In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we look at Recall being ported to unsupported hardware, Settings getting some much-needed improvements and features from the legacy Control Panel, some Microsoft-owned titles getting their last updates, the new CoD coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one, and a lot more.
Table of contents:
- Windows 10 and 11 news
- Windows Insider Program
- Updates are available
- Reviews are in
- Gaming news
- Random fact about Microsoft
Windows 11 and 10
Here we talk about everything happening around Microsoft"s latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And of course, you may find a word or two about older but still supported versions.
Do you remember the new Recall feature that Microsoft announced at its May 20 event? Guess what? It has already been ported to existing hardware. Despite requiring a new Copilot+ PC with a minimum of 16GB of RAM and an NPU, enthusiasts managed to run it on low-end Windows on ARM hardware, such as the budget-friendly Snapdragon 7cx processor. Check out this article to learn how to make that thing run on your computer.
Recall could be a feature to look for when upgrading from the soon-to-be-unsupported Windows 11. But Recall is not available yet, so Microsoft uses other quirks of its operating system to entice upgrades from Windows 10 with its dominant position. One of those reasons is, no joke, celebrity gossip on the taskbar.
Microsoft launched the latest non-security updates for Windows 10 and 11. Windows 10 received KB5037849, and Windows 11 got KB5037853. The most interesting part about Windows 11"s latest non-security update is that it finally fixed the broken address bar in File Explorer. You can finally drag and drop files and folders on the "breadcrumbs," something that was broken for many months.
However, the update is not perfect. Shortly after the release, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 11 users may experience quite significant issues with the taskbar.
In a somewhat surprising move, Microsoft announced that the upcoming Windows 11 version 24H2 will ship without the AC-3 codec support (Dolby Digital or "surround sound"). Customers who need AC-3 on their machines can use third-party software or prebuilt codecs by manufacturers.
Windows Driver Verifier GUI is another thing Microsoft killed this week. It is now listed on the official page of deprecated features, and the company suggests users use the Verifier Command Line instead.
Interestingly, Microsoft seemingly brought back the Windows Subsystem for Android. The company announced a surprise partnership with Tencent to let Windows users run Android apps and games on Windows PCs. Sadly, that will only be available in China, where mobile games are much more popular.
Here is what Microsoft Released this week for testing in the Windows Insider Program:
| Windows 11 | Windows 10 | Windows Server | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canary Channel | 26227 | Not Applicable | 26227 |
| Dev Channel | 26120.751 | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
| Beta Channel | Nothing this week | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
| Release Preview Channel | Nothing this week | Nothing this week | Not Applicable |
Build 26227 does not contain a lot of exciting stuff, but sharp-eyed users noticed that there is a hidden feature ID that lets you bring over two important mouse settings from the old legacy Control Panel to the modern Settings app. Those are mouse acceleration and scroll direction.
A toggle for "Enhance pointer precision" (an option currently only in the old mouse properties dialog) and a setting for mouse scrolling direction are being added to the Settings app. (disabled by default, build 26227.)
— PhantomOcean3 🌳 (@PhantomOfEarth) May 30, 2024
vivetool /enable /id:50012660 pic.twitter.com/vMOJjqkbr1
Also, Phone Link users with Android smartphones can try out new AI-generated replies for SMS.
Microsoft recently released Windows 11 version 24H2 for public testing in the Release Preview Channel. If your device is not getting it despite being in the correct channel, check out this article to learn how to mitigate that. It is also worth noting that EEA-related changes are currently rolling out to insiders, which means you might be able to uninstall Edge and do other things just yet.
Microsoft also reminded users upgrading to Windows 11 24H2 that security changes in the operating systems may break connections to some network-attached storage with SMB. There is a detailed post on how to address the issue, what the cause of it is, and what options users and admins have.
To finish the Windows section, here are some beautiful alternatives to the original Windows 10 wallpaper, which were made using real glass, acrylic, lasers, projectors, and more.
Updates are available
This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties.
Microsoft announced a new partnership with Currys, the UK"s major tech retailer. Now, Surface owners in the UK can take their computers for warranty replacement to Currys, ask for certified repairs and parts replacement, and more. Until now, the only way to officially warranty a Surface computer was directly through Microsoft.
