Neowin News Feed for: Compatibility

Microsoft's upcoming Edge feature could transform web browsing for millions of people

Sayan Sen — Fri, 08 May 2026 17:52:01 +0000

Microsoft's upcoming Edge feature is interesting for sure as it could significantly improve web browsing experiences for millions of everyday internet users worldwide. Read more...

You can totally install FreeBSD on these laptops without issues, claims OS maintainer

Usama Jawad — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 21:46:02 +0000

A new initiative highlights which laptops can run FreeBSD without issues, indicating broader hardware support than many might expect. Read more...

Windows 11 not the worst Microsoft desktop OS experience ever at least in one key area

Sayan Sen — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 17:08:01 +0000

Microsoft's Windows 11 is very hated online, but truth be told, it may not be the worst desktop OS experience ever. Read more...

Microsoft employee confirms Windows 11 may never 'fix' a key internet feature for office PCs

Sayan Sen — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 07:36:01 +0000

A Microsoft employee has admitted Windows 11 24H2 breaks a key internet feature for office and enterprise PCs, and that it likely will never be fixed. Read more...

Fun experiment reveals just how incredibly backward compatible Windows can be

Sayan Sen — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 15:54:01 +0000

While Microsoft is making it difficult to run modern Windows on old hardware, the backward compatibility story of the software side can be a bit different as a fun experiment shows. Read more...

Compatibility updates (KB5027573, KB5027572, KB5012419, KB5027385) for Windows 11/10 out

Sayan Sen — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 21:34:02 +0000

Microsoft released the Patch Tuesday updates earlier this week for Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Servers. The company also rolled out special compatibility updates alongside those. Read more...

Dev confirms Windows 11 debloater app was causing conflicts with other OS features and apps

Sayan Sen — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 15:32:01 +0000

The developers of a Windows 11 debloater app called "BloatyNosy" (formerly "ThisIsWin11"), have confirmed that some of its features were causing conflicts with OS features and other applications. Read more...

Microsoft shares additional resources for DCOM hardening on Windows 11, 10, and Servers

Sayan Sen — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 06:36:01 +0000

Microsoft, today, has released additional helpful resources regarding DCOM hardening, which has been in place since 2021. This comes a month after the company issued a reminder about the changes. Read more...

Microsoft is making DCOM hardening mandatory on Windows 10, 11, and Server soon

Usama Jawad — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 02:56:01 +0000

Microsoft will be enabling some DCOM protocol hardening changes by default with next month's Patch Tuesday. This may result in interoperability issues between networked client and server devices. Read more...

Elden Ring set to gain ray tracing, platform performance targets revealed

Pulasthi Ariyasinghe — Sun, 07 Nov 2021 22:00:01 +0000

FromSoftware will be offering two performance modes on current-gen consoles to either hit 4K or get 60FPS gameplay. Ray tracing support is also planned for the upcoming action RPG. Read more...

Google releases Android 12 Beta 4, APIs now finalized

Usama Jawad — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 07:36:01 +0000

Google has released Android 12 Beta 4. The OS has now reached Platform Stability which means that APIs and app-facing behaviors have been finalized. Developers should now focus on testing their apps. Read more...

Microsoft's App Assure program expands to support Windows 365

Usama Jawad — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 06:24:01 +0000

Microsoft has announced that it is expanding App Assure to support Windows 365. Customers can now engage directly with Microsoft in case they face compatibility issues on its latest offering. Read more...

Microsoft: Here's how organizations can plan their transition to Windows 11

Usama Jawad — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 05:10:01 +0000

As expected, Microsoft has recommended that organizations start preparing for their eventual transition to Windows 11. It has outlined a series of steps to follow for a seamless transition. Read more...

Google's Daydream isn't yet compatible with the Galaxy S8 and S8+

Florin Bodnarescu — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 20:44:01 +0000

If you own a Daydream VR headset and were thinking of buying either the Galaxy S8 or S8+, you might want to wait a bit. The virtual reality is not yet officially supported on the two phones. Read more...

You can now vote for the Xbox 360 games you want to play on your Xbox One

Usama Jawad — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 14:28:01 +0000

Microsoft has set up a dedicated Xbox Feedback forum asking gamers about the Xbox 360 titles they'd next like to see playable on Xbox One. Call of Duty: Black Ops II currently leads the list. Read more...

Intel: "ARM can't run legacy apps on Windows 8"

Denis Wong — Wed, 18 May 2011 09:31:14 +0000

Should Intel be concerned over the end of the "Wintel" era? For the past decade, the strong duo of Intel processors and Windows operating systems dominated 90% of computers worldwide, although now the domination is... Read more...

Microsoft: Windows 7 launch will not repeat Vista

Kevin Weiner — Sat, 16 May 2009 15:17:15 +0000

Now that we've got a rough release date of Windows 7, Microsoft making sure that Windows 7's launch will go smoothly and not be plagued with compatibility issues reports Paul Thurrott and Channel Web. While... Read more...

'Windows XP Mode' revealed for Windows 7

Sam Symons — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 22:26:31 +0000

Remember that major announcement that was planned for Windows 7 a while back? Well, it's finally here, revealed on Paul Thurrott's Windows SuperSite. So, what is it? It's a feature of Windows 7 called 'Windows... Read more...

aggiorno express: IE8 Compatibility Edition

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:18:48 +0000

aggiorno express was born to assist you with the meta tagging process for IE8 of all the pages in your Web sites, in an automated way, just as aggiorno does with the variety of aggiornings... Read more...

Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:53:59 +0000

The Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.0 helps customers understand their application compatibility situation by identifying which applications are compatible with the Microsoft® Windows Vista® operating system and which require further testing. ACT helps customers... Read more...

