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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.

Check out the classic Windows XP and Windows 11 wallpapers with generative AI fill effects by John Callaham Generative AI is being used for all sorts of tasks right now. That includes creating artwork with just some text prompts. However, it's also used to help create wallpapers. Today, Microsoft's Michael Gillett has uploaded new versions of well-known Windows wallpapers that were enhanced with generative AI. Gillett's day job is at Microsoft where he is a Partner Technology Strategy Manager. However, he also runs Wallpaperhub.app, which collects and stores Microsoft-themed wallpapers. Today, via a post on Twitter, he announced he has uploaded versions of the classic Windows XP "Bliss" default wallpaper, and the newer but still cool Windows 11 "Bloom" wallpaper. It's time to use AI for wallpapers! Here are the default #Windows11 Bloom wallpaper expanded to show what's beneath and the classic #WindowsXP Bliss with more landscape visible 😍 Download Generative Bloom: https://t.co/gy72oGzcil Download Generative XP: https://t.co/gtnw8m9vrh pic.twitter.com/58cRJQRVF0 — Michael Gillett (@MichaelGillett) May 31, 2023 The new wallpapers used generative AI fill to show what's beneath both of the original versions. While they certainly look different, the new versions definitely look like natural extensions of Microsoft's creations. In the case of the Windows XP wallpaper, generative AI fill created a lake below the green landscape. You can download "Generative Bloom" and Generative XP" at the Wallpaperhub.app site now. Some users have already asked the AI art creator Midjourney to generate some "Windows 12" wallpapers that actually look pretty good. Microsoft is currently working on using AI to create new wallpaper visual effects. The first reports on this feature hit the internet earlier this month, as some users found some programming strings in a Windows 11 Canary channel build that were labeled as "Depth effects," "Parallax Background," and "WallpaperMotion." Later in May, Twitter user Albacore posted a short video on Twitter that showed off these new parallax effects on a Windows 11 wallpaper. Microsoft didn't mention this new feature last week at its Build 2023 developer conference, but hopefully, we will be learning more about these kinds of features officially in the near future.

Windows XP activation algorithm cracked after 21 years, what now? by Omer Dursun Windows XP continues to hold a special place in the hearts of PC enthusiasts. Despite Microsoft discontinuing support and turning off the activation servers for Windows XP, enthusiasts seeking to relive the nostalgia or utilize old hardware/software often face challenges. A recent blog post by TinyApps highlights an offline activation tool that provides a solution for activating Windows XP. The tool was discovered by Reddit user retroreviewyt. The newly introduced offline activation tool, xp_activate32.exe, offers a compact executable package designed as a "phone activation utility" for Windows XP. This tool allows users to activate the operating system entirely offline, eliminating the need to connect to potentially risky online environments. With a file size of only 18 KB, "Windows XP Activation: GAME OVER" provides a convenient means for tinkerers to activate their Windows XP systems without internet connectivity. As Microsoft discontinued support and deactivated the Windows XP activation servers, attempting to activate the operating system online poses significant risks. The offline activation tool ensures safer activation and protects XP systems from potential flaws and vulnerabilities in the outdated operating system. Windows XP can expose systems to potential threats. As a result, many users prefer to keep their Windows XP installations offline, limiting their usage to software and hardware that resides in their archives. Online essentials such as secure browsers and antivirus software may be difficult to obtain for Windows XP, further emphasizing the importance of offline usage. Numerous tools were available in the past for generating keys that Windows XP would accept, predating the creation of this self-contained offline program. These tools often took the form of software hacks or brute-force decryption utilities. On the other hand, some users may be interested in exploring even older Windows operating systems beyond Windows XP. These systems often require specific serial keys for activation, but their simpler algorithms can make finding valid keys relatively easier.

Windows Server 2003, the server version of Windows XP, launched 20 years ago today by John Callaham 20 years ago today, on April 24, 2003, Microsoft made Windows Server 2003 generally available. This was basically the server version of Windows XP which had launched about 18 months beforehand. Why mention this rather minor milestone? Because, believe it or not, Windows Server 2003 is still being used by a number of Windows-based PCs worldwide. According to StatCounter's latest number for March 2023, Windows Server 2003 is being used by 0.02 percent of all working Windows desktop PCs. It's the smallest percentage for a single Windows OS that's recorded by StatCounter. Developed under the code name "Whistler Server" at Microsoft, Windows Server 2003 included a number of new features. One of them was ditching the old-fashioned rescue disk. Instead, it used Automated System Recovery, which, as the name suggested, automated the task of creating a restore point. That was first added in Windows XP Professional. It was also the last of the Windows Server version to work with processors without ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) support. Two service packs for Windows Server 2003 were released, with the first on March 30 2005, and the second on March 13, 2007. Also, Windows Server 2003 R2, which bundled the first service pack and some optional new features, was launched on December 6, 2005. While Microsoft officially ended support for Windows Server 2003 on Jul 14, 2015, the company made an exception on May 13, 2017. It issued a patch for the OS to deal with an exploit that was being used by the hackers behind the infamous "WannaCry" ransomware attack.

