Newsletter Archives

• First new Windows 11 functionality released in a cumulative update

  Posted on February 15, 2022 at 16:58 CST by joep517 • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft has released February 15, 2022—KB5010414 (OS Build 22000.527) Preview (microsoft.com). Even though the title has “Preview” in it, this update is being released to everyone today. In addition to a long list of fixes, there is a new media player and notepad. Taskbar changes include adding the clock and date to multiple monitors. When the taskbar is center aligned the weather now appears on the taskbar at the left. An Amazon app store preview app is available in the Microsoft Store. See the above release notes for more details.

  Here is the blog post that Panos Panay published about this release – Bringing you closer to what you love with new experiences in Windows 11 | Windows Experience Blog.

  (Note from Susan – this is a preview update and will not be pushed to all, you have to ‘check for updates’ to get it. It WILL be in the next month’s cumulative update – look for the Alert for more info)

  Microsoft News, Updates, Windows 11, Windows News

• Microsoft removes Windows 10 2004 block for Surface devices

  Posted on July 1, 2020 at 10:37 CDT by joep517 • Comment in the Forums

  Per the erstwhile Mary jo Foley, Microsoft has removed the compatibility block for Windows 10 2004. If you have one of these devices you may see the upgrade offered to you in the next several days. If you don’t wish to upgrade take precautions now.

  See [url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-removes-the-windows-10-2004-block-on-surface-devices]Microsoft removes the Windows 10 2004 block on Surface devices[/url] for more details on the block and what fixed it.

  Windows 10, Windows 10 Releases Windows 10, Windows 10 upgrade

• Windows 10 information hub

  Posted on June 27, 2020 at 22:14 CDT by joep517 • Comment in the Forums

  Zdnet’s Ed Bott has put together an article he calls – [url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/free-how-to-help-windows-10-ed-botts-tech-support-troubleshooting-guide]The ultimate Windows 10 information hub: Everything you need in one place[/url]. Ed says if you are “Looking for technical information about Windows 10 releases, new features, known issues, troubleshooting, and tech support?” start there.

  The page is updated frequently. It has links to many of Ed’s articles on various aspects of Windows 10. It also has links to many Microsoft support articles and tools.

  All-in-all it is a good place to start Windows 10 information. Saving a bookmark to this article might be a time-saver in the future

  Windows 10 Win10, Windows help, Windows troubleshooting

• Windows 10 Insider Program Changes

  Posted on June 16, 2020 at 09:45 CDT by joep517 • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft has announced changes to the Windows 10 Insider Program. The rings will be renamed channels with the channel names better aligned with other Microsoft products. Additionally, Microsoft says that the focus of the releases will change from frequency to quality. See [url=https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2020/06/15/introducing-windows-insider-channels]Introducing Windows Insider Channels[/url] for a more in-depth discussion.

  Windows News Windows 10, Windows 10 beta, Windows 10 Insider

• Microsoft Edge Privacy Whitepaper

  Posted on April 19, 2020 at 09:23 CDT by joep517 • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft has published a very detailed whitepaper on Microsoft Edge data collection. It is very long and detailed. It explains what data is collected, why it is collected, and how to turn off the collection. No doubt this is a response to the article that surfaced a couple of weeks ago concerning tracking in browsers. You may read the article at [url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/privacy-whitepaper]Microsoft Edge Privacy Whitepaper[/url].

  Windows 10 Chromium Edge, Edge, Microsoft Edge

• Troubleshooting a failed Windows 10 upgrade or feature update

  Posted on March 23, 2020 at 09:38 CDT by joep517 • Comment in the Forums

  With the Windows 7 support expiration and more people working from home, an upgrade to Windows 10 is coming into focus for people who may have been avoiding it. This article covers both Windows 10 upgrade and feature update failures. There are a number of troubleshooting tips and tools. See Ed Bott’s article on ZDNet Windows 10 upgrade failed? Use these 5 tools to find the problem and fix it fast.

  Windows 10 Win10, Win10 updates, Windows 10 installation, Windows troubleshooting

• Late February optional update, KB 4535996, released for Windows 10 1903 and 1909

  Posted on February 27, 2020 at 19:10 CST by joep517 • Comment in the Forums

  The latest cumulative non-security update for the latest Windows 10 releases. See [url=https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4535996/windows-10-update-kb4535996]February 27, 2020—KB4535996 (OS Builds 18362.693 and 18363.693)[/url] for a long list of changes and fixes.

  Windows 10, Windows Patches/Security February 2020 Black Tuesday, KB 4535996

• Microsoft backtracks on Office search changes

  Posted on February 11, 2020 at 08:12 CST by joep517 • Comment in the Forums

  According to Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft has backed off its plans to change the search engine to Bing for its Office 365 Pro Plus customers. See [url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-backtracks-on-bing-jacking-chrome-with-its-microsoft-search-extension]Microsoft backtracks on ‘Bing-jacking’ Chrome with its Microsoft Search extension[/url] for more details.

  Office News Office 365, Office 365 ProPlus

• Significant changes for the FAST ring with latest Windows Insider build

  Posted on December 16, 2019 at 16:44 CST by joep517 • Comment in the Forums

  With the latest Windows Insider Preview Build 19536, Microsoft announced a significant change to the FAST ring of the Insider program. FAST ring releases will no longer be tied to a particular Windows 10 release.

  Microsoft says: “Internally, our engineers work in development cycles with various milestones. The active development branch (called “RS_PRERELEASE”) is where the teams check in all their latest code changes into the OS. Moving forward, the Fast ring will receive builds directly from this active development branch and new features will show up in these builds first.” More information is available at [url=https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2019/12/16/announcing-windows-10-insider-preview-build-19536]Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19536[/url]. See the “The Fast ring going forward” section.

  Windows 10 Releases Windows 10 beta, Windows 10 Insider

• Autologon is NOT being removed in Windows 10 2004

  Posted on November 28, 2019 at 09:16 CST by joep517 • Comment in the Forums

  The erstwhile Martin Brinkmann reports that some users have noticed the automatic sign-in capability is missing from the latest Windows 10 2004 test build (19033). There is an explanation. If you have Windows Hello configured the option is not present. See [url=https://betanews.com/2019/11/28/no-microsoft-is-not-removing-autologin-from-windows-10-version-2004]No, Microsoft is not removing AutoLogin from Windows 10 version 2004[/url] for more details.

  Windows 10 Win10 2004, Windows 10

• Office 365 ProPlus to get support on Windows 7 after January 14, 2020

  Posted on October 7, 2019 at 17:25 CDT by joep517 • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft has decided to give Office 365 ProPlus users running Windows 7 some grace time after Windows 7 goes out of support on January 14, 2020. Office 365 ProPlus users will continue to get security updates for Office 365 ProPlus until January 2023. According to Microsoft this is to transition to a “support operating system”.

  See [url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/deployoffice/windows-7-support]Windows 7 end of support and Office 365 ProPlus[/url] for details and more information.

  Microsoft News, Office News, Security Office 365, windows 7

• Microsoft removes non-subscription SKUs from Home Use Program

  Posted on August 9, 2019 at 17:18 CDT by joep517 • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft giveth and Microsoft taketh away. This may not affect many but is a nice perk if you work for a large company using Office. Here’s an article by Mary Jo Foley describing the details of the changes – [url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-removes-office-2019-from-its-home-use-program-benefits]Microsoft removes Office 2019 from its Home Use Program benefits[/url].

  Office News Office 2019, Office 365
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