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Microsoft’s latest bid to cajole Windows 11 users into switching to Edge is a pop-up 3D banner – and I’m not impressed
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Microsoft has revealed a new tactic in its campaign to persuade Windows 11 users to switch to the Edge browser – and it’s a 3D banner, no less.

I suppose that’s a bit different from the usual nags I’ve seen from Microsoft, which has tried so hard, for so very long, to cajole users into switching to Edge. And honestly, some of these attempts have gotten rather tiresome.

This most recent move to entice new users is a pop-up banner that appears when you open Edge directly (or when opening a file, like a PDF, which is set to fire up Edge), and it features a prompt to get you to set Edge as your default browser.

Going by the screenshot taken by Windows Latest, the banner tries to sway you by stating that Edge will protect you against phishing and malware attacks while employing some kind of a limited three-dimensional effect with the visuals here.

Screnshot of banner

(Image credit: Mayank Parmar via Windows Latest )

In the past, Microsoft has made many attempts to get people to switch to Edge. A classic example is the experience when you’re trying to download Google Chrome on a new machine – you’ve got to use Edge as it’s there by default in Windows 11 – and a banner pops up letting you know that Edge is just as good, if not better and that there’s no need to download Chrome. 

While I can’t comment on the effectiveness of these kinds of banners and pop-ups, I can say that it’s not a concept that works for me. Personally, having multiple nag panels trying to get me to do something is not an approach that works – in fact, it kind of makes me more determined to never open Edge ever again.

Now, don’t get me wrong: I don’t think Edge is an explicitly bad browser by any means, and with the recent AI improvements and features implemented by Microsoft, it has become more popular. However, by now, Microsoft should know that nobody likes a nag, and every little nudge and push makes me – and probably others, too – less likely to give Edge a try. 

For now, I’ll stick with Google Chrome and dismiss these prompts out of principle. 

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Windows 11 could make checking your phone from your PC even better – so Apple, take note for macOS Sequoia
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Windows 11 could put your iPhone or Android device right into the heart of the Start menu, in a manner of speaking – or at least the Phone Link app is apparently headed this way.

That’s according to clues unearthed by MS Power User, which reported on whispers from Windows 11 testers to the effect that Phone Link is set to be made into a Start menu ‘Companion.’

If you’ve missed the Companion panel appearing in Windows preview builds last month, it’s a floating panel that can be docked to the left or right of the Start menu. The Companions it plays host to are a bit like Live Tiles of old, widget-style affairs that display real-time info which is piped through.

In theory, Phone Link will be one of the apps that’ll appear in the Companion panel, as MS Power User took a deep dive into files from Phone Link and found a number of code strings relating to ‘StartMenuCompanion’ settings.

Analysis: Dialing up the work on phone integration

This would appear to be the groundwork for Phone Link to become a Start menu Companion, but of course, this is just work hidden in testing right now – and we can’t take it for granted this will happen. Indeed, the Companion panel itself might be abandoned yet if Microsoft thinks better of it – only time will tell.

Given the rumors, and at least some concrete evidence that Phone Link will get this treatment, it seems more likely to happen than not, on balance. Phone Link would also be a logical and useful app to have in the Companion panel, in order to pipe notifications through from your smartphone, bringing them to your attention when you’re in the Start menu.

Phone Link has been a key part of Windows for some time now, and it’s not surprising Microsoft is pushing ahead with potential features like this – and work on the Cross-Device Experience Host (albeit that has stumbled of late) and other phone-related capabilities besides – given that Apple now has iPhone Mirroring inbound with macOS Sequoia.

Whichever way you dice it, smartphones are becoming more and more deeply integrated into desktop operating systems these days.

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Microsoft admits recent Windows 10 updates messed up the taskbar for some users – but a fix is coming
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Microsoft has acknowledged that there’s a bug introduced by recent Windows 10 updates that can break a piece of taskbar functionality – but the good news is a fix is in the works.

The problem is evident for some Windows 10 users when right clicking on a pinned app on the taskbar, when instead of seeing the usual context-sensitive jump list menu – that allows access to common features, like opening recent files – they get something entirely useless.

What Windows 10 produces instead is the ‘Open with…’ menu (that facilitates choosing which app you want to open a file with). That’s not only unhelpful but also confusing, frankly, though Windows Latest, which spotted this, notes that the bug only affects a small set of Windows 10 users – and it only happens with some apps, not all of them.

So, this isn’t something you’re likely to encounter, but if you do, it’s a rather annoying issue. Furthermore, it affects a wide range of recent updates for Windows 10 – not just the latest June cumulative update, but also the May cumulative update (and that month’s optional update), and the optional update for April too.

