Windows 11 just received a new cumulative update, but apparently Microsoft’s round of patching for December introduces a big problem for some students.
Windows Latest highlights reports from a number of students who are readers of the tech site – and universities themselves – about patch KB5033375 breaking Wi-Fi networks on campus.
Apparently, this isn’t happening to everyone by any means, but it is a serious glitch for some of those running Windows 11 who aren’t getting internet on their own laptop. As Brunel University London (UK), one of the affected unis, informs us, this isn’t happening with official university hardware, but BYOD notebooks (possibly because admins have already side-stepped the issue, perhaps?).
One theory from a system admin at a university, as Windows Latest points out, is that there may be a compatibility issue at play here (involving the Qualcomm QCA61x4a wireless adapter, and maybe others).
Another establishment to warn its students about the December update is the University of New Haven (Connecticut, US), which advises: “A recent Windows update released on 12/12/2023 has caused users to not be able to connect to the wireless networks. This update is known as KB5033375.”
Other reports are present on Reddit, with students in European countries being affected, and the issue seemingly pertaining to other Qualcomm wireless adapters.
Analysis: Update removal seems to be the only way forward, for now
In fairness to the December update, it does contain some useful fixes, including the solution to a longstanding problem with File Explorer randomly popping up on the desktop.
However, if you’re at university, any potential plus points here are likely to be outweighed by the danger of not being able to get on Wi-Fi, which is a nasty problem indeed.
A commonality here seems to be Qualcomm components, and the above mentioned Qualcomm QCA61x4a wireless adapter is a commonly used piece of hardware seen in notebooks such as the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3, Lenovo Yoga models, and many other laptops besides.
This problem also affects some business users, but for students, the only realistic way of resolving the bug is to uninstall the update, as the universities in question are recommending. (To do this, go to Windows Update in Settings, and click to view the Update History – that shows all the updates installed, and you can remove KB5033375 from here).
Hopefully Microsoft is looking into this one, and we’ve contacted the software giant to check if there’s an investigation underway. We’ll update this article if we hear anything back as to what’s going on here.
Microsoft has fixed a bug in Windows 11 that has been hanging around forever, pretty much – or for over a year anyway.
In fact, as Windows Latest observes, it took Microsoft fifteen months to fix the problem with File Explorer whereby it would simply pop into the foreground with no warning.
In other words, you might be busy working away at some task or other and File Explorer suddenly appears on top of all your other windows, for absolutely no reason.
An odd problem indeed, but we’re told that the cure is packaged up in the latest update for Windows 11. That’s the recently released cumulative update for December, also known as patch KB5033375.
Microsoft notes: “This update addresses an issue that affects File Explorer windows. When you do not expect them, they appear in the foreground.”
The bug seems to happen randomly on affected PCs, and worse still, Windows Latest says that it can occur on a roughly hourly basis in some scenarios, which is way too regularly for our liking.
Analysis: False hacking suspicions
The thing about this bug is that it isn’t just a distraction or annoyance, but more than this, it may make some Windows 11 users wrongly suspect that they’ve been hacked. After all, your PC doing things of its own accord, when you’re not touching the keyboard or the mouse perhaps, is a sign of potential compromise – and certainly a freaky thing to experience if nothing else.
In this respect, the File Explorer bug may have caused some undue worry on the part of those experiencing it, who may have been running virus scans and all sorts of other carry-on, imagining that there could be a potential breach of security on their system somewhere.
It’s good that this is fixed, but it should never take more than a year for a problem to be banished from Windows 11. There have certainly been some relieved users we’ve seen on the likes of Reddit rejoicing that this gremlin in the works has finally been dealt with, while scratching their heads at just how long it took Microsoft to untangle this one.
Microsoft has fixed a bug in Windows 11 that has been hanging around forever, pretty much – or for over a year anyway.
In fact, as Windows Latest observes, it took Microsoft fifteen months to fix the problem with File Explorer whereby it would simply pop into the foreground with no warning.
In other words, you might be busy working away at some task or other and File Explorer suddenly appears on top of all your other windows, for absolutely no reason.
