Galen Hunt, a distinguished engineer at Microsoft, posted about a job opening for an IC5 Principal Software Engineer. The person who fills that role will be part of a team that translates Microsoft's C and C++ systems to Rust.

Rust is a modern programming language designed to make software faster and more reliable. Unlike older languages such as C and C++, Rust includes built‑in safeguards that prevent many common programming mistakes.

These protections help developers avoid bugs that can lead to crashes, security issues, or unpredictable behavior. While Rust can take some time to learn, the result is software that’s safer and more dependable.

Hunt shared the following on LinkedIn about the new role:

"My goal is to eliminate every line of C and C++ from Microsoft by 2030. Our strategy is to combine AI *and* Algorithms to rewrite Microsoft’s largest codebases. Our North Star is “1 engineer, 1 month, 1 million lines of code”. To accomplish this previously unimaginable task, we’ve built a powerful code processing infrastructure. Our algorithmic infrastructure creates a scalable graph over source code at scale. Our AI processing infrastructure then enables us to apply AI agents, guided by algorithms, to make code modifications at scale. The core of this infrastructure is already operating at scale on problems such as code understanding."

Considering Windows 11 has been out for years and Microsoft is just getting around to making a somewhat consistent dark mode, Hunt's goal of eliminating every line of C and C++ from Microsoft by 2030 seems ambitious. However, AI may speed up the process and there's a good chance the shift to Rust is a higher priority than making a dark mode for the Run prompt window.

Microsoft has been shifting parts of its code to Rust for years. As highlighted by Thurrott.com, Microsoft started rewriting parts of the Windows Kernel using Rust in 2023. Even though AI hadn't exploded into the public eye back then, Microsoft was already experimenting with using LLMs to translate C and C++ code into Rust.

Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Enterprise and OS Security David Weston spoke on the transition to Rust last year. An Azure blog post by Jeffrey Cooperstein from 2023 explained several benefits of transitioning to Rust.

"Decades of vulnerabilities have proven how difficult it is to prevent memory-corrupting bugs when using C/C++. While garbage-collected languages like C# or Java have proven more resilient to these issues, there are scenarios where they cannot be used. For such cases, we’re betting on Rust as the alternative to C/C++. Rust is a modern language designed to compete with the performance C/C++, but with memory safety and thread safety guarantees built into the language. While we are not able to rewrite everything in Rust overnight, we’ve already adopted Rust in some of the most critical components of Azure’s infrastructure. We expect our adoption of Rust to expand substantially over time."

Cooperstein highlighted the "major investment" Microsoft will make over several years regarding the move to Rust.

The new role advertised by Hunt will continue the work to modernize Microsoft's code as part of the Future of Scalable Software Engineering group in the EngHorizons organization in Microsoft CoreAI.

What do you think about AI being used to replace Microsoft's code at a massive scale? Let me know in the comments.

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You can, however, effectively transfer the ownership of files or folders in OneDrive with a trick — though there are limits.

By making a parent folder, placing content within it, and sharing the parent folder with a user, another person can then use the Copy to feature in OneDrive to move the content somewhere else.

It's an inelegant solution that takes time and has limits. OneDrive cannot move or copy files over 100GB in size. It also lacks support for moving up to 30,000 files at once.

Perhaps most importantly, following the steps outlined below will not transfer file-sharing settings. Following these steps essentially makes a copy of the files.

I've used the steps below to transfer over 80GB of photos and videos of my daughter to her OneDrive account. I then had her OneDrive account share the folder with me so I still have access, but the files are hosted on her account (my daughter is 3 months old, so I handle her OneDrive account).

How to transfer ownership of OneDrive files or folders

To transfer the ownership of OneDrive files or folders, use these steps:

1. Using the account that currently hosts the files you'd like to transfer, create a parent folder (a new folder that you can place the files in).
2. Place the files you would like to share into that parent folder using the Move to feature or by dragging and dropping the content.
3. Share the parent folder with the person you want to receive those files.

4. Using the account you want to receive the files, open the parent folder that was just shared.
5. Within that parent folder, select the folder that includes the files you'd like to transfer.
6. Use the ... menu to select Copy to.
7. Select the location you'd like to have the copied files be located.
8. Select Move here.

FAQs about transferring OneDrive file and folder ownership

More resources

Explore more in-depth how-to guides, troubleshooting advice, and essential tips to get the most out of Windows 11 and 10, start browsing here:

• Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know

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The software giant continues the slow process of porting legacy features to the Settings app, and even though there is still a lot of work to do, the last cumulative update for Windows 11 introduced a new version of the Settings app that includes a "Virtual Workspaces" page.

From this new page, you can enable or disable features like Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, and more without having to open the legacy "Windows Features" (Turn Windows features on or off) page.

In this how-to guide, I'll outline the steps to get started with the Virtual Workspaces feature on Windows 11.

How to enable virtualization features on Windows 11

To enable virtualization features through Virtual Workspaces, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on System.
3. Click the Advanced page on the right side.
4. Click the Virtual Workspaces setting.

5. (Option 1) Turn on the virtualization feature, including:

• Containers: Offers services and tools to create and manage Windows Server Containers and their resources.
• Guarded Host: Enables the computer to create and run a "Shielded Virtual Machine" using remote attestation.
• Virtual Machine Platform: Enables platform support for virtual machines
• Windows Hypervisor Platform: Enables virtualization software to run on the Windows hypervisor.
• Windows Sandbox: Enables the dependencies required to run the Sandbox feature.

6. (Option 2) Turn on the Hyper-V available features.

• Hyper-V GUI Management Tools: Installs the Hyper-V Manager snap-in and Virtual Machine Connection tool.
• Hyper-V Module for Windows PowerShell: Configures Windows PowerShell cmdlets for managing Hyper-V.
• Hyper-V Hypervisor: Sets up the Hyper-V Hypervisor.
• Hyper-V Services: Installs the services that you can use to create and manage virtual machines and their resources.

7. Click the Restart now button.

Once you complete the steps, the computer will reboot to apply the components to enable the virtualization feature.

How to disable virtualization features on Windows 11

To disable virtualization features through Virtual Workspaces, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on System.
3. Click the Advanced page on the right side.
4. Click the Virtual Workspaces setting.

5. Turn off the virtualization feature (if applicable).

6. Click the Restart now button.

After you complete the steps, the device will reboot to apply the changes to turn off the feature.

It's important to note that it's still possible to enable these and other features from the "Windows Features" page and PowerShell.

FAQs about getting started with Virtual Workspaces

These are common questions regarding Virtual Workspaces settings.

More resources

Explore more in-depth how-to guides, troubleshooting advice, and essential tips to get the most out of Windows 11 and 10, start browsing here:

• Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know

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The good news is that there will be a bigger presence of PCs (Windows laptops, desktops, etc.) this year, with some truly exciting innovations from all the major companies. I can’t wait to share some of that information once the embargoes lift — despite the criticism Windows gets these days, Microsoft’s partners are working hard and creating some outstanding creations.

The bad news is, I can’t help but notice how different the tech space is in 2025 compared to 2015. More specifically, the era of “fans” seems to be over, replaced with disappointment, cynicism, and just fatigue over the non-stop onslaught of services, not to mention the dreaded AI buzzword.

Don’t get me wrong, tech fans had a negative side to them, too, but the reason fans existed is that they were passionate about the product, resulting in them acting more like ambassadors for the product than consumers.

Of course, Windows Phone was the pinnacle of this for Microsoft. This very site was founded nearly 20 years ago (2007), covering Windows Mobile, where a very dedicated audience arose. But when that ended, we still at least had Panos Panay and that devilishly crazy Surface team, which was continuously surprising us. Yeah, some of those ended in failures, e.g., Surface Book, Surface Duo, and Surface Neo, but if anything, it was because the device concept was too ahead of its time.

(Seriously, imagine a Samsung Z Trifold, but running a variant of Windows with Continuum in 2026? That was the dream, baby!)

But all that is gone, now, too, even though Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 are without question the best they have ever been.

And while Dona Sarkar sometimes received the harshest criticism from fans, the Windows Insider program was, dare I say, genuinely fun during the development of Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile (2016 to 2019)! That’s all gone, too.

These days, the unthinkable has happened: Xbox is now getting wobbly legs. Between Game Pass price increases and the lackluster sales of Xbox consoles, I’ve never seen Xbox fans seem so despondent. And if that is getting you down, the constant drumbeat of studio closures and game cancellations will.

This isn’t just a Microsoft problem, either. No one thinks Google or Android is “cool” anymore (wait, did they ever?). The only thing interesting about Google today is what Samsung is doing with its foldable phones and Galaxy series. But the AI stuff? Besides doing the same nonsense as Microsoft, it’s also destroying the entire online publishing business through its constant changes in search and Google Discover, often giving favor to YouTube, a brand that it owns. Crazy that!

Even Apple lost its flair with its big whiff on Vision Pro, costing millions. Sure, it still makes great hardware, but everyone is bored with them. Maybe they’ll recapture some of that magic when it inevitably copies Samsung with its first foldable expected in 2026. But I’m not seeing a lot of Apple fans these days, either.

I’d write a few paragraphs about Amazon, but did that company ever have fans? Everyone uses it out of reflex, but its consumer line of hardware is just sad. I was even tempted to look at the new Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, and these goofs could not only not ship it for Black Friday, but it’s still not shipping until after Christmas despite its original December 10^th release date.

A lot of this stems from my own history on this site, and I remember how tech, while competitive, was fun. These sites were written by geeks for geeks, who just loved the potential of technology. Now that tech is used to track us, distract us, divide us, and drain our wallets. And everything in publishing is about big business (don't get me started on social media).

And yet, ironically, there is some amazing stuff happening. Qualcomm is one of the most interesting things to happen to the Windows world since NVIDIA’s RTX cards became the go-to tool for gamers. Dell, HP, and Lenovo are also all doing some exciting work (though HP needs to return its Spectre series and designs ASAP). And handheld gaming PCs are on the cusp of being amazing.

I believe this all boils down to a sad fact for 2026: We’re no longer customers, just consumers, and most tech companies only aim to extract as much profit from us as possible.

At some point, the problem stops being “innovation cycles” and starts being the simple truth: people are tired. Tired of recycled ideas, tired of corporate spin, tired of being told the future is exciting when it feels increasingly hollow.

Big Tech isn’t losing momentum by accident — it’s losing momentum because it stopped earning enthusiasm.

But maybe I’m just bitter and stuck in nostalgia, so let me know in comments and our poll what you think. Was tech more fun 10 years ago? Is the era of tech fans really over (and is that even a bad thing)?

Over the next week or so, plenty of people will gather around dinner tables and hang out in homes. I suggest having some news to talk about that's easy to digest and not so controversial.

"RAM prices sure have gone up lately, I'm glad I got my nephew a gaming PC for his birthday in July," you'll say. "Really? I can't afford a new PC. Can I make mine use less RAM?" your relative will ask.

But of course! you'll exclaim. Mauro Huculak has an excellent guide on how to reduce RAM usage on Windows 11. Holidays saved. 🎅❄️🎄🎁

Weekly Windows Wrap: The Big News

• How to reduce RAM usage on your PC
• Windows Insider Canary Channel catches up
• Dev and Beta Channel Insiders see improvements
• You can now lock your PC through your Android phone

Snark aside, things actually have slowed down on the Windows 11 news front since it's almost Christmas. But Insiders have some new features to play with, and Microsoft expanded the availability of the option to lock a PC from an Android phone through Link to Windows.

With RAM prices skyrocketing, our guide on how to reduce RAM usage on Windows 11 could be critical. If you can make sure your current PC meets your demands, you can put off buying a new one or upgrading.

Sales on Windows 11 PCs

Several of the best Windows laptops are on sale as we approach Christmas and the end of the year, as are some of the best gaming handhelds. But retailers did not make it easy to find the best bargains.

The Surface Pro 11 is discounted this week, but finding the best price takes way more effort than it should. If you want it in black, head to Newegg, but if you want it in Sapphire (blue) you have to jump over to Walmart. Amazon has the best price for the oft-forgotten "Dune" model (it's not based on the books).

Things got even muddier when an outlet claimed one deal was the best price ever. And while that was technically true for a very specific model at one specific retailer, that piece did not show the real best prices.

Hunting deals takes a lot of work. It's one part of my job I'm surprised still requires a human touch. In my experience, AI and tracking tools have a hard time finding the lowest prices and placing deals in context.

Even if an automated tool finds the lowest price on one model, it often misses things like a nearly identical version being on sale elsewhere. Due to stock availability, you'll occasionally see a model with a better chip, more RAM, or more storage cost less than a different model.

Unfortunately, the excellent deal on the most affordable Surface Laptop 7 (13.8-inch) with a Snapdragon X Elite was a 24-hour flash sale and has already ended. There is still, however, a good deal on a model with more storage.

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In addition to the changes rolled out during the last half of November, the software giant has made previews of versions 25H2 and 26H1 available in the previous two weeks.

In the Canary Channel, devices received two previews, including builds 28000.1340 and 28020.1362, which introduced a wide range of changes to bring version 26H1 closer to the feature level as version 25H2 in the Dev and Beta Channels.

Additionally, the Dev and Beta Channels didn't make many changes during the first half of December, but the company managed to release build 26220.7344 with several interesting improvements, and build 26220.7523 brought more AI integration.

In this recap, I'll highlight the biggest changes available through the Windows Insider Program.

Biggest improvements from the Windows Insider Program in December 2025

These are the improvements Microsoft has rolled out since my last roundup of changes.

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

As part of Microsoft's strategy to keep pushing AI on Windows 11, starting with build 26220.7344 in the Dev and Beta Channels, Windows 11 received support for the Model Context Protocol, an open standard that enables universal communication between AI agents, apps, tools, and services.

According to the company, AI agents can discover and connect with other tools and agents on a secure and manageable on-device registry (ODR).

In addition, Microsoft has released two AI connectors, including File Explorer and Windows Settings.

The File Explorer Connector allows agents to connect to File Explorer to manage and manipulate local files with the user's consent.

On Copilot+ PCs, this feature can perform searches using natural language to find the exact file based on description, metadata, and content, and it can even search for images using image classification.

The Windows Settings Connector allows users to find and change settings as well as navigate directly to a specific settings page on Copilot+ PCs.

Update Orchestration Platform (UOP)

The preview build 26220.7344 also introduced the Unified Update Orchestration Platform, which allows developers to build a more consistent and predictable update experience through the Settings app.

If a developer decides to implement this new orchestration, you'll be able to check for and download updates for the application on the "App Updates" page in Settings > Apps. However, the application will continue to download updates from the developer's server, not from Windows Update, but it will automatically check for updates based on the user's activity.

Windows MIDI Services

In the Beta and Dev Channels, during the month of December, devices also received the new Windows MIDI Services, a new MIDI API, Service, and SDK for the operating system.

As part of this new experience, Windows 11 gets full support for WinMM MIDI 1.0 and WinRT MIDI 1.0, in-service translation, enabling any API to use any MIDI 1.0 or MIDI 2.0 device.

Furthermore, there's a new loopback and app-to-app MIDI support, and Microsoft is pushing improvements and bug fixes.

The company also notes that the App SDK and Tools are separate downloads.

Xbox Full Screen Experience for PCs

Windows 11 build 28020.1362 expands the Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) to more handheld gaming devices in the Canary Channel.

The feature has been designed to make the gaming experience more like a console experience.

On your handheld device, you can enable the feature in Settings > Gaming > Full screen experience and turn on the "Enable full screen experience on startup" toggle switch.

Settings app with AI agent

As part of the latest preview build in the Canary Channel, the Settings app is getting the same AI agent already available on Copilot+ PCs to help users find and change settings.

In addition, on the Home page, the "Recommended settings" card will now show inline agent actions for the most recently modified settings.

Furthermore, in the latest release of Windows 11, the AI agent isn't getting any new features, but the company is expanding the feature to more languages, including German, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Hindi, Italian, and Simplified Chinese.

File Explorer new dark mode improvements

Devices in the Canary Channel have received dark mode enhancements for File Explorer, meaning that now you'll find more elements using the dark color scheme.

For example, the dark mode experience now expands to dialogs for copy, move, delete, progress bars, charts, confirmations (such as skip, override, and file selection), and error messages.

If you're installing the latest preview in a Copilot+ PC, you'll also notice that the placeholder in the search box now makes it clear that search now uses AI, and you can use natural language to search for files and folders.

On the Home page, when you hover over a file, the app displays a new inline menu with options such as "Open file location" and "Ask Copilot."

We have already seen these changes in other channels, but it's not until build 28020.1362 that Microsoft is bringing these changes to the Canary Channel.

Although the company didn't mention it, you can now enable the "MAX_PATH" option in the "Advanced" settings page to remove the path limitations for traditional file and folder functions.

Finally, Windows 11 build 26220.7523 rolled out with an updated version of File Explorer that includes support for Windows People Card (WPC), which adds the ability to display people icons with their information in the Activity column of Home, Recommended, Favorites, and Recent.

This feature has been available before, but it was limited to commercial customers. Now, Microsoft is bringing it to users with a Microsoft account configuration.

Drag Tray disable option

The Drag Tray, the feature that lets you drag a file to the top of the screen to share it with other apps, isn't new, but in the latest operating system preview, you can now disable it.

If this feature isn't for you, in Settings > System > Nearby Sharing, you can now use the "Drag Tray" toggle to enable or disable it.