Windows Latest reports that Microsoft has pinpointed a fix and the company has indicated that the resolution will be included in a future update for Window 10 22H2.

Analysis: A quick fix, with any luck

Hopefully, with the fix identified, implementing it shouldn’t be a difficult task and we might see the cure in next month’s cumulative update. Indeed, if that’s the case, we’ll actually get it before the July update, as it will be in the optional update for June, which is a preview of the former. That should be here in not much more than a week, in fact – though there’s no guarantee the fix won’t take longer, of course.

In case you missed it, what’s interesting with Windows 10 is that Microsoft is not just fixing and patching the OS, but is actively developing it again, adding new features and recently resurrecting the Beta channel to test them. That’s despite the End of Life date for Windows 10 coming ever closer – the OS runs out of support in October 2025, in case you’d forgotten. So it won’t be that long before you need to start exploring the options you have in that regard.

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New Windows 11 bug is slowing down some devices by up to 25% and piling more misery on Microsoft
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Windows 11 has a bug in testing right now which is seriously slowing down processors – although Microsoft has said it’s on the case, so it should be fixed soon enough, with any luck.

The bug is present in test builds of Windows 11 24H2 – the next big update for the OS – and it’s caused by the Cross-Device Experience Host going wrong somewhere.

Neowin spotted that a number of users have said their CPU performance has been impacted – substantially in some cases – by the process. As the name suggests, the Cross-Device Experience Host (CDEH) is the functionality that links your smartphone and Windows PC to make it easier to achieve tasks like sharing photos from your phone to the desktop. (This runs alongside the existing Phone Link app, by the way).

There are reports of the bug in various places, including Microsoft’s own Feedback Hub and its Answers.com support forum. The slowdown reported varies, mind, with some folks saying that the CDEH process is eating something like 5% to 10% of their CPU – still pretty bad – but others are claiming 15% to 20% slowdowns, or even 25% in one case.

For the CPU to be losing that level of resources to a misfiring process running in the background of Windows 11 is a pretty dire situation, frankly.

Microsoft’s Jen Gentleman, who’s on the Windows testing team, has confirmed that there is an issue here, and that work is underway to resolve it.

Gentleman replied on the Feedback Hub: “Appreciate your patience, we’ve identified the cause and are working on a fix.”

Microsoft presenting Surface Laptop and Surface Pro devices.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Analysis: bad timing

So, the good news is that a fix is inbound – and remember, you won’t be affected by this bug yet, not unless you’re a tester. The CDEH functionality is still in preview (in the unreleased 24H2 update) and not rolled out to all Windows 11 users yet, but it will be later this year, of course.

We’re also not 100% sure if the CPU draining glitch might be present with Copilot+ PCs, but it won’t be as far as we’re aware. Those AI PCs launch today, June 18, with a 24H2 build on board – but not the finished one. There are still a good deal of features missing from the version of 24H2 that debuts with Copilot+ PCs, and the full suite of features won’t debut until later this year when the 24H2 update rolls out to all Windows 11 devices – and this is when CDEH comes into play, we assume.

At any rate, the only concern for Windows 11 users broadly is that Microsoft gets a fix in place, which it surely will by the time the 24H2 update is rumored to land (around September 2024). Our worry would be if the fix isn’t implemented properly, and there are still some issues left around this CDEH slowdown – but hopefully that won’t happen. If it did, it wouldn’t be the first time a bug fix applied by Microsoft didn’t fully work, mind – and this would be a particularly bad one to slip through the net.

On an overall level, the timing of this revelation isn’t great. As mentioned, the launch of Copilot+ PCs – Microsoft’s new era of AI-supercharged computing – is happening right now, and Microsoft has just pulled its kingpin AI feature – Recall – from that launch following a whirlwind of controversy, and now we have a bug in Windows 11 which is causing some CPUs to run like treacle (well, not quite, but markedly sluggishly in some cases).

The future of computing suddenly looks a bit chaotic, going by the past week – and Microsoft will need to get its act together sharpish.

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Windows 11 gets a useful addition to the Start menu for a change –and some other nifty tweaks
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Windows 11 just got some useful new tweaks for the Start menu, albeit they are still in testing for the moment.

These came as part of the preview build (version 22635) that was released in the Beta channel late last week, which Microsoft added to over the weekend.

There are two main tweaks here for the Windows 11 interface, both of which apply to the Start menu and bolster it with useful functionality.

First off, Microsoft has added jump lists for apps which support them, meaning that when you right click on such an app in the Start menu, you’ll see a list of context-sensitive actions that you might want to take.