Someone got ChatGPT to run on Windows 98 and other older Windows versions by making JavaGPT by John Callaham It's always interesting when you can extend a modern application to work on older platforms. That is just what a developer has done with the ChatGPT chatbot application. That developer, "FrankCYB", has recently posted his creation, JavaGPT on GitHub (via Windows Central). Here's how he describes the application, which he says can run on Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, and 8. along with Microsoft's currently supported Windows 10. and 11: I'm excited to share with you a Java application I developed that works on legacy versions of Windows as well as modern versions called JavaGPT. Now you can access ChatGPT and all its features through a user-friendly Java GUI on almost any OS! Here's a run down of its features... Chat Streaming: makes responses generate in real-time just like on the ChatGPT website Chat History: lets you interact with previous chats like on the website Revert Chats: Be able to void previous prompts and responses from chat HTML Viewer: View your chat content in HTML. Supports Markdown Language syntax Chat Titles: autogenerates a title for a chat based on its context. Can be manually changed if preferred. Import premade prompts Save chats to file Dark mode and right click copy-edit-paste features Support for ChatGPT 4 and all ChatGPT 3.5 models Cross platform Only 6mb build size Since JavaGPT is an open source project, anyone can download and check out the code for the program on GitHub. By the way, since this application is based on the latest Java 8 version, Windows versions that are older than Windows 8, including Windows 95, cannot currently use JavaGPT. Keep in mind this is a third party application that is not endorsed by OpenAI or Microsoft so proceed at your own risk.

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

Here is what Windows 11 would look like in 2001 by Taras Buria Have you ever wondered what would modern Windows 11 look like had Microsoft released it more than twenty years ago? We have already seen a mod turning Windows 10 into an indistinguishable Windows XP replica, and now here is a similar take on Windows 11 with its controversial Start menu, centered taskbar, dark mode, and more. The concept published by @tehmondspartan on Twitter brings the beloved Windows XP-era UI elements to Windows 11. The Windows Media Player 6, old-school icons, MSN Explorer, MSN Messenger, the traditional Control Panel, two different buttons for logging off and turning off the computer, the classic profile switcher with a green arrow button, and not the most popular silver variant of Windows XP's Luna theme (which is not that bad compared with the olive green). There is also a dark variant and Windows XPified version of Microsoft Edge. Unlike the previously mentioned Windows 10 XP mod, "Windows Sun Valley (2001/02") is just a concept to relive good-old memories and mix them with the new thing. However, you can try to achieve similar visuals with the WindowBlinds 11 app, which recently arrived on Steam. Would you use Windows 11 with visuals straight from 2001? Let us know in the comments below.

This mod turns Windows 10 into an indistinguishable Windows XP replica by Taras Buria If you want your computer to work as well as it can and avoid privacy or security risks, sticking to an original Windows installation is your only option. However, some Windows modifications are worthy of your attention and some time to play around (maybe in a virtual machine or a spare computer). For example, Tiny11, a mod that allows you to run Windows 11 on less powerful hardware, or this absolutely wild Windows Experience Freestyle Update that turns Windows 10 into a virtually indistinguishable Windows XP replica. Windows Experience Freestyle Update is a modified Windows 10 installation (version 1809) with a very thick coat of 22-year-old paint. It carefully replicates the look and feel of Windows XP, which many consider the golden era of Microsoft's operating system. There is the old File Explorer, Task Manager, Control Panel, Start menu (still better than the one in Windows 11), and Internet Explorer (just a reskinned Firefox). Even 3D Pinball and the OG Paint are available! Of course, those who have experienced using Windows XP will be able to spot the differences. Also, some notable limitations and issues will prevent you from using the mod as a primary operating system. For example, any DPI above 100% will break everything, not all buttons and links in File Explorer work, and some parts of the OS look like butchered Windows 10. Still, it is safe to say the modification is the closest modern Windows XP replica that none of the third-party apps can achieve. If you want to experience a "modern Windows XP," check it on the Internet Archive. Before downloading, mind the privacy risks and legal implications of using modified Windows ISOs (the mod is not activated, and it requires a genuine Windows 10 key). For most, admiring the project from a safe distance will be a better choice. Speaking of other Windows XP-related news, a recently published video shows how much more data Windows 11 sends to questionable servers out of the box compared to its 23-year-old sibling.

New video shows how much more data Windows 11 sends compared to older versions by Taras Buria Most of our readers probably know about the statement from tinfoil hat enthusiasts that Windows 11 is nothing but spyware, and using Microsoft's latest operating system will result in your data going to the deepest corners of the darknet. Of course, such claims are vastly exaggerated, and you probably should not worry too much about your safety if you keep your system up to date and protected with a reputable antivirus. However, as shown by a recently published YouTube video on The PC Security Channel, Windows 11 indeed sends staggering amounts of data to first and third-party servers. And the worst part is that the OS does that even before you install or open your first application. The PC Security Channel used the Wireshark app to analyze network activity on two "clean" Windows installations. The first was brand-new Windows 11, and the second was good-old Windows XP (also clean installation). A quick analysis showed Windows 11 connecting to many third-party servers and services, most of which do nothing but ad tracking. And it is worth noting that all that activity happens on every Windows 11 machine out of the box, without asking the customer, and before they even try to use the internet. Going backward 22 years brings us to Windows XP, which many consider one of the best Windows releases alongside Windows 7. Quick scanning of the more than twenty-year-old operating system showed a much less alarming image. The only server Windows XP contacts out of the box is Windows Update with a simple and easy-to-understand name. No Google servers, MSN, Bing, or shady ad trackers, absolutely nothing. It is not all black and white, though. Windows 11 has much more capabilities than its two-decade-old relative, and you cannot give users more features without increasing network activity. Still, Windows 11's communications with third-party servers happen without permission the moment you finish installing the OS. Besides, some of the servers and services Windows 11 connects to have absolutely nothing to do with computing—all they do is track and collect your data to sell it to ad providers without improving your PC experience in the slightest (unless you count ads relevance). When you combine all this with Microsoft's other products that increase their focus on showing recommended content ads, you get a pretty alarming picture of the company trying to monetize its customers as much as possible. And the "best" part is that Windows 11 is not free—you still have to pay for the operating system and all the data probes that come bundled with it. Ultimately, we are not trying to make a definitive statement, or call Windows 11 spyware, or tell you to ditch it in favor of Linux. Experiments like the one published on The PC Security Channel are food for thought that helps users better understand the product they use and reflect on its evolution in the modern world.