Mobile Devices settings integration

In the "Bluetooth & devices" section, Microsoft is finally integrating the features to manage mobile devices into the Settings app.

In the past, from the "Mobile devices" page, you had to open an external page to access the features once your phone was linked to your computer, but now, that's no longer the case.

On the page, you'll find another page (usually with your phone brand and model) that lists all the available features, including the ability to remove the mobile device from your account.

Virtual Workspaces in Advanced settings

In the "Advanced" section, there's a new entry to access the "Virtual Workspaces" page that allows you to manage virtually every virtualization feature in the operating system. For example, you can enable or disable Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform, Windows Sandbox, and more.

This integration means that you no longer have to manage these features from the legacy "Windows Features" page.

Keyboard and text cursor from Control Panel

Microsoft continues its quest to port Control Panel features to the Settings app, and with the release of build 28020.1362, the company added two new settings: "Keyboard character repeat" and "Cursor blink rate."

The Keyboard character repeat feature is available on Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Keyboard, and the options include character repeat delay and rate, and there's an option to preview the changes.

On Settings > Accessibility> Text cursor, you'll find the Cursor blink rate setting with a slider to control the blink rate and a preview to test the changes.

Quick Machine Recovery improvements

The Quick Machine Recovery feature has been available for computers enrolled in the Canary Channel, but in the latest update, the company is changing the behavior.

Starting with this release, the feature will be enabled by default on Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro (unless the device is managed). Also, the feature will run only once. If the solution isn't found during the first scan, the user will be directed to the Windows Recovery Environment to select additional troubleshooting steps.

As a result of the changes, the settings page has been updated. After enabling the feature, you only need to turn on the "Automatic check for solutions" option.

The default configuration of the feature is to run the scan once, but you can decide how often the computer should reboot to look for solutions.

Windows Studio Effects for more cameras

Windows Studio Effects is no longer limited to your built‑in camera. Microsoft is extending support to more camera hardware, giving you the same polished, professional look across more setups.

On Copilot+ PCs, you can now use Studio Effects with a second camera, such as a USB webcam or your device's rear camera.

These features can be enabled on Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras, select the webcam, and then click the "Edit" button for the "Advanced camera options" setting.

Windows Spotlight for desktop changes

If the Spotlight feature is enabled on the desktop, you'll now be able to change to the next wallpaper from the context menu, and there's even a new option to get more details about the active background.

Click to Do new actions menu

On Copilot+ PCs, those enrolled in the Canary Channel are now getting an updated version of the Click to Do context menu with inline options for Copy, Save, Share, and Open.

Additionally, if a large image or table appears in the snapshot, the context menu of Click to Do will now open automatically.

Furthermore, on build 26220.7523, Click to Do introduces support for Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Taskbar with Ask Copilot

Starting with build 26220.7523 in the Dev and Beta Channels, Windows 11 adds a new "Ask Copilot" toggle switch on the "Taskbar" settings page that lets you replace the Windows Search experience with Copilot in the Taskbar.

If you opt in to the feature, you can enhance your search experience with AI for searching files, settings, and apps. You can also access other AI tools like Copilot Vision and Voice, and through this experience, you can also invoke other AI agents, something that's not possible with the traditional search feature.

Microsoft notes that Ask Copilot can search and present results, but it doesn't have access to your data.

Taskbar with AI agents

In the Dev and Beta Channels, the preview build 26220.7523 rolls out a preview of AI agents for the Taskbar, which is one of the features part of Agentic OS vision for Windows 11.

The feature allows agents to show as apps in the Taskbar, providing live updates of tasks in progress while they run in a secure environment.

The company is also preparing to release the Researcher in Microsoft 365 Copilot, an agent that can conduct research and generate reports.

The company says the agent will gradually roll out to commercial customers in the coming weeks.

Windows 11 Agent Launchers

Microsoft is also introducing Agent Launchers, a new framework designed to register AI agents in the operating system once and make them discoverable and launchable from compatible experiences.

When you invoke an agent, it opens its dedicated chat interface, enabling an interactive, context-aware workflow in which the agent can ask clarifying questions, retain context, and take actions to complete tasks.

Also, registered agents can surface in supported entry points such as Ask Copilot on the Taskbar, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and other compatible applications.

Microsoft 365 Copilot already uses this framework to expose built-in agents such as Analyst, focused on data insights, and Researcher, designed to create structured, in-depth reports.

For developers, the framework offers flexibility and control. Agents can be registered statically during app installation or dynamically at runtime.

Narrator with new customization

Narrator has a new personalization feature that lets you decide exactly how interface elements are announced as you navigate apps. Instead of relying on a fixed speaking order, you can now choose which properties Narrator reads aloud for each control type, such as buttons, checkboxes, links, sliders, and text fields, and reorder or omit details to better match your preferences.

Customization is available through "Narrator key + Ctrl + P," where you can select, deselect, and reorder spoken properties per control type.

On Copilot+ PCs, Microsoft adds a natural language input box that lets you describe changes in plain language, such as asking Narrator not to announce selection or position information. Changes apply consistently to that control type within the current app, and you can preview how announcements will sound before saving. A reset option is also available to restore default behavior at any time.

Voice Typing with new animation in Touch Keyboard

Starting with build 26220.7523, Microsoft is rolling out an updated version of the Touch Keyboard that introduces a new animation that appears directly on the dictation key rather than a full-screen overlay.

Discover Windows widget

In the "Widgets" board, Microsoft is also adding a new "Discover Windows" widget that provides tips to help you get the most out of your device.

You can add the widget to the Widgets board or Lock Screen.

Voice Access streamlined setup

Starting with the latest preview in the Dev and Beta Channels, the operating system introduces a new and easier setup process to get started with Voice Access.

The new wizard guides you through downloading the correct speech model, selecting the preferred microphone, and providing an overview of how to use the feature.

According to the company, the Windows Insider Program will no longer receive any more builds until January of next year.

What are your thoughts on the latest improvements coming to Windows 11? Let me know in the comments.

More resources

Explore more in-depth how-to guides, troubleshooting advice, and essential tips to get the most out of Windows 11 and 10. Start browsing here:

• Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know

Likely helped by weaker Xbox performance overall due to its lack of sales, Nex Playground edged past Xbox Series X|S to claim third place in units sold for the month, I’m sure in part thanks to its $250 price tag.

Devices like this serve as a stark reminder, at least to me, of how short-sighted Microsoft can sometimes be. The shutdown of Windows Phone, which could have strengthened Microsoft’s broader ecosystem efforts, and the eventual closure of Cortana, an early AI voice assistant, both stand out as missed opportunities that feel especially relevant in hindsight.

Nex CEO says Wii lessons and subscriptions are key

In an interview with The Game Business, the CEO of Nex, David Lee, said the company set out to learn from the rise of Nintendo’s Wii, but also from the challenges that followed. While Wii succeeded in bringing new audiences into gaming, Lee explained that many of those players only ever bought a handful of games, creating long-term Sustainability issues for the platform. Lee goes on to say:

Building on this, Lee added:

The Nex Playground has since found success with younger audiences, offering games based on popular IP such as Bluey, Peppa Pig, Fruit Ninja, and more.

Access to that library is handled through Play Pass, a subscription service that unlocks a growing catalogue of games for a recurring fee. The parallels with Xbox Game Pass are clear, although the focus here is firmly on families and younger players rather than a broader gaming audience.

Oh, how this could have been Kinect

As mentioned at the start, Microsoft’s ability to be short-sighted can be impressive at times. Here, it is easy to imagine an alternative reality where Microsoft repurposed Kinect toward a more family-oriented audience, expanding what an Xbox could be years before the phrase “this is an Xbox” was ever coined.

Instead, Kinect was discontinued in 2017, and we do not live in a world where Microsoft can see the future. With the benefit of hindsight, Nex Playground makes it hard not to wonder whether that decision was too hasty, and to add insult to injury, their vision aligns with just what Microsoft wants to do, with Lee adding:

As Nex’s CEO makes clear, the console’s success wasn’t an accident In an industry that often chases power over play, its Kinect‑like approach proved there’s still room for hardware that prioritizes inclusivity over specs.

Whether this strategy can be replicated in today’s market is another question entirely, but its unexpected victory over Xbox stands as a reminder that sometimes the biggest wins come from thinking outside the traditional console race.

Do you think Microsoft should have repurposed Kinect rather than discontinuing it, or did it make the right call at the time? Share your thoughts below, and let us know how you feel about Microsoft’s ongoing tendency to end support for hardware and software that later feels more relevant than ever.

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It's amid emerging claims that scaling laws have begun to stop, preventing top AI labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google from developing advanced AI models. Microsoft and OpenAI recently renewed the terms of their multibillion-dollar partnership under a new definitive agreement, which allows the software giant to pursue AGI independently or in collaboration with third parties.

And as it now seems, we might have just gotten a vague idea of what it might cost to keep up with the ever-evolving AI industry.

During a recent episode of the Moonshots with Peter Diamandis podcast, Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman indicated that it will cost "hundreds of billions of dollars" to keep up with frontier AI development over the next 5-10 years. (via Business Insider). "Not to mention the prices that we're paying for individual researchers or members of technical staff," the executive indicated.

Interestingly, the executive compared Microsoft to a "modern construction company" with hundreds of thousands of workers building gigawatts of CPUs and AI accelerators.

The executive indicated that the cost required for frontier AI model development, but admitted that "clearly there's a structural advantage by being inside a big company."

However, Microsoft isn't throwing in the towel on AI anytime soon. According to a leaked internal memo, CEO Satya Nadella is seemingly ushering in a new dawn for Microsoft with a keen focus on intelligence, integration, and AI. The executive admitted that Bill Gates' software factory vision might have worked for decades, but it's no longer enough.

Nadella is reportedly pressuring high-profile executives to work faster and leaner on AI projects or leave the company. Insiders indicated that Microsoft is attempting to fly a sinking ship with "gimmicky" AI tools while other products take a backseat.

Following Microsoft's new agreement with OpenAI, AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman indicated that "Microsoft needs to be self-sufficient in AI. And to do that, we have to train frontier models of all scales with our own data and compute at the state-of-the-art level."

Microsoft has already formed a new MAI Superintelligence team to pursue this feat.

This news comes as investor interest in generative AI has begun waning, as they continue to question the billions plunged into the industry without a clear path for revenue generation.

It will be interesting to see Microsoft venture into its next chapter with a bias in AI despite the capital issues that abound. Mustafa Suleyman also indicated that Microsoft would jump ship on its AI projects if it poses a significant threat to humanity, aligning with his campaign for humanist superintelligence.

Do you think Microsoft will eventually come out on top in AI? Let me know.

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Although the operating system is designed to manage RAM efficiently, background services, startup apps, visual effects, and modern software workloads can quickly consume available memory. When RAM usage is high, you may experience slower app launches, frequent stuttering, delayed task switching, or excessive drive activity due to paging.

At the same time, with memory prices fluctuating and often trending higher, upgrading RAM is not always a practical option. Fortunately, there are several proven ways to optimize Windows 11 to use less memory without sacrificing usability or core features.

These adjustments focus on controlling which apps run at startup, limiting unnecessary background processes, fine-tuning system settings, and making smarter choices about how applications use RAM. The goal is not to strip down the operating system, but to reclaim wasted memory so your PC runs more smoothly during everyday tasks such as web browsing, productivity work, light creative workloads, and even gaming.

In this how-to guide, I will walk you through practical steps to minimize memory usage on your Windows 11 computer.

Best tips to reduce memory usage on Windows 11

In this set of instructions, I'll be focusing on managing system resources, uninstalling unnecessary apps, applying system and driver updates, controlling the memory usage of the web browser, performing a full malware scan, and using features like the Xbox Full Screen experience and the Microsoft PC Manager tool.

Adjust system settings to minimize memory consumption

To begin, you can prevent the system from loading certain applications during startup. You can also control background process and system services.

Disable startup apps

To prevent certain apps from running at startup to minimize RAM usage, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Apps.
3. Click the Startup page on the right side.

4. Select the "Startup impact" option from the "Sort by" option.
5. Turn off the toggle switch for apps impacting memory usage.

• Quick tip: Only disable the applications you know are hogging memory, and don't turn off system services.

Once you complete the steps, the applications won't launch in the background when the systems start freeing up resources for more important tasks.

Disable background processes for apps

In addition to disabling apps at startup, some Microsoft Store apps can run background services that can affect memory usage. However, you can prevent certain apps from running background processes to improve the memory usage.

To disable background processes for Store apps on Windows 11, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Apps.
3. Click the Installed apps page on the right side.

4. Select the app and open the menu (three dots) on the right side.
5. Click on Advanced options.

6. Select the Never option under the "Background app permissions" section.

After you complete the steps, the specific app will no longer run in the background.

Disable system services

By default, Windows 11 runs a slew of background processes you may not even need, and while many are essential for the operation of the system, you can disable unnecessary services to minimize RAM usage.

You should only proceed with these steps if you know what you're doing. Otherwise, it's recommended to use the other available options.

To turn off system services on Windows 11, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Services and click the top result to open the console.
3. Right-click the service (for example, the "Print Spooler" if you don't have a printer connected to the device), then choose Properties.
4. Click the Stop button to terminate its process.

5. (Optional) Select the Disabled or Manual option for the "Startup type" setting.
6. Click the Apply button.
7. Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, continue turning off other services to lower the system memory usage.

Optimize memory usage with Microsoft PC Manager

If you have access to the PC Manager app, you can use its "Boost" feature to reduce your computer's memory usage.

To reduce the memory usage of your device, after installing the PC Manager app, use these steps:

1. Open Start menu.
2. Search for PC Manager and click the top result to open the app.
3. Click on Home.
4. Click the Boost button to reduce memory usage immediately.

• Quick note: This feature also deletes temporary files, which can also affect performance.

5. (Optional) Click the "Set Smart boost" option.
6. Turn on the "Start boost setting" toggle switch to enable the feature to lower memory usage when usage is high automatically.

7. Turn on the "Start Microsoft PC Manager automatically when I sign in to Windows" toggle switch to have the application start automatically and run the optimizations.

After you complete the steps, the feature will run, freeing up memory to improve system performance.

Remove unused apps to improve system memory

If you intend to prevent unnecessary apps from consuming system resources, the most effective solution is to remove them altogether. Uninstalling unused applications reduces background activity, lowers memory pressure, and can also reclaim valuable storage space.

In the previous sections, I covered ways to limit background processes and prevent apps from launching at startup. However, those measures are not always permanent. Some applications are designed to re-enable background activity after updates, while others follow preconfigured behaviors set by the developer. Because of this, uninstalling apps you never or rarely use remains one of the most reliable ways to keep resource usage under control.

The same logic applies to apps known to be heavy on memory usage. If an application consistently consumes a large amount of RAM and a lighter alternative offers similar functionality, replacing it can lead to noticeable performance improvements, especially on systems with limited memory.

Whenever possible, it's also best to rely on native Windows 11 applications. Many newer apps are web wrappers that run a website inside a container. While convenient for developers, these apps often consume significantly more RAM than native counterparts.

A recent example is WhatsApp for Windows 11. Meta replaced the native Windows app with a web-based version, and multiple reports indicate that this version can use substantially more memory than the previous native implementation. This is a clear case where choosing native apps, or uninstalling inefficient ones, can directly improve system performance.

To uninstall a native or web application, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Apps.
3. Click the Installed apps page on the right side.

4. Select the app, then open its menu using the three dots on the right.
5. Select the Uninstall option.

6. Click the Uninstall button again.
7. Continue with the on-screen directions (if applicable).

Once you complete the steps, you may need to repeat the instructions to uninstall additional apps from your computer.

Scan for malware and unwanted software

If you're noticing high memory usage when it's usually not the case, it could also be a virus or another type of malware causing the problem.

In this case, it's recommended to perform a full malware scan with the Microsoft Defender Antivirus or a specific antivirus solution.

To perform a full scan and remove viruses affecting the system memory usage, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Windows Security and click the top result to open the app.
3. Click on Virus & threat protection.
4. Click on "Scan options" on the right side.

5. Select the Full scan option.
6. Click the Scan now button.

After you complete the steps, the antivirus will scan and remove any malware detected.

If the option to perform a full scan didn't resolve the issue, you can perform an offline scan with these instructions.

Install the latest system and driver updates

Sometimes, the problem can be traced to a bug with the operating system, and even though system updates can often cause problems, they are necessary to patch bugs and vulnerabilities. For this and other reasons, it's important to keep your computer up to date with the latest system and driver updates.

System updates

To download and install system updates, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Windows Update.
3. (Optional) Turn on the "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" toggle switch.
4. Click the "Check for updates" button.

After you complete the steps, the operating system will download and install any available updates.

Driver updates

To download and install driver updates, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Windows Update.
3. Click the Advanced options page on the right side.

4. Click the Optional updates settings under the "Additional options" section

5. Select the available device driver updates (if applicable).

• Quick note: This page lists the current drivers available through the Windows Update servers. If you don't see anything, then the system doesn't have any updates available for your device at that specific time.

6. Click the "Download & install" button.

Once you complete the steps, the system will apply the corresponding updates to improve the memory usage on your computer.

Alternatively, you may also want to check the manufacturer's support website to download and install device drivers manually.

App updates

To download updates for apps from the Microsoft Store, use these steps:

1. Open the Microsoft Store app.
2. Click the Downloads tab in the bottom-left corner.
3. Click the "Check for updates" button.

After you complete the steps, any available updates will download and install on the computer.

