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Statcounter: Windows 11's climb slowed down in May 2023 by Taras Buria Several days ago, when detailing performance improvements in the latest Windows 11 update, Microsoft revealed that over one billion computers run its operating system. Unfortunately, the company did not provide extra details, such as how many devices have upgraded to Windows 11. Still, developers and customers are not in the complete dark—Statcounter's monthly reports provide regular insights into how many users each Windows version and other operating systems. Click here to learn more about Statcounter's methodology. Remember that data from third parties is never 100% accurate. According to the May 2023 report from Statcounter, Windows 10 remains the dominant operating system among Windows users. Approximately 71.9% (+0.54 points) of all customers continue using it for their daily computing needs. Windows 11, which soon turns two, slowed down a bit: 22.95%, with a slight dip compared with the previous month (-0.16 points). It will be interesting to see how the just-released "Moment 3" update will affect Windows 11's market share and if the announced at the Build conference features are tempting enough for Windows 10 customers to pull the trigger and update. Together, Windows 10 and 11 hold 94.85% of the entire market. As expected, Windows 7 took a significant nosedive when Microsoft ended the Extended Security Update program in January 2023. Still, a considerable number of users continue operating Windows 7 for all sorts of tasks. Statcounter claims the OS has a 3.61% market share (-0.17 points). Those not planning to upgrade from Windows 7 soon will be glad to learn that Mozilla is ready to continue supporting the now-dead OS for more than one extra year. Even though Windows 7 no longer receives updates, it still has a mainstream browser with regular patches and security fixes. Windows 10: 71.9% (+0.54 points) Windows 11: 22.95% (-0.16 points) Windows 7: 3.61% (-0.17 points) Windows 8.1: 0.72% (-0.13 points) Windows 8: 0.37% (-0.06 points) The honorable mention goes to Windows XP, which will soon mark ten years since the end of its extended support. Per Statcounter's findings, about 0.32% of Windows users are still rocking XP and using it to access the internet. A decade in no-update mode is nothing for a true fan! You can find more information about the Statcounter May 2023 report on the official website. A similar report covering the latest browser stats is available here.

Mozilla finally reveals the end of support date for Firefox on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 by Taras Buria Windows 7 and 8/8.1, two highly polarizing operating systems from Microsoft, are no longer with us. They went six feet under in January 2023, when the software giant ended the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, causing third-party developers to follow suit and stop supporting their software. Still, even though Edge and Chrome were the first to abandon ship, Mozilla Foundation decided to keep supporting Firefox users on Windows 7 and 8/8.1. However, this cannot last forever, so after months of careful consideration, Mozilla is finally ready to reveal the end of support date. According to a document published on the official Mozilla Support website, customers unwilling to upgrade to Windows 10 or 11 can use Firefox 115 Extended Support Release (ESR) until September 2024. Mozilla pledges to continue shipping security updates for 15 more months, giving plenty of time to plan the upgrade process. Here is how the company explains its decision: Microsoft ended official support for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 in January of 2023. Unsupported operating systems receive no security updates and have known exploits. With no official support from Microsoft, maintaining Firefox for obsolete operating systems becomes costly for Mozilla and dangerous for users. Although Windows 7 and 8/8.1 have relatively minor market shares (approximately 5% combined), Mozilla says quite a lot of people continue using Firefox to access the internet from PCs with the now-dead operating systems. Keeping testing machines alive for a few extra months "is not the end of the world" for Mozilla, but the non-profit company cannot run them indefinitely. Of course, another end of support will probably mean nothing to die-hard Windows 7 fans. After all, some people still use Windows XP like nobody's business. Still, it is worth reminding that using a connected PC that no longer receives security updates is not a great idea, and you risk getting malware that utilizes unpatched security holes and various vulnerabilities.

Microsoft: Windows 11 also haunted by this SATA BIOS bug just like Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 by Sayan Sen Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 11, too, is affected by an age-old bug related to Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA). The bug is related to the firmware wherein an internal SATA drive, be it a slower, mechanical hard disk drive (HDD) or a faster NAND flash-based Solid-state drive (SSD), is misread as removable media in the Windows taskbar. This issue is really ancient (by technology standards) as Microsoft says it affects anything newer than Windows Vista, ie, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and finally Windows 11. On a newly updated support document regarding the issue, Microsoft writes: Symptoms Internal SATA devices (HDDs or SSDs) may show as removable media in your task bar. Cause Whether or not a device is considered removable is determined by your system’s BIOS and how it marks the various SATA ports on the motherboard. The inbox driver directly inspects SATA ports and considers devices connected to those ports marked “external” as removable devices. Not all storage drivers do this, which can be a potential cause for corruption or data loss. Microsoft has also provided a way to fix this issue using elevated Command Prompt CLI. This solution also works on Windows 8, 8.1, and Windows 10: Resolution First, check for and install available BIOS updates from your PC manufacturer. If none are available, you can follow these steps to override the way the inbox driver surfaces devices on certain ports: Open a command prompt with administrator privileges. In the command prompt window, type the following command in hit Enter: devmgmt.msc Under Disk Drives, identify the SATA device you would like the inbox driver to consider internal and open properties for this device by right-clicking and selecting Properties. Note the bus number from the properties overview (“1” in the below example). For Windows 8 and later: Type the following command in the previously opened command prompt and hit Enter: reg.exe add “HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\storahci\Parameters\Device” /f /v TreatAsInternalPort /t REG_MULTI_SZ /d x Where x corresponds to the Bus Number you noted in step 4. You may find more details in the support article on Microsoft's website.

The 4TB SanDisk Extreme PRO SSD is selling at a huge 67% discount on Amazon by Fiza Ali If you are in need of some powerful storage option to back up your data, Amazon is offering 67% off on the 4TB SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD today. Currently, it is selling for only $299.99 after the huge 67% discount on its original MSRP of $899.99. With this deal, you get to save $600 so, get your hands on it right away! It features 2000MB/s read and write speeds in a rugged storage solution to offer powerful NVMe solid-state performance. It comes with a forged aluminium chassis acting as a heatsink to provide higher sustained speeds. It also offers approximately two-meter drop protection and IP55 water and dust resistance. Furthermore, the SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD ensures extra security by helping you keep your private content safe with the included password protection that employs 256-bit AES hardware encryption. Furthermore, it is supported by Windows 8, Windows 10, and macOS v10.9. It also offers full HD and 4K UHD video support. 4TB SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD (Up to 2000MB/s - USB-C, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 - External Solid State Drive): $299.99 (Amazon US) Alternatively, you can check out other SSD deals from Western Digital, Crucial, and Silicon Power. For hard disk drives, you can head over to our HDD deals section to see if anything from there matches your requirements. If this is not what you want, you can also browse through Amazon US, Newegg US, or Amazon UK, or visit our Deals section to see if you find other great deals. As an Amazon Associate when you purchase through links on our site, we earn from qualifying purchases. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Statcounter: 23% of all Windows computers run Windows 11 by Taras Buria In addition to the latest data about desktop and mobile browsers (there are some interesting changes), Statcounter's report provides insights into operating systems, allowing developers and regular customers to learn how popular various OSes are. Disclaimer: Third-party reports are never 100% accurate. Learn how Statcounter gathers its data in a post on the official website. According to the April 2023 report, Windows 11 has reached its all-time high of 23.01%, a 2.06 points increase compared to March 2023. Despite steady growth, dethroning Windows 10 with its massive 71.45% market share, which is slowly going down after a sharp rise that followed the end of Windows 7 support, remains an almost unreachable goal for Windows 11, especially when you consider rumors about Microsoft releasing Windows "12" in late 2024. Another dramatic change in Microsoft's approach to releasing "large" Windows versions may result in Windows 10 turning into another Windows 7—an OS people refuse to leave, even in sight of the incoming end of support in October 2025 (Microsoft has already confirmed version 22H2 is the last feature update for Windows 10). Windows 10 and 11 hold 94.46% of the market, leaving just a tad more than 5% to the remaining now-dead releases, such as Windows 7 and 8. Windows 7 has 3.78% (+0.05 points), and Windows 8.1 is still on 0.85% of all PCs (-0.01 points). Unsurprisingly, people still access the internet from computers running various Windows XP versions. Statcounter says about 0.35% of the market runs the OS Microsoft put to its final rest almost one decade ago. Windows 10 - 71.45% (-0.09 points) Windows 11 - 23.01% (+2.06 points) Windows 7 - 3.78% (-0.05 points) Windows 8.1 - 0.85% (+0.01 points) Windows 8 - 0.44% (-0.07 points) You can find more information about Statcounter's latest OS figures on the official website.