Think of these as handy shortcuts, so as in Microsoft’s example in its blog post for the preview, when you right click on the PowerPoint app, you’ll see options to immediately open files that you recently worked with in the program. Or for the Snipping Tool, you’ll be presented with options to immediately take a screenshot (or a delayed grab).

The second tweak Microsoft has made for Windows 11 testers, the one more recently added to this preview build, is the ability to drag and drop apps in the Start menu directly to the taskbar, or the desktop, in order to pin them.

Away from the Start menu, as regular leaker Albacore shared on X (hat tip to Windows Latest), there’s also been a change for the taskbar, although this isn’t in the Beta channel, but the Canary channel, an earlier testing avenue.

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As noted, there’s a setting that turns off the notifications bell on the taskbar, giving you a bit more space, and a lack of nagging, if you’re not a fan of that feature. Right now, it doesn’t work though – and as ever with anything in this earliest testing channel, it might not make the cut for inclusion in Windows 11.

Analysis: Better late than never

There are some small but useful changes here, and hopefully with the Start menu tweaks, we should see these coming through soon enough (possibly in the Windows 11 24H2 update, which is rumored to be set for launch in September 2024).

Mind you, the change for dragging and dropping an app from the Start menu to the desktop (or taskbar) should really have been in Windows 11 in the first place. This is another example of a seemingly basic piece of interface functionality that was left out of Microsoft’s newest OS for no apparent reason – drag and drop in the File Explorer address bar is another example of this.

These represent odd decisions by Microsoft which are constraining in terms of the interface and your workflow when you come over from Windows 10 (where these abilities are available). At any rate, at least these pieces of the interface puzzle are now in place, if only in testing right now.

Via Windows Latest [1, 2]

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Windows 11 24H2 officially debuts for Copilot+ PCs, and nobody else – but don’t worry, you’re not missing much
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Microsoft has made Windows 11 version 24H2 available – but right now, it’s for Copilot+ PCs only, at least officially.

This means that to begin with, the 24H2 update is only being released for those specific devices, which means to begin with, Windows on Arm laptops with the new Snapdragon X (Arm-based) chips – and no other PCs.

As Windows Latest spotted, Microsoft states in its release notes: “Windows 11, version 24H2 is only available for Copilot+ PCs devices.”

However, there’s a twist in that what Microsoft means here is that 24H2 is only available in its finished version for Copilot+ PCs. These devices go on sale tomorrow (June 18), and when you fire up your Copilot+ laptop, it’ll be running 24H2 and will immediately apply KB5039239 (it’s the cumulative update for June).

Those who don’t have a Copilot+ PC can actually download and run KB5039239, but only as a Windows Insider. In other words, 24H2 is only available as a test build (26100.863) which is in the Release Preview channel.

As Windows Latest points out, though, if you do run this preview on a standard (non-Copilot+) system you may experience a rough ride in terms of bugs, more so than a normal test build (certainly one in Release Preview which is, as the name suggests, the final step before release).

Analysis: Missing out? Not really

If you're afraid that you’re missing out by not getting Windows 11 24H2, we wouldn’t worry about that. As we already noted, yes, this is only for Arm-based Copilot+ PCs, and while you can technically put the preview spin on a PC running an AMD or Intel CPU, there isn’t much in the way of new features anyway. (And the one huge feature for Copilot+ PCs, Recall, was pulled as you may remember, and put into testing for the foreseeable).

Indeed, for now, all the initial 24H2 release does is apply some bug fixes – including one to ensure games with BattlEye anti-cheat work with Windows on Arm – and security tweaks.

There is one sizable change with Copilot, though, which will become an ‘app experience’ so the desktop assistant can be treated like any app within Windows 11. In other words, you can move the Copilot window, snap or resize it and so forth – rather than having it locked to a side panel – but even that’s something you can likely wait for.

When the full release of the 24H2 update comes, likely in September if rumors are right – though it could slide until later in 2024 – there will be a lot more features on-board (though some of them will be for Copilot+ PCs only, like Recall).

So for now, you’re not really missing out on anything, and indeed this preview build returning to testing is a good sign for everyone in terms of the release timeframe of the full Windows 11 24H2 update. If you recall, the rollout and testing of the preview was paused due to various nasty bugs, and we were worried there might even be a delay to 24H2 – but with the build having its rollout resumed in the Release Preview channel, that’s a good sign that things remain on track regarding the launch schedule.

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Microsoft quietly updates controversial Windows 11 Recall feature – but not with the changes that are really needed
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Microsoft’s flagship AI feature for Copilot+ PCs, Recall, has been through the wringer lately, and at the risk of sounding like a hater – rightfully so.

