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By Sszecret
Microsoft Weekly: Edge Beta for Linux, a new Segoe font, and games galore
by Florin Bodnarescu
A number of things happened in the last seven days, including the arrival of Edge Beta on Linux, the unveiling of a new Segoe font variant, and even a refresh of the Azure logo. You can find info about that, as well as much more below, in your Microsoft digest for the week of May 2 - 8.
Edge Beta for Linux
We should begin with a little info regarding Edge, as not much has happened with the browser this week.
For starters, build 92.0.878.0 made its way to the Dev Channel. While this would normally be pretty exciting, Microsoft says the build doesn’t change much, given that it came out just a few days after the previous build. The changes are so minor that the company didn’t even bother publishing its usual post about it.
Moving on to the stable version, namely version 90, folks may be experiencing problems with YouTube playback, namely crashing. This bug has been acknowledged by a Microsoft engineer, who suggested users disable hardware acceleration as a workaround. The same engineer confirmed that the company is working on a fix, but that the issue may be more significant than initially thought.
And since we’re taking a tour through the various Insider channels, it’s worth pointing out that over six months after the Dev channel availability of Edge for Linux, there is now a Beta variant for the open-source OS.
Lastly, Microsoft is now testing everse image search in the Bing sidebar. This does pretty much exactly what it sounds like it would, namely allows you to right-click on an image and search for it on Bing in the sidebar which appears on the right of the Edge browser. As per Reddit user Leopeva64-2 who stumbled upon this, the capability is available in Edge Dev, though we have not seen this on any of our test devices.
A new font
For Insiders in the Dev channel, Microsoft pushed out yet another preview build, 21376, which included the usual array of fixes and, rather interestingly a new Segoe font variant.
While Segoe UI itself has been used as a default system font going all the way back to Windows Vista, a number of variants have been revealed since, including Segoe Script, Segoe Pro, and what Microsoft used for its Modern design icons, Segoe MDL2 Assets.
The new font is called Segoe UI Variable and as the name implies, it’s meant to vary slightly depending on the use case. Segoe UI itself for example was originally designed to be optimal at 9pt sizes, while Segoe UI Variable tweaks the letter weight and tracking depending on the size.
For smaller text, the letters are more tightly tracked, have more weight and are more open, while at display size, text isn’t quite as tightly tracked and has amplified letter terminals. For those not familiar, tracking refers to the overall horizontal spacing between font characters. This is not to be confused with kerning, which refers to the proportional spacing between two individual letters, whereas tracking refers to, say, an entire word.
On the subject of change, we should touch on the fact that Microsoft is set to fully remove Flash from Windows 10 in July. While support for Flash was dropped by Adobe on December 31, 2020, and Microsoft released a manual update to remove it back in October of the same year, it was, as the name implies, not necessarily mandatory. Starting in July, the Redmond giant is set to push out the update to Windows 10 v1809 and above, automagically removing the media plugin.
To that end, the firm is also removing any update blocks for versions 2004 and 20H2 (May 2020 Update, October 2020 Update), allowing folks to freely upgrade to these supported variants. We’re on the verge of a new feature update anyway, so it’s not much of a surprise that Microsoft wants folks on the latest Windows 10 version, if possible.
Last but not least, to the dismay of perhaps three people, Windows 10X is allegedly delayed indefinitely, as Microsoft focuses on Windows 10 proper.
Since its original unveil at the end of 2019 with the dual-screen Surface Neo and Duo, the former device was delayed out of its Holiday 2020 release window, and Windows 10X was repurposed for single-screen devices - in stark contrast to its initial 'dual-screen devices first' approach. For now, it seems that the Redmond firm is putting 10X on the backburner, focusing its resources on the expected Sun Valley UI refresh coming to Windows 10 later this year.
Games galore
In a rather surprising announcement, Microsoft decided to take the wraps off a sizeable selection of titles now supporting FPS Boost. More than quadrupling the number of supported games from 23 to 97, the latest additions include Dying Light, a number of LEGO games, ReCore, and more, with supported framerates from 60 to 120FPS.