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.

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.

Careful with that song! Microsoft shares crazy tale of Janet Jackson crashing Windows PCs by Sayan Sen While I'm writing this news, I have a particular song playing on repeat at full blast. That's because my Windows 10 PC thankfully does not house a hard disk drive. And even if it did, it probably wouldn't matter, cause OEMs and manufacturers have long fixed the issue. If you are wondering what this is about, Microsoft has revealed a crazy tale of the time a song was crashing Windows XP laptops. The song in question is Rhythm Nation by popular female pop artist Janet Jackson. Apparently, it contains one of the natural resonant frequencies for the model of 5400 RPM hard drives (HDDs), which is very typical in laptops even today. Microsoft however did not share what the frequencies were, and it's hard to pinpoint as HDDs vibrate anywhere between 0 and 5,000 Hz though there are certain peaks at 12.5, 87.5, 1100, 1450, 1700, 1850 Hz. In order to fix the issue, the device makers had to add a filter for the particular frequencies to prevent the crash. In fact, even laptops nearby, that weren't playing the song, were crashing. We have embedded the song above for you to listen, but restrain yourself before clicking on the play button in case you are still running a Windows XP PC for some reason. Source: Microsoft

Janet Jackson song is now an official exploit for Windows PCs by Usama Jawad Yesterday, we learned via Microsoft's Raymond Chen that back in the olden days of Windows XP, it was discovered that a music video of a song called Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson was causing Windows PCs to crash. This is because the song in question contained resonant frequencies for 5400RPM hard drives which even crashed PCs in vicinity while the song was being played. While OEMs eventually fixed the issue, security agency MITRE has now declared it as an official exploit. As noted by The Register, Janet Jackson's song has been assigned a Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) ID of CVE-2022-38392. The description of the exploit on MITRE's dedicated page reads: A certain 5400 RPM OEM hard drive, as shipped with laptop PCs in approximately 2005, allows physically proximate attackers to cause a denial of service (device malfunction and system crash) via a resonant-frequency attack with the audio signal from the Rhythm Nation music video. It is interesting to know that while many OEMs raced to fix the issue by adding a filter to exclude the problematic resonant frequencies, MITRE has still assigned it as a public exploit, nearly two decades after its initial discovery. However, the move does make sense considering that some people and companies do use legacy and unpatched hardware and software for various reasons (please stop, though), so Rhythm Nation could still be leveraged as a side-channel attack. That said, those on modern PCs shouldn't have any reason to worry when it comes to this particular exploit. Source: MITRE via The Register