In case you missed it, Recall takes screenshots every few seconds, building up a library of images you can search via AI, but the feature has some serious issues on the privacy front, to the point that the launch of Recall was pulled and banished back to the Windows Insider Program for further testing.

However, that hasn’t stopped Microsoft from quietly adding new features to Recall as the tech giant runs damage control around this whole controversy.

As discovered by well-known leaker Albacore, writing for Tom’s Hardware (via Neowin), there are a few new chunky bits of functionality hidden away in the latest Windows 11 preview build (in the Canary channel).

One of those is ‘screenray’ which is a utility that’ll pop up to analyze what’s currently on the screen. It’s summoned via a keyboard shortcut and allows the user to get extra information from Copilot about anything present on-screen, or access a translation for something in a foreign language.

Windows Recall screenshot

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware )

While we have a limited understanding of the exact nature of this new tool, it does seem similar to the Reader feature in Safari that Apple introduced during WWDC – which leverages Apple Intelligence to scan a web page and translate, summarize, or add insight to whatever content is currently being browsed. Of course, Windows 11’s Recall tool is available across your entire system, not just in a browser.

Alongside this, Microsoft has implemented a revamped homepage design for Windows 11’s Recall feature. This means that when you fire up Recall, instead of being presented with a new snapshot, you get a grid of recent snapshots (there’s still a button to allow you to create a new snapshot – this just doesn’t happen by default anymore).

Also new is a ‘Topic’ section that organizes snapshots by themes, so you can group together related screenshots (for, say, Spotify) to make for easier searching.

Windows Recall screenshot

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware )

Finally, Windows Recall also has better integration with Copilot in this new preview build. Clicking on a snapshot will produce a drop-down menu with context-sensitive choices, so you can get Copilot to copy something, open it in an app, or if it’s an image, find pictures in the same vein, or create a similar image. All the standard Copilot options, essentially.

While these new additions to the controversial feature seem useful, I’m finding it hard to get past how bizarre the whole feature feels in the first place. I’m sure I won’t be the only one, either, and with all the concerns raised about Recall in recent times, Microsoft has a lot of work to do. It’ll definitely take a lot more to get me on board than a homepage redesign and this new screenray functionality.

For now, Windows Recall lives in the Windows Insider Program, where it’ll be tinkered with and tested for quite some time, most likely, before Microsoft dares try to launch it again. Whatever happens, when the feature hits release, Microsoft needs to make sure it gets things right this time around, and that means working on privacy and security as an absolute priority.

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Microsoft’s embarrassment over Recall fiasco gets worse as Windows 11 feature becomes the butt of Apple exec’s joke
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Apple has the proverbial knives out for Microsoft when it comes to AI, landing a blow over the recent backtracking with Windows 11’s Recall feature for Copilot+ PCs.

You’ll likely have seen that Microsoft has had a turbulent time with Recall since announcing the feature, which takes regular screenshots of the activity on your PC to concoct a timeline searchable via AI – a powerful ability no doubt, but one which raised a whole bunch of security and privacy question marks. So much so that Microsoft pulled Recall from the launch of Copilot+ PCs, and put it back into testing for now.

In a video clip from WWDC 24 – which yes, was last week, but this footage only just surfaced on X – an Apple exec pulled no punches when the subject of Windows 11’s Recall feature came up.

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John Gruber (a well-known Apple pundit of Daring Fireball fame) asked a question about whether Microsoft’s mistakes with the initial incarnation of Recall are frustrating to Apple, as it tries to build trust in its own AI product (Apple Intelligence).

Apple’s SVP of worldwide marketing, Greg ‘Joz’ Joswiak, is in like a flash to clarify if Gruber means: “Are we pressured by the failings of our competitors?”

That gets a big laugh, and Joswiak follows up with: “The answer’s no.”

Analysis: Making the most of Microsoft’s mistakes

It’s not a surprise for Apple to land such a marketing blow, as Microsoft has very much left its guard down and is an open target right now in terms of its AI ambitions.

Microsoft making such a misstep with its key AI feature for Copilot+ PCs – Recall is the ace in its Windows 11 artificial intelligence pack – is pretty embarrassing. However, we are glad Microsoft has taken ownership of these mistakes and is attempting to rectify them – although it doesn't really have a choice not to. There wasn’t realistically any other way forward.

Gruber does make a serious point about how this could be damaging for the public trust in all manifestations of AI, though, even if Joswiak completely deflects that concern.