Microsoft Weekly: Windows security, Edge leakage, and the end of Windows 10 by Usama Jawad It's Saturday, which means that it's time yet again to recap all the important news of the past few days from the world of Microsoft. This was an absolutely jampacked news week as you'll soon find out with items about Windows security, Microsoft Edge, and the end of Windows 10. Find out more in our latest digest covering April 23 - April 28! Windows security Windows security was a hot topic in our news coverage this week. Microsoft released various PowerShell scripts to help IT admins identify if recent patches have mitigated security flaws in their Windows 10 and 11 environments. It also shared a timeline covering the next few months of Windows hardening for various protocols including Netlogon and Kerberos. However, the firm continues struggling with existing security issues in its operating systems. It confirmed yesterday that the latest Patch Tuesday update has broken Local Account log-in on both Windows 10 and Windows 11, a workaround has been issued. It has also cautioned about interop issues in its Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) but has recently fixed most, if not all of them, too. IT admins can also leverage an unofficial third-party GUI tool to manage both versions of LAPS, at their own risk. Another problem related to Local Security Authority (LSA) protection in Windows Defender has been patched too. Additionally, Microsoft revealed more details about the security features present in its revamped Teams desktop app. It might interest some of you to know that the firm is considering unbundling Teams from its Office suite of apps to appease EU regulators and also empower Teams users on Android to disable automatic firmware updates. And if you like to mess around with Windows installations, you might want to check out AtlasOS, which is a third-party, lightweight version of Windows 10 that's supposedly better for gaming. It received updates during this week and is set to get back Windows Defender soon too, with the developer making a seemingly tall claim that AtlasOS will be even more secure than the official Windows 10. But if you'd rather mess with your existing installation at a smaller scale, you can check out Wintoys for Windows 11 instead. Edge leakage Edge and Microsoft's other browser-related efforts found themselves in the news a lot throughout this week, for both good reasons and bad. For starters, someone made a rather startling discovery that Edge is apparently leaking all the websites you visit in the browser to the Bing API, even if you don't use Bing. Microsoft is still investigating this claim and has promised swift action once its findings are complete. Brave has also decided to stop using the Bing API to serve search results and its search index is now 100% independent. We also learned that Microsoft has started to insert ads for the new AI-powered Bing in the search bar if you visit Google Bard through Microsoft Edge. Bing Chat itself received a few updates this week to further decrease the disengagement rate and improve answers for traveling and cooking questions. Talking more about browsers, Windows 11's Mica effect is slated to arrive in Chrome soon. Moreover, the latest Edge Dev 114 update has added several fixes and a shortcut for toggling Sidebar. A recent Canary build is also making it easier to tweak Windows 11-style rounded corners in Edge. In fact, Microsoft has announced that Edge users will soon be able to disable some unnecessary features as well. There were other items to cover in the Microsoft 365 sector too. All Microsoft 365 apps and services will begin using the more neutral "cloud.microsoft" domain soon. Microsoft has also been improving its Microsoft 365 apps and services themselves in recent days. It has detailed all the improvements it made to Excel in April, added the Accessibility ribbon to Outlook for Windows, integrated the Today tab in the latest Skype Insider build, and is implementing a way to make it easier for Outlook mobile users to reply to emails on time. Meanwhile, Microsoft Loop can now be tested via personal accounts on iOS and Android while Microsoft Designer is now available in full via a public preview. Something that will displease Windows Weather app customers though is that Microsoft has decided to infest it with MSN news content, which is ludicrous, to say the least. The end of Windows 10 Microsoft announced earlier this week that version 22H2 is the last version of Windows 10. What this means is that while customers using the OS will continue receiving minor improvements and security updates until October 14, 2025 (and beyond if you're an LTSC customer), there will be no more feature updates. In addition, Microsoft has also announced that the LTSC version of Windows 11 will arrive in the latter half of next year. Windows 10 recently received April's non-security preview update with lots of improvements too. Another thing being discontinued is Microsoft-branded mice, keyboards, webcams. The remaining accessories will only be sold until current supplies last, after which Microsoft will focus only on Surface-branded accessories. In more end-of-support news, the Steam client has started "End of Life" alerts for some users as it will be dropping support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 on January 1, 2024. Roughly 2% of Valve's user base utilizes these three operating systems, which means that the vast majority won't be affected. Windows 11 continued to be Microsoft's focus of attention when it came to operating system releases this week. Apart from the expected April non-security preview updates for Windows 11 version 21H2 and 22H2, there were a few Insider releases too. Windows 11 Beta build (KB5025303) fixed LAPS and ReFS issues, and added new Widgets. Meanwhile, Canary build 25352 brought a new widget picker experience. Some may also find it interesting that Microsoft is looking to make Rust a part of the Windows 11 kernel due to the numerous advantages it offers in writing safer and more optimized code. But in terms of what's available generally right now, we have Phone Link for iOS and guidance for how to get Windows 11 updates faster. And if you're still on the fence about giving Windows 11, make sure to try out the Redmond tech firm's latest evaluation virtual machines for the OS. Git gud Microsoft faced probably its biggest roadblock yet in its bid to purchase Activision Blizzard when the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided to block its deal, citing potentially reduced competition in the cloud gaming space. As Activision stock tanks, Microsoft has decided to appeal the decision, with president Brad Smith calling this initial outcome "bad for Britain". Although another report claimed that Microsoft may close the deal without the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) approval, that rumor was based on the UK CMA giving its blessing in the first place. Now that this hasn't happened, it's unlikely that the purchase will close anytime soon. For now, Microsoft's acquisition has been approved in Ukraine and the firm has signed yet another 10-year cloud gaming deal with a European firm too (Nvidia GeForce Now will continue to get Xbox games despite this setback too). Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick fully expects the CMA's decision to be reversed following the appeal. In other gaming news, there have been a few Xbox Insider builds to fix game art issues and other bugs. And if you're eagerly awaiting Redfall, you can build themed Xbox controllers based on the game through Xbox Design Lab. Similarly, if you reside in London or NYC, you might want to check out the dedicated gaming zones that Microsoft has built with Samsung. Coming over to game updates, Flight Simulator World Update XIII is now available, it targets Oceania and Antarctica. Quantum Break fans will also be pleased to know that the title is back on digital storefronts and is available on PC Game Pass for the first time too. Meanwhile, Grounded players can tackle wasps as a new foe, with the game also being Steam Deck verified now. And in a major win for accessibility, Turn 10 Studios has announced that it is working on tons of accessibility options for the next Forza Motorsport, allowing blind players to enjoy the game as well. Finally, talking about the deals and promotions currently going on, Xbox Free Play Days is offering four games, namely Crusader Kings III, Hell Let Loose, Don’t Starve Together, and Leap. May's Games with Gold have also been announced and they are Hoa and Star Wars Episode I Racer. And if you're on the lookout for games on the cheap, check out the latest Xbox Deals with Gold and this Weekend's PC Game Deals, curated by our News Editor Pulasthi Ariyasinghe. Dev Channel Microsoft's Q3 2023 results show growth but Windows, Xbox, and Devices numbers continue to decline Rufus 4 is out with improvements and a default 64-bit executable Rufus alternative WinToUSB has received "Windows 11 Lite" support Latest WingetUI has a new UI, faster loading performance, and lots more Microsoft has decided to continue working with private Russian companies not under sanctions Fluent Emoji Gallery app is now available with access to Microsoft's three emoji styles Apple Music Preview for Windows has finally netted media keys and lyrics support Microsoft-backed BSA has called for federal rules and guidelines on AI You can now create Power BI reports directly in Jupyter Notebooks Under the spotlight News Reporter John Callaham took a look back at Windows Server 2003, which launched 20 years ago this week. It was the server version of Windows XP and is reportedly still being used in some enterprise environments. Read more about its interesting, but brief, history here. John took another trip down memory lane this week as he reminisced about Microsoft's first PC game, simply called Microsoft Adventure. Meanwhile, News Reporter Taras Buria penned a guide about how you can use a Windows laptop or a tablet as a secondary monitor. Finally, forum member Adam Bottjen published his latest Tech Tip Tuesday guide explaining how you can quickly fill an online form with ease. Logging off Our most interesting news item for this week involves someone building a ChatGPT client in Java that is capable of running on Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, and 11. It's called JavaGPT and weighs in at just 6MB. While it's doubtful that it has any real-world use considering that you can just access the service from a browser, it's interesting to see experiments like these from time to time. Find out more details about the open-source Java utility here. If you'd like to get a weekly digest of news from Neowin, we have a Newsletter you can sign up for either via the 'Get our newsletter' widget in the sidebar, or through this link. Missed any of the previous columns? Check them all out at this link.

Steam Client pushing "End of Life" alert for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 to all by Sayan Sen First announced last month via its Beta update, Valve has re-confirmed that Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 support for Steam Client will be dropping next year on Jan 1st, 2024 at 10am. This annoucement was made with the latest final Client update today as the "End of Life" alert will now be pushed to everyone. According to Valve's own survey data, 1.86% of Steam's user base is on the three operating systems getting the boot. The vast majority of Windows users, which amount to 96.37% of total active accounts on the platform, are using Windows 10 (62.33%) and Windows 11 (32.06%). Alongside that, the update also brings other fixes and improvements like reduced CPU usage during Big Picture Mode window, crash fix in Compatibility mode, among others. Over on macOS side, End of Life alert for macOS 10.11 ("El Capitan") and 10.12 ("Sierra") are being pushed. General Added "End of Life" alert for Windows 7/8/8.1. Steam Client support for these operating systems will end on Jan 1st, 2024 at 10am. See here for additional details. Fixed crash when clicking links in Compatibility Mode alert dialogs Reduced CPU usage of the Big Picture Mode window macOS Added "End of Life" alert for macOS 10.11 ("El Capitan") and 10.12 ("Sierra"). Steam Client support for these operating systems will end on September 1st, 2023 at 10am. See here for additional details. Fix Steam Overlay crash in some games using Metal graphics API You can find Valve's official support article here.

