Neowin News Feed for: Wsl

This patch to Mesa could give apps on Windows Subsystem for Linux a speed boost

Paul Hill — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 03:22:02 +0000

Microsoft has submitted a patch to Mesa that will speed up Linux apps in the Windows Subsystem for Linux when running particular workloads. Read more...

Microsoft finally launches WSL Containers in public preview

David Uzondu — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 18:32:02 +0000

Microsoft is bringing WSL containers to public preview, letting devs run Linux containers natively on Windows without Docker Desktop. Read more...

Microsoft outs new Windows 11 native command-line utility. Revolutionizes native app making.

Sayan Sen — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:40:01 +0000

Microsoft unveils a new native command-line utility for Windows 11, and also introduces new tools that could radically transform native app development. Read more...

Microsoft shares details on Windows 11 25H2, 26H2 performance improvements in 2026

Sayan Sen — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 21:10:01 +0000

Microsoft has shared details on how it is planning to improve Windows 11 performance across some of the most important parts of the OS. Read more...

Frustrated ex-Microsoft engineer explains why Windows sucks

Usama Jawad — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 11:28:01 +0000

A former Windows engineer has shared his thoughts on why Windows "sucks" for many users, and how Microsoft could turn the tide. Read more...

Microsoft brings Ubuntu 24.04 and TLS 1.3 support to SQL Server 2025 Preview

Usama Jawad — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 21:12:01 +0000

SQL Server 2025 preview now supports dev and test workloads in Ubuntu 24.04, along with the TLS 1.3 protocol. Read more...

Microsoft open-sources Windows Subsystem for Linux ahead of 10-year anniversary

Paul Hill — Mon, 19 May 2025 16:00:44 +0000

Microsoft has made its Windows Subsystem for Linux open source. The announcement was made as its BUILD 2025 developer conference. Read more...

Fedora Linux is now an officially supported WSL distro

Pradeep Viswanathan — Wed, 07 May 2025 00:20:01 +0000

Microsoft has officially announced support for Fedora Linux as a Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) distribution. Users can now install Fedora 42 on WSL Read more...

Fedora Workstation 42 arrives with GNOME 48, WSL images, and more

Paul Hill — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 07:02:01 +0000

Fedora Workstation 42 is now available for download. It includes loads of new features, including GNOME 48, which has notification stacking, new fonts, well-being settings, and more. Read more...

Ubuntu on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) now enables easy enterprise deployment

Pradeep Viswanathan — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 06:40:02 +0000

Ubuntu has announced a new tar-based distribution format for WSL, simplifying deployment and customization for enterprises. Read more...

Windows Subsystem for Linux gets Intune compliance and Entra ID integration

Taras Buria — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:31:47 +0000

Microsoft announced new improvements for Windows Subsystem for Linux, such as Intune device compliance and Microsoft Entra ID integration. Read more...

WSL is getting settings GUI, memory, storage, network improvements, and more

Taras Buria — Fri, 31 May 2024 06:36:01 +0000

Windows Subsystem for Linux constantly receives improvements. In a newly published blog post, Microsoft outlined some upcoming changes and new features to make Linux on Windows better. Read more...

Bored of Windows? Even Microsoft wants you to try Linux with a rather helpful guide

Sayan Sen — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 22:28:01 +0000

Microsoft wants its Windows users to try Linux. The company recently published a rather helpful guide on how to download and get started, and choose between the various Linux distros out there. Read more...

Microsoft brings big Windows WSL upgrade with better memory, disk, network management

Sayan Sen — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 22:14:01 +0000

The Windows Subsystem for Linux has received a new update today. The new release brings several interesting features that upgrade memory and disk management, as well as networking improvements. Read more...

Microsoft releases free Windows 11 virtual machines with the Moment 3 update

Taras Buria — Sun, 25 Jun 2023 21:16:01 +0000

Microsoft's official free Windows 11 virtual machines have been updated to version 2306. The latest version contains various development tools and the most recent Windows 11 "Moment 3" update. Read more...