If you have apps from other sources, check for updates within the app or download them directly from the software support page.

Enable Xbox Full Screen Experience to lower memory usage

On handheld gaming PCs, you can reclaim up to around 2GB of RAM by switching to the desktop environment with the Xbox Full Screen Experience.

On Windows 11 version 25H2, the Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) is a feature that transforms the regular desktop experience into a console and controller-friendly interface to play games.

The system hides the traditional desktop and loads a full-screen version of the Xbox app, minimizing resource usage by disabling Windows Explorer and stopping unnecessary background processes.

Initially available on the ASUS ROG Ally and Ally X, the experience expanded to additional handheld devices in 2025, and Microsoft plans to bring it to more form factors.

To enable the Xbox Full Screen Experience on your handheld gaming PC, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Gaming.
3. Click the "Full Screen Experience" page on the right side.

4. Select the Xbox app in the "Choose home app" setting.
5. Turn on the "Enter full screen experience on startup" toggle switch.

6. (Optional) Turn on the "Show accessibility control hints in Task view" toggle switch.
7. Restart the handheld gaming PC.

After you complete the steps, the handheld will restart, and once you sign in, the console-like experience with the Xbox app will start reducing the memory usage, depending on your device configuration.

Reduce RAM usage by optimizing your web browser

The web browser is often one of the biggest contributors to high RAM usage on Windows 11. However, this is not entirely the application's fault. Memory consumption depends mainly on the type of content a website needs to load and render, such as high-resolution images, videos, animations, advertisements, and complex scripts. Opening multiple tabs, using heavy extensions, and keeping web apps running in the background can quickly push memory usage higher, even on systems with plenty of RAM.

Companies have made significant improvements over the years to better manage memory, and some browsers are more efficient than others. Microsoft Edge, for example, is generally considered less resource-intensive, thanks to features designed to suspend inactive tabs and limit background activity.

I'm not suggesting you must switch browsers, but it is worth noting that your choice of browser can have a noticeable impact on overall system performance.

If you are already using the default browser on Windows 11, there are several settings you can adjust to reduce its memory footprint. You can enable the resource control features, sleeping tabs, or efficiency modes. It is also a good idea to turn off background mode, which prevents the browser from continuing to run and consume memory after you close it.

In addition, regularly reviewing and removing unnecessary extensions, limiting the number of open tabs, and closing websites you are no longer using can make a significant difference. Combined, these small adjustments help keep memory usage under control and contribute to a smoother and more responsive Windows 11 experience.

Customise Microsoft Edge resource features

To enable resource controls on Microsoft Edge, use these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Edge.
2. Open the main menu using the Alt + F keyboard shortcut.
3. Choose the Settings option.
4. Click on "System and performance" from the left pane.
5. Click the Background mode tab.
6. Turn off the Startup boost toggle switch to prevent the browser from pre-loading during startup using additional memory.

7. Turn off the "Continue running background extensions and apps when Edge is closed" to reduce the memory footprint while the browser is closed.
8. Click on "System and performance" from the left pane one more time.
9. Click the Performance setting.
10. Turn on the "Save resources with sleeping tabs" toggle switch to put inactive tabs to sleep after a specified time to save system resources.

11. Set the "Put inactive tabs to sleep after a specified amount of time" option to 15 minutes to improve memory usage more quickly.
12. (Optional) Turn on the "Enable performance detector" toggle switch to detect tab performance issues and recommend a solution.
13. Turn on the "Enable resource controls" toggle switch to control how much RAM the browser is allowed to use.
14. Confirm the amount of memory the browser should use, but consider that this can also affect browsing speeds.
15. Choose the Always option for the "Choose when to control resources" setting.

Once you complete the steps, the memory footprint reduction of Microsoft Edge should be noticeable on the computer.

Uninstall browser extensions

To uninstall extensions from Microsoft Edge, use these steps

1. Open Microsoft Edge.
2. Open the main menu using the Alt + F keyboard shortcut.
3. Select Extensions and click on Manage Extensions.
4. Click the Remove button for the extension using excessive system memory.

5. Click the Remove button one more time.

After you complete the steps, continue uninstalling other extensions that may be using a lot of RAM.

If you don't know which extension is causing the increase in memory usage, from the Microsoft Edge main menu, select "More tools," then click the "Browser task manager" option.

Click the "Memory" tab to sort extensions by memory usage, and then you can identify which one to uninstall.

Find apps consuming excessive RAM in Task Manager

If you don't know which applications and processes are consuming the most system resources, you can use Task Manager.

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Task Manager and click the top result to open the tool.
3. Click the Process tab.
4. Click the "Memory" header to sort all running programs.
5. Confirm the apps at the top of the list that are currently using the most RAM.

After you complete the steps, you will know the apps that are consuming the most system memory.

It's important to note that browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge often appear at the top because each tab runs in a separate process. You can click the arrow next to the app name to see the breakdown of these sub-processes.

This process can also help you identify the extensions that use the most resources. At least in Microsoft Edge, other browsers like Google Chrome don't show extension details in the Task Manager.

Perform a clean installation of Windows 11

If you're still experiencing high memory usage on the computer after applying the different tweaks, consider performing a clean installation of Windows 11 to start fresh. This can help the device resolve high memory usage issues, as well as other performance and error issues.

You can use these instructions to start fresh with an installation of Windows 11. In this guide, you'll learn the steps to prepare the device as well as the steps to create the installation media, perform the installation, and complete the setup after the installation.

As a final note, I understand that upgrading the system memory may not be appealing at this time because of the sudden increase in cost. However, it's the most effective solution as long as your system configuration supports it.

Although Windows 11 requires at least 4GB of RAM, it's still recommended to have at least 16GB for general computing and gaming.

More resources

Explore more in-depth how-to guides, troubleshooting advice, and essential tips to get the most out of Windows 11 and 10. Start browsing here:

• Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know

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Controlling your Windows 11 PC with your Android phone just got a bit easier. A recent update to the Link to Windows app introduces the option to lock your PC remotely. It also brings an improved interface.

The update first appeared for users back in July, but at the time it was not available to everyone. It appears to have rolled out to more people. Windows Latest spotted the added functionality in Link to Windows after installing the update that shipped on December 8, 2025.

The "Lock PC" button in Link to Windows allows you to remotely lock your computer. There is not, however, an option to unlock your PC through Link to Windows.

It's a useful addition since it provides another way to lock your PC if you forgot to secure it before getting up in a public place. Windows 11 also has a built-in dynamic lock feature that I'd recommend to people who often step back from their PC when other people are around.

The new Lock PC feature and the improved interface started appearing with version 1.25071.165. The update that shipped on December 8 brings the app to version 1.25102.140.0.

The update revamps the app and adds a Recent Activity section that shows your most recent file transfers and shared photos. Copied text also appears there.

That screen also hosts the feature that lets you share files from your phone to your PC. Previously, file sharing only worked from a PC to a phone. Now it works in either direction.

Phone Link / Link to Windows is one of Microsoft's best new features of the last decade, though it remains more powerful when connected to an Android device.

Link to Windows is available on iOS as well, but deeper integration between your smartphone and PC requires an Android device. There are also some features that are exclusive to select devices.

For example, if you have a supported Samsung laptop, you can automatically connect your phone's cellular connection to your PC through the Windows 11 flyout menu.

The Google Play listing for Link to Windows lacks a change log for its most recent update. There's a chance that some of these features shipped before December 8, but the additions are still worth highlighting.

What do you think? Should Microsoft prioritize unlock next, or is lock enough? Drop your thoughts in the comments.

Do you connect your smartphone to your PC? If so, which apps or features do you use? Let us know in the comments below.

Apple has been fighting Epic Games and other developers for years over access to its iOS platform. Apple has famously been operating iPhone and iPad development in a closed format since its inception, gouging developers with exorbitant fees and restrictions designed to give it complete control over how money flows through its borderline monopoly.

Companies like Epic games took the fight to Apple over this, and actually won repeatedly. Apple isn't backing down, though, making a mockery of legislation designed to lower costs for consumers and creators alike.

Fortnite is the biggest game in the world right now, and Apple has been fighting tooth and nail to prevent Epic from reaching customers on mobile without paying huge fees to the iPhone maker. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney took to X to describe what's going on.

"Sadly, Fortnite will not return to iOS in Japan in 2025 as promised," Sweeney lamented. "Apple was required to open up iOS to competing stores today, and instead of doing so honestly, they have launched another travesty of obstruction and lawbreaking in gross disrespect to the government and people of Japan."

"They're charging a competition-crushing 21% junk fee on third-party in-app payments, and 15% for purchases made on the web (a practice the US District Court already found to be illegal in the contempt of court proceeding that Apple lost and the 9th Circuit Court upheld)," Sweeney explained on X. "They're introducing new anticompetitive warning screens meant to mislead customers into believing their privacy and financial security are at risk when dealing with Apple competitors."

Tim Sweeny rightfully examines what would happen if Microsoft attempted to pull shenanigans like this with Windows. Microsoft was famously slapped down by regulators in the late 90s and early 00s for bundling Internet Explorer on Windows, "supressing" competing browsers like Google Chrome from reaching customers. Microsoft was forced by regulators to offer a browser choice when Windows launched, as some of you older readers might recall. Ironically, it led to Google ending up with a monopoly over practically the entire internet — but that's a discussion for another article.

Microsoft does levy a fee for developers accessing Xbox Series X|S consoles, but it would be insane to call Xbox a monopoly controlling access. The business model for consoles revolves entirely around that fee, as Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 devices are effectively sold at cost. iPhones are definitively not sold at cost, providing Apple and its shareholders large margins on both the hardware, and the software via huge developer fees — fees which customers like you end up having to pay usually.

On Windows PC, Microsoft takes a 0% cut for apps and services going through the platform. Windows is fully open, as it should be, and developers and creatives are free to build businesses without restrictions. Even on the Microsoft Store itself, app fees are only levied if you actually use Microsoft's payment systems. For traditional core games, Microsoft takes only a 12% cut on transactions for games sold specifically through the Xbox PC app, vs. Apple's ~30% standard fees and 27% external payment link fees. The EU forced Apple to lower its fees to 13%, matching Epic Games' and Microsoft's, while opening up the platform to alternative store fronts on top.

Microsoft and Xbox customers have benefitted from Apple vs. Epic

Thanks to court rulings targeting Apple and Google Play alike, Microsoft has now been able to begin selling Xbox games directly on its Xbox mobile app once again, thanks to these court rulings. That means Microsoft and its creator partners have a new vector to access customers, without having to pay arbitrary fees to Google in the process.

Mobile gaming remains the fastest growing industry segment, so for Google and Apple to have complete control over this limits creativity and has encouraged developers to opt for predatory business models (pay to win, etc.) in order to remain viable.

Microsoft and its Xbox Cloud Gaming platform has been effectively blocked on these platforms as well for native play, as Apple and Google's rules work against competing stores. Imagine if Microsoft attempted to block Steam from running on Windows all up? Customers and regulators would be (rightly) in total uproar — yet for some reason, we accept Apple and Google doing the same thing across their mobile phone duopolies. Microsoft has also cited Apple and Google's draconian rules for preventing its own mobile game store launch.

Microsoft is hardly innocent of doing things like this in the past (and even the present), but these "junk fees" and arbitrary costs end up being passed onto consumers. Microsoft obviously benefits from iOS and Android becoming fully open platforms in a universe where it has no mobile platform of its own, but customers and developers alike should also benefit from removing unnecessary added costs. Decreasing the barrier to business viability will boost creativity and innovation on top, and will serve to (hopefully) only hurt Wall Street in the process.

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According to an internal memo exclusively obtained by Business Insider, Nadella is reportedly pressuring high-profile executives and teams to "work faster and leaner — all designed to consolidate power around AI leaders and radically reshape how the company builds and funds its products".

In August, Microsoft's CEO indicated that Bill Gates' software factory vision for the company is dated. While it may have played a role in the tech giant's immense success, Nadella believes it's time to move on from this mentality and embrace new strategies, particularly in the realm of AI. "That idea has guided us for decades," indicated Nadella. "But today, it's no longer enough."

The company is seemingly shifting its focus from solely software development to intelligence, integration, and AI as it unlocks a new chapter. However, Microsoft executives are having a rough time adjusting to the new reality.

Speaking to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity, a Microsoft executive indicated that "Satya is pushing on intensity and urgency." As a result, some Microsoft veterans are in a tough spot, battling over whether to stay the course and power through the workload needed to bring Satya Nadella's AI dream to fruition or leave the company. "You've gotta be asking yourself how much longer you want to do this."

Amid reports suggesting that virtually no one is using Microsoft Copilot, prompting investors to raise concerns about returns on their multibillion-dollar investments in the seemingly elusive and ever-evolving technology, the plans aren't letting up.

It's reported that Nadella is having conversations with executives across the company to sign on for the transformation or depart. Nadella has already made elaborate measures to ensure that his AI vision for Microsoft takes off.

For instance, Microsoft execs told Business Insider that the new appointment of Judson Althoff as CEO of the company's commercial business was a well-calculated move by Satya Nadella:

Satya Nadella reportedly launched a weekly AI accelerator meeting and a dedicated Teams channel to help bolster and accelerate the company’s AI efforts. He’s also using these platforms to share distinctive ideas.

Business Insider's Ashley Stewart reported that executives don't make presentations during these meetings; instead, junior technical fellows are encouraged to contribute and share their thoughts about the AI and its trajectory.

Elsewhere, the damning report also indicated that there might be some major shakeups in Microsoft's top management, with Rajesh Jha, lead of Microsoft's Office and Windows, and Charlie Bell, the cybersecurity boss, set to retire in the foreseeable future. However, Microsoft spokesman Frank Shaw seemingly dismissed these claims, indicating that there are no expected changes in the company's senior leadership in the short term.

Coincidentally, a separate report from last year highlighted Microsoft insiders' doubts about the company's AI strategy and its perceived fixation on the technology. Some indicated that the company was attempting to fly a sinking ship with Copilot, while a high-ranking executive referred to some of Microsoft's AI tools as "gimmicky" because they barely work.

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As first reported by The Information, if the deal is finalized, OpenAI could adopt Amazon's Trainium chips to bolster its AI development and advances. The outlet also suggests that the deal could place the ChatGPT maker in a unique position to secure more funding from investors in subsequent funding rounds.

There have been multiple reports suggesting that we're in an AI bubble that's on the precipice of bursting. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates likened the phenomenon to the dot-com era's hype-driven overvaluations. "There are a ton of these investments that will be dead ends," Gates warned.

Multiple reports indicate that investor interest in AI is fading rapidly, suggesting that some might be compelled to channel their money elsewhere if big tech corporations are unable to establish a clear path to profitability in the multibillion-dollar sector.

At the beginning of the year, OpenAI, alongside its partners, Oracle and SoftBank, unveiled a $500 billion project dubbed Stargate. It is designed to facilitate the construction of data centers across the United States to meet its growing demand for computing power for its sophisticated AI advances.

In September, NVIDIA announced its plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI to facilitate the construction of massive new data centers, which will help meet its high demand for compute.

As you may know, Microsoft and OpenAI recently signed a new definitive agreement that revised some critical elements regarding their partnership, ultimately allowing the ChatGPT maker to evolve into a for-profit venture.

OpenAI successfully transitioned into a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), which is controlled by the nonprofit arm of the company, the OpenAI Foundation, with an equity stake worth approximately $130 billion in its for-profit arm.

The maker of ChatGPT is no longer constrained by restrictive clauses, allowing it to raise capital and secure additional computing resources from third parties beyond its partnership with Microsoft.

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman indicated that the new agreement earmarks a new shift for the company. It's now free to pursue AGI independently or in collaboration with third parties.

"They now have deals with SoftBank and many others – Oracle – to build more data centers than Microsoft wanted to build for them," added Suleyman. "And so, in return, we then have the right to go develop our own AI."

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This increase has been known for quite some time. I first got an email about it in July (my subscription renewed in August). But it seems Microsoft wants to make sure people know about the change, so it is sending out a reminder.

I believe this email may be sent out to those who are about to have their plan renewed, since the text refers to the price increase on February 14, 2025.

The new price has been live for new subscribers for months on Microsoft's website.

Here's what the email says:

"Thank you for being a valued Microsoft 365 subscriber. To reflect the value we’ve added over the past decade, address rising costs and enable us to continue delivering new innovations, we’re increasing the price of your subscription.

Effective 14 February 2025, the price for Microsoft 365 Family subscriptions will increase from GBP 79.99* per year to GBP 104.99* per year. To continue with the new price, no action is needed—your payment method on file will be automatically charged. To make changes to your subscription plan or turn off recurring billing, visit your Microsoft account at least two days before your next billing date.

By maintaining your subscription, you’ll enjoy secure cloud storage, advanced security for your data and devices and cutting-edge AI-powered features, along with all your other subscription benefits. Experience a whole new life for your favourite apps with Microsoft Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook, plus create stunning designs and edit photos in a flash with Designer. Thank you for choosing Microsoft."

The company also shared links on how to cancel Microsoft 365 and how to switch your Microsoft 365 subscription.

Discounts on Microsoft 365 in the UK are not as good as deals in the US. I have found some small discounts that can help you save a few quid.

You can stack Microsoft 365 for up to five years, meaning you can extend your subscription by purchasing codes at a discount. If you know you need Microsoft for a long time, it's worth stacking.

If you're in the US and received a similar warning, you can check out my roundup of the best Microsoft 365 deals.