Microsoft Weekly: LAPS and Windows Taskbar, Samsung ditching Google rumors, and app updates by Usama Jawad It's the end of yet another week and it's time again to recap all the important events that transpired in the Microsoft-verse during the past few days. This time, we have news items related to Windows features like Taskbar and LAPS, rumors about Samsung ditching Google as the default search engine, and lots of app updates. Without further ado, let's dive into the latest weekly digest covering April 16 - April 21! Windows Taskbar and LAPS You might recall that earlier this month, Microsoft announced that Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) is now a built-in feature in Windows through the latest Patch Tuesday update. However, users have discovered a few bugs that occur when both versions of LAPS (legacy and Patch Tuesday) are installed on the machine. The company has detailed some workarounds but it's unclear when a more permanent fix will be available. For now though, it appears that Microsoft has fixed a Local Security Authority (LSA) protection bug recently introduced in Windows 11. In related news, patches have also been rolled out for MMIO Stale Data Vulnerabilities in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. In terms of Insider builds and upcoming features, Microsoft is seemingly looking to restore a popular Taskbar feature to Windows 11, in the form of the "Never combine" option. This is present in the latest Dev Channel build 23440 (which also brings arguably better Start menu recommendations) but it is hidden for now without a way to enable it. Instead, if you're on Dev Channel build 23435, you can instead try and enable the hidden smart window snapping feature or the new OOBE customization options if you're on Canary build 25336. That's not all when it comes to Insider builds though. Canary build 25346 has added Content Adaptive Brightness Control (CABC) features while Beta Build 22624.1616 (KB5025308) has brought improvements to Windows Update and File Explorer. Additionally, Windows Server vNext build 25346 brought with it a couple of known issues. Moreover, you should also check out the recently released Microsoft utility called Update Health Tools for Windows 10 and Windows 11. It is delivered via KB4023057 and is intended to improve the Windows update experience. However, if you like to try out third-party utilities too, give the latest version of DisplayFusion a go, it now supports Windows 11 but has lost support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. Rumors about Samsung ditching Google A rather surprising rumor emerged this week that Samsung is considering dumping Google Search as the default search engine on its phones in favor of Microsoft's AI-powered Bing. While this report caused a lot of disturbance in the world of tech especially considering that the possibility of this happening has caused "panic" inside Google, another report later debunked this rumor. It claimed that ditching Google Search is not even an option for Samsung because in most major markets such as the U.S., OEMs that want Google Play Store installed on their devices must also set up Google Search as the default search engine. Either way, the real situation is still unclear and none of the parties mentioned have commented on the veracity of the rumors. But talking about companies parting ways with one another, Microsoft has decided to stop using Twitter as an advertising platform, likely because of the expensive API costs mandated by Twitter CEO Elon Musk. In true chaotic Musk fashion and obviously irked by Microsoft's move, the executive has threatened the Redmond tech firm with a lawsuit for illegally using Twitter data to train its AI models, without evidence, of course. Speaking of AI models, Bing Chat now has LaTeX support for better formatting of mathematical formulas while SwiftKey for both Android and iOS have gained the ability to get rid of the Bing button - though, for some reason, Microsoft has also deleted the support forum for the app itself. The company is also looking to add Copilot generative AI capabilities to Viva to boost employee productivity. Microsoft is supposedly going all in on the hardware side of AI too. It's reportedly building its own AI chip with the codename "Athena" and the next Surface PCs will host Neural Processing Unit (NPUs) inside too. Some rumors about the upcoming Surface devices have started swirling too, and if that interests you, check them out in detail here. App updates There were several app updates sprinkled throughout the week for Microsoft services. Let's start with Microsoft Edge. The company's premier browser received a new version 114 Dev build that added improvements for Workspaces and some minor improvements on Android. Additionally, users have discovered that Microsoft is finally adding AVIF support to Edge soon, which means that the browser will be following in the footsteps of Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. The feature can currently be enabled through a flag in Edge Canary. Several Microsoft 365 apps and services received updates too. OneNote Beta has netted the scratch-out to erase gesture in Windows 11, Outlook users can now send longer links in emails, and better compatibility with Kindle devices in Microsoft Word. There were a few updates for other services too. Microsoft Translator bagged support for the Lower Sorbian language. Interestingly, this language isn't even supported by Google Translate and is considered highly endangered with less than 7,000 speakers globally. Lastly, Microsoft has also launched Babylon.js 6.0, adding Havok physics for web browser-based graphics. Git gud Microsoft had a bit of a turbulent week in the gaming space this week. It turns out that Halo Infinite's former creative director Joseph Staten, who just left Microsoft, actually departed his position to lead Netflix' AAA gaming initiative. It also seems like another Halo director Frank O' Connor has jumped ship too. There is still good news for the Xbox community though. South Africa has approved Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard and we have also learned that the studio's highly anticipated title Diablo IV will be run at 60fps on both the Xbox Series X and S. And while Xbox gamers have lost the ability to share longer video uploads to Twitter, the Xbox App for Insiders on Windows does bring better accessibility and improvements to collections (there are other bugfixes for various rings too). Earlier, the company also celebrated Earth Day with new sustainability projects. Moreover, PC gamers will be pleased to know that Microsoft has brought with it performance boosts across a range of hardware with DirectStorage 1.2. Another intriguing revelation also indicates that Microsoft is working on a "franchise sequel" that could take a decade of development, it's highly likely that the redacted title being referenced here is The Elder Scrolls VI, which is in very early stages of development currently. Meanwhile, those following our deals and services updates should know that you can grab lots of Xbox titles for up to 90% off in the ongoing Deals with Gold and Spotlight Sale. Xbox Free Play Days is hosting Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed and Roguebook while Xbox Insiders can try out Crash Team Rumble closed beta this weekend. Finally, a handful of games including Redfall are headed to Xbox Game Pass but if you're a PC purist, check out this Weekend's PC Game Deals curated by our News Editor Pulasthi Ariyasinghe instead. Dev Channel Microsoft Security now uses weather terms for threat actor names The infamous Windows 98 "Blue Screen of Death" event happened 25 years ago today Microsoft is promoting Windows 11 PCs that use sustainable materials Microsoft updates Surface Go 2 with Windows 11 Autopilot support Microsoft fixes Surface Pro 8 display flickering issue, improves Windows Hello, more Under the spotlight News Reporter John Callaham posted a couple of pieces that took a trip down memory lane. The first is about Microsoft's first PC hardware product, the Z80 SoftCard, released in 1980. The Apple II PC add-on hardware was a commercial success and was generating half of Microsoft's total annual revenue at one point. John's second piece was published on U.S. Tax Day and took a look back at Tax Avoiders, a 1982 title for the Atari 2600. Moreover, John also penned a piece on his top 10 anticipated Xbox games of this year, check out his listicle here! Finally, forum member Adam Bottjen published a guide providing tips about how to give your PC enough time to get ready after a boot-up, which is good to know, especially for those who are still rocking clunky hard disk drives (HDDs). Logging off Our most interesting news item of the week is undoubtedly about an upcoming first-person-shooter, Unrecord, that can be played from the viewpoint of a body cam. The reason it's making headlines is that it appears to be hyper-realistic with very realistic movements and graphics. In fact, it was so realistic that many labeled its gameplay video as fake and dismissed it. That is, until a developer posted a video of the game running in Unreal Engine with "no clip" mode enabled. Needless to say, hype for the title is at an all-time high but there is also an ongoing argument raging online claiming that it's not a good idea to have younger audiences being exposed to ultra-realistic violent video games. If you'd like to get a weekly digest of news from Neowin, we have a Newsletter you can sign up for either via the 'Get our newsletter' widget in the sidebar, or through this link. Missed any of the previous columns? Check them all out at this link.

DisplayFusion gains full Windows 11 support, but loses it on Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 by Sayan Sen Remember DisplayFusion? The multi-monitor utility has recently received its latest major update with version 10.0. With this, the software's developer notes that DisplayFusion has now gained full support for Windows 11. The .NET framework version has also been updated to .NET 7 and with that, DisplayFusion will no longer support Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 versions older than 1607. The press release says: We're very excited to announce that DisplayFusion 10.0 is now available for download! This major new version of DisplayFusion fixes hundreds of issues and adds full support for Windows 11. The changelog showing major changes in DisplayFusion 10.0 is given below (via BetaNews): DisplayFusion 10.0 Highlights Change: New code signing certificate Change: Upgraded to .NET 7 (OS support is now Win 10 1607 and higher) Change: Win 7, Win 8/8.1, and Win 10 versions lower than 1607 are no longer supported (DisplayFusion will still install but use at your own risk) Change: Monitor Config backend code completely overhauled to support more configurations and prevent errors for minor variations when loading profiles. Change: It's now possible to open multiple script edit windows Change: Much improved code editor for scripted functions Change: Added an entry for DisplayFusionCommand to the Select Application dialog Change: Advanced settings that are forced by policy setting will now show as red and cannot be edited in the UI Change: Added a policy setting to disable the social links in the Settings window Change: Added a policy setting to disable crash reporting Change: Added an advanced setting to disable webview2 install prompt Change: Added an advanced setting to set the polling interval for the "Lock Mouse Cursor" function Change: Improved some icons to help with colour blindness Change: Removed the "restart explorer" prompt and added an advanced setting to re-enable it Change: Added an advanced setting to adjust the size of taskbar buttons and pinned items A beta version of the software has also been released since. This version, 10.0.1 (Beta 1) also adds more bug fixes: DisplayFusion 10.0.1 (Beta 1) Changes Change: Added additional info to the "you need Pro for this feature prompt" Fix: Borderless mirror window can now be made full screen by double-clicking Fix: Settings backup fix Fix: "Auto-Hide Animation" advanced setting works again Fix: Taskbar button text no longer upside-down when running WindowBlinds Fix: Start menu now stays open when using third-party Start menu replacements Fix: Taskbar button height issue Fix: Resolved a rendering issue with the Windows 7 taskbar You can download the free trial version of the software from Binary Fortress' official website. A detailed changelog of the software is also available there.