Speaking of Surface, a couple of Surface PCs received the May 2024 firmware update. The Surface Go 3 got security patches and fixes for the unknown device bug in Device Manager, and the Surface Pro 9 5G received fixes for display flickering and other nasty glitches.
The updated Sticky Notes experience is now rolling out to the OneNote app on Windows. The new version lets you create new notes faster, screenshot anything, and do more to write things to remember. Also, OneNote on different platforms now supports Loop components.
Microsoft also unveiled details about how it made its browser UI notably faster. Version 122, which arrived in the Stable Channel in February 2022, improved the UI responsiveness of the Browser Essential panel by roughly 42%.
On the third-party side, Firefox received a new update under version 126.0.1. It fixed high VRAM usage on systems with AMD graphics cards and other issues plaguing users since the release of Firefox 126.0 earlier this month.
Other notable updates include the following:
- Windows Subsystem for Linux is getting a Settings GUI app and other improvements.
- Weather in Microsoft has been once again declared the most accurate forecast provider.
- Microsoft Edge 127 is now available in the Dev Channel.
- PowerToys 0.81.1 is out with fixes for the new Advanced Paste tool.
- Copilot is now available in Microsoft Launcher Beta for Android.
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Microsoft launched the preview of the new DirectSR API for game developers.
- Outlook Lite for Android gets SMS support so that you can send and receive text messages.
- Copilot is now available in Telegram.
- Microsoft warned about a new cybercriminals group targeting gift cars for fraud.
- Google to start phasing out Manifest V2 extensions on June 3 in preview versions of Chrome.
And here are the latest drivers released this week:
- Intel 31.0.101.5534 non-WHQL with F1 and MultiVersus optimizations.
Reviews are in
Here are the software and hardware we reviewed this week
If you are in the market for a mini PC with the latest AMD hardware, check out Steven"s review of the GEEKOM A8, a small form factor PC with the Ryzen 9 8040 processor, a dedicated NPU, USB4, sleek casing, and other neat amenities.
On the gaming side
Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts and more.
The biggest gaming story of this week is undoubtedly the early announcement of Call of Duty Black Ops 6, a new installment in the popular first-person shooter franchise. There is no information on when the game will be available on all supported platforms, but we already know that it will be a day-one release for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. The full announcement is coming on June 9.
Microsoft Flight Simulator received a new free content update. City Update 7 delivered a series of reworked and much-improved European cities to the game. In addition, there is a new cargo plane to buy in the in-game marketplace.
Microsoft partnered with Toys for Bob to bring a new game to Xbox. For now, details are scarce, and the game is in the very early stage of development. Therefore, it will take a while before we hear more information about the upcoming title.
Also, Microsoft has reportedly signed the team behind the Batman: Arkham games for a new Xbox title. There is no official info on this, but you might hear about it at the upcoming June 9 Xbox Showcase.
Minecraft fans received a few interesting announcements this week. For example, Microsoft is working with Netflix on an original Minecraft animated TV series. Not much is known about this venture, but expect an original story with new characters and plot lines. Also, there is now the official release date for Minecraft 1.21, which is also known as the "Tricky Trials" update. Expect to get it on your device on June 13.
Deals and freebies
Now to discounts and freebies - everyone"s favorite part. This week"s Weekend PC Game Deals features plenty of discounts across different marketplaces, such as Steam, GoG, Humble Store, and more. The Epic Games Store is also giving away Chivalry 2.
Other gaming news from this week include the following:
- A team of former Forza Horizon developers is working on a new narrative racing game for Amazon.
- Nvidia GeForce NOW received a batch of new games, including World of Warcraft.
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Silent Hill 2 remake is coming to PC and PlayStation 5 on October 8.
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Multi-platform launches of older Microsoft titles boosted game sales significantly.
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Lords of the Fallen is now available on Xbox Game Pass with new content.
Random fact about Microsoft
And here is a randomly selected piece of trivia about the company, Windows, and other Microsoft-made things.
There has been quite a lot of discussion about Microsoft raising CPU requirements for Windows 11, dropping devices without SSE3 support in Microsoft Edge, and making it impossible to install its OS on the original ARM devices. Did you know that a similar thing happened to Windows 7 in 2018? One of the cumulative updates (KB4088875) made the OS unable to boot on old processors without the SSE2 instruction set.
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