Microsoft Weekly: A colorful Task Manager, an exceptional quarter, and Edge 101 by Usama Jawad We are at the close of the last week of April and that means that it is time to recap everything important that went on in the Microsoft-verse in the past few days. This was an exceptionally busy week in terms of news thanks to a somewhat significant Windows 11 build, Microsoft reporting its FY22Q3 results, and a bunch of Edge improvements, including the release of version 101. Find out about all of this and more in our weekly digest for April 23 - April 29. A colorful Task Manager in a Windows 11 build This week, Microsoft held a Windows Insider webcast to talk about Task Manager in Windows 11. Although its focus was on the new functionalities on the backend such as Efficiency mode, what really piqued our interest was the support for accent colors in Task Manager. Rather than relying on the shades of mustard in Task Manager, the app will now update according to your OS' accent colors, which would bring some decent consistency. Oh, and not that it matters much - consider that Microsoft engineers obviously test features on a variety of development builds -, but the demo in the webcast was apparently running on a 7th gen Intel CPU, which is supposed to be unsupported for Windows 11. Microsoft didn't wait too long to release the colorful Task Manager either. Windows 11 build 22610 just landed in the Dev Channel yesterday with the updated app, new icons for context menu in File Explorer, fixes to the Start menu, and updates to the Family Safety widget. Microsoft is also fielding interest from IT admins and organizations about whether they would like to see Windows Server preview builds flighted to them in the same manner as Windows Insider builds. Microsoft also rolled out an optional update for Windows 11 in the form of build 22000.652 (KB5012643). It fixes a bunch of issues, including one which causes an OS startup delay of about 40 minutes, but it reportedly also introduces a new one causing screen flickering in Safe Mode. The Redmond tech firm rolled out a bunch of improvements to Auto HDR for gamers on Windows 11 too. New capabilities include an intensity slider, multi-GPU support, and customization of notifications. Some of these are available via the latest version of the Xbox Game Bar app. Oh, and while we are on the topic of Microsoft apps, it turns out that default apps in Windows 11 take up 1.5GB of space. Personally, I don't think that's a lot but it has sparked a lively debate in our comments section of that article. On the Surface side of things, the Surface Book 3 received some "storage stability" in a firmware update while Windows Insiders on the Surface Laptop Studio can now refresh Dynamic Refresh Rate. The capability will help your Surface Laptop Studio save battery life and avoid wasting energy on an unnecessary 120Hz refresh all the time. Lastly, Surface Go 3 also received its first firmware update since its launch, mainly packing security and stability improvements. A very strong Microsoft quarter Microsoft posted its results for fiscal year 2022 quarter 3 (FY22Q3) this week too. This was an exceptionally strong quarter with a revenue of $49.4 billion, which is up by a significant 18% in the same period last year. Similarly, operating income was 18% at $20.4 billion too and so was net income at $16.7 billion (+8% GAAP and +13% non-GAAP). The firm reported positive trends across all its business segments including Productivity and Business Processes (Office, Dynamics), Intelligent Cloud (Windows Server, Azure), and Personal Computing (Windows, gaming, search and news advertising, and Surface). That said, the firm expects revenue to be in the single digits in the next quarter due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and supply chain difficulties in China. Microsoft had some more specifics to reveal about the usage of its other products and services too. Did you know that Xbox Cloud Gaming has now been used by 10 million players? Or that Microsoft Start now has 500 million daily active users? Or that the Xbox Series X and Series S were the market leaders this quarter in the U.S., Canada, UK, and Western Europe? If not, check out our dedicated piece on usage stats here. Edge 101 Although we had a lot of news related to Microsoft's Edge browser this week, the highlight has to be the release of version 101 to the Stable Channel. Most notably, Edge contains a new PWA hub accessible from the toolbar, default profile policies, and a certificate picker that allows you to forget and switch certificates on a website without quitting the browser first. Edge Dev received version 102.0.1235.1 too. That release contains changes to the user experience to make it easier to access tabs from other devices, reliability improvements, and a bunch of bug fixes. That said, there is a significant list of known issues too so if you use Edge Dev, it's probably best to check out our dedicated piece here. Microsoft also seems to be working on a redesign for Edge, as is evident in the latest Canary builds. New bits introduced to the UX include rounded corners from Windows 11 and the Mica effect. You can try them out right now from Edge flags but there's no word yet on when these will hit the Stable Channel. The company is seemingly also developing an integrated VPN in Edge powered by Cloudflare and you can find all the details here. Finally, this is not Edge-specific but is significant nonetheless: you can finally switch accounts on several Microsoft 365 services on the web without having to sign out first. This capability will hit several Microsoft 365 apps and services over the next couple of months. Dev Channel Microsoft shows how to disassemble and repair its Surface Laptop Studio The beta version of Microsoft Teams is now optimized for Apple Silicon Teams has new integrations geared towards professional broadcasting Here are Microsoft's recommendations for managing IoT security Microsoft and Mastercard have announced a "next-gen" identity solution Office for iOS will soon let you listen to documents even when the screen is locked Registrations for Build 2022 are now open There is a new OS update for Xbox consoles in the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring Microsoft Purview is getting new classifiers to detect corporate sabotage, collusion, sexual harassment, and more in Teams, emails, and Yammer Audacity has arrived in the Microsoft Store Skype Insider Preview has hit version 8.84 Under the spotlight This week, our very own Neowin co-founder Steven Parker talked about his feelings regarding Microsoft reminding everyone of what a great job it did building the Start menu in Windows 11. Of course, its reminder conveniently ignores all the things people are complaining about in the Feedback Hub. It's a pretty tone-deaf move from Microsoft, to say the least. Meanwhile, News Reporter Taras Buria wrote a very detailed guide about how you can customize the touchpad gestures in Windows 11. If you have a Windows 11 device, you should probably check out all the things you can do with it here. And for our readers out there who play video games, News Editor Pulasthi Ariyasinghe has highlighted that May's Games with Gold includes Yoku’s Island Express, The Inner World – The Last Wind Monk, Hydro Thunder Hurricane, and Viva Piñata Party Animals. Be sure to grab them during the dates noted in the graphic above if you have a valid Xbox Live Gold subscription. Logging off Have you ever wondered how long it would take to boot Windows XP on a 1MHz processor, considering that the OS required a minimum clock speed of 233MHz? Regardless of whether this question has crossed your mind or not, we think it's worth finding out the answer here. 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.

Booting Windows XP on a 1MHz Pentium CPU takes three hours by Taras Buria It is probably safe to say that very few people wonder what will happen if you try to run an old Windows version on a processor that is 233 times slower than the minimum recommended spec. If that question bothers you, NTDev coincidentally has the answer. NTDev, a Windows enthusiast with the fitting motto "Trying stuff so you don't have to", decided to install Windows XP on a system with a 1MHz Intel Pentium CPU, which is not enough to run even Windows 3.0 from 1990. The result of running a relatively modern operating system with the processor speeds from the 1970s (Intel 8088, for example, works at 5 to 16MHz clocks) is not surprising: just booting to the desktop takes three hours. A tech demo of Windows XP running on the 1MHz Pentium. It takes 3 FREAKING HOURS to boot! (but I have sped it up for you😆) It's also quite unstable, as you'll see at the end of the video Also, on the corner it's hh:mm:ss! :)https://t.co/PB78hanh9C pic.twitter.com/X97ICWFmE9 — NTDEV (@NTDEV_) April 26, 2022 The system also manages to open a simple app to display CPU clocks, but it takes a tremendous amount of time to launch, and the app itself is not very stable. Finally, shutting down Windows XP on a 1MHz CPU ended with a blue screen of death. Microsoft launched Windows XP in 2001, and, at that time, the operating system required a CPU with a minimum 233MHz clock speed. Getting Windows XP to work on a few hundred times slower processor is quite an achievement. But is there any practical value in such a project? Probably no, unless, as the author claims, you want to satisfy the "insatiable curiosity of the humankind." Likely the same motive is behind other NTDev's projects, such as running Windows 10 on a Cirrus VGA card.