An odd problem indeed, but we’re told that the cure is packaged up in the latest update for Windows 11. That’s the recently released cumulative update for December, also known as patch KB5033375.
Microsoft notes: “This update addresses an issue that affects File Explorer windows. When you do not expect them, they appear in the foreground.”
The bug seems to happen randomly on affected PCs, and worse still, Windows Latest says that it can occur on a roughly hourly basis in some scenarios, which is way too regularly for our liking.
Analysis: False hacking suspicions
The thing about this bug is that it isn’t just a distraction or annoyance, but more than this, it may make some Windows 11 users wrongly suspect that they’ve been hacked. After all, your PC doing things of its own accord, when you’re not touching the keyboard or the mouse perhaps, is a sign of potential compromise – and certainly a freaky thing to experience if nothing else.
In this respect, the File Explorer bug may have caused some undue worry on the part of those experiencing it, who may have been running virus scans and all sorts of other carry-on, imagining that there could be a potential breach of security on their system somewhere.
It’s good that this is fixed, but it should never take more than a year for a problem to be banished from Windows 11. There have certainly been some relieved users we’ve seen on the likes of Reddit rejoicing that this gremlin in the works has finally been dealt with, while scratching their heads at just how long it took Microsoft to untangle this one.
Windows 11 often has incoming changes hidden away behind the scenes of the operating system, and another of these has just been spotted – and it’s a big one pertaining to AI.
Windows Central stumbled upon a tweet by regular leaker PhantomOfEarth on X, who has been digging around in Windows 11 preview build 26016 (in the Canary channel).
Hidden in Canary 26016: a settings page for AI components. Currently incomplete and just shows the contents of the system components page.vivetool /enable /id:47688503 pic.twitter.com/VfAZkaa367December 13, 2023
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PhantomOfEarth discovered a Settings page for AI Components which, as mentioned, is hidden, but can be turned on using a Windows configuration tool (ViVeTool).
This lists system components related to AI functionality, although it doesn’t do anything when enabled (unsurprisingly, it’s tucked away in the background for a reason – namely it doesn’t work yet).
The leaker also found strings related to the page, with one of those being: “View and remove AI components that are installed on Windows.”
So, it seems that this panel in Settings (under System) will allow you not only to view any AI-related system components, but also uninstall them if you wish.
Analysis: A necessary choice?
The AI components listed in the screenshot provided by PhantomOfEarth include Windows Security, the Microsoft Store, Phone Link and Xbox Game Bar – suggesting maybe that these will be furnished with AI extras at some point? Or they could just be placeholders, which is probably a more likely story – though we can certainly see the Microsoft Store, for example, getting augmented with AI (that suggests apps you might like based on the usage of your PC, or past downloads).
The latter brings up a point that may worry some Windows 11 users, namely privacy and exactly what AI might be doing in terms of profiling you, and building up a more in-depth picture of your likes, dislikes and so on, extrapolating from that. We should note at this point that this discussion is entirely theoretical, of course, but the general point is that some folks won’t want AI in their operating system – either for privacy reasons, or because they don’t trust it, perhaps.
It makes sense, then, that Microsoft will cater for those who want to remove AI abilities and provide these uninstallation options. Not that the presence of this Settings page in testing means anything yet – it could be scrapped in preview. Indeed, it isn’t even present in preview builds yet, it’s hidden in the background.
That brings us to another point – it’s very early work on this feature. The likelihood is that a wider swathe of AI functionality – and these options – won’t fully debut until next-gen Windows is released. (That’ll be next year, in theory, although we’re still not sure whether this will be Windows 12 – though whatever the case, big plans are afoot for AI, going by the latest rumors).
An interesting observation Windows Central makes here is that we don’t know how far AI uninstallation capabilities will reach – and whether that might include getting rid of Copilot? Yes, Copilot is in the cloud right now (so not on your PC anyway, or at least its ‘brain’ isn’t, only the interface), but Microsoft seemingly has plans to make the AI local – and if so, it’s possible that it could be made removable.
We doubt it, mind you, seeing as Copilot is such a central aspect of the OS – but at least some components relating to AI should be viable for uninstallation if this new finding is anything to go by.
Windows 11 has a new preview build which further improves Voice Access, an area Microsoft has been putting a lot of effort into of late.