There are good news on the Game Pass front as well, with FIFA 21, Red Dead Online, Psychonauts, Outlast 2 and many others either already available or joining the subscription very soon. Additionally, folks in the U.S. also get four months of Spotify Premium with Game Pass Ultimate, though this is available for new users only.
On the revenue share front, Microsoft dropped its cut from 30% to 12% on PC, and was planning to do the same on console, but it will no longer do so. An interesting tidbit about the company’s strategy relates to exactly why it lowered its split. As per the court documents filed in January, this is done “in exchange for the grant of streaming rights to Microsoft.”, in other words, xCloud. It’s not exactly clear whether the proposal was far enough along to even be discussed with console publishers, but for the time being, the revenue split on Xbox remains 30/70.
If you don’t think that’s such a great deal, maybe some of the Deals with Gold will pique your interest, like the discounts for Borderlands 3, Control, PAYDAY 2: Crimewave Edition, and others.
However, if you have no desire to buy more games and already own the latest iteration of Flight Simulator or the spin-off title Minecraft Dungeons, it’s worth checking for updates, as both first-party games have received a number of enhancements and fixes.
Dev channel
The latest monthly Office Insider build on the Mac has added the ‘Share to Teams’ capability in Outlook, and more. Microsoft has announced its automation tool for security testing AI systems, dubbed Counterfit. Live transcriptions will soon be added for unscheduled and channel meetings in Teams. Microsoft has announced Reading Progress for Teams for education. Whiteboard now has improved Teams integration, support for rich content like images and stickers, and more. The Redmond giant has detailed more education features coming through August. Excel on the web now supports Power BI-connected PivotTables. Microsoft has delivered oxygen, ventilators, and more to support India’s COVID-19 response. New customization options are now available for Reply-all Storm Protection in Microsoft 365. Microsoft customers in the EU will be able to store all their data in the region by 2022. The Redmond firm has warned of a widespread gift card scam targeting organizations. Logging off
We end the week with a refreshed Azure logo, an interesting Defender bug, and some Surface firmware updates.
Starting with Azure, Microsoft has decided that the logo for its cloud service needed a bit of a Fluent Design facelift, and as such unveiled a brand-new icon. Ditching the angular shape of the old logo, this one is much more reminiscent of say, the Visual Studio icon, though in some cases, it may remind folks of the Adobe or Autodesk logos.
On the flip side, what wasn’t needed was a rather weird Microsoft Defender bug, which ended up creating “thousands” of files in users' boot drives. Some folks saw small files less than 2KB in size, while other users reported multiple GBs of storage being eaten up. A fix is already rolling out, and if you’re on Microsoft Defender engine version 1.1.18100.5, you’ll be bumped up to 1.1.18100.6 following this update.
Finally, for owners of the Surface Pro 4, Studio, Laptop 1,2, and 4, Microsoft has released a slew of firmware updates meant to bring stability and security enhancements.
Missed any of the previous columns? Be sure to have a look right here.
If you’d like to get a daily digest of news from Neowin, we now have a Newsletter you can sign up to either via the ‘Get our newsletter’ widget in the sidebar, or this link.
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By Abhay V
Microsoft removes all update blocks for Windows 10 versions 2004 and 20H2
by Abhay Venkatesh
Microsoft releases major Windows 10 updates in a staggered fashion, meaning not all devices get the update immediately. For the past couple of years, the firm has let users decide if they want to install a feature update till the time that the version that they are on reaches the end-of-support. The company does enforce update blocks – essentially blocking those PCs from being served the updates – due to known issues. The firm then gradually removes these “safeguard holds” as and when the issues are fixes.
Since the release of Windows 10 version 2004 (May 2020 Update) one year ago, there have been various holds on certain devices. Considering that the October 2020 Update (version 20H2) contains the same bits as that of version 2004, those blocks also applied to this version of the OS. Though most of these update holds have been removed over the last year and versions 2004 and 20H2 now account for 80% of total Windows 10 machines, at least two upgrade blocks relating to Conexant audio drivers were still in place, at least for some users.