Amazon Lightning Deal: The 4TB SanDisk Extreme PRO SSD available at massive discount of 68% by Fiza Ali Amazon has a huge variety of storage options and great deals on a lot of those options. So, if you are someone who is in need of some powerful storage to back up your data, you might want to check out the 4TB SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD in Amazon's Lightning Deal. Right now, it is selling for only $289.99 after a massive discount of 68% on its original MSRP of $899.99. With this deal, you get to save $610, so get your hands on it today! It features 2000MB/s read and write speeds in a rugged storage solution to offer powerful NVMe solid-state performance in a portable drive. It comes with a forged aluminum chassis acting as a heatsink to provide higher sustained speeds, along with offering approximately two-meter drop protection, and IP55 water and dust resistance. You can also secure it to your backpack or belt with its carabineer loop. The SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD also ensures extra security by helping you keep your private content safe with the included password protection that employs 256-bit AES hardware encryption. Furthermore, it is supported by Windows 8, Windows 10, and macOS 10.9. It also offers full HD and 4K UHD video support. The 4TB SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD (Up to 2000MB/s - USB-C, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 - External Solid State Drive): $289.99 (Amazon US) Alternatively, you can also check out other SSD deals from Crucial, WD_BLACK, and Samsung. For hard disk drives, you can head over to our HDD deals section to see if anything from there matches your requirements. If this is not what you want, you can also browse through Amazon US, Newegg US, or Amazon UK, or visit our Deals section to see if you find some other great deals. As an Amazon Associate when you purchase through links on our site, we earn from qualifying purchases. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

A quick and personal look back at the Windows Start menu by John Callaham I got my first PC in late 1995 from the late and great Gateway computers. Unlike most older PC users at the time, I rarely had to go to the command line route to run programs, with the exception of the occasional MS-DOS game like Descent. I just used Windows 95 and, more specifically, its Start menu, to launch programs and games. The Start menu was Windows 95's calling card, and it helped Microsoft solidify its dominance in the PC operating system market. The idea of having a place where you could click on one button at the bottom left of the screen, and then access nearly any Windows program by expanding on the nesting columns from the left to the right was a huge time saver. On top of that, it also made Windows 95 look much different compared to, say, Apple's Mac OS Windows XP made a big update to the Start menu in 2001. Instead of one column when you hit the Start button, there were two. The left hand side had all of your programs, with the most used ones getting the prime menu space, while the right side had links to your PCs more important folders. It was definitely a nice evolution from the original, which on occasion could flood the desktop with menus. Windows Vista, as badly as that operating system was received, did include some small but important adjustments to the Start menu in 2007 that carried over to Windows 7's version in 2009. That included putting in a search bar on the bottom of the left Start column to find files and programs, which I found particularly handy for finding things like downloaded PDF files and images. You also got a sliding menu for the left column that replaced the right column when you clicked on some programs. The right column also listed categories in your PC instead of direct folders. While there were major changes in the design of the Start menu since it was introduced in Windows 95, it seemed like this was a desktop feature that was going to be refined well into the future. And then came Windows 8. Oh boy. Microsoft felt that every computing device was moving into a touchscreen interface, so the company decided to develop a Start Screen. The colorful "Live Tiles" were meant to be used on touch displays such as laptops and tablets, but Microsoft seemed to forget that there were hundreds of millions of PCs out there with no touchscreens, especially ones that were desktops that used a mouse and keyboard. They still needed a UI they could use, but Microsoft didn't want to give it to them in Windows 8 when it launched in 2012. In short, people hated Windows 8 in general, and its lack of a Start menu in particular. They hated it so much that they helped to launch a cottage software industry. Lots of small and big software developers rushed to create programs that added a version of the Start menu to Windows 8. Some of those programs continue even today, with StartAllBack (launched as StartIsBack) and Stardock's Start8, which has now evolved into Start11. Indeed, Stardock's CEO Brad Wardell told AllThingsD in May 2013 that Start8 had five million downloads since it launched in late 2012. Those kinds of numbers from third-party apps showed that there was still a need for the Start menu in Windows. Just a few weeks after Stardock's Wardell revealed that five million download number for Start8, Microsoft confirmed that some version of the Start button would be back for Windows 8.1. Not the menu, but the Start button for the desktop. It wasn't really what people wanted, but it was, pun intended, a start. In 2014, two years after Windows 8, Microsoft finally said it would return a version of the Start menu for a Windows 8.1 update. When Microsoft first showed the Start menu back at its annual Build developer conference in a keynote speech in April 2014, a massive cheer and applause came from the crowd. However, at it turned out, Microsoft decided to wait until the launch of Windows 10, with a technical preview version in late 2014, to fully launch a new version of its Start menu, two years after the debut of Windows 8. However, the Windows 10 Start menu was similar to what was shown back at Build 2014. The left column was for desktop apps, along with the PC categories on top, while the touchscreen Windows tiles from 8 and 8.1 were on the right hand column. Those tiles could be resized in the menu, like they could on the Windows 8 Start screen. In 2021, Microsoft launched Windows 11 and with that came yet another makeover of the Start menu. For the first time, the menu didn't appear on the left-hand side by default but was placed in the center of the desktop screen. Thankfully, you can make some quick changes in settings to place it on the left-hand side. You also got a search bar on top of the menu, and thankfully there's no Windows 8 "Live Tiles" anymore. Instead, you can pin your desktop apps right on the menu. While the Start menu in Windows 11 has some good features, it has nevertheless become a source of controversy for many people who feel that it doesn't meet the needs compared to the ones in older versions of Windows. The good news is that Microsoft isn't as tone deaf to feedback like it was in the Windows 8 days, so we should hopefully get more tweaks that will make the Start menu a major feature of future Windows versions for years to come. Disclaimer: Neowin's relationship to Stardock

Every fifth PC runs Windows 11 as the OS reaches its all-time high by Taras Buria StatCounter's latest data is out, and it is not a lame attempt to be funny on April 1st. The March 2023 report shows Windows 11's continuous and unstoppable growth—Microsoft's newest operating system is now on every fifth Windows PC as it almost reaches the 21% mark. In March 2023, Windows 11 gained 1.81 points and increased from 19.13% to 20.94%. However, Windows 10 also went up, albeit not as drastic as in February 2023, when Microsoft killed Windows 7 and 8.1. The current market leader holds 73.48%, a 0.17 points increase from the previous month. As expected, people started leaving Windows 7 and 8.1 much faster after Microsoft announced the end of the Extended Security Updates program (ESU). Windows 7 continues its decline, reaching the 3.72% mark and losing 1.62 points. Windows 8.1 currently holds a puny 0.84%, a 0.3 points decrease from February 2023. Here is what the Windows market looks like according to Statcounter: Windows 10 - 73.48% Windows 11 - 29.94% Windows 7 - 3.72% Windows 8.1 - 0.84% Windows 8 - 0.51% Considering other operating systems (Android, iOS, macOS, ChromeOS, Linux, and others), Windows remains the second most popular OS, losing ground only to Android. Microsoft's desktop operating system has a 28.29% market share (+0.56 points) between Android and iOS. Android - 41.56% (-2.32) Windows - 28.89% (+0.56) iOS - 17.29% (+0.16) macOS - 7% (+0.33) Unknown OSes - 3.05% (+0.62) You can find more information on the official StatCounter website.

Plex Media Server will end support for Windows 7/8/8.1 and macOS 10.11/10.12 on April 10 by John Callaham Microsoft officially dropped support for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 a while ago, but many apps and services continue to support those older operating systems. One of them is Plex Media Server, but this month Plex quietly announced it will soon be ending support for those older Windows versions, along with macOS 10.11 and 10.12. In a post on the Plex forums, it stated: Starting with version 1.32.0 (planned for public release on April 10th), Plex Media Server will no longer support versions of Windows older than Windows 10 (version 1607) or macOS older than 10.13 (High Sierra). The good news, if you can call it that, is that people who are still using the older operating systems can continue using the older versions of Plex Media Server on their PCs. However, Plex does strongly encourage those folks "upgrade their systems to at least Windows 10 (version 1607) or macOS 10.13 (High Sierra)." That way, both the operating systems and future versions of Plex Media Serve will keep getting critical security updates. Earlier this week, Valve revealed that it will end support on its Steam game service for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 on January 1, 2024. The Firefox web browser will continue to provide updates for those operating systems until at least Q3 2024. However, Google's Chrome ended its support for the older Windows versions in January 2023.

Steam won't run on Windows 7/8/8.1 starting in 2024 as support goes away by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe Like many other services, PC gaming giant Steam is soon dropping support for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. The major change will make the Steam client inoperable on these legacy operating systems, with users losing access to their games library unless they are using an updated version of Windows. The support drop will occur on January 1, 2024, with Valve saying that "after that date, the Steam Client will no longer run on those versions of Windows. In order to continue running Steam and any games or other products purchased through Steam, users will need to update to a more recent version of Windows." The change was announced in the latest Steam beta update by the company. Beta versions will now alert players running Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 with an "End of Life" notice with a recommendation to switch or upgrade to a newer version before support goes away. The alert should arrive to the regular Steam client soon as well. "The newest features in Steam rely on an embedded version of Google Chrome, which no longer functions on older versions of Windows," added Valve explaining the reasoning behind the change. "In addition, future versions of Steam will require Windows feature and security updates only present in Windows 10 and above." According to Valve's own survey data, 1.86% of Steam's user base is on the three operating systems getting the boot. The vast majority of Windows users, which amount to 96.37% of total active accounts on the platform, are using Windows 10 (62.33%) and Windows 11 (32.06%).