Preview build 22635.2915 (KB5033456) has just been rolled out to the Beta channel, and one of the additions is the ability to make customized voice shortcuts.
Using this feature, you can specify a trigger phrase for the command, and then the command itself.
Microsoft gives an example of an ‘insert work address’ command which when given automatically pastes in the specified address of your workplace. Anytime you need that putting into a document you’re working on, you just say the command – which is quite the timesaver.
Language support for Voice Access has also been extended, and now the following are included (on top of the existing languages): French (France), French (Canada), German, Spanish (Spain) and Spanish (Mexico).
Finally for voice features, multiple monitors are now supported, meaning that when you summon a grid overlay – for directing mouse clicks to certain areas of the desktop – you can do so on any of the screens connected to your PC. (Before now, the grid overlay could only be used on the primary display).
You can switch your focus to another monitor simply by using a letter (A, B, C and so on) or its phonetic equivalent (Alpha, Bravo, etc).
Microsoft further notes that there’s a drag and drop feature to move files or shortcuts from one display to another.
Elsewhere in build 22635, screen casting in Windows 11 has been improved, with a help option now in the Cast flyout from Quick Settings. This can be clicked if you’re having trouble piping your desktop to another screen and want some troubleshooting advice.
Users are also getting the ability to rename their device for the Nearby Sharing feature to help identify it more easily.
For the full list of changes and fixes in this Beta build, peruse Microsoft’s blog post.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Analysis: Custom capers
This is some useful work with Voice Access, and those with multiple monitors who use the feature will of course be very pleased, no doubt. Voice shortcuts is a powerful addition into the mix for voice functionality, too, and with this, there are a good deal of options.
Not just pasting a section of text as we mention in the example above, but also tasks can be triggered such as opening specified URLs in a browser, or opening a file or folder. You can combine multiple actions too, along with functions like mouse clicks or key presses. This is a feature we’ve been wanting for some time, so it’s great to see it arrive.
It’s also worth noting that Windows Speech Recognition has been removed from Windows 11 in this build, and when you open that old app, you’ll now get a message informing you of its deprecation, and recommending the far superior Voice Access capability instead.
We’re hoping that in the future, Voice Access is going to become an even more central part of the Windows 11 interface, and it seems a great candidate to be driven forward with AI – and maybe incorporated into Copilot.
The cumulative update for December, which just arrived (patch KB5033372), debuts Copilot (in preview) on the desktop, as well as applying the usual security fixes, and a few extra features besides.
Copilot’s icon is positioned on the taskbar, at the far right in the system tray. However, if you don’t see the AI assistant on your taskbar after installing KB5033372, that could be due to a slight complication for Windows 10 users regarding the interface, which we’ll come back to shortly.
Or it might be simply because this is a limited rollout of the AI to begin with. As Microsoft notes: “[Copilot] is available to a small audience initially and deploys more broadly in the months that follow.”
If you do see the Copilot icon, and don’t want the AI on your desktop, the good news is that you can right-click to disable it, as Windows Latest reports.
The December update for Windows 10 also gives the News & Interests panel more screen real-estate, and it introduces another feature from Windows 11 aside from Copilot.
That’s the ‘Get the latest updates as soon as they are available’ option, which as the name suggests, is a way to offer up your PC to get updates as soon as possible – with the catch that you may experience wonkiness as an early adopter. But more choice is always good in our book.
Analysis: Sidestepping Copilot
Copilot is the major move here, of course, but what about that mentioned interface issue? Well, there’s a problem for those who’ve moved their taskbar away from the bottom of the screen, and to the side, in Windows 10. Admittedly, that’s a niche set of users who are seriously into their desktop customization, but still, there are people who will likely be annoyed by this.
Microsoft informs us: “Copilot in Windows (in preview) is not currently supported when your taskbar is located vertically on the right or left of your screen.”
The obvious workaround, as Microsoft points out, is to move your taskbar back to the bottom of the screen (or the top). If you’re a hardcore customizer, though, relocating your taskbar from its preferred vertical position at the sides will probably mess with your mojo and workflow in a meaningful way.
