Microsoft Weekly: Android apps on Windows die and new Surface are about to be born

In this episode of Microsoft Weekly, we look at another no-build week, the death of Windows Subsystem for Android, an upcoming Surface/Windows/Copilot event, new controllers, all sorts of Windows updates, and more.

Table of contents:

1. Windows 11 news
2. Updates are available
3. Gaming news
4. A blast from Microsoft's past
5. Random fact about Microsoft

Windows 11

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.

This week's Windows 11 section kicks off with major news. Out of the blue, Microsoft announced the end of the Windows Subsystem for Android and the Amazon App Store for Windows 11. You can no longer access it to download new Android apps. Existing apps will continue working for one more year. Amazon has already published a detailed FAQ page, and it will soon send you an email with extra information.

Last week, Microsoft started rolling out a new feature update for Windows 11. Codenamed "Moment 5," it adds several improvements and minor changes to the operating system. If you do not want to wait until it automatically lands in your system, check out this guide explaining how to install Windows 11 "Moment 5" and get its features right now.

Later this year, Microsoft will release the "2024 Update" with numerous new features and AI enhancements. One of those features is reportedly a so-called "AI Explorer." It will use on-device processing to let you find apps, files, messages, and other items related to your request.

Most of the AI features will work best on the new generation of Windows 11 computers called "AI PCs," and Microsoft is getting ready to ship its first AI PCs later this month. According to a new report, the software giant will unveil the Surface Pro 10 and the Surface Laptop 6 on March 21. Look out for an OLED display in the Surface Pro 10 and an ARM processor in the Surface Laptop 6.

Shortly after the leak, Microsoft confirmed the event, saying it would showcase "the latest in scaling AI in your environment with Copilot, Windows, and Surface."

Some changes to Copilot do not need a dedicated event. This week, Microsoft quietly started spamming Windows 11's lock screen with Copilot QR code ads. However, the experiment backfired, and Microsoft quickly pulled the controversial ad, claiming it was there to "educated users" about Copilot. Sure, sure, Microsoft.

If you often work with large folders containing hundreds of files, you know how File Explorer crawls to a complete halt, trying to parse everything. Fortunately, there is a fix for that atrocity. Users discovered that a single registry change could force Windows to consider every folder as one with misc files and no longer suffer from abominable performance issues.

Microsoft published an update about the 0x80070643 error in KB5034441 and KB5034440 and a revised PowerShell script for patching. The company also released KB5001716 to help migrate users from soon-to-be-unsupported Windows versions to newer releases. If that update fails, check out this article for possible solutions.

Finally, here is a fun experiment showing how powerful Windows' backward compatibility is and a detailed dissection of Windows 11's OOBE and its secrets.

Windows Insider Program

Here is everything Microsoft released for Windows Insiders this week:

This week was pretty light in the Windows Insider Program. Hopefully, the next one will be packed with more features and updates.

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.

PowerToys has received a big update with new features for Keyboard Manager, a Color Picker redesign, and plenty of changes and improvements to existing tools.

Microsoft also announced new Privacy-Preserving Ads APIs for the Edge browser in an effort to phase out third-party cookies and cross-site tracking. The proposal offers an alternative solution that provides more privacy while still allowing personalized ads.

Besides adding features to existing products, Microsoft sometimes takes them away. In addition to the Windows Subsystem for Linux, which was doomed from the very start, Microsoft pulled the plug on the OneDrive feature that allowed users to upload files from a URL.

Microsoft also released more details about the recent breach, claiming a russian hacker group got access to some of its source code repositories.

Besides the nasty lock screen ad, there were other developments on the Copilot side. Microsoft is now giving more Copilot Pro users access to the recently announced GPT Builder, and Copilot for Microsoft 365 is coming on April 1. We also have a few updates to the Microsoft Designer debacle, with a whistleblower raising more concerns about the company's Designer AI image generator. Besides, the latter is now blocking even more specific words and requests.

Other updates released this week include the following:

• Firefox 123.0.1 fixes color issues, incorrect translate indicators, and other bugs.
• Surface Pro 7 Plus and the original Surface Laptop Studio received new firmware with auto Slim Pen pairing and LTE improvements.
• Surface Laptop 4 received fixes for video freezes in Teams and audio device bugs when connected to the Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock.
• Microsoft Edge Dev received a new feature update with more actions for Adobe Viewer and more.
• Apple has updated its Windows Migration tool with support for macOS Sonoma.
• Microsoft published a new guidance to help organizations move to the new Outlook on Windows.
• Word for the web received new formatting options and support for headers/footers.
• Microsoft released TypeScript 5.4, a programming language that builds on top of JavaScript, with multiple changes and new features.

