Microsoft’s Windows 11 Start menu tweak could be a real timesaver

Windows 11 might get a new piece of functionality for the Start menu that could be a very useful addition to this part of the interface.

As highlighted by PhantomOfEarth on Twitter, recent preview builds of Windows 11 (in the Dev channel) have introduced file previews for the Recommended section of the Start menu (the bottom panel).

See more

This is pretty nifty, as it means that when you hover over any recommended file – one Windows thinks you might want to use – a preview panel pops up showing relevant details.

As Windows Latest, which also spotted this change in testing, reports, in the case of an image file, to take an example, this will produce a small thumbnail of the photo being hovered over. That way, you can see if it’s the image you want before actually going to the trouble of opening it (and getting annoyed if it’s not the one you thought it was, wasting time as it fires up in your image editor).

Other details imparted with a quick hover include the file’s location on your drive, and the last time it was edited (with Microsoft set to add more info, no doubt).


Analysis: Still early days

Remember that this is just a rough version of the feature in Windows 11 right now. Microsoft hasn’t announced it, and these file previews are actually hidden in the OS currently. They’re not fully finished yet, and were only enabled by these leakers using a Windows configuration tool to dig around in the background of the operating system.

In short, it’s still very early days for this functionality, and as ever with features in testing, we may not ever see this in the release version of Windows 11. That said, this seems a likely pick for something Microsoft will push to fruition, given that it’s a pretty neat extra to have for the Start menu (or at least we think so).

Another change to the Start menu recently spotted in testing is Microsoft labeling its default Windows 11 apps, so the user can clearly see which are the applications that come preinstalled with the OS (such as Calculator, the Settings app, and so on).

Again, this is a move we reckon is almost certainly inbound for the final release version of Windows 11, as it’s a further useful addition into the mix for the Start menu (and not a difficult one to implement, of course).

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Windows 11 23H2 update is real, we’re told – but it could disappoint

Windows 11’s big update for later this year, known as 23H2, is reportedly real and inbound for PCs – though how much impact it’ll make is another question (that we’ll come back to shortly).

Windows Latest has been doing some digging and tells us that it has spotted references to ‘23H2’ in a couple of documents, as well as Windows preview builds.

Furthermore, those references have also been seen in Windows 11 itself, in Settings, and Winver, a command that displays the current version of Windows (and labels a test build as 23H2, presumably).

Windows Latest underlines something else in its report, namely that the 23H2 update will be triggered via an enablement package, something we’ve already heard from the rumor mill in recent times.

This means that in theory – we need to take all of this with a fair old sprinkling of salt – Microsoft will preload the 23H2 update before it comes around to release. So Windows 11 users will only need to download a small update – the trigger, or enablement package – to receive the preloaded features.

This also suggests that the update will be a more minor affair, as generally this is the approach Microsoft takes with upgrades that are, shall we say, a little less ambitious in their scope – they are effectively quick and easy updates (relatively speaking).


Analysis: Making way for Windows 12?

This also marries with what we’ve seen thus far in preview builds, namely that there aren’t any huge Windows 11 features appearing in the pipeline thus far. Don’t get us wrong, there’s definitely some solid stuff present in the preview – some key interface changes, and the revamp of File Explorer (complete with a new photo gallery feature) – but the meaty changes appear to be somewhat thin on the ground.

Now, that could change, as there’s still some time before the release of 23H2 – perhaps as much as five months even. But the reality is the upgrade will probably arrive before November, and given the time taken to test larger bits of functionality, there isn’t much breathing room left to get that kind of testing in.

It also makes sense that Microsoft hasn’t officially said anything about 23H2 yet, simply because there’s not all that much to shout about, perhaps.

In reality, as Windows Latest points out, bigger moves are at this point probably being reserved for Windows 12. After all, Microsoft needs to make a splash with a new incarnation of Windows – something in all honesty it failed to do with Windows 11, which initially felt like more of a reskin of Windows 10 than anything else. (Albeit with some good changes on the design front, no doubt – but also frustrations).

So, Microsoft will likely be saving much of the juicier stuff for Windows 12 – or whatever next-gen Windows is called – and that’s quite possibly going to turn up later in 2024, so Windows Latest suggests. And that’s a believable prospect, given that Windows 10 will be pushed out of support in 2025, plus it also aligns with other chatter from the rumor mill, too.

If true, this means that next year’s annual update for Windows 11 (24H2) will likely also be a more minor affair – given that Microsoft will have shifted its attention to Windows 12. Then it’ll only be a matter of time before Microsoft ceases any meaningful feature updates for Windows 11, which is what just happened with Windows 10.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Windows 11’s newest Easter egg is a real time-waster – in a good way

Windows 11 has an Easter egg where you can spin the Settings cog in certain parts of the interface.

The nifty spinning animation was highlighted by The Verge, who reported on the ability to do this in the Notepad app after a denizen of Reddit posted about it. Further additions to that Reddit thread include the observation that the ability is also present in the new Task Manager, at least in the dev and beta builds for Windows 11 testers.

Again, this is the same deal – bottom-left, there’s a cog icon that you can spin, and it’s a surprisingly addictive little extra.

Presumably we can expect more cogs to be fully spinnable elsewhere in the interface of Windows 11 in the future, too.

Windows 11 Notepad Spinning Cog

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Analysis: Some Windows extras are pretty obvious, others not so much…

Hidden extras in Windows are nothing new, of course, and indeed they can go quite some time undiscovered. Very recently an enterprising user managed to find an Easter egg in the very first version of Windows, somehow, which comprised of a secret list of developers who worked on Windows 1.0 (one of them being a certain Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve).

So that particular nugget lay undiscovered for nearly 37 years before it was stumbled across. Makes you wonder if there are some incredibly well-hidden secrets in Windows 10 or 11 (or indeed other recent versions of Microsoft’s desktop operating system). We’re betting there are, somewhere…

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Windows 11’s newest Easter egg is a real time-waster – in a good way

Windows 11 has an Easter egg where you can spin the Settings cog in certain parts of the interface.

The nifty spinning animation was highlighted by The Verge, who reported on the ability to do this in the Notepad app after a denizen of Reddit posted about it. Further additions to that Reddit thread include the observation that the ability is also present in the new Task Manager, at least in the dev and beta builds for Windows 11 testers.

Again, this is the same deal – bottom-left, there’s a cog icon that you can spin, and it’s a surprisingly addictive little extra.

Presumably we can expect more cogs to be fully spinnable elsewhere in the interface of Windows 11 in the future, too.

Windows 11 Notepad Spinning Cog

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Analysis: Some Windows extras are pretty obvious, others not so much…

Hidden extras in Windows are nothing new, of course, and indeed they can go quite some time undiscovered. Very recently an enterprising user managed to find an Easter egg in the very first version of Windows, somehow, which comprised of a secret list of developers who worked on Windows 1.0 (one of them being a certain Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve).

So that particular nugget lay undiscovered for nearly 37 years before it was stumbled across. Makes you wonder if there are some incredibly well-hidden secrets in Windows 10 or 11 (or indeed other recent versions of Microsoft’s desktop operating system). We’re betting there are, somewhere…

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More