At any rate, Microsoft tells us that it’s working on resolving this hiccup with the UI, and will keep us updated as to the progress on that fix.
The reason this isn’t a problem in Windows 11, by the way, is that you can’t move the taskbar away from the bottom of the desktop (much to the chagrin of those mentioned keen desktop tinkerers).
At the moment, Copilot is only on a limited rollout anyway, and it could take months to arrive on any given Windows 10 PC – but at least the process has now kicked off.
You’re not missing that much, mind, given the AI’s current condition, where it’s basically just a glorified version of the Bing chatbot (now renamed Copilot itself). It can manipulate some Windows settings, but not many to begin with – that functionality will be ramped up as the months pass, though.
Windows 11 just got its latest cumulative update which applies a bunch of fixes to the OS, along with bringing improvements to the Copilot AI.
It’s Copilot that’s the main focus here, with Microsoft introducing the AI assistant to the Alt+Tab function in December’s update (patch KB5033375). In other words, when you use that to tab through the various running apps on your PC, Copilot will be one of those running processes.
On top of that, Microsoft has made it so that you can use Copilot across multiple monitors. You can invoke the AI on any monitor now (with its taskbar icon), and by using the Windows key + C shortcut you can bring up Copilot on the last display it was present on.
Another smaller tweak, but a very useful one, is that the December update makes Copilot open faster when you click its icon on the taskbar. It’s always good to have tasks happen in a speedier fashion, of course.
A bug which previously meant that the Copilot icon on the taskbar wasn’t showing as active when the AI was in fact running has also been fixed.
Elsewhere, KB5033375 solves a widely reported problem whereby Narrator (the screen reader feature) failed to work during the installation process for Windows.
Another interesting move here is a tweak for the Dynamic Lighting hub, and we’re told Windows 11 now reduces the amount of power it uses on your PC. Savings on wattage are always welcome, of course.
As mentioned at the outset, there are a bunch of security fixes applied in the December update, and general troubleshooting work besides. Check out the support document for KB5033375, or rather, for the same update in preview (which is where the tweaks are listed in full – that preview arrived earlier in December, just over a week ago).
Analysis: testing the waters
The slight catch with the major two additions for Copilot here – the support across multiple monitors, and within Alt+Tab – is that not everyone will get them to begin with. Only a small subset of Windows 11 users will benefit off the bat, ahead of a broader rollout which will be ongoing.
It’s likely that this will be the approach for much of Microsoft’s Copilot tinkering, testing the waters in a limited way before a wider deployment is initiated.
We can expect Microsoft to be constantly improving Copilot every month, pretty much, now that the AI has rolled out to the general public in Windows 11. It’ll without doubt be the focus for Microsoft going forward into next year – and the potential release of next-gen Windows in 2024 (which may or may not be Windows 12).
Some Windows 11 (and 10) users are experiencing buggy behavior relating to their printer, and Microsoft has just acknowledged this issue, elaborating on it further.
You may recall that we previously reported on the bug and how it’s causing the HP Smart app to be installed on PCs without an HP printer – or indeed with no printer at all in some instances, causing much scratching of heads.
Actually, the issue is somewhat broader than the stealthy and unwanted installation of this HP app (from the Microsoft Store), because in some cases, Windows 11 is renaming connected printers as a specific HP model (LaserJet M101-M106) and changing icons. Furthermore, if you click on such a renamed printer, you may get an error as follows: “No tasks are available for this page.”
So, this is a bit of a thorny one to unpick, but at least Microsoft has given us information on what’s happening here (as Windows Latest noticed).
The software giant advises: “Our investigations indicate that this issue is not caused by an HP update. In most cases, it should be possible to use the [affected] printer as expected, including queueing printing jobs, as well as other features such as copy, scan, or fax.
“Printers on the device will continue to use the expected drivers for printer operations. However, this issue might affect associations with other manufacturer-supplied printer apps used to extend basic printer capabilities. If this is the case, some or all of those extended functions might not work.”
To sum up, then, this glitch shouldn’t affect the general operation of any errantly-renamed printer, but it could interfere with functionality beyond the basics, perhaps.
Microsoft tells us a further investigation is underway and that it’ll update us when new info is available.
