Category: Software

On October 5, 2021, Microsoft launched Windows 11 and new Surface computers that come with latest operating system preinstalled. To help customers get the most out of their Surface computers, Microsoft offers a special Surface app on the Microsoft Store. Recently, the application received a big update with 36 new languages and a couple of new features. Here is how Microsoft describes its Surface app.

Microsoft has released an updated web version of the Xbox Store. However, it is under a gradual roll-out, so not everyone will instantly see the change. Reportedly, it is fully available to users in Canada. Microsoft didn't officially announce it yet.

Microsoft is always working on new ways to help people with disabilities enjoy modern technologies. During the recent Surface event, the Software giant revealed Surface Adaptive Kit to make laptops, tablets, and other traditional devices more accessible. Now, a bunch of improvements is coming soon to Xbox consoles.

A much-improved File Explorer is one of the most notable changes in Windows 11, which is coming on October 5, 2021. The new version of File Explorer in Windows 11 offers a fancier UI, but overall remains the same good-old app we have been using since the release of Windows 8 in 2012. Those tired of waiting for Microsoft to deliver a proper modern file manager can finally download a third-party app called "Files," which promises to fix most of the annoyances in Windows 11's File Explorer.

Microsoft has announced the first preview of Visual Studio 2022 for Mac, the next version of its flagship IDE due to release soon. Earlier this year, Microsoft released the first Visual Studio 2022 preview for Windows, and now the IDE is available to test on Apple computers.

Microsoft today released PowerToys 0.47. This new version is supercharged by WinUI 2.7, and comes with a huge number of fixes. Also, the company highlights the ability to open Shortcut Guide via holding the Win key.

The most popular freeware mail client, Thunderbird, has reached version 91.1.2. Today's update is a minor release with comes with just one change and a number of fixes. Here are the changes.

Microsoft recently started enforcing Windows 11 hardware compatibility rules for virtual machines, requiring SecureBoot, UEFI, and a TPM module to get the latest builds. As a result, many users noticed that their VMs could no longer download and install fresh updates. If you use Hyper-V or commercial virtualization software (VMWare Workstation, for example), you can add TPM modules to your virtual machines. The problem is that TPM modules are not available in free virtualization apps, such as VMWare Player or VirtualBox. Fortunately, developers of the latter work on fixing the situation.

Microsoft PowerToys, a set of advanced tools to expand features in Windows, is now available to download from the Microsoft Store on Windows 11. Up until now, users could download the app from its official repository on GitHub, which is not the simplest or the most convenient option for many. With the arrival of PowerToys to the Microsoft Store, more users can access the app with a single click.

In 2007, Microsoft introduced Silverlight - a framework for developing rich web applications, similar to how Adobe Flash operates. Apart from offering Silverlight for media streaming services (Netflix used Silverlight before ditching it in favor of HTML5 in 2013), Microsoft used it as one of the development platforms for now-deceased Windows Phone. Just like the latter bit the dust in 2015, Microsoft is now ending support for Silverlight. The company announced its plans to pull the plug on Silverlight on October 12, 2021.