This great site was founded on anticipation for Windows XP. I loved that OS back in the day. Now I've set it up in a VM, using the old style theme Ancient Pathways (from the Microsoft Windows NT Workstation Resource Kit). It's sort of cool. But I am anxious to try stuff with it. It's my old 32-bit version so can run 16-bit programs and all. What would you do or have you done? Any good memories or ideas? I'm really after fun nostalgic stuff folks. 😇

Microsoft Weekly: Windows 11 SE, Defender and Loop leaks, and .NET Hot Reload backlash by Usama Jawad We are at the close of the week so it's time to recap everything important that happened in the world of Microsoft in the past week. We did get a new Windows 11 Dev channel build this week, as well as optional updates for Windows 10. Microsoft posted a strong quarter with improvements across the board (almost), but the company faced backlash from the community over some controversial changes to .NET. Find out more about this in our weekly digest for October 24 - October 29. Windows 11 SE A new report emerged a couple of days ago, claiming that Microsoft is working on "Windows 11 SE" for a currently unannounced low-cost Surface laptop. Apparently, this device is targeted at students and is codenamed "Tenjin". It will feature a plastic exterior, an 11.6-inch 1366x768 display, an Intel Celeron N4120 processor, up to 8GB of RAM, USB-C and USB-A ports, and a full-sized keyboard and trackpad. The "SE" in Windows 11 SE supposedly stands for "School Edition" or "Student Edition", but little else is known about this SKU. It will likely include optimizations and tweaks that are geared towards a school environment. Tenjin could make an appearance by the end of this year with a price tag of below $400 to compete with other offerings on the market. Talking about Surface, that division continues to underperform as Microsoft posted a revenue of $45.3 billion for the previous quarter. This is a 22% increase compared to the same quarter in the previous year and is spearheaded by its returns from the cloud, Windows OEM, and Microsoft 365. AdDuplex data indicates that Windows 11 is now installed on 5% of machines, and Microsoft may be looking to get it onto more PCs as it has started force-installing its PC Health Check app on more Windows 10 configurations. Windows 10 received an optional KB5006738 update that fixes a bunch of issues related to the display of subtitles, lock screen, and other things. The OS can now take advantage of the updated Microsoft Store from Windows 11 as well. Windows 11 was offered a significant build 22489 in the Dev channel too. It notably adds a new Settings page for "Your Microsoft account" that also contains references to Online Service Experience Packs that the company will use to improve specific features without requiring a whole OS upgrade. These packs will be served through Windows Update. Microsoft Defender and Loop leaks Information about some of Microsoft's in-development apps leaked this week. One of those is Microsoft Defender, which seems to have received a Windows 11 makeover, if screenshots are to be believed. That said, we recently learned that it may be available for Windows 10 too. While the Microsoft Store listing for the app is live and it can be downloaded on Windows 10, most users aren't able to bypass verification checks. Some who did manage to bypass them showed screenshots of an unfinished but revamped UI. In the same vein, screenshots of Microsoft's unannounced "Microsoft Loop" app appeared a couple of days ago too. It seems to be a workspace app that enables collaborative sessions and interactions. The UI looks very similar to Notion, but it's unclear how it will fit into enterprise offerings considering that Teams already exists and offers many of the features showcased in leaked screenshots. That said, it appears that Microsoft doesn't want you to think too much about this as it has been issuing takedown notices against people who have been uploading screenshots of the unreleased software. .NET Hot Reload fiasco Microsoft faced some challenges with its .NET community in the past few days. The company initially announced that its popular Hot Reload functionality - which enables developers to alter and modify code on the fly without needing to pause will only be available with .NET 6 - in Visual Studio 2022. This led to an outcry from the community which claimed that the move indicates that Microsoft is locking the capability to its IDE, which somewhat defeats the purpose of an open-source foundation. Fortunately, the Redmond tech giant bent to public pressure and issued an apology saying that Hot Reload will indeed be included in the dotnet watch tool in .NET 6 SDK's general release on November 9. On the other hand, Microsoft seemingly had a much better time dealing with Apple. Microsoft discovered a design flaw in macOS that allows attackers to bypass System Integrity Protection (SIP) and arbitrarily execute code, install rootkit, or even overwrite system files. This was dubbed "Shrootless" and privately reported to Apple. The Cupertino firm acknowledged the flaw, fixed it, issued patches for the public, and attributed the discovery of this vulnerability to Microsoft. Dev Channel Microsoft released six minutes of gameplay footage from Halo Infinite IntelliSense in Visual Studio 2022 is faster by an order of 18x with Unreal Engine projects Microsoft is considering replacing the HTTPS lock icon with a down arrow in its Edge browser Microsoft's new feedback portal for Teams and Edge is now in preview Content moderation company Two Hat is now owned by Microsoft PowerToys 0.49.1 introduces Find My Mouse and adds Video Conference Mute to stable releases Linux has finally received a stable build of Microsoft Edge Under the spotlight Neowin's very own Brad Wardell talked in detail about how his Surface Pro 8 compares to the MacBook Air M1 in his daily usage, and which device is usually his go-to option. Read more of his thoughts on this topic here. In this week's combo of Closer Look, I took a look at the touch keyboard and Storage settings present in Windows 11. I talked about how both of these capabilities have received a glow-up in the OS and become much more useful than their Windows 10 counterparts. Windows 11 is still pretty new so we're discussing the OS in more detail through our ongoing Closer Look series. Meanwhile, Neowin's News Editor Pulasthi Ariyasinghe delved into Microsoft's latest gaming release, Age of Empires IV. He praised the game's "stellar historical campaigns bolstered by documentary-style complementary videos and the fast-paced, deeply tactical, and exciting multiplayer playgrounds". You can check out his full review here and also consider buying Age of Empires IV for yourself if the genre intrigues you. On the other side of the fence, if you don't know how to create a bootable installation disk of Windows 11, fret not because Neowin's News Reporter Anmol Mehrotra has you covered. Check out his detailed guide which walks you through the entire process. Last but definitely not the least, our News Reporter Moshe Jacobs discussed how Windows XP hosted the blueprint for all future versions of Windows in his insightful and nostalgic piece on the OS' 20th birthday. Logging off One of our most interesting articles of the week is not related to Microsoft but is still worth highlighting in our weekly catchup. If you thought that Apple couldn't think of more ways to fleece its customers, you'd be mistaken. The company's $19 Polishing Cloth accessory that is "compatible" with Apple displays is backordered well into 2022 due to massive demand. ebay listings for the item are hovering around the $50 mark at the time of this writing. Truly revolutionary stuff. If you’d like to get a daily 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.