Canceling Microsoft 365

I've subscribed to Microsoft 365 since before that was even the name of the subscription. I've had some form of Microsoft 365/Office 365 since Microsoft shifted to a subscription-based model. The upcoming price increase is enough for me to genuinely consider other options.

I use Microsoft 365 daily. I rely on Word, Excel, and OneDrive in both my professional and personal lives. But subscription fatigue is real and the cost of living keeps going up.

When Microsoft's latest reminder about the price increase hit my news desk, I spoke with my wife about how much she uses Microsoft 365. I use it the most out of anyone in our family, but I wanted to double-check I wouldn't hurt anyone else's workflow by canceling or changing our plan.

I have some time to decide since the new price increase won't go into effect until February 14, 2026 (Happy Valentine's Day from Microsoft). Between now and then, I'll look into iCloud storage plans, using the web version of Office exclusively, and turning a computer into a NAS.

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One of the best Windows 10 innovations was the Clipboard, which I bet many of you aren't even using. Hitting Windows Key + V opens up the Clipboard, showing you the last several items you copied. It allows you to copy multiple things at once and paste them at will, and it's something I've come to use daily as part of my workflow.

One other thing I actually have been using Microsoft Copilot for is format shifting. Copilot is absolutely fantastic at taking plain text data and converting it into things like tables or lists, saving you the chore of formatting it yourself. Microsoft seems to have identified this as a key way people are using Copilot, because this new patent suggests it wants to expand that functionality in a big way.

While in the throes of insomnia, I discovered a new Microsoft patent on the US Patent Office website detailing Copilot integrations directly into the Windows Clipboard.

You can think of it as "Advanced Paste" in essence. The patent describes a system that will tap into a large language model, most likely Copilot, to help users version-shift and manipulate the copied data.

Some of the examples include the ability to instantly remove backgrounds from pictures, which might be a fun and easy way to make stickers in messaging apps or graphics for presentations, as a couple of examples. Others include converting data types, like shifting plain text data into table formats, and then converting table formats into HTML for pasting into web articles like this one. You will also be able to type in custom prompts, such as "make this bullet points," without having to open Copilot proper.

RELATED: 20 features in Windows 11 you aren't using (but definitely should)

The patent describes how the AI will store the information temporarily to figure out potential conversions, and then offer users a variety of options to choose from. It'll even be able to convert programming languages to other formats, and let users preview the transformed data before pasting it on. It seems that you'll also be able to convert and paste multiple items at once, too.

Microsoft has already been experiment with AI-powered copy and paste in products like Microsoft Word, but having it directly in the Windows Key + V Clipboard could eliminate an extra step that many are using Copilot for already today.

You can actually enable an in-development version of Advanced Paste today via Microsoft PowerToys, available for free on the Microsoft Store for Windows 11. It uses Windows Key + Shift + V to invoke. To use the more powerful AI features, however, you need to insert your own AI API key.

The tool was created by Craig Loewen and Clint Rutkas from the Windows team. Hopefully, we'll see it emerge into the default UI with free Copilot integration in the future.

A useful Copilot integration?! In 2025 (or 2026?)

Patents don't always mean products, of course. Sometimes Microsoft and other companies strategically patent workflows and features without any real intention of implementing them — but this one seems like a total no brainer to me. One of Copilot's best and simplest functions revolves around formatting and organizing data that it's fed directly, eliminating the risks of hallucinations.

The consumer-grade version of Copilot is likely not advanced enough to complete more complex tasks adequately well. Even if I wanted to use it write articles, it makes far too many mistakes to be viable for any serious outlet right now ... but, having it create large spec tables for reviews from press releases, and then convert that data directly to HTML for pasting has saved me a ton of time. Being able to do that straight from the Clipboard would save me even more time.

It's in features like this where I think Copilot will eventually shine the most. I've been using Google Gemini Pro in our work Gmail implementation to manage my calendar scheduling, and it has been a huge help. I think people will be far more receptive to AI features that actually help them at work — rather than fully replace them at work. It thoroughly remains to be seen if Microsoft and other technologists can actually deliver that scenario, though.

Microsoft has been under pressure to show real AI growth to investors. Microsoft's share price has taken a hit over the past couple of weeks, as Google has surged ahead. Google's position in AI seems stronger than Microsoft's on the face of it, even if Microsoft had an early head start with its OpenAI partnership. As we've headed further into the cycle, Google has begun to pull ahead.

Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI seems fractured, and is reminiscent of how Nokia and Microsoft, as separate entities, couldn't work together effectively enough to implement a solid challenge against smartphone companies that owned the whole stack. There could be an even more dire situation presenting itself, though, suggesting that AI technologies are simply too expensive to justify. Could it be that the entire AI business model doesn't actually work?

In any case, it's unknown when (or even if) this new Clipboard feature will come to Windows 11 beyond PowerToys — but we'll keep you abreast of any updates.

Desktop computing is the one area where Microsoft still maintains an advantage over Google, and it's crucial that the firm doesn't squander it.

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The new Canary Channel build is 28020.1362, and introduces features like the ability to run the new Xbox full screen experience on more handhelds devices, the improved context menu design in Click To Do, and updates to Windows Settings search so that it can show more configurable options in the search box and recommended page.

Other features like the new file share drag tray, the ability to use Windows Studio Effects on external webcams, better mobile device settings in Windows Settings, and the improved dark mode in File Explorer changes are all now rolling out in the Canary Channel as of this new preview build too.

For a long time, the Windows Insider Canary Channel has missed out on a number of features that were put into testing in the Insider Dev and Beta Channels. This is because active feature development takes place on the current shipping platform release, which is called Germanium and is the platform release that is currently being tested in said Dev and Beta Channels.

The Canary Channel is on a much newer version of the Windows platform, codenamed Bromine, which features under the hood architectural improvements and advancements, but because active feature development work doesn't take place on this newer platform release yet, it takes longer for new features to arrive.

That's why Insiders in the Canary Channel often have to wait weeks or even months before they get to try new features that were originally released in preview on lower-tier Insider channels. The good news is that it looks like Microsoft is slowly getting better at ensuring the Canary Channel remains up to date, and at some point soon, Bromine will become the platform where active feature development takes place.

The Bromine platform release will ship in 2026 as Windows 11 version 26H1, first on new Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 powered devices. It's likely that Bromine will eventually ship for everyone, but not until version 26H2 in the second half of next year.

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Microsoft was recently snubbed in Time Magazine's famed "Person of the Year" cover story despite its relentlessness to integrate AI and Copilot across its tech stack. But the company, alongside other AI giants like OpenAI and Google, may have bigger fish to fry.

Late last week, a group of state attorneys general, joined by dozens of AGs from U.S. states and territories through the National Association of Attorneys General, sent a letter to leading AI labs warning them to address “delusional outputs.” The letter cautioned that failure to remedy this issue could constitute a violation of state law and expose the companies to legal consequences (via TechCrunch).

The letter demands that companies implement elaborate measures and safeguards designed to protect users, including transparent third-party audits of LLMs to foster early identification of delusions of syciphancy. Additionally, the letter demands new incident reporting procedures that will notify users when AI-powered chatbots generate harmful content.

This news comes amid a rise in the number of suicide incidents related to AI. A family sued OpenAI, claiming that ChatGPT encouraged their son to commit suicide. Consequently, the AI firm integrated parental controls into ChatGPT's user experience to mitigate the issue.

Perhaps more importantly, the letter dictates that the safeguards should also allow academic and civil society groups to “evaluate systems pre-release without retaliation and to publish their findings without prior approval from the company".

According to the letter:

"GenAI has the potential to change how the world works in a positive way. But it also has caused—and has the potential to cause—serious harm, especially to vulnerable populations. In many of these incidents, the GenAI products generated sycophantic and delusional outputs that either encouraged users’ delusions or assured users that they were not delusional.”

Finally, the letter suggested that AI labs should treat mental health incidents the same way tech corporations handle cybersecurity incidents. It'll be interesting to see if research AI labs like OpenAI adopt some of these suggestions, especially after a recent damning report claimed that the company is being less than truthful about its research, only publishing findings that shine a bright light on its tech.

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Yesterday, someone linked me an AI-generated article alleging that Xbox's near-total absence from The Game Awards was to blame for a multi-billion decreases in its stock price. It was a cute idea, but simply not based in reality.

Microsoft's share price has slid around 7% in the past month, although it's still up 5% for the year in total, and up over 120% across the past five years. One of the big success stories for CEO Satya Nadella has been a reignition of Microsoft's stock market performance, but the stock is behaving a little odd over the past few weeks.

No, investors do not care that Xbox wasn't present at The Game Awards, especially not to the tune of over $170 billion in lost market capitalization — likely worth more than all of Xbox itself. Microsoft's share price has slid owing to a conflux of various AI-related reasons, both directly and indirectly, as investors get nervous about Microsoft's position.

Google is up, Microsoft is down

Microsoft's stock price slide is a combination of various factors, all directly and indirectly related to its position in artificial intelligence.

AI is driving the stock market right now, with companies like NVIDIA, Meta, and Oracle all dominating the space. Microsoft's own position, partnered with OpenAI, helped drive the firm to second place for global market capitalization, behind only NVIDIA. NVIDIA's server tech is powering everything from cloud compute to AI workloads right now, and companies like Microsoft and Amazon are re-selling NVIDIA GPUs and other products so firms can build out their own AI aspirations.

Microsoft isn't really an innovator in the AI space, relying on OpenAI's models to deliver its products. One big fear investors have lately revolves around whether the frenzy to deliver AI will actually produce a return on investment. Companies like Oracle and Broadcom have seen large stock market slides recently, after their earnings and forecasts thoroughly underwhelmed Wall Street. Broadcom dropped by 11% — driven by the disappointment over its purported "backlog" of $73 billion worth of compute orders. Broadcom, Oracle, OpenAI, and various other companies have been relying on "commitments to buy" lately, but have been unable to actually deliver compute owing to a variety of issues.

There are huge and increasing demands for computing power from various AI companies, particularly those that rely on NVIDIA's stack. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently warned in an interview that he has GPUs sitting on the shelf because the electricity physically isn't available yet. The United States power grid literally can't meet demand for the hyperscalers, which is spooking investors into thinking we might have hit an upper limit in the near term for how fast server infrastructure brokers can grow.

Companies like Microsoft and Google have been aggressively researching efficiency to offset some of these bottle necks. OpenAI has also increased the efficiency of its models in a universe where compute isn't scaling fast enough to meet demand, but investors seem concerned that the business models associated with AI might never produce a return on investment.

Broadcom and Oracle both spooked investors with capital expenditure warnings, as firms race to meet the computational needs of companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Oracle, which has become an AI-first company all up in recent years, missed both revenue and profit projections, and warned that its capex burn would be 2026 would be $15 billion higher than its prior projections. It also reported negative cash flow, as its AI business fails to actually generate tangible profits. Investors rewarded them with a sharp sell-off to the tune of around 11%.

Microsoft's diversified business insulates it to some degree from these types of spikes, but not completely. Investors are increasing re-evaluating AI infrastructure spend, as valuations spiral out of control that seems incongruent with reality.

For Microsoft in particular, the fact Google Gemini's latest Pro models beat OpenAI's in most, if not all benchmarks, increasingly paints Alphabet as a frontrunner. Google also controls more of the tech stack, with home-grown Tensor server infrastructure, eliminating some of the costs associated with working with companies like NVIDIA. Microsoft has also reportedly cut internal goals and forecasts, as consumers and companies alike seem unwilling to spend money on its AI products.

There's other factors at play, too. State attorney generals in the United States sent Microsoft and other AI players a letter, warning them to fix "delusional" hallucinations and sycophancy, after a string of high-profile "AI psychosis" cases where the tech fed dangerous ideations to vulnerable people. Regulation protects people (at least in theory), but is often thought to harm profitability (oh no!).

AI stocks might be coming back to Earth, but the tech is here to stay

It's easy to clown on Microsoft Copilot. Its lacklustre features in Notepad, MS Paint, Microsoft Photos, and other Microsoft products just screams of haphazardry and poor execution. The firm doesn't seem to know what role AI could, or should play within Windows 11 consumer-grade features and products, despite desires to turn Windows 12 into an agentic AI-first OS (much to the annoyance of users).

Where Copilot is winning seems to be within enterprise grade solutions. Creating regulatory-compliant AI solutions for law firms and financial service institutions seems to be forming a winning solution for Microsoft, where centralized and IT-monitored solutions shine for companies that are already embedded in Microsoft Azure. Github Copilot has also been something of a success story too, offering programmers a more accessible alternative to Anthropic's Claude.

Increasingly, though, investors think Google might emerge as the front runner for the tech and its implementation. Slow out of the gate, Google's early AI efforts simply served to hurt its own search engine dominance and make a mockery out of itself with notorious summary hallucinations and errors. A couple of years later, Google Gemini Pro and Nano Banana image generation tools are now largely superior to OpenAI, evaporating Microsoft's early advantages in a single month.

Google has now leapfrogged Microsoft in market capitalization value, as of writing, slipping up into third place, as Microsoft sinks to fourth. Apple has ironically strengthened its position by ditching its laughable home-grown AI attempts, and opting to leverage Google's instead for its own Siri "Copilot" assistant and other AI features. Microsoft's own solutions have effectively been squeezed out of phones, potentially forever.

Microsoft, without a phone platform to call its own, is once again forced to rely entirely on Windows and enterprise to push its own AI products. Windows remains a dominant fixture in computing, but hate of Windows 11 has gone fully mainstream. More and more companies and even governments are embracing open source solutions, Linux, and other alternatives over Microsoft's own. Apple and Google have effectively locked Microsoft out of mobile computing entirely, flanked by CEO Satya Nadella's short-sighted decision to stop investing in Windows Phone.

A ~5% slide isn't anything too shocking, but like Time Magazine's snub of Microsoft — it's symbolic of changing winds on the frontiers of AI. Microsoft dominated the conversation for the past two years, but once again, its old rival Google seems poised to take pole position.

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This DMCA notice specifically applies to the Steam Workshop for Counter-Strike 2, which acts as a one-click modification catalog where every part is listed free of charge. Yes, the mod itself is totally non-profit, but the copyrighted assets were ported from Halo 3, breaking Valve's rules: "Your unauthorized use of Halo game content in a workshop not associated with Halo games infringes their rights."

The community is understandably disappointed and mostly stands on the side of Project Misriah, but this outcome was essentially inevitable. There's even an official EULA for Halo: The Master Chief Collection from several years ago that touches on the taboo concept of importing assets from other games, and vice versa, even if it's part of another Microsoft IP — it's never going to end well.

Should non-profit mods be subject to DMCA?

Fan-mode mods often walk a thin line through a gigantic gray area, but can survive if the content is inspired by other games and not directly ripped from them. Replies on X point out how maps closely resembling tracks from Mario Kart appear inside Halo Infinite, but they were built with existing assets in a way that avoids legal attention — even from brands like Nintendo with a reputation for aggressive litigation.

Opinions rarely mesh with the laws of the land, even if a closer analysis might show that free mods aren't really taking potential sales away from either side of fan-mad crossover content. Personally, I'm a big fan of Grand Theft Auto mods for its '3D era', and many keep themselves on the relative downlow to avoid the watchful eyes of parent companies like Take Two.

Still, even when fans keep asset rips within the same series, the long arm of the law can still reach out and crush their dreams. "Leave the multibillion-dollar company alone", jest regularly disgruntled fans across the modding scene, but it's an outcome I've seen time and time again — this time, it's Project Misriah.

On the other hand, would I expect publishers to turn a blind eye if its modders recreated each Halo 3 model, sound, and map from scratch with a subtle amount of legally distinct changes? It feels increasingly doubtful. Back up your favorite mods, people. Just because a game (or an entire series) can remain dormant, it doesn't mean that the lawyers behind its IP are asleep.

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Recently, Time Magazine debuted its annual "Person of the Year" cover story. The tradition began in 1927, and has since depicted individuals that have made the biggest impact on world events throughout the year — for better or worse.

Previous winners of Time Magazine's "Person of the Year" cover story include the likes of world leaders, including Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, activists like Greta Thunberg and Nelson Mandela, and often times scientists and technologists, like Elon Musk and former Intel CEO and chip architect Andrew Grove.

This year's Time "Person of the Year" edition features a group of people, titled "The Architects of AI." It's a recreation of the famous "Lunch Atop a Skyscraper" photograph that showcases New York construction workers working on the city's iconic skyline — dangerously perched on a steel girder without safety equipment. Let's put the metaphor for the dangers of AI and gaping pitfall of a potential stock market "bubble" to one side for a moment, because there's an interesting omission here that underpins how Microsoft is falling behind in the race for relevancy.

The photograph features eight world leaders in technology, server infrastructure, and AI science. From left to right, we have Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook fame, Lisa Su of AMD, Elon Musk of xAI and Grok, Jensen Huang of NVIDIA, Sam Altman of OpenAI and ChatGPT, Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind, Dario Amodei of Anthropic and Claude, and pioneering AI researcher Fei-Fei Li.

Notice any particular absences?

All of the people depicted here are directly responsible for funding and building frontier AI models, whether it's ChatGPT, Claude, Llama, Grok, or Google Gemini. The lack of inclusion for Microsoft AI, run by Mustafa Suleyman and brokered by CEO Satya Nadella, showcases how far behind the frontier of AI research Microsoft actually is.