Microsoft's new free Windows 11 virtual machines are now available for download

Taras Buria — Mon, 22 May 2023 13:00:01 +0000

Another month—another update for the Windows 11 Development Environment, also known as free Windows 11 virtual machines. Version 2305, with the latest updates, is now available for download. Read more...

Microsoft Weekly: Free USB drives, Bing AI in Edge, and pirated Windows

Usama Jawad — Sat, 18 Mar 2023 22:36:02 +0000

Our latest edition of Microsoft Weekly is jampacked with news about Microsoft handing out free USBs to Insiders, the integration of AI in even more Redmond products, and pirated Windows (!). Read more...

After Intel and AMD, Microsoft brings WSL2 custom kernel support to Arm

Sayan Sen — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 15:24:01 +0000

Microsoft released the latest version of WSL earlier today. This new release is bringing custom kernel support to WSL for ARM64 devices, a feature which previously worked only on Intel and AMD. Read more...

Microsoft releases new free Windows 11 virtual machines

Taras Buria — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 09:32:01 +0000

Microsoft has released a new version of its Windows 11 machines available for a free evaluation. The latest update lets you use Microsoft's OS without activation until May 23, 2023. Read more...

Microsoft brings D3D12 GPU video acceleration to Windows Subsystem for Linux

Taras Buria — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 13:12:04 +0000

Microsoft has revealed that hardware-based video acceleration is now available in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). This change brings several performance and efficiency gains to WSL. Read more...

Microsoft Weekly: Windows 11 upgrades, Windows 10 goodness, and Slack complaints

Usama Jawad — Sat, 26 Nov 2022 18:16:01 +0000

Although this was a relatively quieter week on the news front due to the Thanksgiving break, we still have a decent amount of stuff to unpack when it comes to the latest Windows 11 issues and more. Read more...

Windows Subsystem for Linux is now generally available in the Microsoft Store

Usama Jawad — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 01:22:01 +0000

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) in the Microsoft Store has ditched the "Preview" tag and is now generally available for both Windows 10 and Windows 11. It has also become the default WSL experience. Read more...

Microsoft Weekly: Windows 11 2022 Update, Dev build 25206, and Surface on the horizon

Usama Jawad — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 17:16:02 +0000

This week's edition of Microsoft Weekly is quite eventful due to the arrival of the Windows 11 2022 Update, a bunch of Insider builds, an upcoming Surface event, and allegations from Mozilla. Read more...

Microsoft and Canonical bring systemd support to WSL

Paul Hill — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 08:28:01 +0000

Microsoft and Canonical have been working together to add systemd support to WSL. This will enable several applications to run on WSL instances including snap, microk8s, and systemctl. Read more...

Microsoft Weekly: The return of IE, Windows 11 build 25174, and app previews

Usama Jawad — Sat, 06 Aug 2022 17:16:01 +0000

This was an absolutely jam-packed week in terms of Microsoft news. We have so much to uncover when it comes to Internet Explorer's return from the grave, Dev Channel builds, and some app leaks. Read more...

Windows Subsystem for Linux 0.65.1 is now live for all Insiders

Usama Jawad — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 14:34:01 +0000

Microsoft has rolled out Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) version 0.65.1 for all Windows Insiders. The update packs a bunch of new features and is scheduled for general availability soon. Read more...

Developers will soon be able to build custom widgets for Windows 11

Usama Jawad — Tue, 24 May 2022 15:00:04 +0000

Microsoft has announced that developers will soon be able to build companion widgets in Windows 11 and leverage from Project Volterra and Hybrid Loop to build ARM-native AI solutions. Read more...