Remembering Windows XP on its 20th anniversary by Moshe Jacobs Earlier this month, Windows 11 saw an official release to consumers with a slow roll out. New features, redesign of the graphical user interface, and frustrations with the mandatory requirements to upgrade, such as TPM 2.0, makes someone a bit more appreciate of some of the "good old days" of operating systems. While October 25th, 2021 marked the 20th anniversary for Windows XP, it also marked the flow of features that continued into future iterations of Windows as well. Built on the Windows NT kernel instead of the Windows 95 kernel, Windows XP was the evolution of both Windows Me and Windows 2000. With widespread dissatisfaction with Windows Me, Windows XP brought with it notable improvements in reliability and performance. While the Start menu interface had been started with Windows 95 years earlier, it saw a marked improvement in customization and features. The Start menu was changed to include two columns; the left focusing on installed software, and the right providing ease-of-access to folders for documents, recent files/documents, pictures, music, and My Computer, among other important areas such as the Control Panel, Search, and Run. Image via GCFGlobal Although the Start menu and Taskbar colors by default were slightly polarizing, the option to revert to a more classical appearance of the Start menu was available. Of course, the Start menu would continue through future iterations and versions of Windows XP and beyond, taking different form factors such as in Windows 8 and reverting back to more traditional appearances in Windows 10. Aside from the Start menu, the Taskbar was also able to group windows opened from the same application for the first time, and providing access to a contextual menu that would show each item that was grouped. For the first time in Windows, Fast User Switching was implemented. This allowed multiple users to switch active accounts without having to close all open applications or log out, creating better workflows when returning to their session. Image via between the lines In regards to performance improvements, Windows XP allowed for reduced startup and software launch times through the use of pre-fetching data. Other notable improvements included DirectX 8.1, implementation of ClearType font rendering on LCD displays, and improved system reliability with features such as System Restore. Microsoft sold Windows XP in various editions throughout the years. From Home Edition, Professional Edition, and Windows XP Media Center Edition, Microsoft attempted to cater to more specific use-cases based on the intended consumer or business. For instance, a version called Windows XP Tablet PC Edition contained features specific to stylus/pen input. Additionally, catering to 64-bit architecture, Microsoft released Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. Image via Bleeping Computer The blueprint for better versions of Windows can be seen in the product architecture of Windows XP. While it is now 20 years old, it still provides Microsoft great reference points to build and improve upon. A supported TPM 2.0-free Edition anyone?

Microsoft releases new patch for PrintNightmare, recommends immediate installation by Usama Jawad PrintNightmare is a vulnerability that Microsoft began publicly investigating in July. It makes use of the Windows Print Spooler service's unprotected functions to trigger remote code execution (RCE) through which an attacker can execute code under the guise of SYSTEM privileges. The firm awarded it a "high" vulnerability score and provided some mitigations a few weeks ago. A patch was also released but it turned out that it could still be bypassed. That said, the company downplayed the issue, and claimed that it only happens when people use unsupported registry values. Today, Microsoft has released a new patch, which it says changes the default behavior of Point and Print on Windows since the current implementation does not meet the security needs of its customers. Moving forward, Point and Print driver installations and updates will require administrative privileges. This essentially means that all vulnerabilities related to the Windows Print Spooler service which have been publicly documented so far will be mitigated. Microsoft has stated that this change will adversely affect non-admin users who were previously able to install and update these drivers. However, the company believes that the benefits far outweigh this inconvenience. The company has cautioned that if IT admins do not install this update or disable this mitigation, they will be prone to PrintNightmare exploits. It is important to remember that PrintNightmare affects virtually all version of Windows, which is why it is essential that this patch is installed as soon as possible. More information can be found in the company's security advisory under CVE-2021-34481 here.

A canceled Windows Core OS build has reportedly leaked online by Usama Jawad Back in 2018, it was reported that Microsoft is building a new, modern version of Windows 10 for PCs, codenamed Polaris. This would be under the Windows Core OS umbrella which also included Andromeda as the operating system for foldable mobile devices. It was rumored that this flavor of the operating system will strip much of the legacy code and compatibility issues that the OS is currently encumbered with. While Microsoft canceled both Polaris and Andromeda in 2018, and tapped Windows 10X as their replacement, a build of the former has now leaked online. Windows Central reports that an old build of Polaris - the modular flavor for traditional PCs - has leaked online, but unfortunately, there's not much to be excited about. The leak is a very early build from 2018 and contains no shell or apps. This essentially means that it has no GUI either and is just the bare OS package. While there's not much that can be messed around with in the build, some interesting tidbits are that it is an RS3 RTM build and is compatible with ARM32 architecture. This means that it can be booted up on the age-old Surface RT. Polaris was supposed to be a modular version of Windows, offering better flexibility, power management, and performance. However, it is important to emphasize that the OS is no longer in development, and has been superseded by Windows 10X, which is slated to arrive in spring later this year. As this is a leaked build of the software and could contain undisclosed issues, we would advise against trying to tinker around with it on your primary machine. Source: Windows Central