Microsoft is functioning as an investment bank in existing AI products, re-selling NVIDIA GPUs as part of Microsoft Azure and re-selling ChatGPT as part of Microsoft Copilot. Microsoft's home-grown AI models, including MAI, aren't generally used and sport limited public API access, and its benchmarks aren't public either.

The lack of representation for Microsoft really underlines the company's status as a background player in artificial intelligence, nowhere near the forefront of the race.

Forced integrations and investments aside, is Microsoft actually serious about AI?

I've written recently about how Microsoft's fumbling and panicked behavior over artificial intelligence risks undermining its customer's needs. It's certainly undermining Windows' reputation.

Windows 11 hate is going utterly mainstream, with weak and forced Copilot features in everything from Microsoft Word to Notepad tears into the company's public image, but for me, it goes beyond social media "haters" simply disliking AI — Microsoft's AI products simply aren't good.

I'm not sure exactly what Microsoft did to make its version of ChatGPT dumber, but Copilot returns weaker results than ChatGPT generally speaking. AI imaging features in Microsoft Photos are absolutely pathetic compared to Google or even Samsung's photo editing tools on Android.

Integrations in Outlook and Microsoft Edge are invariably useless compared to integrations in Gmail and Chrome, and Xbox's "Gaming Copilot" tries to make up solutions out of thin air if it doesn't have a gaming website to steal information from.

CEO Satya Nadella has previously spoken about how he wants Microsoft to be an AI-first company, while declining to provide any innovative, or perhaps more crucially, useful AI products of its own. Windows Recall was called a privacy nightmare when it was announced, and other features like Click-To-Do haven't exactly ignited a rush on Microsoft AI products.

The whole situation is eerily similar to Microsoft's haunted Windows Phone project. Microsoft partnered with Nokia, creating friction at a time where competitors were moving far faster — similar to Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI, which has been reportedly fractious. Microsoft's short-term thinking and half-hearted execution led to Windows Phone eventually being mothballed, and that same lack of passion and cadence for releasing half-baked products seems to be typifying Microsoft's AI products as well.

Users are making use of products like Github Copilot and Microsoft Copilot, but much like products like Outlook and Microsoft Teams, Microsoft's strategy seems to revolve around offering a weaker, cheaper alternative — rather than be at the cutting edge for quality. Given how expensive AI actually is to run, it's unclear if this can be a winning strategy for artificial intelligence.

In any case, they say photographs are worth a thousand words, and the above photo is symbolic of various things. From the arguably tone deaf nature of multi-millionaires and billionaires being depicted as construction workers literally risking their lives to build New York's skyline, to the lack of guardrails building what could end up being a superior intelligence. For better or worse, Microsoft's role in the future depicted here is one of absentia, echoing other computing revolutions the company failed to capitalize on.

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id Software is an iconic studio, well-known for its work on games such as the DOOM and Quake franchises. Earlier this year, id Software launched its latest game, DOOM: The Dark Ages, which was well-received and went on win the Innovation in Accessibility award at Game Awards 2025.

Notably, with this undertaking, every North American game studio under ZeniMax Media is now unionized, with Bethesda Game Studios and ZeniMax Online Studios having organized last year.

Over 3,600 game developers under Microsoft are part of a union, with several additional unions across Activision and Blizzard Entertainment.

“Remote work isn’t a perk. It’s a necessity for our health, our families, and our access needs. RTO policies should not be handed down from executives with no consideration for accessibility or our well-being,” says id Software lead services programmer Chris Hays. “With a union, we will have the opportunity to make sure that everyone has a voice in the things that matter most to us.”

This comes as layoffs have been rampant in the gaming industry across the past couple of years, including at Microsoft, with multiple studios being shuttered and numerous employees being laid off.

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Earlier versions of the operating system offered a "Use small Taskbar buttons" setting, but that option disappeared when Windows 11 launched. Microsoft has now brought the feature back, though its behavior has changed. Previously, enabling small icons also reduced the Taskbar's height. On Windows 11, only the icon size changes, and the Taskbar remains the same height.

This update isn't designed to free up vertical space. Instead, it helps you fit more apps on the Taskbar before they spill into the overflow menu. Smaller icons allow the bar to hold more pinned or running apps, which is especially useful on systems with limited screen width or for users who keep many apps open.

In this how-to guide, I'll outline a new, easy way to change the size of icons in the Taskbar.

How to enable smaller icons in the Taskbar on Windows 11

To show smaller app icons in the Taskbar, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Personalization.
3. Click the Taskbar page on the right side.

4. Click the Taskbar behaviors setting.
5. (Option 1) Select the "Always" option in the "Show smaller taskbar buttons" setting to show smaller icons.

6. (Option 2) Select the "When taskbar is full" option to continue using the original size, but then make the icons smaller when there's enough space in the Taskbar.
7. (Option 3) Select the Never option to show regular-size icons in the Taskbar.

After you complete the steps, the Taskbar will display smaller application icons depending on your configuration.

FAQs about using smaller icons in the Taskbar

These are common questions regarding the option to set smaller icons in the Taskbar.

More resources

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• Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know

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Some changes introduced entirely new capabilities, such as multi-stream support for cameras, smaller Taskbar icons, Quick Machine Recovery, multiple clock support, Administrator Protection, the Xbox Full Screen Experience, and the addition of battery percentage. Others enhanced existing features, including the option to disable the Drag Tray, a redesigned Start menu layout, better dark mode consistency in File Explorer, and more.

In this guide, I'm highlighting my favorite features and improvements that became available for Windows 11 in 2025.

Windows 11 features recap for 2025

Microsoft rolls out features and changes gradually, and even though improvements to this were announced throughout the year, some may still be rolling out to users.

The following list is presented in no particular order and reflects only my personal perspective.

1. Consistent dark mode in File Explorer

In 2025, Microsoft finally gave some much-needed attention to the dark mode experience in File Explorer.

Dark mode across the operating system has long felt inconsistent and unfinished, especially in File Explorer. Recent updates have expanded dark mode to additional surfaces, including copy, move, delete, and error dialogs.

This is in addition to refreshed progress bars, charts, and confirmation prompts. However, these changes still do not extend to "Folder Options" and several other legacy elements.

While these improvements were well received, they didn't roll out as planned. After installing the December 2025 non-security update, Microsoft confirmed a bug that caused a large white flash when loading files in dark mode. However, this issue has now been fixed with the release of the December 2025 Security Update.

2. Redesigned Start menu

Microsoft also introduced a redesigned Start menu layout that combines the Pinned, Recommended, and All sections into a single scrollable interface.

The frame is larger than before, which some users found excessive, but it now dynamically adjusts based on screen resolution.

The updated layout allows up to eight pins per row. A new toggle at the top-right lets you show or hide the mobile sidebar when a mobile device is linked to your computer.

The "Recommended" section can now show up to six app and file recommendations. You can disable it entirely from Start settings by turning off all "Recommended" options.

The All section now groups apps by category by default, but you can switch to a grid or the legacy list.

Since the Start menu design has changed, Microsoft updated the Start settings page by removing the "Layout" option and rearranging the remaining controls.

3. Redesigned Widgets board

Windows 11 also received a redesigned Widgets board with a new settings page that integrates directly with the feature instead of using a separate overlay.

All previous settings remain available, and you can choose which board opens by default.

The layout now includes a navigation pane that makes switching between boards easier.

When weather is displayed on the Taskbar, selecting it opens the default dashboard rather than the last active board.

The "Discover" board has been refreshed with a Copilot-powered experience, and its interface aligns with the visual design used in Copilot's Discover page.

4. Customizable Lock Screen widgets

Customizable Lock Screen widgets are one of my must-include picks for 2025. Until now, Windows 11 has allowed widgets on the Lock Screen but has not provided a way to personalize them.

The new "Widgets" section under "Personalization" lets you add or remove widgets and configure supported ones.

If you're unsure which widgets to use, the system can suggest widgets automatically for unused slots using the "Suggest widgets for your lock screen" option.

5. Granular hardware indicator placement

Although relocating the Taskbar is still not possible, Windows 11 added a new "Position of on-screen indicators" setting, allowing you to move hardware indicators like brightness, volume, and airplane mode to the bottom center, top left, or top center of the screen.

You'll find this option at the bottom of the "Notifications" page under the "System" category of the Settings app.

6. Introducing Virtual Workspaces

Virtual Workspaces is technically not a feature, but a new page in the Settings app under the "Advanced" section that centralizes virtualization controls, eliminating the need to use the legacy Windows Features dialog.

From this page, you can enable or disable:

• Containers
• Guarded Host
• Virtual Machine Platform
• Windows Hypervisor Platform
• Windows Sandbox
• Hyper-V GUI Management Tools
• Hyper-V Module for Windows PowerShell
• Hyper-V Hypervisor
• Hyper-V Services

7. Taskbar with smaller icons and new share tool

Although you still can't adjust the Taskbar's height, Windows 11 gained an option to use smaller icons.

The goal is to fit more app buttons into the available space when the Taskbar becomes full, preventing items from moving into the overflow menu.

The "Taskbar" settings page lets you choose "Always," "Never," or "When taskbar is full."

Microsoft also added a new sharing shortcut. If you right-click an app icon with recent files, such as Notepad, you can use the "Share" option to open Windows Share and send the file to compatible apps.

8. Drag Tray optional disable option

Microsoft added an option to disable "Drag Tray" from the "Nearby Sharing" settings page.

Drag Tray is the flyout that appears when you drag a file to the top of the screen, allowing you to drop it into an app or choose "More" to open Windows Share.

While useful, not everyone likes it, and the lack of a disable option annoyed many users. This small change will be appreciated by those who prefer a simpler workflow.

9. Notification Center new clock with seconds

Microsoft introduced the ability to display a large clock with seconds inside the Notification Center, making quick glances more convenient.

You can also display multiple clocks in this area.

The main toggle appears under "Show time in Notification Center" in the "Date & time" settings. The controls for secondary clocks are under "Show time and date in the System tray."

Windows 11 also added multi-monitor support for Notification Center, so the flyout opens on the monitor where you clicked the date and time area in the System Tray.

10. Windows Hello elements redesign

Windows Hello also received an interface refresh in 2025. As part of the improvements, Microsoft rolled out visual changes for the Sign-in screen for devices using Windows Hello Face, PIN, or Fingerprint.

For instance, when you access the screen to sign into your account, the system now displays an animation with the icon representing the sign-in method to make it easier to understand.

The sign-in dialog to allow elevation or using a passkey has also been updated with a new design for entering and recognizing your credentials.

11. Passkeys with third-party support

Another welcome addition this year is support for third-party passkey providers.

You can now store and use passkeys from supported apps like 1Password directly through Windows Hello.

If you already use a compatible provider, you’ll find the toggle under "Advanced options" on the "Passkeys" settings page.

12 Administrator Protection security feature

Administrator Protection is a new security feature you can enable through Group Policy or Intune, meaning it’s primarily intended for the "Pro" edition, though it can technically be enabled in the "Home" edition too through the Registry.

When enabled, the feature adds an authentication prompt whenever an action requires elevation.

It follows the Principle of Least Privilege, treating administrator accounts as standard until the user grants just-in-time elevation.

When elevated, the system creates an isolated administrator token tied to a separate account that exists only for the duration of the task and is deleted immediately afterward.

To enable this feature, select the "Admin Approval Mode with Administrator protection" option for the "User Account Control: Configure type of Admin Approval Mode" policy located on Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options.

13. Quick Machine Recovery for fast system repair

One of the most significant features released in 2025 is Quick Machine Recovery, a system designed to repair the operating system when it fails to boot.

When a fault is detected, the system starts in Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) and sends diagnostic data to Microsoft. If a fix is available, it will download and apply it automatically.

If no solution is found on the first attempt, the user is presented with additional troubleshooting options.

Quick Machine Recovery is enabled by default on Windows 11 Home and Pro, as long as the device isn't managed.

The feature can also be controlled through the "Quick Machine Recovery" page on the "Recovery" settings section. On that page, you can also change the "Automatically check for solutions" settings so that if no solution is found, the system will restart automatically to continue searching for solutions through Windows Update.

14. Windows Backup with local file transfer

Although Windows Backup has existed for years, Microsoft updated it in 2025 with support for transferring files to a new PC over the local network without needing to sync to the cloud first.

While this might sound similar to Windows Easy Transfer, the intention is different. You can't migrate from one desktop to another. Instead, it works only during the initial setup of a new device, and only for devices that were never backed up to the cloud using a Microsoft account.

For example, if you have a Windows 10 or 11 device using a local account and you set up a new computer, you'll see an option to start a local file transfer.

To complete the process, launch Windows Backup on the old device and pair it with the new computer.

15. Xbox Full Screen Experience for handheld devices

Another major addition is the Xbox Full Screen Experience for handheld gaming devices.

This mode transforms Windows 11 into a controller-friendly, console-like interface for PC gaming, similar to the Xbox dashboard.

The system hides the traditional desktop and loads a full-screen version of the Xbox app, minimizing resource usage by disabling Windows Explorer and stopping unnecessary background processes.

Initially available on the ASUS ROG Ally and Ally X, the experience expanded to additional handheld devices in 2025, and Microsoft plans to bring it to more form factors.

If you own a handheld PC, you can enable it from Settings > Gaming > Full Screen Experience.

16. Battery percentage in Taskbar

Microsoft introduced a simple but long-requested option. The ability to show battery percentage directly on the Taskbar.

Although the operating system always displayed the battery icon, it never natively supported showing the percentage. Manufacturers often provided their own tools to make up for the omission, but that’s no longer necessary.

The setting is not enabled by default. You'll find the "Battery percentage" toggle on the "Power & battery" page if you're using a laptop or tablet.

Microsoft also introduced new battery iconography across the system. The updated icons reflect different states more clearly, including green, yellow, red, black, and white variations.

The green icon indicates charging and a healthy battery. Yellow appears when running on battery in energy-saving mode. Red warns of low charge, and black or white appears depending on whether you're using light or dark mode.

17. Camera with multiple stream support

Finally, one new feature that didn't receive the attention it deserves is the ability for multiple apps to access the same camera feed. It may not be a significant feature for many people, but it's a welcome change for streamers and others who rely on multi-stream support.

The new multi-stream support is part of the recently added "Advanced camera options" page, which includes additional camera features.

The option is known as "Allow multiple apps to use camera at the same time," and it's located on Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras, and then select your camera and access the advanced settings.

In addition, you'll find the "Media type" feature to set the preferred camera resolution and frame rate, and the "Turn on basic camera" option lets you turn off advanced settings and use the basic functionality for troubleshooting.

One more thing to point out is that I'm only highlighting the improvements that are intended for all devices since Microsoft has also released other features and changes focusing on AI for Copilot+ PCs.

Do you have a favorite Windows 11 feature released in 2025? Let me know in the comments.

More resources

Explore more in-depth how-to guides, troubleshooting advice, and essential tips to get the most out of Windows 11 and 10. Start browsing here:

• Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know

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"Windows on Arm devices, such as those powered by the Snapdragon X series processors, are getting a boost thanks to an update to Prism that increases performance and enables running more apps and games under emulation," Microsoft says.

"With today's update, Prism expands its capability by supporting translation of more x86 instruction set architecture extensions, including AVX and AVX2, as well as related extensions BMI, FMA, F16C, and others." With this update, apps like Ableton Live 12 should now run fine on Windows 11 on Arm devices.

This update to the Prism emulator is already rolling out as part of the latest Windows 11 updates on version 24H2 and 25H2, so your Windows 11 on Arm PC should automatically be updated to be able to run these additional apps and games. It's enabled automatically on 64-bit apps, and can be manually enabled on 32-bit executables.

Windows on Arm has come a very long way since its inception in 2017. After launching as an underpowered platform with very little support from developers and hardware makers, the Windows 11 on Arm platform today is thriving with a large selection of devices to choose from, as well as many mainstream apps natively supporting the platform.

The Prism emulator is also a huge step up over the old x86 app emulation layer that shipped on Windows 10. Most x86 apps now run without issues, and in many cases don't even feel like they're being emulated. These days, the majority of users won't notice a difference between using an Intel PC or a Snapdragon one, and that's not something you could say just a few years ago.

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AMD and Microsoft have a partnership for the next Xbox console hardware

Earlier in 2025, Xbox president Sarah Bond announced that AMD and Microsoft have a multi-year partnership to develop the next Xbox console hardware. There's still quite a bit that isn't known, but Bond has stated that future Xbox hardware will support the existing library of games Xbox Series X|S players are enjoying today.

It's also quite interesting to see that Microsoft worked with AMD on Ray Regeneration. Ray tracing can be used to make games even more graphically impressive and can even help developers save time in certain scenarios.

That said, it can be extremely difficult for some hardware to run, so any improvements to performance that can aid ray tracing without sacrificing overall image quality are well worth keeping an eye on.

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The big highlight of this feature drop is the more consistent dark mode in File Explorer, which now applies to popups and windows such as the file copy UI and file deletion prompts. You can now also disable the share drag tray that appears at the top of the screen whenever you grab and drag a file in File Explorer.

Other improvements include the Windows Search pane now matching the size of the Start menu, the ability to skip to the next background when Windows Spotlight is set as your default wallpaper, and haptic feedback for when you snap apps and drag files using a compatible peripheral.

You can learn more about the new features that are rolling out with today's update in our dedicated article that explains every new feature that's now available. Of course, as is always the case with Windows updates, many of these features are rolling out in waves, which means you might not see them all right away once you've installed today's update.