Now, Microsoft has officially noted in the known issues page for both versions (spotted by Ghacks) that the issues have been resolved as of yesterday, May 7, 2021. This means that any devices that have been prevented from upgrading to the May 2020 Update or the October 2020 Update from older versions will now be served the bits automatically. An estimated 11% of users are still running the November 2019 update (version 1909).
Of course, users have had other ways to update to the latest versions such as by using the Media Creation Tool or performing a fresh install using the available ISOs. Additionally, the company also added a Group Policy to Windows 10 allowing IT admins to circumvent these blocks or disable them and force devices to update, in case they deem it necessary.
The official update from the Redmond firm about the lifting of these long-standing safeguard holds comes just a few days from the official end-of-support date for Windows 10 version 1909. Starting May 11, all Home, Pro, and Pro Education SKUs will reach the end-of-support, meaning those on version 1909 must move to any of the newer versions. This also signals the first time that all supported Window 10 versions will receive the same servicing updates, since the upcoming Windows 10 May 2021 Update (21H1) is yet another enablement package, just like version 20H2.
Have any of your devices been blocked from receiving versions 2004 or 20H2, or has your organization held off on updating the devices to a newer version? Let us know in the comments below!
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By anmol112
Microsoft Azure icon gets a Fluent Design makeover
by Anmol Mehrotra
In a blog post, Microsoft unveiled a new icon for its Azure cloud service. The icon is based on Microsoft’s Fluent Design System that debuted back in 2017.
Microsoft has noted that the new icon will be available across all the Azure services as well as on the website in the coming weeks. The company also highlighted that the new icon represents “unity of Azure within the larger Microsoft family of product icons” and is carefully crafted to look familiar to “what customers know and love” while representing the future of the service.
Microsoft Azure is not the first service to get a Fluent Design makeover. Back in 2018, Microsoft started rolling out Fluent Design elements for Office apps and in 2019, the company unveiled new icons for its services including Windows. Since then, the company has been hard at work to update all of its services with the new Fluent Design System.
As usual, the new icon for Azure services will roll out in the coming weeks and Microsoft will allow users to chip in and share their thoughts. If you are interested in sharing suggestions or criticism with Microsoft, then you can do so using the feedback form.
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By Abhay V
Microsoft Edge bug causing crashes when viewing YouTube videos, fix in the works
by Abhay Venkatesh
If you have been facing issues with streaming YouTube videos on Microsoft Edge, you may not be alone. Reports have been pouring in about users facing constant browser crashes when streaming videos on YouTube. Reddit threads detailing the issue (spotted by Techdows) date back to 15 days ago, with more users running stable version 90 builds seemingly starting to be plagued in the recent days.
A response from a Microsoft engineer in the forums two weeks ago urged users to try disabling hardware acceleration as a workaround. However, the same engineer confirmed yesterday on Reddit that the bug is likely more significant and that there are a “couple of situations around this”. The individual added that those facing browser crashes can try downloading and running the latest Canary builds to check if their issues have been addressed via the bug fix that’s implemented in that version of the browser. Additionally, the company is also requesting feedback and crash reports from those that have been affected.
To be clear, the Redmond firm has been tracking issues with YouTube playback caused by some ad blocking extensions in the Dev channel builds. However, the mentioned problem reported by users seems to be a different one, where YouTube begins loading the video in full-screen and then freezes the browser, often causing a crash. One of the workarounds mentioned in the posts was to head to the browser’s task manager (by hitting shift+esc) and ending the task that is consuming the most resources. However, this workaround too has been a hit and miss.
With a partial fix already heading to Canary channel builds, it wouldn’t be surprising to see it propagate through the Dev and Beta channels quickly before eventually being introduced to the stable channel. However, those interested can head to the Insider downloads page here and download Edge Canary.
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By anmol112
Microsoft releases firmware updates for a bunch of Surface devices
by Anmol Mehrotra
Microsoft has released a slew of firmware updates for multiple Surface devices including Pro 4, Surface Studio, Laptop 1,2, and 4. The new updates include the usual stability improvements and also addresses various security issues.
