fixed browser crash when tapping on the forward or back button twice quickly. Other changes: Fixed unable to play videos on certain websites. Fixed AV1 media playback. Fixed Workspaces unable to reconnect when lost connection. Fixed edge://app-settings page displaying “This page has been blocked by Microsoft Edge” message. Fixed the missing Discover pane header. Linux: Fixed spellcheck suggestions not working in certain scenarios. macOS: Fixed the browser not getting focus when opening links from other apps. WebView2: Fixed ScriptDialogOpening issues for beforeunload kind (#3355) Lunching External URI API has now been promoted from the experimental stage to public. Enterprise: Fixed external unmanaged links not opening in InPrivate tabs on Android. Fixed keyboard shortcut for Discover still activates Discover while being disabled by policy. You can download Microsoft Edge Dev 115 from the official website. The browser is available on Windows 10 and 11, Linux, macOS, and Android (via Google Play Store). Microsoft plans to release version 115 in the Stable Channel on the week of June 29, 2023.

Microsoft reduces size of Windows Server Container images, will undock Edge in the future by Paul Hill Microsoft has announced some modifications to its Windows Server Container images to help reduce their size. It has removed some hive files from something called the servicing layer, disabled unnecessary scheduled tasks, and pruned non-essential log files. The company explained that its Windows Service Container images contain a base layer and servicing layer which overlays serviced binaries. To help shrink the size of the images, Microsoft has removed some hive files in the Windows\System32\Config directory from the servicing layer. Microsoft isn’t content with the aforementioned changes. In the coming months, it wants to find a way to remove the Edge browser as a default component in the Server and Windows images. Rather than being pre-installed, users will be able to install Edge as an optional component. Over time, Microsoft is planning to undock other components, but Edge is first. Another way it’s planning to reduce the size of images is to remove foreign layers from the Windows container base images. This change will apparently allow customers to redistribute container images from their container registries - Microsoft said this will also improve the experience for developers. You can now get the slimmer images from the Microsoft Artifact Registry. The available images include Nano Server, Server Core, Server, and Windows.

Microsoft Weekly: more Edge problems, Windows concepts, broken features, and updates by Taras Buria Here is your weekly recap of Microsoft news published on Neowin between April 30 and May 6, 2023. We had a lot of interesting stories, controversies, neat Windows concepts, app updates, and fresh insider builds for Windows and Xbox Insiders. Edge goes down. The biggest story of this week is Statcounter's latest browser report. According to the company, Microsoft Edge is no longer world's second desktop browser. In April 2023, Edge lost its place to Safari, the only non-cross-platform mainstream browser. Some users may say the decline is well-deserved since Microsoft continues pushing user-hostile practices. Numerous reports indicate that the latest cumulative updates for Windows 10 and 11 are forcing customers to switch to Edge. Also, Outlook and Teams will soon open all links in Microsoft Edge, regardless of your default browser. Yikes! Windows 11 goes up, but not without problems. Unlike Edge, Windows 11 shows no signs of stopping or declining—both Statcounter and Steam say Windows 11 continues its steady rise. 23% of all Windows PCs already run Microsoft's latest OS; on the gaming side, about 33% of Steam users have upgraded from Windows 10 to 11. However, every rose has its thorn—some Windows 11-related news this week was not-so-positive. For starters, a popular app for debloating the OS got kicked out of the Microsoft Store allegedly due to an invalid certificate. The developer said the app has everything it needs to remain in the Microsoft Store and called the latter "a tragedy." Another head-scratching story last week involved Windows 11's hopelessly broken "game-changing" feature. Many users noticed that the Spotify integration Panos Panay hyped so much in 2021 no longer works and returns a blank login screen whenever you try to connect to Spotify. Microsoft has confirmed that it is working on resolving the problem, but the service remains inoperable for almost three months. Microsoft also confirmed a new known issue in Windows 11 22H2. The company says users may experience issues with speech recognition when using specific languages. Fortunately, the problem affects only two languages, and it will get a fix soon. On a slightly puzzling side, Microsoft allegedly reduced Windows 11's OOBE quality—it now plays at 30FPS instead of 60FPS, and no one knows why. Mouth-watering