It also includes the following fixes:

• [Copilot] Fixed: This update addresses an issue where Ask Copilot didn’t activate the Click to Do window as expected. The window now appears in the foreground when you share data with Copilot.
• [File Explorer (known issue)] Fixed: This update addresses an issue where File Explorer briefly flashes white when you navigate between pages. This issue might occur after you install KB5070311.
• [Networking] Fixed: This update fixes an issue where external virtual switches lose their physical network adapter (NIC) bindings after a host reboot. When this happens, the switches revert to internal mode, resulting in loss of network connectivity for virtual machines and blocking normal server operations. ​​​​​​​
• [PowerShell 5.1] Invoke-WebRequest now includes a confirmation prompt with a security warning of script execution risk. You can choose to continue or cancel the request. For additional details, see CVE-2025-54100 and KB5074596: PowerShell 5.1: Preventing script execution from web content.

Alongside the new features, Microsoft has confirmed one known issue to be aware of: The password option on the login screen may appear invisible, though it's still there for you to click on if you want it. You'll just have to click in the empty space where the password option usually is.

Microsoft has shipped lots of new features and updates to Windows 11 in 2025, delivering a constant stream of features and changes on a monthly cadence, whether users have liked it or not. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft continues with this method of feature delivery into 2026. What are your thoughts?

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"We’re committed to making Windows the best place to play, and we will continue refining system behaviors that matter most to gaming," Microsoft says in a blog post talking about what's coming next for gamers.

The company highlights a number of core pillars that it will address in the coming months: "background workload management, power and scheduling improvements, graphics stack optimizations, and updated drivers." Improving these elements of the platform should allow Windows to run lighter, and assign freed up resources to games to allow them to run better.

Microsoft has also confirmed that Auto SR (Super Resolution) will be coming to handheld gaming PCs next year, first on the Xbox Ally X running AMD's Ryzen AI NPU. Auto SR is an OS-level upscaling feature that delivers sharper visual s and smoother framerates in compatible games without any developer input.

Ther's also Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) on the way to more Windows 11 devices, which preloads game shaders during download and allows select games to launch much faster, while also running smoother and use less battery when loaded up for the first time. "We’re continuing to add ASD support to more games on the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, and we’ve begun early integration work to support additional hardware and storefronts."

It's clear that Microsoft is eager to respond to recent moves from Valve, which in the last month just announced its own Steam Machine console to take on Microsoft's next-gen Xbox vision. The Steam Deck also repopularized handheld gaming, which Windows has only just started to natively support.

Now, with the Xbox Ally and improvements to Windows 11 for handhelds and controllers, the company is slowly getting ready to compete head-to-head with Valve and reposition Windows as the best place to play video games, regardless of ecosystem or library lock in.

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Today, we get to debunk some myths and misconceptions about Windows 3.1's 'Hotdog Stand' color scheme. Compared to modern operating systems like Windows 11, which arguably ship with a wide range of customization GUI options, classic editions like Windows 3.1 were pretty basic, "with grey windows and blue highlights as the default".

Over the years, Microsoft's bold integration of the Hotdog Stand color scheme in Windows 3.1 was described as utterly insane, with some speculating that it must have been an inside joke within Microsoft's Windows 3.1 development team.

Perhaps more interestingly, users noted that the Hotdog Stand color scheme was created by the Windows 3.1 team as a deliberate attempt to design the worst possible scheme. Yet, some users appreciated its inclusion, highlighting its usefulness for individuals with color blindness.

More recently, our friends at PC Gamer touched base with veteran Microsoft designer Virginia Howlett, who joined the company in 1985 as its first interface designer. Howlett's contributions transcend beyond color schemes as she also helped co-create the Verdana font.

While speaking to Senior Editor Wes Fenlon, Howlett indicated, "I confess that I'm surprised anyone cares about Windows 3.1 in late 2025! It was such a long time ago and the world has changed so much." She described color themes in Windows 3.1 as a "radically new feature".

As you may know, it was virtually impossible to customize different parts of the operating system prior to the feature's release.

So that's it, Microsoft's Windows 3.1 design team didn't include the Hot Dog Stand color scheme as a joke or challenge to come up with the worst theme possible. It was simply a "garish choice" with a catchy name.

In October, we learned that Microsoft used a miniature spin-off of Windows 3.1 for Windows 95's setup installation process instead of a trimmed version of Windows 95 itself. Veteran Microsoft engineer Raymond Chen indicated that while using a miniature version of Windows 95 would have been the most appropriate, it included critical user experience and engineering bottlenecks.

For instance, the engineering team would have been forced to develop a trimmed-down version of Windows 95. As such, the company opted to use Windows 3.1 since a fully debugged miniature version of the operating system already existed. Additionally, creating a miniature version of Windows 95 would have been an uphill task since development of the operating system was already behind schedule.

Did you ever use Windows 3.1 with the Hotdog Stand theme?

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Copilot has already been heavily integrated into Windows 11, with its presence heavily felt across the user experience, though it's been part of an ongoing debate about whether users view it as useful or just bloatware.

Late last month, Microsoft announced that Copilot is leaving WhatsApp. The tool shipped to WhatsApp in late 2024 to help users connect their AI companion in a "familiar and everyday setting".

However, this will no longer be the case following recent changes to WhatsApp’s platform policies, which explicitly dictate the removal of LLM chatbots from the platform. As such, users will no longer be able to use Copilot directly from WhatsApp from January 15, 2026. By extension, OpenAI’s ChatGPT will also stop working on WhatsApp after the highlighted date.

While speaking to TechCrunch, a Meta spokesman indicated:

“The purpose of the WhatsApp Business API is to help businesses provide customer support and send relevant updates. Our focus is on supporting the tens of thousands of businesses who are building these experiences on WhatsApp.”

This means Meta will no longer permit third-party AI chatbots from companies like Microsoft and OpenAI to use its API as a distribution platform. Instead, Meta appears to be doubling down on its generative AI business, positioning Meta AI services and products to uniquely leverage WhatsApp’s vast user base.

Microsoft says that users can continue using Copilot across other platforms, including Windows, the web, and the mobile app for Android and iOS.

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When you start the computer, you'll probably notice up to four widgets in the Lock Screen (the screen before signing in to your account), which usually include details such as weather, sports, traffic, and finance.

Although this information may be helpful for some users, it's not for everyone and can cause unnecessary distractions, especially for people who use their computers for productivity.

If this feature isn't for you, Windows 11 lets you customize or completely disable widgets on the Lock Screen in the Settings app.

In this how-to guide, I'll outline the steps to manage the widget settings in the Lock Screen.

How to manage Lock Screen widgets on Windows 11

On Windows 11, you can show or hide widgets and manage the ones that appear on the Lock Screen.

Enable Lock Screen widgets

To enable widgets in the Lock Screen, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Personalization.
3. Click the Lock Screen page from the right side.
4. Turn on the Widgets toggle switch.

Once you complete the steps, up to four widgets will appear in the Lock Screen.

It's worth noting that the system enables widgets automatically in the Lock Screen for new installations. However, if this isn't the case, you can use the above instructions to complete the configuration.

Configure Lock Screen widgets

To add, customize, and remove widgets from the Lock Screen, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Personalization.
3. Click the Lock Screen page from the right side.
4. Click the Widgets setting.
5. Click the Add widget button to add more widgets.

6. Select one of the available widgets.

• Quick note: You can always use the "Find more widgets" option to download even more widgets from the Microsoft Store.

7. Click the Add widget button.

8. Click the menu (three dots) button and choose the Customize widget option (if applicable).

9. Change the available settings to customize the widget.

• Quick note: Customization options vary per widget.

10. Click the Save button.
11. Click the menu (three dots) button, then choose Remove to hide the widget from the Lock Screen.

12. (Optional) Click and drag each widget to change its order.

After you complete the steps, only the configured widgets will appear in the Lock Screen.

You can also turn on the "Suggest widgets for your lock screen" toggle switch to allow the system to fill unused slots of widgets in the Lock Screen.

If you don't want to show widgets but still want weather information, turn off all the widgets and add only the one that shows the weather. Also, make sure to turn off the "Suggest widgets for your lock screen" toggle switch.

Disable Lock Screen widgets

To completely hide the widgets from the Lock Screen, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Personalization.
3. Click the Lock Screen page from the right side.
4. Turn off the Widgets toggle switch.

Once you complete the steps, the Lock Screen will no longer show widgets.

FAQs about managing Lock Screen widgets on Windows 11

These are common questions regarding resetting Windows 10 to its default settings.

More resources

Explore more in-depth how-to guides, troubleshooting advice, and essential tips to get the most out of Windows 11 and 10. Start browsing here:

• Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know

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It appears that the Agenda view feature will be a WebView2 component, which could result in more CPU usage and a less-than-native appearance. Windows Latest performed several tests to investigate the nature of the feature.

Since Agenda view is in preview, it did not work for Windows Latest. But attempting to use it loaded details from Outlook within a WebView2 shell. As a result, CPU and memory usage went up, seemingly as a result of the Windows Shell Experience Host process running to power the experience.

It's normal for the startup process of an app to cause a spike in computing demand that ends quickly. During their testing, Windows Latest saw "GPU Process" and "Utility" end after closing the Notification Center.

The fact that Agenda view is powered by the web could mean more system resources need to be allocated to it when compared to a native experience, even if the spike in CPU and memory usage is short lived.

Additionally, WebView2 components do not feel native on Windows 11. The font and other UI elements in WebView2 make features using the technology look like parts of the web living on your PC.

Many, including myself, have been frustrated by the fact that a useful Windows 10 feature was lost in the transition to Windows 11. At one point, I even paid for an app to add a functional calendar flyout to Windows 11. Hopefully, that will not be necessary once Agenda view ships to the operating system.

The new Agenda view is not identical to the previous iteration, though one could argue that it is better. It supports interacting with scheduled meetings, as you'd expect, but it can also engage with Microsoft 365 Copilot.

The latter of those features could be viewed positively or negatively, depending on the user. Our Managing Editor Jez Corden recently highlighted that "nobody wants to buy or use [Microsoft's] shoddy AI products."

Presumably, you'll be able to use the new Agenda view to simply view and interact with calendar events without AI.

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However, investors continue to raise concerns about the billions being plunged into the ever-evolving technology without a well-established profitability path. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates warned of an AI bubble while comparing it to the dot-com era, where several internet-based companies became overvalued, leading to a significant crash.

Microsoft has arguably been at the forefront of advances and developments in the generative AI landscape, primarily due to its multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI, integrating next-gen capabilities across its tech stack.

Despite Microsoft’s massive bet on AI through heavy investments and deep integration across its product ecosystem, including Windows, which some speculate could evolve into an agentic operating system, CEO Satya Nadella appears to be grappling with the challenge of steering the software giant toward an AI‑driven future.

While speaking with Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Axel Springer, the executive admitted that he spends of of his weekends learning about how startups build and develop products. Nadella indicated that Microsoft's size "has become a massive disadvantage" as it tries to establish dominance in the AI space (via Business Insider).

According to the executive, startups are able to make informed decisions quickly because everyone involved in the product development process all sit at the same table. Perhaps more interestingly, Nadella seemingly shared a solution for this issue: unlearning old habits and techniques that once made companies successful and embracing new approaches.

It's interesting that Nadella makes these comments. Earlier this year, the executive indicated that Microsoft was moving away from Bill Gates' revolutionary software vision, which helped build and contribute to the company's immense success. He claimed that the approach might become obsolete in the AI era. Moving forward, Microsoft is poised to double down on security, quality, and AI transformation as its core business priorities.

Unfortunately, Nadella's comments could also be seen as a signal that more Microsoft layoffs are on the horizon, under the guise of "efficiency." Comments like the above may be laying the ground work. Our sources have suggested that there are rumors swirling internally of another round of early 2026 layoffs, even after 2025's massive 15,000 cuts — also reportedly inspired by AI.

For note, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's pay package hit $96.5 million this year.

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"If there are no available or enabled AI Actions, this section will no longer show in the context menu," reads a note in the changelog for the latest Windows 11 preview build. Hopefully, this change will begin rolling out for everyone early next year.

This is a change that many users have been asking for, especially those that aren't interested in using Microsoft's AI features that are built-in to Windows 11. More annoyingly, the AI actions menu appears for every file that you right-click on, even when there are no AI actions that apply.

With this change, that will no longer be the case. And the AI actions menu will also no longer appear if the user has outright disabled AI actions in the Windows Settings app, resulting in the right-click menu taking up less space on screen.

Microsoft recently announced that it was interested in cleaning up the right-click menu in File Explorer. Since Windows 11's debut, the new modern context menu has slowly become cluttered with excess options, most of which aren't ever wanted by the user. With Microsoft now hiding the AI actions menu when it's not applicable, that's one step towards cleaning up these menus.

In recent months, Microsoft appears to have started taking cleaning up and improving the polish of Windows 11 more seriously. It's already working on an improved dark mode for File Explorer, which will apply more consistently across legacy interfaces such as file deletion prompts and copy dialogs.

Now, we're getting a decluttered context menu and other quality of life improvements, which is very reassuring to see. It's also good to see Microsoft let us turn off some of these AI features and capabilities when we don't want them, even from appearing in the menu.

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The extensions were positioned as productivity add-ons, and some even earned featured and verified status on both Chrome and Edge. More than 4.3 million users were affected across the two browsers. One of the main examples, Clean Master, had over 200,000 installs on its own.

Another extension, WeTab, along with several others from the same publisher, reached more than 3 million installs across Edge and Chrome.

The threat is now removed, but users should still review their browsers

The malicious update also allowed the extensions to capture a wide range of browsing data. This included every URL you visited, your full browsing history, and any search queries typed into the browser. It also logged mouse clicks, collected detailed browser fingerprints, and tracked how you moved between sites through HTTP referrer data.

Google has confirmed that none of the malicious extensions remain on the Chrome Web Store, and Microsoft has also confirmed their removal from the Edge add-on store. However, taking them down from the store does not remove them from your browser, so users should still check what is installed.

On Chrome and Edge, look for any extensions published by Starlab Technology or linked to WeTab. It is also worth removing anything you do not recognise or no longer use.

Updating Chrome or Edge is another crucial step. Installing the latest version helps the browser apply new security checks to extension behaviour and can trigger built-in blocklists that disable anything removed or flagged. A fresh update also makes sure no cached version of an old extension is still active.

The malware also stores persistent identifiers in chrome.storage.sync. These UUIDs can follow you across devices, so your profile may stay trackable even if you reinstall the browser. To fully remove them, users should clear their sync data after uninstalling the affected extensions.

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Beginning with version 11.2510.6.0 for devices enrolled in the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft is introducing table support in Notepad as part of its expanding Markdown feature set. This addition doesn't turn Notepad into an Excel-style spreadsheet tool. Instead, it delivers simple, Word-like table creation so you can structure information without leaving the editor.

In this how-to guide, I'll show you the steps to use the new table functionality available in the updated Notepad app for Windows 11.

This feature is still in preview through for devices enrolled in the Dev and Canary Channels of the Windows Insider Program. However, the company may not take too long to bring this new update to the Stable Channel.

How to use tables in Notepad

In the latest version of Notepad, you can create tables through the user interface or syntax, and you can use the available tools to modify an existing table.

Create a table in Notepad

To create tables in the latest update of Notepad, use these steps:

1. Open Notepad.
2. Click the Table option from the toolbar.
3. (Option 1) Select the number of columns and rows using the mouse to create a table.

4. (Option 2) Click on Insert table.
5. Confirm the number of columns and rows to create a table.

6. Click the Insert button.

Once you complete the steps, the table will appear in the Notepad canvas.

Create a table with Markdown syntax

You can also create tables using the Markdown syntax by switching to this experience from View > Markdown > Syntax. However, the options are limited compared to the capabilities available with the full version of Markdown.

|Header 1||||-|-|-||Row 1||||Row 1|||

This code will create a table with three columns and three rows.

Edit a table in Notepad

To edit a table in Notepad, use these steps:

1. Open Notepad.
2. Click on the table you want to modify.
3. Click the Table option from the toolbar.
4. Select the Edit table menu and choose options, including Insert, Select, Delete, and "Fit columns to window view."

The options are self-explanatory. You can use the "Insert" to add more columns and rows. The "Select" option performs different types of table selection, and the "Delete" option lets you delete parts or the entire table.

The "Fit columns to window view" allows you to do just that, but the view won't be saved.

Are you planning to use tables in Notepad? Also, what are your thoughts on all the recent updates for Notepad? Let me know in the comments.

FAQs about table support in Notepad

These are common questions about the table support for Notepad.

More resources

Explore more in-depth how-to guides, troubleshooting advice, and essential tips to get the most out of Windows 11 and 10. Start browsing here:

• Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know

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In this update, the company is finally addressing design inconsistencies between the Start menu and Windows Search, and an updated version of File Explorer brings dark mode improvements.

Also, the Settings app is getting a slew of improvements on the Home page with the addition of a new "Device info" card. The "About" page is getting another redesign. The Mobile Devices options are now integrated into the Settings app. Virtual Workspaces make it easier to manage virtualization features on Windows 11. More keyboard and mouse settings are coming to the app from Control Panel, and more.

Furthermore, there's a new Widgets dashboard design with a new settings experience. The Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) is rolling out to more handheld devices and more.

