Microsoft has announced a new referral program for Xbox Game Pass. The program allows subscribers to refer their friends to Xbox Game Pass and receive a free month of service for both the subscriber and the friend.
Author: Sergey Tkachenko
Microsoft may already be ditching the Surface Duo
It appears that Microsoft's foldable dual-screen smartphone has been abandoned, at least from an external perspective. The Surface Duo last received a major software update in October 2022, when Android 12L was released. Since then, there has been little activity regarding new features and bug fixes.
Xbox consoles are getting a new Home experience
Users in the Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha rings can now preview an updated version of the Xbox Home experience. This version strives to balance experience, accessibility, and functionality, and was created with user feedback in mind.
Windows 11 is getting a new Virtual Desktop switching animation, here is how to enable it
Windows 11 Insider Builds 25346 (Canary) and 23440 (Dev) include a new virtual desktop switching animation. It is a work in progress feature that is currently hidden. It appears to be part of Windows 11's integration with Microsoft 365 CloudPC service. But you can give it a try by enabling it.
Windows 11 Build 25352 (Canary) allows previewing Widgets before adding them
Microsoft has released Windows 11 Build 25352 to Insiders in the Canary channel. The announcement highlights a new Widget addition dialog. After a redesign it now includes a preview area where you see how a widget looks before adding it.
Google Chrome may receive Mica effect for the title bar
As follows from the activity in Chromium's Gerrit service, world's most popular web browser, Google Chrome, may soon receive the Mica-enhanced appearance of the window frame.
Microsoft will use a new unified cloud.microsoft domain for its online apps and services
Microsoft is beginning to reduce their service fragmentation by bringing authenticated, user-facing Microsoft 365 apps and services onto a single domain cloud.microsoft. Consolidating Microsoft 365's user-facing authenticated experiences onto a single domain has several benefits for customers.
The next Windows 11 LTSC releases will be available in the second half of 2024
Microsoft has announced that the next Windows 11 LTSC releases, including Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC and Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC, will become available in the second half of 2024. This extended timeline should help organizations plan and prepare for the adoption of Windows 11. Further details regarding the releases will be provided closer to the availability date.
Windows 11 Build 22624.1680 (Beta) updates Widgets and app pinning
Microsoft has updated the Beta channel with two new builds. Windows 11 Build 22624.1680 includes a number of new features, and Build 22621.1680 has them disabled. You will find Widgets improvements, including three column UI and new animations, more flexible app pinning to the taskbar and setting default apps, and several fixes.
Microsoft Edge will soon allow removing features you never use
The upcoming change will allow you to disable extra features in Edge. The browser has a wide range of options such as a password manager, sidebar, and Bing integration. However, some users find certain components to be "bloat". That's because they are considered redundant and slow down the browser. Consequently, Microsoft is experimenting with the ability to remove those extra features from Edge, which can improve performance.