concepts. Feast your eyes on these two fantastic Windows concepts. One imagines Windows "12" with a highly-customizable taskbar to please everyone and another imagines what could Windows 11 Mobile look like had Microsoft not abandoned its mobile OS in 2017. Dev Channel Let's get to app updates, fresh Windows and Xbox Insider builds, and more. Windows Insiders received a build in almost every channel this week: 25357 in Canary, 23451 in Dev, and 22621/4.1690 in Beta. In addition to features and changes mentioned in the official release notes (you might not like some of them), those builds have several hidden improvements you can enable with our favorite ViVeTool app: Notable improvements for tab management in File Explorer An iOS-like widget picker A much-better virtual desktop experience with restored animations and desktop indicators Speaking of widgets, a new report emerged last week, spilling the beans on Microsoft's plans to finally let Windows 11 users place widgets on the desktop. It is the most-requested widget-related change, and Microsoft is finally on track to deliver it. Here are app updates from the last week: Edge 113 in the Stable Channel UUP Media Converter now lets you download Canary builds New virtual backgrounds for Microsoft Teams Windows Photos app received a feature Microsoft removed earlier (and more) Xbox app for Windows with several game library improvements A major update for Microsoft Lists with UX optimizations and double the speed A revamped Microsoft OneDrive for Work and School Finally, last week, Microsoft launched community voting for the best Microsoft Store apps in 2023. The voting is now over, so stand by for the results. On the Xbox side of Microsoft's Insider program, gamers received new fixes and improvements in Beta, Delta, and Omega Rings. Besides, Microsoft released a refined home experience for Alpha, Alpha Skip-Ahead insiders, and it features a simplified layout with more emphasis on users' backgrounds. Games Kicking off the gaming section, check out John Callaham's look back at Wolfenstein 3D, which turned 31 years old. Hogwarts Legacy arrived on the previous-gen consoles with a dedicated Arachnophobia Mode, and a Phil Spencer interview reveals details about the disappointing Redfall (as some say Redfell) launch. This week also offered plenty of freebies for gamers: Four games in the weekly Free Play Days program on Xbox A 7-day trail for non-Prime members on Amazon Lune (now runs Fortnite) Massive Deals with Gold discounts on Bioshock, Guardians of the Galaxy, and other games Other notable gaming news includes a new referral trial program that lets you give your friends a 14-day Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass trial. After accepting an invitation, they will be able to play hundreds of games, plus several titles coming later this month. Finally, Microsoft announced a new custom controller in partnership with the OPI nail brand, and Xbox Game Showcase and Starfield Direct dates. Windows Security During the last seven days, Microsoft released many security updates. A new anti-malware package for Windows images is now available, allowing configuring WIM and VHD formats with the latest security definitions. Also, Microsoft published new Defender guides to help clients enable key security features on their systems. Another notable change for IT admins this week is email notifications about known Windows issues. Administrators can now receive an email whenever Microsoft details a new known problem in its operating system and apply necessary changes or mitigations much faster. Reviews This week, Steven Parker published a review of the GEEKOM Mini IT12, a mini PC powered by Intel's 12th gen processors. It turned out to be a solid, well-built, and powerful device with a few small nuances. Be sure to check out the review via this link. Trivia As usual, during this week, we had several editorials and trivia articles. An article by Usama Jawad detailed why Windows 10 will turn into Windows 7 in terms of market share and users' unwillingness to move on. John Callaham's "look back" article revives the memories of the first Microsoft Mouse released nearly 40 years ago (great read in light of the news about Microsoft stopping its mice and keyboard production). Also, check out Aditya Tiwari's brief history of Microsoft-owned LinkedIn as it turned 20 years old. And that is it for this week's recap—plenty of Microsoft news both good and not-so-much. And with the annual Microsoft Build conference upon us, I am looking forward to what this month will soon bring us. If you think I missed some interesting stories, share them in the comments section. Also, you can always find more Microsoft news under the "Microsoft" tag here on Neowin. If you like weekly recaps like this, be sure to subscribe to Neowin Newsletter. It will deliver the most interesting news directly to your inbox. Previous Microsoft Weekly roundups are available via this link.