Analysis: Metadata mix-up?
What’s going on here? Well, the problem isn’t HP’s fault, so it must be Microsoft’s issue and therefore a wrinkle in Windows 11 (and Windows 10).
Windows Latest puts forward a theory that seems reasonable, namely that a recent Windows update used incorrect metadata relating to printers which is wrongly identifying a connected printer as a specific HP model (LaserJet M101-M106). After that has happened, Windows is then pulling the HP Smart app from the Microsoft Store automatically as it thinks an HP printer is now on the system.
What about the HP Smart app being installed on PCs where a printer isn’t even connected? As Windows Latest points out, on one of their computers, the Microsoft Print to PDF icon (present on all systems) was renamed as the aforementioned LaserJet, and hence the app was downloaded. Presumably this is happening to some other folks without a printer, too.
Note that this is all theorizing, and we need to wait for Microsoft to comment before we can be sure that’s what’s going on. The good news is that if this is the case, presumably the fix won’t be too difficult to implement.
Microsoft is cooking up a next-gen Windows – and it may not be called Windows 12 – with some huge new AI tricks, according to a new report.
This comes from Zac Bowden at Windows Central, one of the more prolific Windows leakers out there – and a good source for rumors in our experience – who has plenty to say about what Microsoft is planning to do with AI in the next version of Windows for 2024 (which is codenamed Hudson Valley).
Some heavy-duty work is planned to integrate AI throughout the Windows interface more deeply, bringing in a whole load of features, some of which are described as “groundbreaking”. According to Bowden’s sources, the cornerstone of this work will be an AI-powered Windows Shell.
This will benefit from an ‘advanced Copilot’ AI that’s constantly working away in the background, looking at your searches and what you’re doing, trying to understand the context and help appropriately.
Some examples are given, such as being able to use more natural language in a search in Windows, like “find me that file Karen sent to me on WhatsApp earlier this week.”
There will also be a timeline feature that allows you to scroll back through all your recent app and website usage which Copilot records, and you can search within that for any term.
We’re also told to expect an AI-supercharged version of Live Captions, capable of translating to multiple different languages in real-time, not just for video (or audio) playback, but also on a live video chat.
The slight catch is that some AI features will require NPU hardware – a Neural Processing Unit which is a partner chip for the CPU/GPU, one that specializes in accelerating AI tasks – and those will be more heavyweight capabilities. One example given is AI-powered upscaling of the image quality of videos or indeed games.
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Bowden also contends that we could even get fancy wallpapers driven by AI, and indeed we’ve heard leaks previously about backgrounds that will use a parallax effect – one that interacts with the cursor, or gyroscope in Windows devices that have one, and looks like it’s popping out of your screen.
Away from AI – which will be the major focus of next-gen Windows, though we’d already guessed that – Microsoft is also planning changes to the interface. That includes a ‘Creator’ panel for the Start menu and File Explorer, which will be a hub for launching anything related to content creation in Windows. Bowden describes it as a kind of ‘launchpad for Microsoft 365’ bristling with shortcuts to your latest Word documents, PowerPoints, and so forth.
Furthermore, there’s even talk of shifting around bits of the core layout of the desktop, like putting the system tray (bottom-right) at the top of the screen – but more radical moves like this are likely for the future, not next year.
Finally, another major enhancement for next-gen Windows will come to energy saver (recently spotted in testing), with Microsoft seemingly looking at beefing up battery life by up to 50% in certain scenarios – which would be huge for laptop owners. And apparently, a new ‘green power’ option will be capable of detecting when the electricity it’s being fed from the socket is derived from renewable sources, and it’ll initiate charging if that’s the case. Pretty nifty.
When might we get all – or at least some – of these goodies? Bowden reckons that Microsoft is aiming to complete work on next-gen Windows in August 2024, and it’ll be rolled out around September or October, the typical time the big annual update is expected to arrive.
As we said at the outset, Bowden is also somewhat doubtful about whether this next version of Microsoft’s desktop OS will be Windows 12 – and we’ve already been discussing that in-depth elsewhere this morning (plus there’s some juicy new info on changes Microsoft is apparently planning for the release cadence of Windows).