Power BI Desktop to end support for Windows 8.1, new features unveiled by Hamza Jawad At the beginning of last year, Microsoft ended extended support for Windows 8.1 - almost a decade after the operating systemlaunched. Today, as part of its monthly feature summary for Power BI Desktop, the tech giant has also revealed that support for the data analytics service on Windows 8.1 will be ending on January 31, 2024. Aside from this announcement, a bunch of new features have been unveiled for Power BI Desktop this month, including on-object interaction, a new 'Apply All Slicers' button for reports, several connector updates, and more. A couple of recently introduced enhancements have hit general availability, including Power BI's integration with PowerPoint, and Multiple Audiences for Power BI org apps - which was previewed back in August. Moreover, the third-party visuals highlighted this time around from AppSource include Financial Reporting Matrix v7.0, Acterys Variance, Feature Summary for Drill Down Combo PRO, and Gantt Chart by MAQ Software. Aside from that, two new visuals have also been released in the store, including Horizontal Bullet Chart with Label and Banzae BI Dashboard. The full list of changes is as follows: Reporting Apply all slicers button, Clear all slicers button, and Optimization presets update Format Pane – new styling On-object interaction (Opt-in) Visual container improvements Data Connectivity Google BigQuery, Google BigQuery Azure AD (Connector Update) Azure Databricks, Databricks (Connector Update) Dremio Cloud (Connector Update) FactSet RMS (Connector Update) SurveyMonkey (Connector Update) Service Storytelling in PowerPoint Power BI org app Multiple Audiences Announcing new Scanner API scenarios Email Subscriptions Mobile Discover external orgs content in your mobile app Grant access on the go Visualizations (third-party visuals) New visuals in AppSource Financial Reporting Matrix v7.0 Acterys Variance Feature Summary for Drill Down Combo PRO Gantt Chart by MAQ Software (PREMIUM) The January 2024 release for Power BI Desktop for Report Server will essentially be the last one to support Windows 8.1, after which only Windows 10 and newer versions will be supported. Notably, security updates will continue to be shipped to Windows 8.1 users of Power BI Desktop until January 2025.

How to enable the delete confirmation dialog box in Windows by Adam Bottjen Starting with Windows 8, Microsoft turned off the delete confirmation dialog box by default. What does that mean? It means that if a person was browsing their files and had a single file selected or a folder full of 100's of photos and accidently pressed delete on their keyboard or their cat walked across the keyboard and pressed it for them, there would be no prompt, the file would go straight to the recycle bin. You might think, well it's in the recycle bin, I can just restore it? Yes, that's true, if you know it's there. What if you were to run an app such as CCleaner (just to name one) which during part of it's cleaning routine empties the recycle bin? Now its gone unless you notice it soon enough and run some data recovery software to get it back. Luckily that option is easy enough to turn back on. Here's how to do it. Right click the Recycle Bin Left click Properties Put a check mark in "Display confirmation dialog box" Click OK That's it! Now when you press the delete key you will be prompted if you wish to delete the file. Do you like to be prompted when deleting a file? Let us know in the poll below Do you like confirmation when deleting a file? Happy Computing! If you learned something today, great! If not, maybe share your own tech tip in the comments below! I'm Adam, I'm known as Warwagon on the forums. For the past 19 years, I've been operating my own computer repair business. In doing so, I deal with the average computer user on a day-to-day basis. Every bit of information I provide for people I do so with the lowest common denominator in mind. It's a common misconception that everyone who joins or browses a tech site is a techie. Some people are just looking for guidance. That is why for some, these tech tips may seem a bit too simplistic but they are educational for others.

Statcounter: Windows 11 crosses 18% mark but Windows 10 is not giving up by Taras Buria In addition to covering the most recent changes in the browser market (desktop and mobile), Statcounter's January 2023 report covers operating systems for computers and mobile devices. And since Microsoft rarely provides precise numbers and performance figures for its OSes, Statcounter, Valve, and other companies are the only way to analyze how different Windows versions progress or decline. According to Statcounter, in January 2023, Windows 11 increased its market share by 1.16 points, effectively reaching 18.13%. It is a relatively modest number, but it remains consistent over months. Slow but steady, Windows 11 continues biting off customers from Windows 10 and other operating systems. Windows 10, the king of the hill, is not giving up easily. The soon-to-be eight-year-old operating system increased its customer base and went up from 67.95% in December 2022 to 68.75% in January 2023. The end of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 extended support periods is the most likely reason for the sudden spike. As expected, Windows 7 and 8.1 experienced a notable dip in their market shares. Windows 7 went down from 11.2% to 9.62% (-1.58 ), and Windows 8.1 lost 0.29 points. Windows 8 closes the top 5 Windows versions list with 0.62% (-0.03), and Windows XP is sixth at 0.45% (-0.04). Windows 10: 68.75% (+0.8) Windows 11: 18.13% (+1.16) Windows 7: 9.62% (-1.58) Windows 8.1: 2.331% (-0.29) Windows 8: 0.62% (-0.03) Overall, Windows holds 74.14% of the desktop operating system market. The value went down 1.2 points in January 2023, which is nothing uncommon compared to the previous months. The closest rival to Windows, Apple's macOS, is second with 15.33% (+0.67). Windows: 74.14% (-1.2) macOS: 15.33% (+0.67) Unknown: 5.27% (+0.49) Linux: 2.91% (-0.02) ChromeOS: 2.34% (+0.06) Finally, when considering the entire mobile and desktop operating systems market, Windows is the second most popular OS that only Android manages to beat. iOS and macOS are third and fourth. Android: 43.01% (-1.59) Windows: 29.18% (+0.77) iOS: 17.24% (-0.05) macOS: 6.03% (+0.5) Unknown: 2.15% (+0.73) You can find more information about the desktop operating system market on the official Statcounter website. Keep in mind that reports like this one are not 100% accurate and leave a margin for errors and inaccuracies.

My Windows 10 PC has finally been offered Windows 11, but I'm not sure I want to update by Usama Jawad If you have read my Windows 11 coverage over the past year or so, including my review of the OS, you probably know that there are many things I like about the OS along with some that I don't. However, I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I actually have a dual-boot setup on my personal PC, with both Windows 10 and 11 installed. For the past seven or so years, Windows 10 has been my primary OS, and it remains so today, despite the release of Windows 11 back in October 2021. Thanks to my dual-boot setup, I use Windows 10 about 80% of the time and Windows 11 Dev Channel builds in the remainder portion. The latter usage is primarily to check out the new features in Dev Channel builds and for their coverage that I do on Neowin. Importantly, despite fulfilling all major Windows 11's strict requirements such as having a recent CPU and TPM 2.0, my PC was not offered the upgrade due to a safeguard hold. Following this month's Patch Tuesday update, it seems my PC is finally allowed to update... but I'm not sure if I want to. Let me explain myself a bit. As some of you already know, I like a number of features in Windows 11 including the aesthetics, Snap Layouts, simplified context menus, tabbed File Explorer, and more. However, I also think that Microsoft has made several unnecessary changes just for the sake of it and these include the Teams integration, removing the seconds from the system clock, the dumbed-down Taskbar, the mediocre Start menu, and more. And while the good definitely outweighs the bad, I have been asking myself: do I really need Windows 11? Is a prettier design along with a couple of productivity improvements really worth migrating from a stable OS to one that seems to cause issues after updating each month? So far, the answer has been in the negative. I absolutely expect Windows 11 to become more stable and better over time, but unlike Windows 10 where I installed the OS as my primary setup on day one of Technical Preview (basically the Insider Program of yesteryear), I don't quite feel the need to do the same this time around. A major reason for this is that I found the predecessors - both Windows 8 and 8.1 - to Windows 10 simply awful and I could not wait to jump ship to a newer OS. Things aren't quite the same right now. I really like Windows 10 and have become quite familiar with it. I don't feel the itch to upgrade to Windows 11 as soon as possible. Perhaps part of the reason is also that Windows 11 leverages much of the groundwork that Windows 10 has already laid and improves upon it in some areas. For me, Windows 11 right now is just a prettier but unstable version of Windows 10. And is that something I want to upgrade to ASAP? I don't think so. The situation is somewhat similar when it comes to my work PC, although in a different context. On that machine, I was offered Windows 11 from day one but have not pulled the trigger yet simply due to the mantra, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Windows 10 meets all my job's needs and I've always considered it a risk to install feature updates in fear that it may break some critical functionality that I need. I know that I might sound a bit irrational but that's how my brain works when it comes to my work PC. I install security updates as they become available but I treat feature updates differently and delay them until they are forced upon me. Contracting as a software engineer for offshore clients in different timezones means that I really can't afford downtime. If I face blocking issues on my PC that require admin privileges from the side of my clients, I may lose an entire day of productivity at the very least while waiting for offshore IT admins to come online. All in all, while l really like Windows 11 in some aspects, I'm currently struggling to convince myself to upgrade to the OS despite having the update available on both of my PCs. Will I be able to convince myself to update in the short-term? Will Microsoft? The chances are slim, but you never know. The fact of the matter is simply that Windows 11 doesn't have big differentiating factors compared to Windows 10, and while Microsoft's latest OS may be pretty, its predecessor is relatively more stable and familiar. Have you updated to Windows 11 or are you on the fence as well? What is your rationale for upgrading? Let us know in the comments section below!