First up, the Surface Pro 4 received a new firmware update after almost a year of no updates. The update addresses the Asset tag versioning issue and brings general stability improvements. You can check out the full changelog for the update below:
Windows Update HistoryName Device Manager Name Version and Update Surface – Firmware – 109.3681.768.0 Surface UEFI - Firmware 109.3681.768.0
Addresses security updates, improves system stability, as well as resolving the Asset tag versioning issue. Surface - Firmware - 11.8.82.3838 Surface ME - Firmware
11.8.82.3838
Addresses security updates and improves system stability. Intel – System – 2040.100.0.1029 Intel(R) Management Engine Interface – System 2040.100.0.1029
Addresses security updates and improves system stability. Intel – Software Component - 1.62.321.1 Intel(R) ICLS Client - Software devices 1.62.321.1
Addresses security updates and improves system stability. Surface – Extension - 1952.14.0.1470 Intel iCLS Client Extension 1952.14.0.1470
Addresses security updates and improves system stability. Next up are the first-generation and second-generation Surface Laptops. Both the devices are receiving the same UFEI firmware update that improves the overall device stability. You can check out the changelog for the same below:
Windows Update History Name Device Manager Name Version and Update Surface – Firmware - 138.3681.768.0 Surface UEFI – Firmware
138.3681.768.0
Improves device stability. Moving on, Microsoft has also released firmware updates for the first-generation Surface Studio. The new update addresses the Asset tag versioning issue and brings along the usual crop of general stability improvements. Here is the full list of changes:
Windows Update History Name Device Manager Name Version and Update Surface – Firmware – 119.3681.768.0 Surface UEFI - Firmware 119.3681.768.0
Addresses security updates, as well as resolving the Asset tag versioning issue. Surface - Firmware - 11.8.82.3838 Surface ME - Firmware 11.8.82.3838
Addresses security updates and improves system stability. Intel – System – 2040.100.0.1029 Intel(R) Management Engine Interface – System 2040.100.0.1029
Addresses security updates and improves system stability. Intel – Software Component - 1.62.321.1 Intel(R) ICLS Client - Software devices 1.62.321.1
Addresses security updates and improves system stability. Surface – Extension - 1952.14.0.1470 Intel iCLS Client Extension 1952.14.0.1470
Addresses security updates and improves system stability. Lastly, Microsoft is also rolling out a set of firmware updates for Surface Laptop 4 models running Intel processors. The update includes stability improvements and addresses some critical vulnerabilities in the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules. They also bring enhancements to the integrated Iris Xe graphics. You can check out the full list of changes below:
Windows Update History Name Device Manager Name Version and Update
Surface - Firmware - 10.5.141.0 Surface UEFI - Firmware 10.5.141.0
Improves stability and device reliability. Surface -Firmware - 4.36.139.0 Surface System Aggregator - Firmware 4.36.139.0
Improves stability and device reliability. Surface - Firmware - 61.0.1.26 Surface SMF - 15 Inch 61.0.1.26
Improves stability and device reliability. Surface - Firmware - 61.0.1.26 Surface SMF - 13 Inch 61.0.1.26
Improves stability and device reliability. Intel - Net - 22.30.0.11 Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz - Network adapters 22.30.0.11
Addresses critical security vulnerabilities and improves connection stability. Intel Corporation - Bluetooth - 22.30.0.4 Intel(R) Wireless Bluetooth - Bluetooth 22.30.0.4
Addresses critical security vulnerabilities and improves connection stability. Intel Corporation – Display - 27.20.100.9268 Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics
27.20.100.9268
Improves stability and device reliability. Intel Corporation – Extension - 27.20.100.9268 Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics Extn 27.20.100.9268
Improves graphics interoperability for the connected peripherals. As usual, the updates are rolling out in batches to Surface devices running Windows 10 May 2019 Update (version 1903) or newer. Considering that version 1903 has been out of support for a few months now, most devices should be on a newer version already. You can head to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and click on 'Check for Updates' to download the new firmware update.
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