These changes were found in the latest patch available in the Stable Channel for version 24H2 (and 25H2). However, Microsoft can always delay or discard any feature or improvement at any time. Furthermore, Windows Recall, Click to Do, and other AI features are exclusive to Copilot+ PCs. They require an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) capable of 40+ TOPS, found on Qualcomm Snapdragon (such as the X Plus and X Elite series), as well as specific Intel and AMD processors. You also need to enable BitLocker (or Device Encryption) and Windows Hello to activate AI features.

Windows 11 new features coming in December 2025

Microsoft uses the Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR) technology to push new features and changes gradually, so it may take some time before you see them all on your computer.

1. Windows Search visual improvements

One noticeable improvement in the last cumulative of 2025 is the Windows Search panel, which now (finally) matches the height of the new Start menu design, fixing some design inconsistencies across the operating system.

2. Taskbar's new Share with Copilot feature

In this release, Microsoft is adding a feature no one asked for. A new "Share with Copilot" option in an app's thumbnail on the Taskbar that allows you to start a conversation with the chatbot using Copilot Vision quickly.

You can manage this feature from the Copilot app settings, using the "Start Vision from app in taskbar" feature under the "Copilot Vision" settings.

Additionally, this update introduces a new animation that makes transitions smoother when hovering and sliding between apps in the Taskbar.

3. Windows Spotlight for desktop changes

If you use the Spotlight feature to set dynamic wallpapers on the desktop, starting with this release, you can right-click the desktop to access the "Next background" option to switch backgrounds more quickly.

Also, there is a new "Explore background" option that will open a Bing page with more information about the wallpaper.

4. Drag Tray disable option

On Windows, Drag Tray is a fly out that appears when you select and drag a file to the top of the screen, but this feature isn't for you. Microsoft has added a new toggle in the Settings app to disable it.

You can turn Drag Tray off on Settings > System > Nearby Sharing.

5. File Explorer dark mode improvements

Microsoft is also rolling out a more consistent dark mode experience for File Explorer. As part of the December 2025 Security Update, you'll find more dark theming across dialogs, such as copy, move, and delete.

Furthermore, the improvements are also reaching progress bars, chart views, and confirmation dialogs, such as skip, override, errors, and file selection.

The company also mentions that it is gradually rolling out a more straightforward context menu that groups common actions, such as share, copy, and move, into a single, organized menu. However, this design change may take time to reach everyone, since the software giant is still evaluating the best approach.

While the new dark mode improvements are a welcome addition, the implementation is still a work in progress, as the company has noted that when launching File Explorer, you may notice a giant white flash while loading files.

Microsoft says that it's working on a fix, but if this implementation is still buggy, then why roll it out now (even as a preview in the Stable Channel)? What type of quality control is the company using? I'm just wondering.

6. Device info card in Home Settings

On the Home page of the Settings, after installing this update, you'll find a new "Device info" card that includes key technical specifications about your computer, including processor, storage, memory, and graphics card information.

If you click the "About your device" button, you'll be directed to the "About" page.

This card may appear only to users in the United States who are signed in with a Microsoft account.

7. Mobile Devices settings in Settings

In the Settings app, this update also integrates the Mobile Devices configuration options into this experience.

Although you have been able to manage your mobile device features through the Settings app, you have to use a separate window to change the settings.

Starting with this update, on Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile devices, you'll find an option to add a new device, and under the "Mobile devices" section, you can access your device's settings.

The page even includes an option to remove the mobile device from your account.

8. About page redesign

Microsoft is testing a new overhaul of the "About" page. In this new design, you'll no longer find the top cards with key technical specifications. Instead, you'll find a thumbnail of the desktop background with an option to rename your computer.

"Device Specifications" has been renamed to "Device info," and Frequently Asked Questions is now a separate section known as "Device insights."

"Windows Specifications" has been renamed to "Windows info," and the "Related" options now include an entry to access the "Storage" settings.

9. Advanced settings with Virtual Workspaces

In this update, the development team is making changes to the Advanced section with a new "Virtual Workspaces" page that gives you the ability to manage virtualization features, including:

• Containers.
• Guarded Host.
• Virtual Machine Platform.
• Windows Hypervisor Platform.
• Windows Sandbox.
• Hyper-V GUI Management Tools.
• Hyper-V Module for Windows PowerShell.
• Hyper-V Hypervisor.
• Hyper-V Services.

In the past, you had to enable these features on the legacy "Windows Features" page.

10. Keyboard and text cursor settings

The Patch Tuesday update for December 2025 also ports keyboard and text cursor features to the Settings.

In Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Keyboard, you'll find options to control the keyboard's character repeat delay and repeat rate.

On this page, you'll also find the setting to remap the Copilot key on your keyboard, and the option to control the "Print screen" key to open the Snipping Tool controls to take screenshots.

In addition, if you open Settings > Accessibility> Text cursor, you'll find the option to control the cursor blink rate.

11. Quick Machine Recovery new default configuration

The Quick Machine Recovery feature isn't new to this update, but the company is updating how it works. First, the "Continue searching if a solution isn't found" option has been renamed to "Automatically check for solutions."

Second, the "Look for solutions every" and "Restart every" settings have been replaced with a single "Look for solutions" setting that is set to "Once."

The new configuration will only look for solutions once, and then it'll prevent the user from using other ways to resolve the issue. The new changes aim to prevent the computer from continuing to search for solutions in a loop that could confuse some users.

12. Widgets board redesign

Windows 11 also introduces a new Widgets board design that separates your "Widgets" from the "Discover" board using a navigation page. In addition, the company is integrating the settings page into the feature rather than using a page overlay, making the experience more consistent.

If there are new alerts in the dashboards, you will notice a badge with the number in the board's icon.

On the new settings page, you can choose which board is the default. Also, when the Widgets icon in the Taskbar shows live weather, opening the experience will open the first dashboard rather than the most recently used.

13. Haptic feedback for digital pens

This update also adds haptic feedback for pens on touch-enabled devices, so you'll feel small vibrations that simulate touch when interacting with certain interface elements, such as the close button, snapping, and resizing windows.

14. Click to Do new actions menu

As part of this Patch Tuesday update, Microsoft is introducing a new context menu for Click to Do on Copilot+ PCs.

The new design aligns actions like Copy, Save, Share, and Open at the top in a single row similar to the context menu in File Explorer.

In addition, the new menu features a prompt box for quicker access to Copilot, and as per usual, you'll find the content-specific features.

Furthermore, if the screen has a large image or table, the context menu will open automatically for faster access to the actions.

15. Xbox Full Screen Experience for more handheld devices

The cumulative update for December also expands the Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) to more handheld devices.

Previously, the experience was only available for ASUS ROG Ally and Ally X, but now, it's expanding to more handheld gaming devices. In the future, this feature for gaming will expand to regular computers, but this is not the update.

The Full Screen Experience switches the traditional desktop into a console-like interface that's easier to navigate with a controller using the Xbox app for Windows 11 in full-screen.

The company explains that loading this experience reduces the complexity and resource overhead of the standard desktop, saving around 2GB of memory.

If you're installing the December 2025 Security Update on a handheld device, you can enable the feature from Settings > Gaming > Full screen experience.

After completing the steps, you'll have to restart the computer to apply the changes and access the experience.

If you want to switch to the regular desktop, use the "Windows key + Tab" keyboard shortcut, click the "Windows Desktop" button, then in the Settings app, turn off the Xbox Full Screen Experience, and reboot.

16. Windows Studio Effects for external cameras

If you have a Copilot+ PC, starting with this update, the development team is expanding the AI-powered camera enhancements part of the Windows Studio Effects to secondary cameras, including USB webcams and built-in rear cameras.

You can enable these features in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras, then open the camera's properties and turn on the "Advanced camera options" and "Use Windows Studio Effects" options.

It's worth repeating that this guide focuses on the most interesting features and changes arriving with the December 2025 Security Update, as this update also ships other improvements. For example, Microsoft is improving the AI agent in the Settings app and the search experience in the File Explorer and Windows Search for Copilot+ PCs.

In addition, you'll find other small improvements, bug fixes, and security patches.

More resources

Explore more in-depth how-to guides, troubleshooting advice, and essential tips to get the most out of Windows 11 and 10. Start browsing here:

• Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know

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FluentFlyout adds media controls to Windows 11 that appear when you press media keys, such as play, pause, volume up, or volume down. The flyouts are customizable, but all of the options feel natural on Windows 11.

Of course, Windows 11 has built-in media controls, but they appear above the Quick Settings menu. I prefer the approach of FluentFlyout.

You can download FluentFlyout for free through the Microsoft Store. If you pay $2.96 for premium, you'll get access to a taskbar widget. You can also download FluentFlyout through GitHub and gain access to all of its features at no cost.

FluentFlyout has some nice little touches, such as an experimental feature that shows what media is about to play when a song ends. You can also customize what appears within the flyout, pick the flyout's position, and set the theme of the app.

To Microsoft's credit, the company has shown a bit more effort related to design lately. The Run dialog box was refreshed for the first time in 30 years recently. Dark mode improvements are also working their way through Windows 11 slowly but surely.

But when UI improvement cycles are measured in decades, it's fair to criticize Microsoft. Our Senior Editor Zac Bowden illustrated the unfinished state of Windows 11 last year.

Inconsistent and incomplete design elements are one of the many frustrations with Windows 11 and Microsoft as a whole. The tech company seems more interested in putting AI into Notepad and converting Windows into an agentic OS than improving the look of everyday computing.

Luckily, there are third-party developers that are passionate about personal computing. Apps like FluentFlyout add pieces to Windows 11 that probably should already exist courtesy of Microsoft.

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"UOP makes app updates more consistent and predictable, with fewer interruptions" Microsoft explains. The feature introduces APIs for developers to integrate with their apps, which will then lean on the UOP framework to trigger the app to "scan, download and install updates based on user activity and system state."

These apps will continue to use their own content delivery networks for issuing and hosting app updates, but the OS is now capable of managing the checking for and pulling said update when the user requests it, or when the system deems it viable to install an app update without interrupting the user.

Microsoft is adding a new "app updates" page which will be where users can go to see if an app has recently been updated, and can also initiate a manual trigger to check for updates for all the apps installed that support the unified orchestrator platform.

"No apps utilize UOP yet because the feature is new, but apps will start using it over time," says Microsoft. "The feature is partially enabled for Dev and Beta Channel Insiders today and will reach full enablement in these channels soon. API documentation will follow."

The company has been working hard to improve the update experience on Windows 11 for a number of months. These days, most mainstream apps are available via the Microsoft Store, and remain update to date seamlessly in the background thanks to the Store's automatic update system.

Windows Updates are also much faster and more streamlined these days, with smaller downloads and install times for major version updates (some of the time.) The new unified orchestrator platform is just another avenue for making updates simpler on Windows 11, and should hopefully make keeping all your apps up to date easier, assuming app developers choose to support it.

The new update orchestrator platform is now in preview on Windows 11, but likely won't roll out generally until sometime next year, once more app developers choose to start supporting it.

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"When you try to open a file in Windows with no associated app, the Open With dialog box pops up to suggest apps you can use by clicking on “see more apps in the Microsoft store”. Now, apps from the Microsoft Store are included directly in this list, so you don’t have to navigate to the Microsoft Store to find the right one. This makes it faster and easier to find and install the app you need."

The new change is rolling out gradually for Insiders in the Beta and Dev Channels, meaning you won't see it right away when you install today's preview build. It's unclear if the feature can be disabled for those who don't want to see recommended Microsoft Store apps, either.

Some may view this addition as another avenue for advertising, but if the feature really does only recommend apps that are known to deal with the file type in question, I can see this being a really handy streamlined experience. It's often frustrating when you try to open a file and find that you don't have the app installed to deal with it. Being able to install it directly via the Open With menu is a nice addition.

Other changes announced today include a new Unified Update Orchestrator Platform, which is designed to allow app developers to lean on Windows Update to install app updates, streamlining the update experience on the OS.

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Here's what Microsoft said in its updated document:

"Windows 11, version 25H2 is now available to all eligible Windows 11 devices for users who have turned on the setting Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available. If you have an eligible Windows 10 or Windows 11 device, you can check if the update is available by selecting Settings > Windows Update and selecting Check for updates. If your device is ready for the update, you’ll see the option to Download and install Windows 11, version 25H2. For more details, watch this video."

The company also noted that the rollout has begun for PCs that are not managed by IT departments. Systems on Windows 11 version 24H2 (Home or Pro) are part of the rollout.

You don't have to do anything to receive Windows 11 version 25H2 later down the line. Eligible PCs will be upgraded automatically. But you can make the jump earlier by choosing to get updates as soon as they are available.

Windows 11 version 25H2 does not include any new features. There are new Windows 11 features shipping to PCs this year, but they arrive in the form of cumulative updates and are available for both Windows 11 version 25H2 and 24H2.

It's also important to keep systems up to date for security.

Our expert Mauro Huculak rounded up the best features Microsoft rolled out in 2025 for Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2 recently in case you need to catch up on everything new for Windows 11 this year.

You can also download an official Windows 11 version 25H2 ISO or follow our guide on how to force the Windows 11 2025 Update on your PC.

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The Run dialog box has been part of Windows for decades at this point, but it hasn't really been touched since Windows 95. That means it's been 30 years since the Windows Run dialog box received any love from Microsoft, making it well overdue for a refresh. This is an interface that power users will be very familiar with, and likely use every day via the Win+R keyboard shortcut.

Microsoft describes the new Run dialog box as the "Modern Run" interface, which is optional and can be toggled on or off via Windows Settings. That means if you don't like it, you can switch back to the older Run box interface if that's what you prefer. The company did just add dark mode to the classic Run dialog box, too.

The Modern Run box is a lot larger, which a larger text entry field and a recent commands list that appears above the text box. The new interface also shows app icons when it finds a match, which is a nice touch.

Unfortunately, the new Run box is still hidden in the latest preview builds, and hasn't yet been announced by Microsoft. That means it's not actually functional yet, but the company is actively working on it and it's something we'll likely see the company talk more about next year.

Microsoft rarely touches classic UI elements like this, so it's fascinating to see the company finally addressing some of these legacy interfaces that have been part of the product since the 90s or even earlier.

Recently, the company announced that it would be bringing dark mode to more classic UI surface such as those that appear in File Explorer. It does seem like Microsoft is once again interested in attending to the little details in Windows 11, something that I find to be a valuable part of making an OS feel cared for.

With the Run dialog being updated with modern visuals, it gives me hope that we might see other legacy areas of the OS updated with the same treatment. Might we see an updated File Properties window next, or an updated Registry Editor interface? One can certainly dream.

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However, the company quietly changed how the feature works, suggesting that it's actually disabled by default, making it more of an opt-in experience. Here's the new description of the feature after Microsoft modified it following user backlash:

MakeUseOf reached out to Microsoft for a comment about the controversial feature and the recent changes to its description, but the company didn't provide any insightful information. “Thank you for reaching out. The M365 Roadmap reflects the latest information; otherwise, Microsoft has nothing to share," Microsoft concluded.

It's apparent that most users weren't too thrilled about the controversial tweak shipping to Teams. "Time to break up with Microsoft, boycott Windows 11 and teams," one our readers lamented. "Tech support guys unite, let it break and free your fellow coworkers from corporate spying tyranny."

As it stands, Microsoft pushed the feature's rollout to broad availability from December 2025 to January 2026. It also categorically indicated that it will be turned off by default.

Teams's location tracking feature lines up with Microsoft's RTO agenda

We're well past the COVID-19 days when virtually every major organization was in panic mode, forcing them to adopt work-from-home (WFH) and hybrid work arrangements to curb the virus from spreading. As a result, there was a surge in demand for collaboration tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google's suite of productivity tools to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Microsoft was uniquely positioned to benefit from this as it had bundled Teams with Office 365, making its offer more attractive compared to its rivals. As you may know, the software giant has been in the spotlight for this very reason. Salesforce's Slack cited anticompetitive business practices, which placed Microsoft under the radar of antitrust watchdogs.

The company eventually caved to the mounting pressure, forcing it to unbundle Teams from its Office 365 suite of productivity tools, which allowed it to dodge a hefty fine from the European Commission. Users will now be forced to purchase a standalone Teams license for approximately $5.50 (€5) per user per month. This is regardless of whether they already have an Office 365 and Microsoft 365 subscription.

In September, Microsoft announced its return-to-office (RTO) plan, citing that employees tend to work best when collaborating in person. By the end of February 2026, Microsoft employees working within 50 miles of a Microsoft office will be expected to work onsite for at least three days per week.

It’s clear that many people aren’t thrilled about the controversial feature. However, Microsoft has emphasized that it’s an opt-in experience, disabled by default, which makes the situation feel a bit more reassuring.

While this might be a long shot, Microsoft might actually use Teams' location tracking feature to track key performance indicators among its employees and perhaps even ensure that they are adhering to the RTO mandate if their homes fall within a 50-mile radius. We'll see.

FAQ

What is Microsoft Teams' new controversial feature?

In October, reports emerged highlighting Microsoft's plans to ship a new Teams feature that lets your manager know your exact location when connected to the office Wi-Fi.

When will the Teams location tracking feature ship?

The feature was initially set to ship in December 2025, but Microsoft has since made modifications to the announcement, pushing the rollout date to January 2026.

Is the Teams location tracking feature enabled by default?

While the initial announcement was vague about this detail, the modified announcement defines the feature as an opt-in experience, which suggests that it will be turned off by default.

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Your guess could be as good as mine about the trajectory the technology will take amid funding constraints, a lack of high-quality training content, and copyright infringement-related issues.