PSA: Windows 8.1 extended support ends today by Justin Luna Microsoft's Windows 8.1 operating system (OS) has finally reached its end-of-support date after almost a decade. As of today, January 10, 2023, the Redmond tech giant will no longer provide the OS with software updates, technical support, or security patches. You won't immediately notice anything different if you keep using the OS past this date. However, because the OS no longer receives security updates, your system will become more vulnerable to viruses, ransomware, and other security threats. Also, if your PC encounters any issues, it will be difficult to get support without paying a premium. Finally, some programs may no longer work properly as some software manufacturers discontinue support for Windows 8.1. Introduced back on October 17, 2013, Windows 8.1 was Microsoft's response to the many negative user complaints about Windows 8. It brought back the Start button (but not the menu), provided users with the ability to boot straight to the desktop instead of the Start Screen, and featured a Bing-based unified search system. Aside from these, Windows 8.1 also had a tighter integration with SkyDrive (now OneDrive), a transparent device encryption system based on BitLocker on compatible devices, and support for 3D printing. According to Statcounter, 2.59% of PCs worldwide still run Windows 8.1 as of December 2022. If your PC is one of these, you can easily upgrade to Windows 10 at no cost using your current Windows 8.1 key. There's also the Windows 11 option, but it might be more difficult to take this route because of the OS's stringent system requirements. By upgrading to a more modern OS, you regain access to new features, security updates, and support. Personally, I commend Microsoft for coming out with Windows 8.1. While it wasn't until Windows 10 that I believe Microsoft offered the best of both worlds for touch and traditional PC users, it was an admission from the Redmond giant that Windows 8 needed a lot of work. It also showed that the company remained committed to people still using a keyboard and mouse combination despite the OS having a touch-heavy interface. To Windows 8.1, we bid you farewell. Do you have fond memories of using Windows 8.1? Tell us all about it in the comments section below.

PSA: Support for Windows 8.1 is ending next week by Usama Jawad Windows 7 reached end of support about three years ago and it's almost time for another Microsoft operating system to bite the dust. Windows 8.1 will be reaching its end of life next week on January 10, 2023. As a refresher, Windows 8.1 was released back in 2013 as a response to customer feedback about Windows 8. As such, it notably featured the return of the Start button, a Bing-based unified search system, the ability to boot directly direct to desktop, and more. Although it was received more positively than its predecessor, it failed to address several issues and as such, it does not have the loyal customer base that Windows 7 enjoyed. In terms of what end of support means for Windows 8.1 users, they will not be offered any more security updates or technical support following the OS' end of life. Although Microsoft has noted that some people might be able to upgrade to a newer version of Windows, it's probably better to get a new PC instead. Of course, it recommends Windows 11 but it is important to remember that Windows 10 is still an option too, as it is supported until October 14, 2025. This is why Microsoft recommends purchasing a new PC instead of upgrading your the OS of your existing system: PCs originally built with Windows 8.1 are designed with technology that is about 10 years old. Once you move to a new PC, there will be many aspects of Windows that you will find familiar, but also with important software and hardware innovations and capabilities that were not available a decade ago. Some of the innovative new features available with Windows 11 on a new computer: Newer PC hardware that is faster, more capable and more compatible with the latest industry technology. To help you keep your computer secure, you can take advantage of the latest security capabilities: Get built-in security at no extra cost. Your Windows computer comes with built-in security features, including firewall and internet protections to help safeguard against viruses, malware and ransomware. Use facial recognition or your fingerprint for more-secure sign-ins into Windows 11 on a PC compatible with Windows Hello. You can also use a localised PIN or your phone as a key. Organise your image files with the Photos app and they’ll be ready for easy viewing and sharing—even across devices. You can also search for certain themes and people in your photos. You just need to make sure your images are stored on OneDrive and you’re signed into your Microsoft account. Microsoft has boasted that Windows 11 is the way to go because it is its most secure OS to date, saying that it's really easy to migrate your existing content and software to its latest OS. While your Windows 8.1 PC will continue functioning in an unsupported state after January 10, you may experience degraded experiences across some software. For example, in-app and new purchases from the Microsoft Store will not be possible after this date, Microsoft Store app updates will stop after June 30, you may experience problems with Office apps, and web browsers such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge will be dropping support for the legacy OS soon too.

Microsoft Weekly: New Windows 11 features, Edge upgrades, and Teams enhancements by Usama Jawad We are racing towards the end of the year, but for now, the end of the week brings a new edition of Microsoft Weekly. This time, we have news about a bunch of new Windows 11 features as well as upgrades to Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Teams. Without further ado, let's dive into our weekly digest for December 3 - December 9! New capabilities in Windows 11 A few days ago, Microsoft began offering Windows 11 to Windows 10 version 22H2 users as part of the out-of-the-box experience (OOBE) for the first time. This process is only visible for eligible devices who receive KB5020683. And talking about upgrading to Windows 11, you should probably consider doing so if you're still on Windows 8.1, as the OS is about to run out of support. In fact, you could still use your older Windows 7 license key (if you still have one) to upgrade for free. If you're uncertain about Microsoft's latest OS, you could even give its updated Windows 11 virtual machines a go. But before you upgrade, you might want to be aware of some recent bugs that are plaguing the OS. Some Windows 10 and Windows 11 customers may experience database connectivity issues for some apps that utilize ODBC connectors. In fact, Microsoft is even rolling out KB5012170 to Windows 11 version 22H2 even though it has known bugs. That said, the latest Windows 11 Beta build 22623.108 has fixed a whole bunch of Taskbar issues. On the other hand, Microsoft has confirmed a truckload of known issues in the latest Dev Channel build 25262. It does contain a bug fix for Windows Search along with Auto Color Management (ACM) for more users and the ability to leverage Widgets without a Microsoft Account though. Speaking of bugs, Microsoft's latest Bug Bash spilled the beans early on screen recording capabilities in tow for Snipping Tool. Shortly after, it became available in the Dev Channel with some limitations and known issues. Similarly, Dev Channel users also netted video folders in Media Player. And it seems like Microsoft has already started enabling other "Moment 3" and "Moment 4" features in Windows 11 too. Edge upgrades Earlier in the week, Microsoft rolled out an update to Edge 108, with the latest version being 108.0.1462.42. The highlight of this release is a more secure encryption policy with TLS-encrypted Client Hello (ECH) that helps enhance privacy, but there are other improvements in tow too. The Redmond tech firm released an Edge 110 build in the Dev Channel and although the changelog is quite lengthy, one thing in particular to remember is that Chromium 110 is dropping support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, which also means that Edge 110 won't support these OSes either. Microsoft has already published a formal blog post on the topic and Google Chrome is also showing prompts about end-of-support for the legacy operating systems while urging users to upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11. In other news, Microsoft will support Manifest V2-based extensions in Edge until at least January 2024, following the footsteps of Google Chrome. The company will continue monitoring feedback on the subject but will eventually stop accepting updates for Manifest V2 extensions eventually. In terms of some recent enhancements to Edge, you'll be happy to know that the browser has finally gained the ability to open favorites in a new tab by default. The capability is current available for Dev and Canary users only. The Redmond tech giant has also proudly announced that it "froze" 1.38 billion Edge tabs with improved Sleeping Tabs in September 2022 alone, but there is no word yet on how much Petabytes of RAM this saved, unlike last time. Finally, you may want to keep an eye out for "Project Kodiak". A recent Edge Canary release references it in a flag, saying that the initiative will offer Edge customers a "better browser experience for their personal and work lives" across Mac, Windows, and Linux. Teams enhancements... and more Microsoft Teams received some pretty cool news updates this week. For starters, Microsoft is working on a nifty integration between Outlook and Teams that will allows users to quickly access and send messages via Teams Chat in an Outlook meeting invite. This feature will likely land in March 2023. Some customers can also take advantage of instant polls and communities in Teams already. Other Microsoft apps received some love in the past few days too. PowerToys received version 0.65.0 with a few new features and a huge list of bug fixes while OneNote for Windows is slated to get vertical tabs next year. Moreover, sign-in issues on SwiftKey for iOS were dealt with as well. We also received reports that Microsoft's "Super App" - which is now presumed dead - isn't Microsoft Start after all. But it was something that was supposed to "break Apple and Google's hold on mobile search". There were several updates to third-party apps on Windows as well. Start11 version 1.36 is now available with lots of fixes and improved WindowsBlinds 11 compatibility. Similarly, StartAllBack received an update to fix a Taskbar conflict between itself and the latest Windows 11 build. And if you're itching to add acrylic effect to old Windows 10 and Windows 11 context menus, consider giving the open-source TranslucentFlyouts app a go. Or if you just want to spruce up your Spotify listening UX with something different, try out this third-party Spotify client with Windows 11 aesthetics. Finally, Microsoft Forms is getting lots of new features too, check them out here. Git gud As has been the case for the past few weeks, there were rumblings from the Microsoft and Sony camps again over the Activision Blizzard acquisition in the past few days. Microsoft signed a 10-year commitment with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to the Switch, whereas Sony won the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) support with the regulator claiming that it does not trust Microsoft with the acquisition. Another not-so-good news that hit Xbox gamers is that Microsoft is hiking the price of first-party Xbox games from $59.99 to $69.99 starting next year, in line with Sony. Xbox Game Pass seems all the more enticing now... Speaking of Game Pass, a plethora of Riot titles have arrived on the service including Valorant and League of Legends. There are lots of benefits in store too. Meanwhile, Microsoft Flight Simulator has hit 10 million players, Halo Infinite's custom game browser is now live, Minecraft has received Avatar Legends DLC, and Sea of Thieves' The Rogue Legacy Adventure can now be played too. Lastly, if you're on the lookout for some deals, don't forget to check out this week's Deals with Gold and this Weekend's PC Game Deals curated by our resident News Editor Pulasthi Ariyasinghe. Dev Channel New drivers for the unofficial implementation of Windows running on Surface Duo have arrived Microsoft is preparing an upgraded cartridge unit for the second-gen Surface Hub Microsoft has released the Developer News extension for Visual Studio after complaints from users The Redmond tech firm wants to open private-sector data for the public good The original Surface Duo has received the December 2022 firmware update Microsoft Authenticator now supports U.S. federal agencies thanks to FIPS 140 compliance A bug breaking calling on Surface Duo 2 has been swatted Microsoft has acquired Lumenisity to boost its global cloud infrastructure Under the spotlight A few days ago, News Reporter Taras Buria wrote a very interesting piece highlighting the top 5 interesting features coming to Windows 11 soon. If this topic tickles your fancy, check out Taras' write-up here. Taras also wrote a guide on the process to restore the forward button in Microsoft Edge. This particular button disappears from the browser's toolbar in Edge 108 unless there is something to forward to, but some may like it visible at all times just for consistency. Meanwhile, News Reporter Hemant Saxena's guide was on the topic of using your Google Pixel to check your heart rate, read it here. And our final guide is from forum member Adam Bottjen's Tech Tip Tuesday column detailed the process of pausing Live TV on Roku TV. We had a bunch of reviews going out this week too. Robbie Khan reviewed the latest AAA horror title The Callisto Protocol on PC. He has mixed feelings about the game but it could be worth your time. Find out if that's the case here. Meanwhile, Neowin co-founder Steven Parker reviewed the GEEKOM Mini IT11 Mini PC running Windows 11. This is a pretty decent machine, considering its discounted price point. And Christopher White reviewed the Monoprice Voxel Pro 3D printer, and it definitely should be on your shortlist if you're searching this particular market. Finally, I wrote an editorial thinking out loud about when Microsoft is going to kill off Xbox Games with Gold since it's mostly deadweight now anyway, especially compared to Game Pass. Logging off Our most interesting news item of the week relates to the discovery that Microsoft apparently started testing tabbed File Explorer - currently a Windows 11-exclusive capability - back with Windows 95, nearly 30 years ago. Screenshots of the implementation have emerged but it's still unclear why the feature was canned way back then. Whether it was due to an unfixable bug, performance issues, or usability concerns is anyone's guess. If you'd like to get a weekly digest of news from Neowin, we have a Newsletter you can sign up to either via the 'Get our newsletter' widget in the sidebar, or through this link. Missed any of the previous columns? Check them all out at this link.