With build 22518, Microsoft reminds all about its new WSL app in the Microsoft Store

Sayan Sen — Thu, 09 Dec 2021 08:24:02 +0000

Microsoft had released a WSL app on its store back in October. With the new Dev Channel build 22518, the firm has reminded everyone about the new app. The new build also brings some new changes. Read more...

Microsoft announces tools to measure browser performance on Android and Linux

Usama Jawad — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 08:12:02 +0000

Microsoft has introduced a new set of tools that can be used to measure system performance. The company has emphasized its utility as a way to measure browser performance on Android and Linux. Read more...

Microsoft Weekly: Windows builds, Halo from the other side, and living on the Edge

Usama Jawad — Sat, 20 Nov 2021 18:16:01 +0000

Microsoft had lots of stuff to announce this week including tons of Windows 10 and Windows 11 builds, a surprise drop for Halo Infinite Multiplayer, and enhancements to its Edge browser. Read more...

Microsoft releases WSL version 0.50.2 with a new logo and an updated Linux kernel

Usama Jawad — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 11:32:02 +0000

Microsoft has rolled out version 0.50.2 of Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) Preview, featuring a logo with a familiar mascot and an updated Linux kernel with lots of features and fixes. Read more...

Windows Subsystem for Linux is now available for Windows 11 through the Microsoft Store

Usama Jawad — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 05:40:02 +0000

The Microsoft Store is now another distribution channel that users can utilize to install Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on their Windows 11 machines. It will enable a faster update cadence. Read more...

Windows 11 WSL 2 performs well enough vs the latest Ubuntu 21.10 but not always

Sayan Sen — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 15:38:01 +0000

Testing of Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL 2) on Windows 11 shows competitive performance against Ubuntu 21.10 and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. But, it also loses by a lot under certain scenarios. Read more...

Microsoft offers GPU-accelerated ML training on Windows 10 and WSL via TensorFlow-DirectML

Usama Jawad — Fri, 10 Sep 2021 07:08:01 +0000

Microsoft has worked with the open-source community, Intel, AMD, and Nvidia to offer TensorFlow-DirectML, a project that allows accelerated training of machine learning models on DirectX 12 GPUs. Read more...

Intel's latest graphics driver brings Windows 11 support, optimizes F1 2021, and more

Sayan Sen — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 13:36:01 +0000

Intel has released its new display driver version 30.0.100.9684. The major highlight of this release is the support for Windows 11 on all compatible hardware. There is also F1 2021 support, and more. Read more...

Microsoft: Accessibility is a focus in Windows 11

Usama Jawad — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 09:06:01 +0000

Microsoft has emphasized that Windows 11 is built with accessibility in mind through new and redesigned components, services, and APIs. It calls this initiative the "modern accessibility platform". Read more...

You can now run Linux GUI apps in Windows 10 [Update]

João Carrasqueira — Tue, 25 May 2021 15:00:01 +0000

Microsoft has announced that it's now possible to run graphical Linux apps in Windows 10 using the Windows Subsystem for Linux. This feature was first released to Windows Insiders. Read more...

Microsoft Weekly: Actual F2P multiplayer, update trouble, and performance on Edge

Florin Bodnarescu — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 11:40:01 +0000

The last seven days saw the removal of Gold as a requirement for free-to-play multiplayer on Xbox, the arrival of some troublesome updates, and much more. Be sure to catch up via our handy overview. Read more...

Recent Windows 10 version 2004 Patch Tuesday updates are reportedly breaking WSL 2

Abhay V — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 15:24:02 +0000

Reports on GitHub suggest that the recent cumulative update for Windows 10 version 2004 is breaking Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL 2), which can be solved by uninstalling KB4571756. Read more...

How to install the Kali Linux's Win-KeX desktop on WSL 2

Paul Hill — Sun, 23 Aug 2020 15:46:01 +0000

Kali Linux recently released the Win-KeX desktop environment for WSL 2. Here's a quick guide on how to install it and Kali Linux from scratch and how to upgrade WSL 1 Kali Linux installations. Read more...