Compatibility, Reliability, and Stability of Vista Update

Steven Parker — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:50:46 +0000

About 2 months ago Microsoft released a couple of hotfixes that improved the stability and reliability of Windows Vista, these were not made available on Automatic Updates. That aside, Microsoft has released an update to... Read more...

New Wi-Fi Draft Ensures Compatibility

Daniel Fleshbourne — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 11:05:31 +0000

More than a year after the first products based on an initial draft of the superfast 802.11n Wi-Fi standard arrived, a second draft--reinforced by Wi-Fi Alliance certification--appears to have solved the interoperability and stability problems... Read more...

Wi-Fi group launches 802.11n compatibility brand

Daniel Fleshbourne — Wed, 16 May 2007 08:24:15 +0000

Wi-Fi overseer the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) will in June begin testing pre-standard next-generation 802.11n wireless networking kit to make sure the products all work with each other, the organisation said today.The WFA announced earlier this... Read more...

DirectX 10 Compatibility Libraries Preview

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 11:28:51 +0000

The Alky Project is a set of DirectX 10 compatibility libraries, pioneered by Cody Brocious, a 19 year old software reverse-engineer from San Diego. These libraries allow the use of DirectX 10 games on... Read more...

April '07 Xbox 360 Backwards Compatibility Update

Todd Tanner — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 19:43:44 +0000

April showers have yielded us a Back Compat update The latest backwards compatibility update is now available over Xbox Live (or will be very soon.) This free update brings the complete list of original Xbox... Read more...

EU PS3 Backwards Compatibility List Now Online

Joe Cashman — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 16:22:45 +0000

A few days earlier than originally announced, the list of backwards compatible titles on the EU PS3 has now been released. The Sony site details games on a three tier basis, giving results for titles... Read more...

Sony Warns About European PS3 Backwards Compatibility

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 16:49:49 +0000

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe said that backwards compatibility with PlayStations 2 games of the PlayStation 3 console, slated to be released in PAL regions in about a month, will not be as good as that... Read more...

Update for SBS2003: Windows Vista and Outlook compatibility

Daniel Fleshbourne — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 10:15:07 +0000

You can use the Client Deployment tools in Windows SBS to easily connect a client computer to your Windows SBS network. You can also use the tools to configure the correct settings to support solutions... Read more...

Apple: Vista Compatibility Patch For iTunes, Problems Remain

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 16:42:23 +0000

This weekend, Apple Computer released iTunes Repair Tool for Vista 1.0 which is designed to "repair permissions for important files required by iTunes to play your iTunes Store purchases" when using the Windows Vista operating... Read more...

An update on Zune compatibility

Steven Parker — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 11:46:26 +0000

From the Windows Vista Blog: Our friend Cesar Menendez from the Zune Insider has posted that the Zune Team will be releasing updated PC software and device firmware today at 10am PDT. You can... Read more...

Sony's PS3 Has Some Backwards Compatibility Problems

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:09:01 +0000

Sony said on Tuesday its new video game console, the PlayStation 3, does not run about 200 PlayStation and PlayStation 2 software titles properly, the latest problem the electronics maker has run into in its... Read more...

Apple gets French support in music compatibility case

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 21:42:00 +0000

The French constitutional council, the country's highest judicial body, has declared major aspects of the so-called iPod law unconstitutional, undermining some controversial aspects of the legislation. Released late Thursday, the council's 12-page legal finding made... Read more...

21 new titles for Xbox 360 backwards compatibility

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 18:35:23 +0000

Microsoft has released a new update for the Xbox 360 console, providing support for an additional 21 Xbox titles and reinforcing Peter Moore's comments that backwards compatibility is important to the firm.The new update, which... Read more...

Backwards Compatibility Not A Priority For Microsoft

giga — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 15:25:20 +0000

Microsoft's head of the Interactive Entertainment business, Peter Moore, typically chooses his words carefully, and rarely makes the kind of outlandish statements that Sony's Ken Kutaragi seems to provide on a regular basis. However, in... Read more...

Xbox 360 Backwards Compatibility In Japan

Wed, 16 Nov 2005 14:43:10 +0000

After some xbox owners were disgruntled by the lack of backwards support on the 360 for classics such as Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and well over 300 others can take some solace from the fact... Read more...

Intel Celeron to Gain Improved AMD64 Compatibility

Fri, 16 Sep 2005 21:20:00 +0000

Intel's desktop Celeron D chips are to be the latest processors to get the chip giant's NetBurst core update, The Register has learned. According to Intel documentation, Celeron model numbers 326, 331, 336, 341, 346... Read more...

Xbox 360 Buys Backwards Compatibility Rights From Nvidia

Joe Cashman — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 14:19:22 +0000

After E3 Microsoft left gamers wondering if they would be able to play their Xbox games on their Xbox360 after refusing to answer questions on it. They did announce though that "the best selling" Xbox... Read more...

Kutaragi Talks PS3 Backward Compatibility

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 19:27:45 +0000

Sony's next-gen console will use hardware and software to play PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games; SCE president says Xbox "killing itself." Since Sony announced the PlayStation 3 would play both PlayStation and... Read more...

MS VP Confirms X360 Controller Compatibility With Longhorn

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 14:14:37 +0000

A interesting bit of information has today emerged from Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2005, as Microsoft Senior Vice President Will Poole confirmed in a presentation that Xbox360 controllers will be fully compatible with the... Read more...

PS3 to Use BD-ROMS, Working Towards Backwards Compatibility

Wed, 22 Sep 2004 01:39:06 +0000

Sony officially confirmed that the PlayStation 3 will use Blu-ray discs at the PlayStation Business Briefing held in Japan today. In addition, the company is working towards making the platform compatible with PlayStation 2 and... Read more...