This year's Windows Ugly Sweater features an MS Paint theme, and you can purchase it by Abhay Venkatesh Microsoft started the “Ugly” sweater trend back in 2018 by giving away a Windows 95-themed Ugly sweater. The theme of the “softwear” for 2019 was Windows XP, which was also part of a limited giveaway. This year, the theme for the sweater is Microsoft Paint and can actually be purchased from the Xbox Gear Shop. That is not all, though, as the company is also selling the Windows 95 and XP Ugly sweaters in the “Holiday Soft-wear shop” here. This year, the company is also supporting Girls Who Code – a non-profit that supports women in tech with coding courses and more – through the form of donations from the sales of the sweater. The Redmond firm will donate $20 for every unit sold, while also contributing a minimum amount of $50,000. These donations will be made on the purchase of any of the Windows Holiday Sweater options from December 1 through December 23. The new #WindowsUglySweater has arrived — and this year it’s supporting a fantastic cause! ​ Get yours today (they disappear fast!) and you’ll be supporting @GirlsWhoCode when you do. Good deal, isn’t knit? 🧶 — Windows (@Windows) December 1, 2020 You can head to the Xbox Gear Shop for the MS Paint Ugly Sweater here, Windows 95 Ugly Sweater here, or the Windows XP Ugly Sweater here, which are currently being sold for $69.99. Those interested might want to act fast since the Windows 95 version is already out of stock at the time of writing. Additionally, Microsoft is also adding MS Paint backgrounds for Skype and Teams calls to “accessorize” your Ugly sweaters.

Windows XP source code has allegedly leaked online by João Carrasqueira Microsoft seems to have fallen victim to yet another leak regarding its Windows operating system. Specifically, the source code for Windows XP, as well as Windows Server 2003, has allegedly been shared online, as reported by BleepingComputer. Microsoft has been the target of numerous leaks of this kind in the past, with Windows 2000 being passed around all the way back in 2004, and more recently the Windows NT 3.5 source code also showed up online along with source code for the original Xbox. The full package shared today appears to include a few of these previous leaks, as well as MS-DOS 3.30, MS-DOS 6, Windows CE 3, 4, and 5, and more. Similar to what we've heard with previous leaks, these files have been passed around between hackers for years, but they're just now being shared more publicly. Aside from the compilation of source code for the aforementioned Windows versions, a package with just Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 source code has been shared in a separate file. Microsoft has yet to confirm whether the leaked data is legitimate. But if you're interested in the subject, combing through the files may be interesting, as this is a newer version of Windows than what we've seen leaked in the past.