Microsoft Edge 113.0.1774.35 by Razvan Serea Introducing the new Microsoft Edge. Rebuilt from the ground up to bring you world-class compatibility and performance, the security and privacy you deserve, and new features designed to bring you the best of the web. Microsoft Edge is also available on iOS and Android, providing a true cross-platform experience. The new Microsoft Edge provides world class performance with more privacy, more productivity and more value while you browse. Built on the same technology as Chrome, Microsoft Edge has additional built-in features like Startup boost and Sleeping tabs, which boost your browsing experience with world class performance and speed that are optimized to work best with Windows. Microsoft Edge security and privacy features such as Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, Password Monitor, InPrivate search, and Kids Mode help keep you and your loved ones protected and secure online. Microsoft Edge has features to keep both you and your family protected. Enable content filters and access activity reports with your Microsoft Family Safety account and experience a kid-friendly web with Kids Mode. The new Microsoft Edge is now compatible with your favorite extensions, so it’s easy to personalize your browsing experience. Microsoft Edge 113.0.1774.35 changelog: Improvements to enhanced security mode. Enhanced security mode provides an extra layer of protection when browsing the web and visiting unfamiliar sites. In this release updates include consolidating the security level settings to Balanced and Strict mode. For more information, see Browse more safely with Microsoft Edge. Switch from Microsoft Autoupdate to EdgeUpdater for macOS. Microsoft Edge for macOS will start using a new updater named EdgeUpdater. This change only affects Microsoft Edge on macOS. If you use update preferences for Microsoft Autoupdate to prevent browser updates, you will need to transition to the new EdgeUpdater UpdateDefault policy before Microsoft Edge 113 to prevent future automatic updates. For more information, see Microsoft Edge for macOS switches from Microsoft AutoUpdate to EdgeUpdater. New policy for PDF View Settings. The RestorePdfView policy lets Admins control PDF View Recovery in Microsoft Edge. When enabled or if the policy isn't configured, Microsoft Edge will recover the last state of PDF view and land users on the section where they ended reading in the last session. Updated Microsoft Root Store policy. The MicrosoftRootStoreEnabled policy will now be supported in Microsoft Edge version 113 and 114. It will be removed in Microsoft Edge version 115. For more information, see Changes to Microsoft Edge browser TLS server certificate verification. New policies RestorePdfView - Restore PDF view EnforceLocalAnchorConstraintsEnabled - Determines whether the built-in certificate verifier will enforce constraints encoded into trust anchors loaded from the platform trust store ReadAloudEnabled - Enable Read Aloud feature in Microsoft Edge ShowDownloadsToolbarButton - Show Downloads button on the toolbar TabServicesEnabled - Tab Services enabled Download: Microsoft Edge 113.0.1774.35 (64-bit) | 145.0 MB (Freeware) Download: Microsoft Edge 113.0.1774.35 (32-bit) | 134.0 MB View: Microsoft Edge Website | Release History Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware

Latest Microsoft Edge brings security improvements, updated PDF policies to all by Sayan Sen Microsoft has released the latest version of Edge stable version. The new version, 113.0.1774.35, brings improvements to Edge's enhanced security mode, a new EdgeUpdater for macOS, new policies for PDF viewing and Microsoft Root Store. The full changelog is given below: Feature update Improvements to enhanced security mode. Enhanced security mode provides an extra layer of protection when browsing the web and visiting unfamiliar sites. In this release updates include consolidating the security level settings to Balanced and Strict mode. Switch from Microsoft Autoupdate to EdgeUpdater for macOS. Microsoft Edge for macOS will start using a new updater named EdgeUpdater. This change only affects Microsoft Edge on macOS. If you use update preferences for Microsoft Autoupdate to prevent browser updates, you will need to transition to the new EdgeUpdater UpdateDefault policy before Microsoft Edge 113 to prevent future automatic updates. New policy for PDF View Settings. The RestorePdfView policy lets Admins control PDF View Recovery in Microsoft Edge. When enabled or if the policy isn't configured, Microsoft Edge will recover the last state of PDF view and land users on the section where they ended reading in the last session. Updated Microsoft Root Store policy. The MicrosoftRootStoreEnabled policy will now be supported in Microsoft Edge version 113 and 114. It will be removed in Microsoft Edge version 115. Policy updates New policies RestorePdfView - Restore PDF view EnforceLocalAnchorConstraintsEnabled - Determines whether the built-in certificate verifier will enforce constraints encoded into trust anchors loaded from the platform trust store ReadAloudEnabled - Enable Read Aloud feature in Microsoft Edge ShowDownloadsToolbarButton - Show Downloads button on the toolbar TabServicesEnabled - Tab Services enabled You may find more details about these policies on Microsoft's official website here.

