Articles about Microsoft

Five-hundred-and-ninety-seven in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

Microsoft will remove several apps in the Windows 11 version 24H2 feature update. The apps, Cortana, Tips, and WordPad, are deprecated and will be removed in the coming feature update.

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It is the time of the month when Microsoft releases previews versions of the following month's updates for Windows, and this week this means the KB5037853 update is available for Windows 11.

As this is a preview, it does not include security fixes and is optional. But the KB5037853 update for Windows 11 is significant because it adds a large number of features to the operating system. In addition to updating sharing options, it also fixes bugs and starts the rollout of the new account manager on the Start menu.

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The hardware requirements for Windows 11 have been controversial from day one, and the release of Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 sees Microsoft easing up on things slightly.

The latest version of the Long-Term Servicing Channel edition of Windows 11 is notable for various reasons, not least of which is the lowering of system requirements. Interestingly, the includes making both Secure Boot and TPM optional; the minimum system requirements also indicate that the operating system can be installed on devices with as little as 2GB of RAM.

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A new version of Windows, or a new update, means fixes, changes and new additions. But it can also be a time to say goodbye to features, apps and settings that are no longer needed.

With the widespread release of Windows 11 24H2 now imminent, users should prepare themselves to bid adieu to some components of the operating system that have been around for years.

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Learn all about the best application for emailing, scheduling, collaborating, and just plain getting stuff done.

Did you know that Microsoft Outlook can do everything, including cook your dinner? Okay, it can’t cook your dinner. But it can deliver your email, filter out the junk, help you organize your life, sync data to the cloud, integrate with iOS and Android, and about a zillion other things. Microsoft Outlook For Dummies shows you how to work all the basic and advanced features of the Office 2021 version. 

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After decades of service, Microsoft is deprecating VBScript -- or Visual Basic Scripting Edition. The deprecation process will first see VBScript being changed into an optional, on-demand feature with the release of Windows 11 24H2, although it will be enabled by default.

The timeline continues into 2027 when VBScript will remain a FOD (feature on demand), but will be disabled by default. Ultimately, Microsoft will carve the feature from Windows completely, and the company has published advice about the implications.

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The next major update to Windows 11 has started to make its way to users. Microsoft has commenced the rollout of Windows 11 24H2 to Windows Insiders signed up to the Release Preview channel.

Making the update available in this way is a clear indication that Windows 11 24H2 is near-as-damn-it complete. Let's take a look at all of the exciting new additions and changes, as well as revealing how to get hold of the update now.

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Microsoft has announced a series of updates to Edge for Business aimed at making the browser a more attractive proposition for enterprises.

Launched at Build yesterday, new features include screenshot prevention in order to block data exfiltration, this also applies to Copilot prompts and responses. There's also improved leak protection for sensitive documents.

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Hitting a new release cycle, Microsoft has unleashed PowerToys v0.81.0 complete with a brand-new module. With the arrival of the Advanced Paste utility, users gain access to a AI-powered clipboard that makes it possible to paste copied text in any format needed.

It is possible to use a range of keyboard shortcuts to paste text as plain text, markdown, or JSON, but there are plenty more features baked into Advanced Paste. Harnessing AI, the module can use natural language descriptions to explain what you want to do to the copied text. There are also plenty more changes and additions.

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Microsoft Build kicks off today but -- as is usually the case -- there have been various pre-event announcements, not least of which is the unveiling of AI-powered Copilot+ PCs. The hardware side of things is both powerful and exciting, with huge implications for not only computing capabilities, but also privacy.

This new breed of computers features neural processing units (NPU) meaning AI-tasks can be performed on-device, without the need to transmit data via the internet. One of Microsoft’s first tools to take advantage of this is Recall (once known as AI Explorer) which is an astonishingly powerful workflow tool that records and maintains a timeline of your computing activities and gives you a way to instantly locate content you have been working on. Microsoft describes it as like having a photographic memory, but it is perhaps better thought of as the ultimate productivity assistant.

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At a pre-Build event today, Microsoft revealed its plans for the future of its Copilot AI feature. Copilot+ PCs, coming from Microsoft and a number of hardware partners, are described as the fastest, most advanced AI-driven Windows computers yet. In fact, Microsoft touts Copilot+ as "most significant change to the Windows platform in decades," and says the new PCs embrace AI technology in every aspect, from the ground up.

The devices, developed in partnership with Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung, are equipped with new silicon capable of performing over 40 trillion operations per second. These PCs offer extended battery life and access to cutting-edge AI technologies.

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The Beta and Canary builds of Windows 11 have been used by Microsoft for some time to test out new features before they are given a full release. But in addition to the advertised changes and additions to new builds, there are also often hidden secrets.

A recent example is to be found in the latest release to the Beta channel. With a little trickery, Windows 11 build 22635.3640 has been found to include an updated version of File Explorer, complete with new visuals, a revamped Home page and more.

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Over the last few months, there have been numerous complaints from users of Microsoft Outlook that they are unable to reply to encrypted emails. An error message that reads "Microsoft Outlook was not able to create a message with restricted permission" is displayed.

While Microsoft has acknowledged the issue in the desktop email client, the company is yet to fix it properly. There is, however, a temporary workaround that can be used to make it possible to reply to encrypted emails.

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Five-hundred-and-ninety-five in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

Microsoft is working on a new Start menu feature called Companions. This adds a sidebar to Start that shows dynamic content such as widgets there.

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The Microsoft PC Manager app -- a free and official tweaking and optimization utility available from the Microsoft Store -- is the latest software from the company to offer up questionable and controversial advice.

We've already seen the appearance of ads (or recommendations as Microsoft prefers to call them) in Windows itself, Office and Edge. Now users of the Microsoft PC Manager who have changed Edge's search engine to something other than Bing are being told that this is something that needs to be repaired.

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