Microsoft Weekly: ZeniMax Media joins XGS, Ignite 2020, and the October 2020 Update by Florin Bodnarescu This week, perhaps more so than others, has been a big one in terms of Microsoft news. A massive acquisition on the gaming side, a whole bunch of Ignite 2020 announcements, and even an alleged source code leak for Windows XP, all happened in the last seven days. You can find info about that, as well as much more below, in your Microsoft digest for the week of September 19 - 25. ZeniMax Media joins XGS In a move that came pretty much out of nowhere, Microsoft announced on Monday the second largest acquisition in gaming, behind only Tencent’s $8.6B Supercell (Clash of Clans) buyout. Penned by Xbox head Phil Spencer, the post published at the top of the week outlined the fact that Microsoft has entered into an agreement to buy ZeniMax Media, parent company of ZeniMax Online Studios, publisher Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Roundhouse Studios, and Alpha Dog for a cool $7.5 billion dollars. As a result of this, the Xbox Game Studios first-party organization has grown pretty much overnight from 15 to 23 studios, and Microsoft now has the rights to IPs like Dishonored, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Starfield, The Evil Within, Prey, Rune, and many more. Following up on the news, all of the ZeniMax games will be coming to Game Pass day one, which is sure to boost the subscription’s newly announced 15 million subscriber milestone. To put this into perspective, the service was launched in 2017 and grew to 10 million by April of this year. In a little under five months, another five million subscribers have joined. In case you were doubtful that the Game Pass launch would be the case, Doom Eternal is set to be made available on the subscription starting October 1. More gaming news was also present this week, with the Xbox beta mobile app launching on Android, the new Microsoft Store for Xbox being made available for everyone, a new Xbox Wireless Controller edition being shown, and Deals with Gold bringing in Grand Theft Auto, Resident Evil, and more. Circling back to app launches, the Xbox app is also available in beta on iOS, with the Xbox Family Settings app hitting GA on both iOS and Android. For folks eager to get their hands on next-gen consoles, this was a big week too, as both the Xbox Series S and Series X went up for pre-order and soon were sold out. Microsoft did promise to have more units at launch on November 10. If you pre-ordered from Amazon, you might’ve gotten an email about your pre-orders being delayed due to demand. Lastly, if you’re curious just how much the 1TB SSD expansion card for the next-gen Microsoft consoles is going to cost, it has showed up for pre-order online priced at $220. While you wait for next-gen, here are the best Xbox One games launched this week. Of course, we’d be remiss not to mention Halo 3: ODST PC – check out our review for more details about the port -, the fact that the next Halo: MCC flight will test cross-play and input-based matchmaking, or that Flight Simulator has gotten an SDK update and new Marketplace products, along with the announcement of a Japan map update as its first content drop. To wrap up this section, be sure to check out our five reasons to buy the Xbox Series consoles, our top five reasons to buy the PlayStation 5, then go ahead and give your two cents in regards to what the future of gaming looks like. Ignite 2020 This week was also host to the first of Microsoft’s two planned Ignite events – the second being held in March next year -, where the company unveiled a number of cloud and platform updates. First and foremost, the software giant plans to become water positive (meaning that it will replenish more water than it uses by way of stressed basins) by the year 2030. Also in the field of general betterment, Microsoft announced that its Cloud for Healthcare will hit GA next month, and that the InnerEye Deep Learning Toolkit is now available. The latter’s release is to aid in the improvement of patient care. While the company’s Azure business unit has indeed taken off in recent years, no part of it has done it quite like this before, as at Ignite it was announced that the cloud platform now includes Azure Orbital. This is a new managed service which provides access to physical satellite communication capabilities in order to process and analyze the data via Azure. This announcement also coincides with the reveal of the new Azure Communication Services, a new managed communication platform making its way to Microsoft’s cloud. Continuing this same theme, low-code updates in Power Platform for both GitHub and Azure have now hit the preview stage, while Power BI for Teams and a Premium Per User tier have been announced too. If you’re curious about what exactly the Power Platform is, or what it offers, be sure to check out this interview with Microsoft’s Arun Ulag, by way of our very own Hamza Jawad. In other service announcements, Dynamics 365 Customer Service now has a voice channel, while Dynamics 365 Project Operations has hit the general availability phase. In addition, the OS sandbox offering from the Redmond giant (Windows Virtual Desktop) has gotten a bunch of new capabilities, Microsoft 365 Defender and Azure Defender are now unified under Microsoft Defender, and HoloLens 2 availability has been expanded in light of demand due to COVID-19. For the collaboration part of the announcements, Cortana has gained some new features, like the daily briefing email feature now being GA for Microsoft 365 Enterprise users, and Teams is set to increase the maximum number of team members you can have to 25,000 later this year. Changes are coming to Outlook and Microsoft 365 too, like a new UI in Bookings and Search getting integrated into Teams, with the Bot Framework Composer also being made available as an open-source tool. Worthy of note is also the fact that LinkedIn’s site and mobile app are getting a massive redesign, Microsoft 365 is getting a next-gen Compliance Manager, Microsoft Forms is now available in the Office mobile app – with a Teams integration also being made accessible -, and that Microsoft is set to release a new perpetual license version of Office next year. Rounding off this set of announcements is the arrival of the much-awaited dark theme for OneDrive on the web later this month (among other features), the arrival of App Assure to Windows on ARM, shared MSIX containers, and other Windows platform features coming soon, the GA of version 1.3 for Windows Terminal, and the fact that Microsoft has obtained an exclusive license to OpenAI’s GPT-3 language model. The October 2020 Update We finally get to some Windows update news too, as Microsoft has released build 20221 to the Dev channel, featuring a new Meet Now video conferencing feature. You can check out our overview here. Beyond the new feature, there’s also a bunch of fixes and improvements to components like Windows Update itself, with the known issues list still being rather long. We’re talking about an Insider build here, after all. And speaking of Insiders, those in the Beta and Release Preview channels were greeted with build 19042.541 of the 20H2 branch. Due to this being part of the very soon to be released October 2020 Update, it contains just fixes, as is to be expected. For an overview of what’s coming in 20H2, also known as the Windows 10 October 2020 Update, make sure to check out our guide here. Dev channel Swift has made its way to Windows 10, with toolchain images now being available. Google has brought Flutter to Windows in Alpha, UWP support to be added soon. The Surface Laptop 3 has gotten some firmware updates to address screen and keyboard issues. Microsoft’s Surface Pro X has recently benefitted from firmware updates too. Pre-orders for the long-awaited 85-inch Surface Hub 2S are now open, with the device shipping in January. Microsoft is allegedly working on a mid-range 12.5-inch Surface laptop, priced at $699. The Microsoft Launcher now has updated app icons, and improved performance, thanks to the newest update. Logging off We end with some bad news for Microsoft, and some good news for the Linux community. Starting with the bad, Microsoft’s leaks seem to have reached critical mass, with the source code for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 allegedly leaking online. In addition to packages containing just XP and Server 2003, there are also ones containing a few of the previous leaks, plus MS-DOS 3.30, MS-DOS 6, Windows CE 3, 4, 5, and others. Though this may be an interesting set of files to dive into for our more inquisitive readers, it’s best you stay away from these, especially given the dubious source. In better news, and altogether something you’re definitely going to benefit from being curious about, Microsoft has shared some more details about Edge’s upcoming Sleeping Tabs feature, and released Edge Dev 87.0.644.4 featuring dark theme support in sidebar search. And last but not least, in a development that’s sure to please fans of the browser on Linux, Edge will be entering preview in October, with folks who are fans of that OS finally being able to get their hands on it. Missed any of the previous columns? Be sure to have a look right here.

The new Windows Ugly Sweater has a Windows XP theme by Rich Woods Last year, Microsoft created a lot of buzz around its Windows 95-themed Ugly Sweater. With only around 100 or so made and sent out to select fans, many found themselves wanting a piece of that sweet, sweet nostalgia. This year, the Windows Ugly Sweater is back, and now it has a Windows XP theme. You still can't buy one though, as they've once again been sent out to a select few. Once again, it has the Windows logo right on the front, and the rest of the sweater is now blue. Microsoft bumped up its packaging game this year as well. It comes in a box that looks similar to the original Windows XP package. The title on the box says "Windows XP Pro-ho-ho-fessional", and right above the Start Menu logo, it says "Soft-wear Pack 2". On the back of the box, it has a list of features, just like the old Windows XP box. Features include easy-on installation, user-friendly interface, great networking performance, safe and secure architecture, tailored experience, and backward compatibility. On the inside of the box, the sweater is wrapped in tissue paper, but it's not just regular tissue paper. This tissue paper is printed with the Windows XP Bliss wallpaper. If you're lucky enough to receive the new Windows Ugly Sweater, it should be arriving soon.

Hi, this is Opus Classic theme for Windows XP. I think it is one of the best classic-looking themes. Don't want Windows XP? Then you need to port it to Windows 7. I'm just presenting you a look. It is based on b0se's "Codename: Opus" theme. I'm just leaving it here that this is the original place where the original theme was located. https://www.deviantart.com/puretrance/art/OpusClassic-769954322