Microsoft Bing Chat is in open preview, and will add chat history, visual search and more by John Callaham Over the past couple of weeks, Microsoft has been fairly quiet with its updates on its Bing Chat service. However, there have been hints that the company was preparing some big announcements for its AI chatbot. Today, the company revealed a ton of new and upcoming features for Bing Chat and its Edge web browser. That includes the news that Bing Chat is now in full Open Preview mode. While Microsoft seemed to have eliminated the Bing Chat waitlist a couple of months ago, the company has now officially stated that there is indeed no more waitlist to try out the chatbot. All you need is a Microsoft Account and you are all set to use Bing Chat on mobile or via Edge on the desktop. Microsoft claims that there are now over 100 million daily active users for Bing Chat, with over half a billion total chats since its launch. It also says that daily installs of the Bing mobile app have gone up four times more than normal since Bing Chat was first introduced. One of the most requested features by Bing Chat users is a way to save previous chats. Today, Microsoft said that ability will be put in "shortly", allowing users to stop a chat in mid-session and then return again where the chat was paused. It added: And when you want to dig into something deeper and open a Bing chat result, your chat will move to your Edge sidebar, so you can keep your chat on hand while you browse. Over time, we’re exploring making your chats more personalized by bringing context from a previous chat into new conversations. Microsoft will also be adding ways to quickly export chat conversations and also share them on social media. It stated: For times when you want to easily share your conversation with others in social media or continue iterating on a newly discovered idea, you can export it directly – the format stays the same to make an easy transition to continue in collaborative tools like Microsoft Word. In March, Microsoft launched Bing Image Creator, a way to use text prompts to create art with generative AI. Since then the company claims that over 200 million images have been generated with the AI program. Today, the company said that Bing Image Creator is expanding its reach. Previously it only supported English, but now the AI art maker can now accept text prompts from all of Bing's over 100 supported languages. The company added it is working to add visual searches to Bing Chat, so you can upload images in the chat to search for content related to it in Bing. It will also add visual elements for searches in chat, including things like charts and graphs. Microsoft also revealed some changes coming to its Edge browser in relationship to Bing: Edge mobile will also soon include page context, so you can ask questions in Bing chat related to the mobile page you're viewing. The compose feature in sidebar can also now tailor drafts based on feedback you give like tone, length, phrasing and more. Bing Chat will also offer improvements for summaries of large articles and documents within Edge, and will introduce what Microsoft calls Edge actions: Available in the coming weeks, people will soon be able to lean on AI to complete even more tasks with fewer steps. For example, if you want to watch a particular movie, actions in Edge will find and show you options in chat in the sidebar and then play the movie you want from where it’s available. Microsoft adds that it will continue to monitor the use of Bing Chat to make sure that its safeguards are working for the ethical use of its AI tools. It stated: Together with our partners at OpenAI, we’ve continued to implement safeguards to defend against harmful content based on what we’re learning and seeing in preview. Our teams continue to work to address issues such as misinformation and disinformation, content blocking, data safety and preventing the promotion of harmful or discriminatory content in line with our AI principles. The new info on Bing Chat updates comes on the same day that the CEOs of Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic will be meeting with US Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington DC to discuss plans for keeping the use of AI ethical and responsible.