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Analysis: Game-changing possibilities
This is just talk – chatter from the rumor mill – so we must apply the usual skepticism, and consider that some of it might be fanciful, wishful thinking. But it does sound like AI really will make a big difference to the next incarnation of Windows.
Having a search function that allows for more natural use of language – “find those images I put on Google Drive from that Microsoft press kit last month” – would be hugely powerful. Not having to remember the exact name of a file you’re hunting out will be a huge boon in itself. (And hopefully, we can avoid Copilot inquiring: “Oh, and by the way, why aren’t you using OneDrive?”).
There are several game-changing possibilities mentioned here, like real-time captions delivered for video chatting with multiple language options. And in a very literal sense, NPU-powered upscaling for games could be very useful where Nvidia’s or AMD’s upscaling tech isn’t present, or supported – and it’ll be great for videos and watching Netflix, or your preferred streaming service, on your PC too.
What isn’t mentioned here, and would seem to be an obvious avenue of potential improvement, is Voice Access. Powering up speech recognition tech with AI seems like a way to make next-gen Windows truly innovative – Voice Access has already come a long way (since incorporating Dragon’s excellent tech), but surely there’s scope for AI to make it all the more powerful. And for spoken conversations with Copilot to become the norm, with no typing needed, and no misinterpretation.
In recent times, accessibility has been an area Microsoft has been laudably keen to make improvements with, and surely that theme will continue with AI helping to push the boundaries therein.
Windows 12 may not be happening after all, or at least that seems to be the way the rumor mill is suddenly tilting – and Microsoft is also changing how it’ll update its desktop OS in the future, we’re told.
This fresh info comes from Zac Bowden of Windows Central, a well-known leaker on all things Microsoft.
Bowden tells us that the next version of Windows (codenamed Hudson Valley) will be highly AI-focused (quelle surprise) and Microsoft is planning to launch it in September or October 2024 – but the final name is a marketing decision that hasn’t yet been made.
However, the leaker claims that sources inside Microsoft are doubtful as to whether it’ll be Windows 12. The reason? Microsoft is apparently wary of fragmenting the user base further with another release that has a different name – and we totally get where that line of thought is coming from (we’ll return to discuss that shortly).
This doesn’t rule out Windows 12, of course, but it certainly sounds like Microsoft is edging towards sticking with another release of Windows 11 for the next incarnation.
Bowden also chews over purported changes to the way Windows updates are delivered, and sources inside Microsoft have indicated that there’ll be a return to a big annual feature update – with fewer ‘Moment’ (smaller) feature updates.
Currently, we’re getting a raft of Moment updates – we’re up to Moment 4 this year, with a fifth planned for February or March next year – and an annual upgrade (23H2 this year) which was somewhat smaller in terms of its feature count (as lots of features had been introduced with those Moment updates already).
Next year, with fewer Moment updates – we’re told these will still exist, but will be used “sparingly” – the big upgrade for later in 2024 (Hudson Valley) will be a chunkier affair. In short, Microsoft is putting more emphasis on the major annual update going forward, or that’s the theory.
Analysis: Two buckets are better than three
So, if Microsoft goes the route of making Hudson Valley an all-new release called Windows 12 (or another alternative – Windows AI, maybe), what’s the danger of fragmentation referred to here?
Well, if Windows 12 came out next year, we’d have a bunch of folks leaping to that OS, a bunch still on Windows 11, and a whole load of users still running Windows 10 (stuck behind a hardware upgrade barrier in many cases – either because they don’t have TPM functionality on their PC, or their CPU is too old).
This would be diluting the user base over three buckets instead of two, if you will, which does feel like a clumsy approach, and servicing all this will end up a clunkier, harder-to-manage process, too.
Funnily enough, we just saw a leak suggesting Windows 11 24H2 is incoming, which is what the name of Hudson Valley will doubtless be if Microsoft sticks with Windows 11 – so this lends a bit more weight to the speculation here.
Again, this doesn’t rule out Windows 12, of course – but it is starting to feel somewhat less likely.
Windows 11 is bringing the ability to banish the clutter from the widgets panel to all users, you’ll doubtless be pleased to hear – maybe opening up this part of the interface to being used by a lot more folks.