PSA: Windows 8.1's end-of-support date is only 30 days away by Justin Luna If your computers are still running Windows 8.1, a friendly reminder: the operating system (OS) officially has only 30 days to live before it reaches its end-of-support date. Released on October 17, 2013, Windows 8.1 was Microsoft's attempt to address user complaints with Windows 8, such as the lack of a Start button, a confusing user interface, and the inability to boot to the desktop. Windows 8.1 also introduced new enhancements, such as the ability to snap up to four apps on a single display, a new Bing-based unified search system, and deeper integration with SkyDrive (now OneDrive). While the OS received more positive reception than Windows 8, it was still criticized for not addressing many of the latter's issues. To this day, Windows 8.1 has a 2.54% desktop market share worldwide. On January 10, 2023, Microsoft will no longer provide Windows 8.1 with security patches, software updates, and technical support. If you continue using your PC past this date, it will keep on functioning as usual. However, any new vulnerabilities or security flaws discovered in Windows 8.1 will no longer be patched, leaving your PC at risk of malware, phishing, and other security threats. In fact, many ransomware groups exploit unpatched vulnerabilities to infiltrate systems. You might also experience difficulties using some of your programs past Windows 8.1's end-of-support date. For instance, Microsoft 365 apps will no longer work on the OS after January 10, 2023. Microsoft will also block the installation of Microsoft 365 on Windows 8.1 devices. Even Google Chrome will no longer receive updates once Windows 8.1 goes out of support. While you can use other applications, their developers may discontinue support for Windows 8.1 anytime. Finally, you may have to contact third-party support companies to resolve problems with your PC. These businesses may not just be difficult to find, but they may also charge premium prices. At this point, it's best to upgrade your PC to a supported OS. You mainly have three options: Windows 10 The successor to Windows 8.1, Windows 10 does away with the controversial Start Screen in favor of a Start Menu that features an app list and a section for tiles. It also has a virtual desktop feature that lets you run another set of windows without the need to use another monitor. What's more, Windows 10 offers Windows Hello, a security feature that allows users to sign in using a PIN, facial scan, or fingerprint. Microsoft’s free Windows 10 upgrade promotion has already expired. However, you can still upgrade to Windows 10 at no charge by using your Windows 8.1 product key. Note, however, that Windows 10 will reach its end-of-support-date on October 14, 2025, so you will have to upgrade again after a couple of years. Windows 11 Windows 11 offers a slightly different user interface than Windows 10. It has centered taskbar buttons, rounded window corners, and a streamlined Start Menu. Windows 11 also has Widgets, which are dynamic content from Microsoft services and, in the near future, third-party apps. Windows 11 offers better window arrangements and can even run Android apps. Unfortunately, many Windows 8.1 PCs may not be eligible for an upgrade to Windows 11 because of the OS's strict system requirements (this is perhaps why Microsoft is recommending users to buy a new PC once their Windows 8.1 PC becomes unsupported). But if you still want to install Windows 8.1 on unsupported hardware, you can create a bootable USB using Rufus, a utility that can bypass Windows 11's TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot requirements. A word of caution, though: Microsoft does not provide support for Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. If your Windows 8.1 PC somehow meets Windows 11's system requirements, download Windows 11 on Microsoft's website and follow the instructions. A completely different OS If you don't want to upgrade to either Windows 10 or 11, you can always try another OS. For instance, you can use macOS if you want better interoperability with iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches. Linux, on the other hand, offers various distros and is free to use — a practical option if you’re looking to save money. Exercise caution when choosing this option, however, as some of your Windows apps might not be available on another platform. You may also need to purchase new hardware, which is the case if you move to macOS. Are your PCs running Windows 8.1? What do you plan to do when Windows 8.1 reaches end-of-support? Let us know in the comments section below.

Microsoft announces end of support for Edge on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 by Taras Buria Earlier this week, Microsoft released Edge 110 to insiders in the Dev Channel. The changelog has made it clear that Edge 110 is the first version of Microsoft's browser to ditch Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 support. Now Microsoft has published a blog post with the official announcement of the end of support for Edge on pre-Windows 10 versions (consumer, enterprise, and server SKUs). Microsoft Edge and WebView2 Runtime (Evergreen and Fixed) version 109 are the last to support Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. Also, WebView2 SDK version 1.0.1519.0 and higher now require Windows 10 or 11. The software giant will release Edge and WebView 2 Runtime version 109 on the week of January 12, 2023. Microsoft says those unwilling to ditch Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 can continue using the browser and Runtime. However, these products will not receive new features, security updates, and bug fixes. End of support applies to the old consumer Windows versions, plus Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2. Although Microsoft ditches support of the Edge browser, Internet Explorer 11 will remain supported until the company stops supporting those operating systems. Microsoft now encourages developers to drop support for Windows 7 and 8/8.1. Such a decision might not be easy, but it is necessary to ensure users remain safe and keep receiving security updates, new features, and bug fixes. Google is already nagging users to update their computers to a more recent Windows version, and other developers will follow suit.