Latest Windows 11 and 10 Patch Tuesdays are trying to coax Chrome users to switch to Edge by Sayan Sen via Vivaldi It is probably not unfair to say that Microsoft really wants people to use its Edge web browser. The company has often adopted somewhat desperate means to coax more users into trying Edge and choosing it as their default browser. Just considering the Windows 11 era, the company first came under fire due to the way it set up the default app options as it was seemingly quite tedious to go through the process. There have been aggressive ads and promotions as well, like the time Microsoft called Google Chrome "so 2008" and suggested that Edge was more secure than Chrome. This kind of ad once again appeared when trying to download Chrome, only this time it took up the full screen instead of being just a tiny prompt in the corner up top, which kind of showed how much it wants users to notice it exists. And of course, from time to time Edge also wants you to choose it as the default browser. And if you thought Microsoft would try and pull something similar sooner rather than later, you'd be absolutely right. According to user reports online, the latest April Patch Tuesday updates for both Windows 11 and Windows 10 are now triggering the Default Apps Settings page when a web link is opened with Google Chrome. Hence when a user is opening a link with Chrome, the default app settings is trying to make users want to switch over to Edge instead. Joris Geutjes posted this issue on the Google Chrome forum: Since today, we have noticed on several Windows 10 users (version 22H2 with the latest updates from Microsoft that they released on patch Tuesday of April 11, 2023) that when starting the Google Chrome browser, the Default Apps settings are opened every time. We have already set Google Chrome as the default browser several times. But that makes no sense at all. Restoring all Google Chrome default settings also has no effect. Even uninstalling Google Chrome and reinstalling it does not provide a solution. The issue is pretty widespread. It seems as if 387 people have upvoted this by choosing the "I have the same question" option. Over on the Microsoft forum, a user Todd Fuhrman1 posted the same question and it too has been upvoted by 87 people. On the same Google forum thread, a user offers a solution which is basically to uninstall the updates (Windows 11 22H2: KB5025239, Windows 11 21H2: KB5025224, and Windows 10: KB5025221). This seems to resolve the issue, indicating that Patch Tuesday indeed messed something up, perhaps even deliberately. Via: Gizmodo

Outlook, and soon Teams links to open in Microsoft Edge by default; users aren't too pleased by Sayan Sen via Vivaldi Back in February, Microsoft announced a pretty major change for Microsoft 365 Outlook and Teams. The company said that Outlook, and in the future Teams, would open browser links by default on Microsoft Edge. Microsoft later explained in detail why it was making such a change in a support article. Essentially, the tech giant tried to clarify that this decision was made to benefit users and their workflow by reducing task switching and helping improve focus. It wrote: Why is Microsoft making this change? To improve your experience between email and browsing—letting you see them both at the same time, in the same place. No more switching back and forth between apps. To provide a unique experience—at Microsoft, we strive to create the best customer experience across our products. To reduce task switching and improve workflow and focus—by opening browser links in Microsoft Edge, the original message in Outlook can be viewed alongside web content to easily access, read, and respond to the message, using the matching authenticated profile. IT admins and system admins became aware of this when they came across Microsoft 365 (M365) Message Center IDs MC548092 and MC541626 that detail these changes (via hume_reddit on Reddit). Below is a part of the message that explains how organizations will be affected by this change. However this message is not visible to every tenant it seems as Microsoft is gradually rolling it out, and appears to be testing the waters before jumping all in: How this will affect your organization: Web links from emails in the Outlook for Windows app will open side-by-side with the email in Microsoft Edge so users can easily reference the link and email without switching back and forth between apps. The email will open in the Outlook app in the Edge sidebar. Links will open in Microsoft Edge even if it is not the system default browser in Windows. Only links set to open via a web browser are affected. Links that are set to open in a client app or within Outlook itself will continue to do so. User experiences will vary by policy configuration; please see the next section. Web links from all accounts in the Outlook for Windows app will open in Microsoft Edge, but the side-by-side experience is not available for non-AAD or non-MSA accounts at this time. Teams will not receive the change at this time. Overall, from the looks of it, users, at least on Reddit, don't seem too pleased. "Sounds anti competitive like back with IE and browser choice..." says postbox134 on a Reddit thread. Meanwhile, another user justenoughslack writes "This has been going on for some time now with Outlook on Android. It completely bypasses the default browser setting and opens all links in Edge. It's annoying." BarelyAirborne says "Just what I needed, a dozen more Edge processes running that I did not ask for and do not want." Outside of desktops, this change is also already here on the mobile side of things as well. M365 Message Center ID MC531738 explains (via alanjmcf on Reddit): Currently users open links automatically from Outlook for iOS and Android in their default browser. This change will prompt users to choose their browser instead. Users can choose their default browser if they prefer and configure that preference in their Outlook Mobile settings. There is a silver lining for all this though. Microsoft does allow users to opt out of this and choose their default browser to open links with as you can see in the image below: To do that, open Outlook, select File > Options > Advanced > Link handling and choose your preferred browser from the dropdown menu. Source: Reddit (1), (2), (3) via Petri