Fortunately for Apple, the company laid out its stall regarding tight security and privacy emphatically with Apple Intelligence. That includes keeping as much processing as possible on-device for AI workloads, and for tasks that need more muscle and are sent online, they go to custom-built Apple servers featuring a hardened OS, and contents not even the company itself can see (with your data being ‘cryptographically destroyed’ after the AI query is dealt with).

So, in some ways this is great timing for Apple, in terms of the revelation of Apple Intelligence, and explanation of how it’s watertight for security, while Microsoft appears to be blundering around with Recall.

And while we get Gruber’s point about wider trust issues, the hard reality is that AI is coming, and we don’t see this particular juggernaut losing momentum – and if Apple is positioned as the company to trust, the one that won’t play fast and loose with your data, that’s going to be a very comfortable position to occupy among the tech giants out there.

Via Windows Central

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Windows 10’s Beta channel is now officially live to bring in new features – but don’t get excited yet
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Microsoft recently announced that it’s resurrecting the Beta channel for Windows 10 in order to test new features – which means, yes, the OS is officially being actively worked on – and the very first preview build has arrived in this channel.

The not-so-exciting news is that build 19045 (aka KB5039299) for Windows 10 22H2 doesn’t actually contain any new features, and is all about making tweaks and minor adjustments, as well as the usual clutch of bug fixes.

Microsoft lists the various bits of work carried out in this new preview build in the usual blog post, and one of the notable changes for Windows 10 is to bolster the stability of the search box in the taskbar when you’re looking for apps. In other words, a search for a particular app should no longer produce wonky results (or at least fewer of these incidents should occur).

There are also improvements to the Windows Backup app such as now being able to store your device’s Activity History and Printer Device Settings preferences. The Windows Backup improvements mean that it'll be easier to restore all your previous hardware settings when you set up a new PC – as long as they're backed up and tied to your Microsoft account.

As well as the above changes, Microsoft also resolved a problem whereby backups would fail when desktop and lock screen backgrounds were backed up twice.

Bug squashing aplenty

That’s the main thrust of this preview build, but as we mentioned there are also bug fixes here. They include the cure for an issue whereby the PC fails to come back from hibernation after BitLocker has been turned on, and a folder management glitch in File Explorer, along with many more fixes.

So, as we said, there’s not a huge amount going on here to get excited about – but this release does at least mean that the Beta channel for Windows 10 is now active. Clearly, we will get new features coming to Microsoft’s older OS soon enough, and the software giant must have allocated some fresh resources towards Windows 10 development to facilitate that.

However, don’t go thinking this means there are any changes coming regarding the End of Life date for the crowd-favorite operating system, as Windows 10 is still scheduled to have support dropped in October 2025, and Microsoft has made it clear that won’t change.

Via Windows Latest

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Microsoft finally removes mysterious Copilot app that installed itself and freaked out Windows 11 users
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Remember the weird Copilot app that was quietly installed on some Windows 11 PCs earlier this year? Well, Microsoft has announced that the mysterious and tiny app – which was just 8KB in size and did nothing save to cause some users to worry about exactly what it was – has now been removed from these systems.

As Neowin reports, Microsoft stated that the program – which was visible on the ‘Installed apps’ list in Windows 11 – was harmless and did not run any background code. Microsoft has now marked the issue as resolved, and the app will no longer be seen in your list of installed applications.

While this whole affair was rather odd, it is reassuring to know that nothing was amiss with this random bit of software that suddenly appeared. However, with the Copilot app being first spotted in March 2024, it has taken Microsoft quite some time to deal with the issue, and we’ve got to admit, we’re curious as to why the process of fixing the glitch moved so slowly. 

Microsoft wrote in a post on its release health dashboard: “This package was intended to prepare some Windows devices for future Windows Copilot enablement and was not intended for all devices. Although the component installed as part of this issue can cause the Microsoft Copilot app to be shown as part of the Installed apps, this component does not fully install or enable Microsoft Copilot.”

The app was introduced via an Edge browser update and has been removed in the same way. Microsoft notes that you need to update to Edge stable version 126.0.2592.56 and restart your browser once you’ve done so – then you’ll be good to go!

It seems like a turbulent time for Windows 11 currently, with Microsoft dropping the Recall feature from Copilot+ PCs (at least for now), a move that doesn’t speak well in terms of the confidence behind the product, but seems to be the best course of action given all the controversy around the AI feature.

Evidently, Microsoft has a fair few loose ends to tie up right now and needs to be careful not to rush so that mistakes are made. This misfiring Copilot app installation triggered by an Edge update may have been harmless in the end, but perhaps the next misstep might not be so benign.

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