And here are the new drivers:

• Nvidia 551.76 WHQL Game-Ready adds The Thaumaturge support and fixes NVENC bugs.

On the gaming side

Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts and more.

This week, Microsoft held its promised Xbox Partner Showcase event, where multiple third-party studios revealed fresh new details about their upcoming titles. There were plenty of announcements and trailers, so check out our detailed recap.

Microsoft announced a new custom Xbox Series X console in partnership with Nickelodeon and Best Buy. The SpongeBob-inspired console comes with a Special Edition controller featuring SpongeBob's underwater friends: Squidward, Gary, and Mr. Krabs. It also includes a copy of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2.

In addition, there is a new custom Xbox controller for the fans of the Fallout universe. Xbox Design Lab now lets you add Fallout-themed faceplates featuring the Vault-Tec logo and the iconic Vault Boy.

Speaking of gamepads, Xbox Insiders in the Alpha Skip-Ahead Ring can try a new firmware that resolves "unexpected disconnections" when using a wired headset. You can update your controller using the Xbox Accessories app.

Halo Infinite received a new "Operations" update called Cyber Cyber Showdown III. It adds new armor cosmetics, a multiplayer map, and six new community-made Forge maps for the game's Husky Raid mode.

If you are looking to play Horizon Forbidden West on your computer, check out the newly published system requirements. The game lands on March 21, and it is pretty demanding if you want to play it on higher specs. Still, the minimum requirements include some pretty weak and old hardware, so most users should be able to run the game.

Here are the latest additions to the Game Pass catalog. Control Ultimate Edition returns to the subscription, plus you can play MLB The Show 24, Lightyear Frontier, No More Heroes 3, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, and more.

By the way, Game Pass titles, as well as other games you own in the Microsoft Store, are now available on Boosteroid, a cloud gaming service from Ukraine. The first batch of games includes Deathloop, Dishonored 2, Gears 5, Pentiment, and others.

Boosteroid competes with Nvidia's GeForce NOW service, which now supports Day Passes, a new method to get access to premium tiers for 24 hours. The Priority pass costs $3.99, and the Ultimate pass costs $7.99.

Deals and freebies

This week's Weekend PC Game Deals article includes discounts on some classic Electronic Arts titles, a Humble Bundle with games featuring female protagonists, Astro Duel 2, a freebie from the Epic Games Store, and more.

Reviews are in

Here are the hardware and software reviews we published this week

Robbie Khan reviewed the PB Tails Crush, a metal wireless controller inspired by an old Porsche sports car. This interesting-looking gamepad has solid performance, great ergonomics, solid triggers and sticks, and more. However, there are also some issues with RGB lights, no gyro support on Windows, and more. Check out the full review here.

Robbie's second reviewed device this week was the Baseus Blade2, a power bank in an unconventional form factor. If you are into quirky gadgets, check out the review here.

Christopher White reviewed the new Synology BeeStation, a personal cloud for backing up photos from family devices and more. It features an easy setup process, a small footprint, silent operating, and easy file sharing.

A blast from Microsoft's past

John Callaham's weekly "Look back" series provides throwbacks into the past, detailing the company's products, partnerships, mishaps, and successes from years ago.

This week's blast from the past is also about Microsoft's Simulator game series. Last week, we covered a series of combat Microsoft Flight Simulator spin-offs, and this time, take a look back at Microsoft Train Simulator and how it influenced a non-Microsoft-made lineup of games where you take the wheel of different trains across the world.

Another blast from Microsoft's past comes from Dave Plummer, a long-term Microsoft veteran. This week, Dave published a lengthy post on X with a story of how his side project ended up as native ZIP support in Windows 95 and a red Corvette. There are also some details about why the current ZIP implementation lags behind third-party alternatives.

Random fact about Microsoft

And here is a randomly selected piece of trivia about the company, Windows, and other Microsoft-made things.

2024 is a leap year, so here is an interesting fact about a Microsoft product not having a good time due to a year having one extra day. The original Zune 30, which was released in November 2006, froze on December 31, 2008, because it could not handle the last day of a leap year. A bugged MC13783 PMIC processor driver was the culprit, and since the Zune 30 was the only device in the family using it, subsequent Zune models handled leap years just fine.

The solution for the problem was as funny as the bug itself: drain the battery to zero until it dies and charge the device on January 1, 2009. People called that a Z2K bug.

Interestingly, even more recent Microsoft-made products experience problems with dates. For example, as users discovered, 32-bit Windows 10 completely trips over itself when you set the system date to 2038, which, to be fair, is not that far away. With Windows 10 being a dominant desktop OS, you can bet there will be users running it in 2038, so Microsoft better patch this up.

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