Category: Software

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Xbox brand, Microsoft has added 76 games from the Xbox 360 and the first Xbox generation to its backward-compatible game program for the Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. This way, you will be able to replay many of the iconic games created over the past two decades.

A beta version of the new WhatsApp app for Windows 10 and 11 is now available on Microsoft Store. It is a full-fledged UWP app that looks cool and stylish thanks to an acrylic blur and other modern effects. It supports background notifications and handwriting using a touchscreen or stylus.

Every couple of weeks, Microsoft pushes an update for Windows Terminal—its new app to replace Command Prompt, PowerShell, and other console applications. Microsoft announced Windows Terminal in 2019 at the annual Build conference, and now Terminal is an integral part of Windows 11.

Meta (formerly Facebook) announced an integration between Microsoft Teams and Meta Workplace. It will allow employees not only to access content from Workplace without leaving Teams. The first feature is already available. In 2022, users will also be able to create video meetings in Workplace groups using Teams.

Soon you will be able to install PC games from Microsoft Store or Xbox Game Pass to any folder. The appropriate changes will be included to the upcoming update for Xbox for Windows. It is currently in testing.

A couple of weeks ago, Microsoft launched a new Feedback Portal for users to send their thoughts, complaints, and ideas about Microsoft's products. Back then, Feedback Portal was only accepting posts about Microsoft Teams and the Edge browser. Now, Microsoft is ready to receive all sorts of feedback from users across more than 30 various products.

Microsoft today announced the release of stable versions of Visual Studio 2022 and .NET 6. From now,  developers can download both tools from the official website and start using them in their projects.

On the official Tech Community Forum, Microsoft announced upcoming changes to the built-in OneDrive client in Windows. On January 1, 2022, Microsoft will stop supporting OneDrive in old Windows versions, namely Windows 8.1, 8, and 7. The company says it wants to focus resources on new technologies and operating systems and "provide users with the most up-to-date and secure experience."

You can disable side-channel mitigations in VMWare Player to improve Windows 11 performance. VMWare Player, a free version of VMWare Workstation Pro, recently received software TPM support, allowing users to create Windows 11-compatible virtual machines for various purposes (like testing preview builds in the Windows Insider program).

Microsoft has introduced a new app for Microsoft 365 subscribers called Loop. It tries to rethink and combine the capabilities of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Teams, - into one canvas which should increase the productivity of teams.