Previously, we heard about the option to remove the news feed and adverts from the widgets panel – so it purely plays host to widgets, and nothing else – was going to be part of a package of measures for Windows 11 users in the European Economic Area (EEA).
However, it seems this is a change rolling out to all Windows 11 users, as Microsoft advised in a blog post for the new preview build in the Beta channel (22635.2841), as part of some fresh introductions to settings for the widget board.
Microsoft tells us: “One of the new settings enables you to just show widgets on your widgets board,” adding that: “The new settings experience is not limited by region.”
Note that this is in the process of being rolled out, so not all testers in the Beta channel will have it yet. Of course, it’ll take further time to be pushed to the Release Preview channel, and then onto the finished version of Windows 11 (hopefully).
Other tweaks to widget settings include the ability to change the Microsoft account used to pipe through the news feed (if you want it), so you don’t have to be stuck with the account that’s signed into Windows 11.
There are also some tweaks for Copilot, including the AI now appearing in the Alt-Tab menu (for quickly switching between apps in Windows 11), and the ability to use Copilot across multiple screens.
For the full lowdown on all the bits and pieces Microsoft is working on with this preview version, check out the blog post.
Analysis: A hopeful sign?
It seems like Microsoft is listening to feedback, because while widgets can be a useful little extra for Windows 11, there are certainly users who have shied away from the widgets panel due to its pollution with news content pulled from MSN (and ads to make matters worse).
It’s interesting to see this happen just after the negative reaction to the changes being brought in for the EEA, and not other Windows 11 users, who would very much like these choices. So, maybe more of these options will be widely rolled out, after all. We remain unconvinced about that – as the motivation behind them is to comply with regulations in Europe – but who knows.
These are some very useful features, like being able to rid the Windows 11 search box of Bing (and its web results), or the choice to be able to uninstall Microsoft’s Edge browser. Time will tell, but the testing channels are worth watching closely going forward.
In terms of widgets themselves, another useful change rumored in the past is the ability to move them off their panel and pin them to the desktop.
While the rumor mill has been putting some stock in the idea that the next version of Microsoft’s operating system will be called Windows 12, and it’s expected to turn up next year, a little doubt has now sprung up around this.
Regular leaker @XenoPanther on X (formerly Twitter) was digging around in Windows (policy definitions, pretty dry stuff) and stumbled upon a reference to ‘Windows 11 24H2.’
Early mention of Windows 11 24H2, or possible typo?The mention can be found in PolicyDefinitions\en-US\Windows.adml pic.twitter.com/WAAmlM2vRiNovember 29, 2023
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As the leaker notes, this could be a typo, as the references seem to skip from Windows 11 22H2 to 24H2, so maybe this is supposed to read 23H2?
If it is correct, though, it’s an early indication that the next version of Microsoft’s OS will be the 24H2 update for Windows 11 – rather than Windows 12 as rumored.
In other words, Windows 12 may not be coming next year, or at least that’s the conclusion some folks are rapidly drawing on social media thanks to this leak.
Analysis: Possible placeholder?
Putting the possibility that this is a mistake to one side – which it certainly could be – jumping to conclusions really is premature here. Even if it isn’t an error, a mere mention of Windows 11 24H2 could be a placeholder name for next year’s release, of course.
It is, however, at least a suggestion that Microsoft might not be going for a whole new version of Windows for next year after all.
Note carefully, though, that no one actually mentions Windows 12 as the name - instead, less specific terms like 'next-gen Windows' are employed.
It’s likely even Microsoft itself hasn’t decided on the final name yet, and so calling the next version Windows 11 24H2 could be a placeholder for next-gen Windows – which might end up being named Windows 12 – as much as it is a possible sign that Windows 11 will stick around for another year and another annual update.
We’ve previously bet on a future version of Windows being renamed due to its strong focus on AI (Windows Copilot, perhaps, even though Microsoft already used that name, or Windows AI even?). Whenever AI hits big-time for the OS, Microsoft will rename it accordingly to reflect that, we reckon – although in fairness, from the speed of Copilot development so far, that probably won’t be next year.