Microsoft Edge 110 drops support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 by Taras Buria In 2020, when launching the Chromium-based Edge, Microsoft surprised everybody by offering support for older and even out-of-date operating systems, such as Windows 7, 8, and 8.1. Now this perk is approaching its end as Microsoft prepares to pull the plug on Edge support for Windows versions released before 2015. The latest Microsoft Edge Dev release is now available only to Windows 10 and 11 users. It is worth noting that the stable releases of Microsoft Edge, Chrome, and other Chromium-based browsers still support Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 (Chrome is already nagging its customers to update to Windows 10 or 11). Developers will stop offering updates for the outdated Windows version early next year after Microsoft ends the Extended Security Updates program for Windows 7. As for Firefox, Mozilla is still deciding when to cease updating Firefox on pre-Windows 10 systems. Besides ditching old Windows versions, Microsoft Edge Dev 110.0.1543.0 offers a traditionally long list of various fixes and improvements. Here is what is new in the latest release: New Features: Added forcing dark mode on Sidebar content that doesn’t support dark mode when dark mode is enabled. Added the ability to create a share and redeem Workspaces share link in the browser. Recently closed will now show who closed Workspace tabs with timestamps. Mobile: Collections will now show new content inspired by your collections and the web. Your existing collections won’t be migrated, but that feature is coming soon, and you can switch back at any time. Enterprise: Adding * support to ExtensionInstallBlocklist policy to block all Sidebar apps. New policies: (Note: Updates to documentation and administrative templates may not have occurred yet) Policy to control scope search feature. WebView2: Edge Remote Tools WDP plug-in is now able to connect to WebView2 UWP processes. HTTPS is now supported for WDP remote debugging. Reliability improvements: Fixed browser crash when adding or modifying a favorite. Fixed browser crash when a Family Safety setting is updated in some scenarios. Fixed browser crash when opening an InPrivate window. Fixed opening the Search sidebar causes the browser to crash. Fixed unable to launch the browser due to an AAD sync issue. Fixed browser crash when opening Collections in an InPrivate window. Fixed browser freeze issue when dragging a tab. Fixed browser crash when moving a tab. Fixed browser crash when clicking on a PDF form field. macOS: Fixed a hang issue when using Native/Web Accessibility. iOS: Fixed browser crash when switching accounts. Android: Fixed browser crash when signing out of an AAD account. Fixed the AAD account info issue causing the browser to crash. Fixed browser crash related to Collections. Fixed browser crash when switching accounts. Other changes and improvements: Starting with Chromium 110, Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 will no longer be supported (Sunsetting support for Windows 7 / 8/8.1 in early 2023 - Google Chrome Community) Fixed download issue when using Save As. Microsoftsecurityinsights.com is no longer blocked by Website typo protection. Fixed cannot paste in rich text editor boxes on websites like Discord and other sites. Fixed the address bar's follow creator icon to be consistent with the Follow Creator pane. Fixed the media progress bar in Sidebar. Fixed a collection load issue after switching to light or dark mode. Fixed Add tab group to a new collection not working correctly. Fixed Add all tabs to Collections where some tabs didn’t get added. Fixed Default profile for external links to use the correct profile. Fixed Ctrl + Shift + T (Reopen closed tab) shortcut keys on Workspaces not restoring the tab correctly. Fixed the settings page opening in a Workspace window when visiting the edge://settings page in an InPrivate window. Fixed the browser not coming to the foreground when clicking on a Windows Spotlight link. Fixed Tab Group sync not updating issue. Improved dragging tabs to reduce accidental tab group creation. Fixed websites ask for authentication to other users on Workspaces. Fixed Workspace functionality not working. Fixed the missing back button on Outlook Sidebar. Fixed the extra blank space after clicking Open in New Tab on the Games pane in Sidebar. Fixed the update issue where it stuck showing the “To finish update, restart Microsoft Edge” message on the About page. Android: Fixed an issue where if upgrade installation fails, the device will display 2 Microsoft Edge icons. Fixed Newsfeed language stuck on English. Fixed the missing bottom bar and the black screen with Recent in the Tab center. Fixed Read aloud not opening. Fixed website crashing when playing media. Fixed Read aloud issues with Wikipedia pages. iOS: Fixed the newsfeed flash on launch. Fixed nonresponding buttons in a popup menu. Fixed gray/blank page when signing out of an MSA/AAD account and clearing all browsing data. Removed the fix for restore session failed, the webpage is blank, and click refresh cannot load on iOS 14.x. due to issues. Fixed stuck issue after selecting Keep data separate when signing in with another account. Fixed Password monitor last scanned displaying the wrong time. Fixed Password monitor not displaying scanned weak passwords. Enterprise: Removed the DisplayCapturePermissionsPolicyEnabled policy. Fixed “500 Something went wrong” error message on Outlook sidebar. Fixed sign in managed AAD account failed issue on Android. Fixed the slow SSO sign-in and the fix account pop-up message iOS issues. Fixed an iOS issue where the user is seeing the “Downloading is disabled by your organization” message when trying to navigate to a site while using Citrix micro VPN. Fixed Citrix micro VPN won’t disconnect when using the InPrivate tab on iOS. Fixed the InPrivate switch issue and Search request not being blocked if the managed account is required when using the Search in Edge feature from Outlook on Android. WebView2: Fixed workers WRR events when only document filter is removed. Fixed Custom schemes not working for post requests. (#1825) Fixed PostWebMessage lost messages when the page is broken into DevTools debugger. Fixed HTML5 drag and drop issue. Fixed the missing x64 folder when bootstrapper installs x86 WebView2 on a 64-bit version of Windows. (#2794) Removed Experimental Profile deletion interface. Fixed UserMediaRequestType not working issue. Fixed pressing enter on the Search bar not working issue on Xbox. You can download Microsoft Edge Dev for Windows 10 and 11, Linux, macOS, and Android from the official Edge Insider website.

Microsoft Weekly: Windows 11 on the rise, new builds, and Windows 12 by Usama Jawad We are at the close of yet another week and it's time again to recap everything important that happened in the Microsoft-verse in the past few days. This was a pretty busy week with a number of Windows builds and issues cropping up. With the end of the month, we also got some statistics regarding market share, along with an interesting "Windows 12" concept. Without further ado, let's dive in to our weekly digest for November 26 - December 2! Windows 11 on the rise Statcounter revealed that Windows 11 now controls 16.12% of the market share as Windows 10 dipped below 70% for the first time. This is an increase of 0.67 percentage points compared to last month which is not a massive jump, but it does indicate that adoption of Microsoft's latest OS is steadily climbing upwards and nipping away at Windows 10's market share. Windows 8.1, 8, 7, and XP still capture 2.54%, 0.79%, 10.24%, and 0.4% of the market currently. On the gaming front, Valve's Steam Hardware survey results peg Windows 11 at 27.98%, which is a significant increase of 4.61 percentage points compared to the previous month. Windows 10 is shown struggling here too as it fell to 65.60%, a notable decline of 3.31 percentage points. Coming over to the web browsers market, Microsoft Edge now has a share of 11.17%. This is an increase 0.31 percentage points compared to the previous month and 1.65 percentage points improvement year-over-year. Of course, Google Chrome is still king at 66.13%, despite a slight decline of 0.36 percentage points. With the end of the month, Microsoft also shared a bunch of updates it introduced to some of its pieces of software. These include a hefty number of improvements in Teams, modest updates to Excel, and November enhancements for Power BI Desktop. Windows builds and issues Earlier in the week, Windows 11 Insiders received Dev Channel build 25252. It introduced a new VPN status icon in the system tray, more Taskbar search styles, a bunch of bug fixes, and a truckload worth of known issues. This release was followed closely by Beta build 22623.1020 (KB5020035) bringing OneDrive storage alerts, fixes for high CPU usage, and more. Later, we were treated to a servicing pipeline release too. There were some whispers from the Windows "Moment" updates camp as well. Test IDs for purported "Moment 3" and "Moment 4" update have been discovered in the latest Beta build. Microsoft has also made some "Moment 2" capabilities available to Windows 11 version 22H2 users on the stable channel via the latest build 22621.900 (KB5020044). These include Energy Recommendations, an improved Task Manager, and a slightly enhanced settings page for managing the touch keyboard. Unfortunately, this new build has also introduced an issue in Task Manager where certain UI elements may not render properly if you are using a custom color mode. The mitigation for now is to switch to Light or Dark mode as Microsoft works on a fix. In related news, Input Method Editor (IME) problems can be fixed by installing the latest KB5020044 update and a performance fix for copying large file remotely is also being tested in the recent Dev Channel release. "Windows 12"... and other stuff An interesting concept for "Windows 12" surfaced very recently and was covered in detail by us. Created by an enthusiast, the design focuses a lot on making Widgets more useful while making nifty improvements to other UI elements. Another capability it emphasizes is the splitting of two apps within one window and grouping files in collections inside File Explorer (similar to Collections in Microsoft Edge). Of course, our readers are divided on the aesthetics and utility of this design but do head here to voice your opinion. In other news, Microsoft has officially ended support for the original Surface Hub 55 and Surface Hub 84. Running Windows 10 Team on a fourth-gen Intel Core i5/i7 processor, this device enjoyed a life of seven years, initially being sold at up to $20,000. Although the original Surface Hub is dead in terms of updates, another tricky product, the Surface Duo, might get a dedicated Insider Program soon. Finally, in some smaller updates on the software side, PowerToys is getting a Windows 11 Quick Settings-like launcher to let you launch your favorite utilities with a couple of clicks in the notification area. Meanwhile, Microsoft Forms has introduced the useful capability of being able to add images as possible answers to multiple-choice questions (MCQs). Git gud Coming to the ongoing problem of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard being probed by regulators, there have been rumors this week that the Redmond tech giant may offer concessions to the EU and that a deal has already been struck between Microsoft and Sony regarding the future of Call of Duty on PlayStation. Of course, nothing has been officially confirmed yet. What Microsoft has confirmed is that those with gaming issues won't be offered the Windows 11 2022 Update yet. This safeguard hold will probably be removed around mid-December. But talking about games themselves, a bunch of high-profile titles have hit or are hitting Xbox Game Pass this month. Notable additions include Battlefield 2042, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, High On Life, and Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, among others. Meanwhile, the Games with Gold offerings are Colt Canyon and Bladed Fury. On the sales and promotions side, there is a massive Xbox Black Friday Sale going on. And the Free Play Days event has Battlefield 2042, Batora: Lost Haven, and Rainbow Six Siege on offer this weekend. But if none of this console gaming stuff tickles your fancy, check out News Editor Pulasthi Ariyasinghe's personally curated list of hot PC game deals this weekend. Dev Channel Skype 8.90 is now out Microsoft and PMI have announced new certifications for low-code learning Rufus 3.21 with improved Windows local account support, NTFS, and exFAT, is now available for all Under the spotlight News Reporter Taras Buria compiled a list of the top 5 flags that Microsoft Edge users should consider enabling in order to make the most of their browsing experience. Note that capabilities logged behind a flag are experimental in nature so do expect bugs. Taras also penned a couple more guides following the release of Windows 11 Dev Channel build 25252. The first details the process to enable the new Taskbar search box while the other describes how to disable the Windows 10-like Search Highlights. The final guide from Taras this week was about there being a hidden camera privacy indicator in Windows 11 and the process to enable it. On the other hand, forum member Adam Bottjen detailed the steps to launching pinned apps using just your keyboard in his latest edition of Tech Tip Tuesday. Last but not least, we had our Reviewer Robbie Khan criticizing the pitiful state of the much-hyped horror game The Callisto Protocol, in terms of PC performance. You can dive into the dedicated piece here where Robbie takes you with him on his journey to being super-excited about the title to refunding it after less than two hours of playtime on Steam. Logging off Our most interesting news item of the week relates to the imminent death of the free edition of the popular Macrium Reflect. The Windows backup software will not receive any new features but security updates will be provided up until January 1, 2024. Of course, you can continue to use the tool beyond that date but you won't be eligible for any support if some issue does pop up. The premium version of Macrium Reflect remains unaffected by this discontinuation. If you'd like to get a weekly digest of news from Neowin, we have a Newsletter you can sign up to either via the 'Get our newsletter' widget in the sidebar, or through this link. Missed any of the previous columns? Check them all out at this link.