Microsoft has decided to reduce the trial period for its $1 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass trials from 30 days to 14 days. This change comes just a few weeks before the highly anticipated release of the role-playing game Starfield from Bethesda Softworks.
Category: Software
Bing Chat bot will soon have a mobile app and third-party browser support
The Microsoft Bing team has announced that their chatbot will soon be launched on mobile devices and will also be supported by alternative browsers.
Xbox users will soon be able to stream their games to Discord
Discord has announced that Xbox users will soon have the ability to directly stream their screen, a feature that was previously only available on PCs. Earlier, console users had to rely on external capture solutions to broadcast their gameplay.
Microsoft announces testing on Xbox Game Pass Core
Microsoft has announced the start of testing for the Xbox Game Pass Core subscription, which will be replacing Xbox Live Gold. Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha Ring Insiders are getting access to the new plan if they have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription.
Microsoft has already started shutting down Cortana
Microsoft is taking steps to discontinue Cortana support for Windows 11. Insiders on the Dev and Canary channels are receiving a new app update that removes the voice assistant's functionality. Upon startup, a message informs users that Cortana in Windows is no longer running as a standalone application, with a "Learn More" button that directs them to the Microsoft Support page.
StagingTool is the official ViVeTool-like app by Microsoft
Microsoft accidentally published an app, StagingTool, that allows enabling hidden and WIP features in Windows 11. The app much like the famous ViVeTool that is a third-party solution for the same purpose. It can also bypass A/B testing and enable required features even if they are not officially available on this device.
WSA 2307 Preview adds app launch protocol, Vulkan support, and more
Microsoft has released an update for Windows Subsystem for Android to those who participate in its Preview program. The released version is 2307.40000.2.0, and it comes with improvements made to advanced settings and graphics reliability. Microsoft has also implemented a few features that WSA users were highly requesting.
PowerToys 0.72 now requires less disk space, adds new Run plugins, and more
In the latest version of PowerToys 0.72, several improvements have been made. These include reducing the installed space significantly, with the installed size reported in the Installed Apps screen going from 1.15GB to 785MB, and the size in File Explorer properties for the installation folder decreasing from 3.10GB to 554MB.
Microsoft discontinues the Xbox Console Companion UWP App
On July 28, 2023, Microsoft announced that they will discontinue the Xbox Console Companion UWP App in a month. After August 28, 2023, app users will have to switch to the newer Xbox app for Windows.
Remote Code Execution Vulnerability affects VirtualBox, a fix is already available
According to the Zero Day Initiative profile resource, a vulnerability with the CVE code 2023-22018 has been identified in Oracle VirtualBox. It allows the remote execution of arbitrary code on virtual machines via an RDP protocol session.
