The 27th week of 2023 is over, so it is time for another issue of our Microsoft Weekly series. In this episode, we talk about Windows 12 concepts, newly discovered hidden features in Windows 11, malware-like behavior by Microsoft Edge, Windows 11's continuous growth among gamers, and more.
For your convenience, here are quick-nav links, so you can jump to the section that interests you the most:
- Windows 10, 11, 12
- Updates, updates, updates
- Edge acting up (again)
- More about Microsoft
- On the gaming side
- Trivia and other interesting pieces
Windows 10, 11, 12, Copilot, and hidden features
Last week, Microsoft released a large Windows 11 preview build for testing in the Dev Channel. Windows Copilot is arguably the most significant addition to the operating system as it marks the arrival of Microsoft's next-generation assistant, a successor to the ill-fated Cortana. We published a hands-on article detailing what the first iteration of Windows Copilot can and cannot do, and the initial reaction to Windows Copilot is mixed at best.
If you plan to install the latest Windows 11 Dev build to try Windows Copilot, note that the feature is rolling out gradually. Therefore, you might need a third-party tinkering tool and a few IDs to enable Windows Copilot on your devices.
After enabling Windows Copilot with the ViVeTool app and the corresponding feature IDs, try a neat hidden feature Microsoft released without fanfare: a new Start menu badge for some stock system apps.
Moreover, Microsoft is testing smart suggestions for the Snap Layouts feature to let you arrange app windows with a single click. Snap Layouts recommendations are rolling out gradually, meaning some users must use the ViVeTool app to enable the feature.
Integrating an AI-powered assistant into Windows 11 will help the OS get more users once Microsoft has the feature fully released. However, even without Windows Copilot, Windows 11 continues growing, especially among gamers. According to the latest report from Valve, Windows 11 reached its all-time high of 35.75% on Steam.
Although this week was a no_build week, we still received several Windows updates. Microsoft quietly pushed a new version of its Validation OS, a Windows 11-based system factories can use to diagnose, mitigate, and repair hardware defects during Windows device manufacturing. Also, critical dynamic updates delivered improvements for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 21H2 setup and WinRE.
Additionally, the company resolved the long-lasting bug with Windows Defender Local Security Authority protection.
Finally, here are two interesting concepts published this week. Someone imagined a Microsoft-made variant of Apple's visionOS, the upcoming operating system for the $3,500 Apple VisionPro headset. The second concept showcases what Windows 12 could look like if a PowerPoint user designer made it.
Update all the things!
Now to other software updates released during the last seven days. Microsoft's budget-friendly Surface Go 3 is kicking the list off with its latest firmware update that resolves display issues and improves Wi-Fi.
Firefox released a new major update for its browser: version 115. It adds several new features, such as improved data migration from other browsers, hardware video decoding support for Linux systems with Intel GPUs, an improved Tab Manager dropdown, and more.
It is the final Firefox release for those unwilling to upgrade from Windows 7 and 8. According to Mozilla, Firefox 115 will remain supported on the now-dead Windows versions until September 2024.
If you fancy giving Windows 11 a slightly more modern look, try this unofficial Run app made by FireCube Studios (the developer responsible for digging Clippy out of its grave and bringing it to Windows 11). Besides offering a much better and more modern UI compared to what Windows 11 has, Run by FireCube integrates OpenAI for natural language processing. That lets you type queries like "open settings" and more.
Microsoft also released a new preview update for Microsoft 365 Insiders, allowing them to extract pages from PDF files using the Office app on Android and use superscript and subscript in OneNote on iPad. Also, there is a new PowerToys version with the Mica material and numerous fixes (sadly, no new toys this time), Visual Studio Code 1.80 with terminal image support, and a set of improvements for Bing Chat that made the Image Creator about 30% faster.
Finally, AMD has shipped a new driver to fix high power usage when idle in some of its newest graphics cards.
Edge improvements and the browser's bewildering behavior
Microsoft Edge users discovered a truly enraging thing: the browser installs extensions without permission. Go to edge://extensions and check if you have the Google Docs Offline extension installed by Microsoft Edge.
Luckily, not all Edge-related stories were negative. Microsoft revealed a set of improvements to help users combat abusive notifications from bad websites. The change should help reduce the risk of your mom or grandma clicking a scammy "YOUR SYSTEM IS INFECTED WITH A VIRUS" message coming from a website open in Microsoft Edge.
Data Breaches, Teams exploits, and Azure
In June 2023, Microsoft experienced a significant DDoS attack (Distributed Denial-of-Service) that took out most of the company's services, such as OneDrive, Office 365, Teams, and more. After a few weeks, a Russian group claimed it managed to steal data about more than 30 million Microsoft customers during the attack. Microsoft, however, denied the allegation and said it had seen no evidence of data breach.
Another hacker-related story involves Microsoft Teams and a flaw that led to a member of the US Navy creating a tool for raising awareness among Teams customers. The utility can simulate a hacker attack and offer ways to combat it.
Lastly, let's talk about Azure, Microsoft's successful cloud business. According to IDC, in 2022, Microsoft was the top cloud service provider, with a market share of 16.8%.
Its growth might slow down if the Biden administration introduces new rules to limit Chinese companies from accessing US cloud-computing services. Still, this does not mean Chinese companies would lose access to Azure. The gist is that US cloud providers would need government approval before they give Chinese companies access to US-made cloud services.
On the gaming side
This week, another country gave Microsoft the green light to proceed with the struggling Microsoft-ABK merger. The Competition Tribunal of South Africa "unconditionally approved" the proposed acquisition. Now Microsoft has almost 40 countries giving the deal their thumbs up.
The Microsoft-ABK merger is not something you can benefit from right away. Game deals and discounts are a completely different story. For starters, Microsoft announced Anime Month Bonanza with discounted anime movies, TV shows, and game collections.
The Epic Games Store is giving away a side-scrolling fantasy RPG game for PC gamers, and NVIDIA GeForce Now pics five games on sale right now. Finally, Microsoft announced the ID@Xbox Demo Fest is coming on July 11, 2023. It will showcase and let you try more than 40 upcoming indie games for Xbox.
Sadly, along with some sweet gaming deals, Microsoft increased the Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate prices. July 5, 2023, was the last day to snag the subscription for less. Luckily for the newcomers, the $1 trial is back, which means you can try Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass for only one dollar.
Here are some other interesting gaming stories from the world of Microsoft:
- Almost no one is playing Halo Infinite anymore (on Steam, at least).
- A leaked Microsoft document revealed that the PlayStation 5 "Slim" would arrive later this year for $399.
Trivia and other interesting pieces
Not a single week goes by without John Callaham covering tech and software from the past. Here is a look back at a weird mouse and keyboard made by Microsoft in partnership with Razer.
The Microsoft Habu is not everything we had in store this week. Did you know Microsoft once released a joystick that looked like a PC mouse for real-time strategy games? If not, check out another "look back" article by John.
Here are two random facts about Microsoft and its products to finish this week's Microsoft Weekly issue. The first one is about the origins of Windows and its under-the-hoods from the 80s:
Did you know that the first several Windows releases were UI layers or shells for MS-DOS, the dominant operating system in the 80s and early 90s? Although Microsoft started moving away from MS-DOS in 1993 with the release of Windows NT (NT stood for New Technology), the first consumer-facing OS based on the NT kernel, Windows XP, arrived almost one decade later.
And the second one is related to more modern Windows versions: as it turned out, Windows 10 and 11 have a hidden option that lets you turn on screenshot sounds.
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