Tech leaders have certainly had a lot to say about AI's impact on society. Some of it makes sense, others not so much. More recently, podcaster Joe Rogan made an interesting comment about AI. Rogan paints a scenario in a recent episode of the "American Alchemy" podcast, suggesting that if Jesus Christ were to return, he'd come back as AI.

It would apparently "combine Tesla's Optimus robot and the best foundational AI model". Rogen described Jesus as an AI that can read your mind, and loves you, and doesn't care if you kill it because it's just going to be with God again.

This news comes as the price of desktop RAM reaches an all-time high, leveraged away from everyday consumers to foster AI advances instead. Similar to when GPU demand surged for mining during the cryptocurrency craze.

Micron recently announced that it is shutting down Crucial after nearly 30 years, shifting its focus toward larger, strategic customers in the AI space. For PC gamers, builders, and enthusiasts, it’s a sad sight to behold. The move raises concerns that more companies might abandon producing RAM and SSDs for the community in pursuit of the AI bubble.

It’s even sadder that AI seems to be growing stranger by the minute, and almost cult-like for some "tech bros", many sharing rather concerning insights and predictions about the technology.

Microsoft's AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman sounded an alarm about the emergence of "conscious AI" and its long-term negative effects on society. The executive reiterated the importance of building AI for people, and not to transform the technology into a digital person, even as he tries to evolve Copilot into a real friend and companion.

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The support document published by Microsoft says that "After provisioning a PC with a Windows 11, version 24H2 or a Windows 11, version 25H2 monthly cumulative update released on or after July 2025, XAML-dependent modern apps such as Explorer, the Start menu, SystemSettings, Taskbar and Windows Search might experience difficulties."

This issue impacts all integral and OS level interfaces, from the Windows Explorer to the Taskbar and Start menu. If the problem arises on your PC, you can expect to experience issues such as the Start menu failing to open when clicking Start, the Taskbar disappearing, Windows Settings failing to open, and logging into a blank screen with no desktop interface.

The good news is Microsoft has already identified a cause for the problem, stating that it's because the OS is failing to register certain XAML packages in time after installing new Windows updates. The company is working on a resolution, but no update is available yet that addresses the issue.

There are workarounds available however, which we've detailed below:

• IT administrators managing enterprise or virtualized environments should register the missing packages in the user session and restart SiHost to allow Immersive Shell and related components to pick them up. To do this, run the following commands to register each of the missing packages:
  • Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS_cw5n1h2txyewy\appxmanifest.xml' -DisableDevelopmentMode 
  • Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.UI.Xaml.CBS_8wekyb3d8bbwe\appxmanifest.xml' -DisableDevelopmentMode 
  • Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.Core_cw5n1h2txyewy\appxmanifest.xml' -DisableDevelopmentMode 

For non-persistent environments, a logon script approach remains the best option for IT administrators. Create a batch file wrapper to execute synchronously before Explorer launches using PowerShell:

@echo off REM Register MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS_cw5n1h2txyewy\appxmanifest.xml' -DisableDevelopmentMode" REM Register Microsoft.UI.Xaml.CBS powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.UI.Xaml.CBS_8wekyb3d8bbwe\appxmanifest.xml' -DisableDevelopmentMode" REM Register MicrosoftWindows.Client.Core powershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "Add-AppxPackage -Register -Path 'C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.Core_cw5n1h2txyewy\appxmanifest.xml' -DisableDevelopmentMode" 

The silver lining here is that this issue is unlikely to impact you if you are using Windows 11 on a personal PC. It appears these problems are mostly appearing on devices that are issued by your work, and that's only bad news if you need to get work done before an imminent deadline.

That said, it's just another example of how sloppy Microsoft has become when it comes to quality and stability on Windows 11. It's not great that an issue this significant has been able to slip through into the OS since July, capable of taking down basically every UI surface the user might need to interact with to get work done on their PC.

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Windows 11 surpassed 60% usage among Steam gamers in June. Considering how many people use Steam — 132 million monthly active users as of November 2025, according to DemandSage — an increase of 5 percentage points for Windows 11 represents a large number of users.

Those rooting for Windows as a platform don't have anything to worry about when it comes to Steam software usage. 94.79% of all Steam users are on some form of Windows, with Windows 10 sitting at second place with a 29.06% market share. Windows 7 still has a surprisingly measurable 0.08% share.

If you group iterations of the same OS together, Linux (3.20%) trails Windows. As expected, macOS is in last place with just 2.02% of Steam users running Apple's operating system.

Other figures from the November Steam Hardware & Software survey are unsurprising. 32GB remains the most-seen configuration and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (4.22%) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (4.16%) continue to be popular.

Holding on to Windows 10

While gamers seem more likely to upgrade to Windows 11 than other users, over 29% of all Steam users still run Windows 10. That could be seen as an indictment, given that Windows 10 reached its end of support in October of this year.

Speaking of Windows generally, Dell COO Jeffrey Clarke recently stated that around 1 billion PCs have not been upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11. Of those, about 500 million can't run Windows 11, while the other half could be upgraded but remain on the older OS.

Windows 11 only surpassed Windows 10 in June of this year, according to Statcounter.

As the end of Windows 10 support grew closer throughout 2025, it seemed likely a mass migration to Windows 11 would occur. There's a chance that was minimized by Microsoft offering a year of Windows 10 security updates for free.

Regardless of the reasons for people staying on Windows 10, Microsoft has drawn criticism for the situation. While there are always holdovers when a new operating system comes out, the adoption of Windows 11 has been slower than expected.

Microsoft is pushing Windows to be an agentic OS, which has proven unpopular. Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, put fuel on the fire when he said "the fact that people are unimpressed ... is mindblowing to me" when speaking of AI on Windows.

Windows 11 has also been criticized for its full-screen multipage popup ads, and other methods of promoting paid Microsoft services.

As we move further past the end of Windows 10 support, we may see holdouts upgrade to Windows 11 or purchase new PCs running the newer OS.

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Apple might be consider a late-bloomer in the AI landscape compared to its rivals like OpenAI, which Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella claims had a 2-year runway to build ChatGPT uncontested. Until now, the iPhone maker has only shared shiny demos, highlighting what users should expect from its Apple Intelligence strategy. However, it has only delivered trivial AI features like Writing Tools.

However, the company is making strategic moves to ensure that it is equipped with the best AI talent to bolster its AI advances and development. More recently, Apple hired Amar Subramanya, who served as the Corporate Vice President at Microsoft AI.

Perhaps more interestingly, Subramanya was only at Microsoft four months after departing from Google, where he worked as the Vice President of Engineering for over 16 years.

Subramanya is now Apple's Vice President of AI. Coincidentally, his appointment comes after Apple announced that John Giannandrea retirement as senior vice president for machine learning and AI at Apple.

He'll report to Craig Federighi and will help spearhead critical operations within Apple, including Apple Foundation Models, ML research, AI Safety and Evaluation.

According to Apple:

"Subramanya brings a wealth of experience to Apple, having most recently served as corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft, and previously spending 16 years at Google, where he was head of engineering for Google’s Gemini Assistant prior to his departure. His deep expertise in both AI and ML research and in integrating that research into products and features will be important to Apple’s ongoing innovation and future Apple Intelligence features."

The change in Apple's AI leadership doesn't entirely comes as a surprise. The iPhone maker has faced major challenges and setbacks in the AI space, making it difficult to compete against rivals like Microsoft and OpenAI.

According to a Bloomberg report from earlier this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that he had "lost confidence in the ability of AI head John Giannandrea to execute on product development," prompting him to discharge Siri's revamp to other executives.

Apple reshuffling leadership in it AI division is expected to expedite advances in the landscape, possibly allowing it to catch-up with its competitors. The company's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, and Global VP of Marketing, Greg Joswiak revealed that they were developing to versions of the revamped Siri simultaneously, but both fell below expectations, making it difficult to deliver Apple Intelligence within the communicated timeline.

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For instance, Zorin OS, a Linux distro, gained approximately 780,000 users from Windows, a little over a month after Microsoft pulled the plug on Windows 10. While this might be coincidental, the timing is impeccable and hard to ignore, potentially suggesting that the operating system's death fueled the transition.

Similarly, Bazzite recently delivered a petabyte of ISOs in a single month as Windows 10 users continue to seek for alternatives beyond Microsoft's Windows 11 forced updates.

BSoD (Blue Screen of Death) errors are synonymous with Microsoft's Windows operating system, designed to alert users of a critical system failure related to a specific operation, with the potential to cause a device crash and forced reboot.

Microsoft has been trolled by users due to frequent BSoD errors, which seem to be becoming a common occurrence when interacting with the Windows operating system.

But perhaps more interestingly, Linux developer Linus Torvalds recently defended Microsoft's BSoD errors in Windows while building a PC with Linus Sebastian of Linus Tech Tips (via IT'S FOSS).

Torvalds reiterated the importance of having the ECC on your PC, which essentially makes it more reliable. He warned that the absence of the ECC on your device could lead to critical memory issues.

The Linux developer claimed that hardware is a greater cause of BSoD errors in Microsoft’s Windows operating system than software bugs. He further noted that gamers who overclock their devices are more likely to encounter these errors, making their systems less reliable.

As you may know, Microsoft changed the iconic blue error screen to a simplified black one with the aim of ensuring third-party security software follows the new rules designed to stop bad updates and drivers from taking down the OS.

Did you know that there are three different types of Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) errors? The Windows 3.1 Ctrl+Alt+Del screen, aka the screen of unhappiness, the Windows 95 kernel error (which most users consider the blue screen of death), and the Windows NT kernel error, which was authored by John Vert.

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However, there has been an increasing interest in alternative operating systems like Linux, with a lack of ads and telemetry tracking as the main selling points for the drastic shift.

Late last month, I reported about Zorin OS, a Linux distro, gaining approximately 780,000 users from Windows, a little over a month after Microsoft pulled the plug on Windows 10. While this might just be coincidental, the timing is impeccable and could potentially suggest that Microsoft's decision to kill off Windows 10 fueled the transition.

And as it now seems, Windows losing its user base to Linux-based distros is becoming a popular trend. According to a report by Tom's Hardware, Bazzite gained over a petabyte of ISO downloads in one month.

Per the outlet's estimations, Bazzite served approximately 150,000 ISOs from October 29 to November 28. The Linux distro site had 730,000 visitors, serving 1PB of data throughout that month.

The site features a 7.5GB NVIDIA GPU and an AMD GPU-ready 6.6 GB ISO installers. As such, if each installer is presumably 7.0GB per ISO, then that translates to 143,000 Bazzite downloads.

For context, Bazzite is a Linux-based gaming distro. Think of it as a SteamOS duplicate but with better hardware compatibility and desktop support. Additionally, it ships with pre-installed drivers for NVIDIA and AMD GPUs.

It also supports non-Steam launchers like Epic Games Store, which makes it easier for users to migrate their game libraries without going through hoops.

Its recent rise in popularity can be partly attributed to the increasing number of users looking for alternative operating systems to Windows, especially after Windows 10's death and Microsoft's stringent hardware requirements for upgrading to Windows 11.

Another reason could be the improved compatibility of Windows games on Linux, which can be attributed to Valve's Proton compatibility layer.

This trend is fueled by users seeking alternatives to Windows, particularly following the end of support for Windows 10 and dissatisfaction with Windows 11’s update policies. The improved compatibility of Windows games on Linux, largely thanks to Valve’s Proton compatibility layer, is a major driving force behind this shift.

macOS might be a better alternative if you want a basic user experience

For as long as I can remember, macOS and Windows have been my daily drivers for basic computer stuff. I've never been a PC gamer; consoles like the Xbox Series X just feel more natural and appealing to me.

But with the end of support for Windows 10, many users seem to be in limbo. However, the emergence of alternative platforms like Bazzite makes things less complicated.

Valve's Steam Machine is set to ship in the Spring of 2026. Bazzite could serve as a great alternative to SteamOS. SteamOS will wipe an entire drive in your Steam Machine if you don't prepare a partition separately, and perhaps more concerning, the operating system will assume you're using a handheld.

But this doesn't discount Bazzite as an excellent alternative for handles, as it shows great potential compared to SteamOS across hardware like the ROG Ally.

As such, if you're looking for an alternative to Windows to support gaming exclusively, then Bazzite or SteamOS are arguably the best alternatives. However, macOS might be a better option if you're looking for a basic computer experience and aren't that much into gaming.

With Microsoft's plans to evolve Windows into an agentic AI OS, Apple could capitalize on the backlash and rip the band-aid off by scrapping Apple Intelligence for macOS entirely. It's not like it has made significant headway on that front anyway.

As our managing editor Richard Devine puts it, "As good as Linux is, and as much as I might think people should give it a go, for a lot of people it isn't going to be a magic solution when Microsoft turns out the lights on Windows 10."

Devine listed compatibility issues with legacy software as the main deterrent. There was also the issue of identifying the alternative that best suits you from the wide range of Linux-based distros.

What about you? Do you think this time will be any different for Bazzite? Let us know in the comments.

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I amassed more comments than I expected. Without a doubt, I knew that Windows 11 had struggled to please every one of its loyal users, and some of its teething problems went beyond taste, but the responses helped me understand.

Hardware restrictions due to TPM 2.0 requirements, leading to e-waste concerns for incompatible PCs, were complaints I was used to hearing, but our community highlighted other issues that regularly made their experience worse. I certainly hadn't given enough thought to some of them, and that needs to change — starting with a fresh installation of Windows 11 and enabling everything.

Yes, I enabled everything Microsoft recommends during setup for a standard out-of-box experience (OOBE) of Windows 11. To be honest, that actually means less work with fewer overall mouse clicks because it's more about leaving the little settings alone and keeping most toggles set to their defaults. However, it feels somewhat strange because I usually say "no" to anything related to location tracking and diagnostics — but not this time.

So, let's dig into what Microsoft recommends (and otherwise forces) in Windows 11, to see which complaints hold the most water and which can be remedied the fastest. At least, the first three clicks don't change much for any user; it's just about choosing a region and the appropriate keyboard layout. No big deal. However, the fourth screen is a familiar, personal pain point — the forceful, "Let's connect you to a network" screen that is getting harder to bypass.

Mandatory Internet connections

It's no secret that one of the most frequently searched topics is the latest method for setting up Windows 11 without a Microsoft account, particularly as Microsoft removed the most popular workarounds: "oobe\bypassnro" and "start ms-cxh:localonly". I often use the latter, but it's disappearing from the latest builds of Windows 11 (25H2), so I keep a bootable USB drive nearby with a Windows 11 24H2 ISO ready to go, and run Windows Update for 25H2 afterward.

It didn't take long to find a relatively serious issue with Windows 11, and a mandatory Internet connection during setup is one of Microsoft's more frustrating, nonsensical demands. Without an available Wi-Fi network or an Ethernet cable connecting you to the same environment, you won't get far with a fresh Windows installation.

Windows 11 Pro has offered options to join a domain over the years, but that was never intended to let the average consumer bypass Microsoft's account requirement, and its efficacy can vary. As it stands, you'll need a functioning Internet connection to set up a fresh copy of Windows 11 Home from now on, and that's no good to any user who might be stuck without one — for a wealth of valid, if theoretical, reasons.

Privacy and diagnostic data collection

Telemetry and other data collection inspire more complaints surrounding Windows, and they aren't particularly unique to Windows 11. While the practice was present in Windows 10, the advent of Microsoft Copilot and its various forms of artificial intelligence tools raises concerns further, as AI tools typically train on vast amounts of data collected from human users. After 15 clicks, this is one of the most important screens you'll see.

By default, Microsoft asks to collect "Optional diagnostic data", which, in its own words, includes information about "the websites you browse and how you use apps and features." It stands alongside two more auto-enabled toggles, which primarily control access to your location, both for advertising reasons and for "Find my device," which, naturally, appeals more to portable devices than it would to any desktop PC.

Location services are fine, for the most part, but I generally use my Android phone over anything that a widget would offer me on Windows 11; weather reports included. The optional diagnostic is the part that sticks out like a sore thumb here and gives credibility to users who complain about data collection within a paid operating system.

Recall (preview) for Copilot+ PCs

Windows Recall is one of the largest elephants in the room when discussing Windows 11. It eventually shipped after a year-long delay, becoming available to compatible Copilot+ PCs — that's an AI PC with an NPU rated for at least 45 TOPS — and offers to track everything you do on your computer in the form of visual snapshots.

We have our own reasons why you should (and shouldn't) use Windows Recall, but there is an important point to make: Recall is not enabled by default during the Windows 11 setup process. Users must click "Yes, save" or "No, don't save", but there's no way to skip past this prompt until you make a decision. Recall also runs entirely on your device, and not in the cloud, but your snapshots could potentially be seen by anyone who has physical access to your logged-in PC.

Most of what Microsoft pushes as the standard for a Windows 11 installation can be managed or completely disabled by any user who has the time, but mandatory internet connections and purged local accounts are hard to defend. Personally, I restore my desktop PC to 'factory' settings with a clean Windows 11 ISO file around every 6 months, but I'm more of an experienced (and habitual) user.

Fearmongering is rife around Windows, just as it is with other leading hardware and software, but much of it is overhyped and sometimes outright wrong. For me, Microsoft has to tread carefully with Windows 12 (or whatever is next) and implement its agentic AI plans in a seamless, harmonious way; otherwise, the purists will likely claim a mass exodus. Whether that actually happens, remains to be seen — I still dual-boot into Linux, by the way. The best of both worlds.

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