It's time for my quarterly report card on how Microsoft is progressing with its campaign to fix Windows 11. You may recall that my first report was published at the start of July, and I was largely full of praise given what happened to Windows 11 in those first three months.

So how is Microsoft faring now we're six months down the line? Here's what I've been impressed with in terms of what Microsoft has been tinkering with lately, but I'll also cover the missing parts of the puzzle that I really think the company needs to address with its effort to make Windows 11 better in 2026.

5 things Microsoft has got right

1. 8GB performance tuning

Do you have a PC with 8GB of RAM? You might find it provides a less-than-ideal experience running Windows 11, even though it's enough memory to run the OS per Microsoft's system requirements. Indeed, 4GB is officially the bare minimum, though I wouldn't recommend it.

However, this is changing, because back in August, Microsoft let us know that one of its goals in fixing Windows 11 is memory optimization for 8GB devices (and indeed for any RAM loadout). Microsoft said that the overall aim is: "Reducing Windows memory footprint to deliver a fast and responsive Windows experience across the PCs customers use every day."

This is a necessary move in general, but Microsoft has additional impetus to make 8GB work better, given the ongoing RAM crisis means laptop makers are increasingly falling back on this memory configuration (as 16GB is just too pricey).

It's absolutely key that Microsoft makes Windows 11 run more smoothly on leaner RAM configurations, and we're already seeing some evidence of performance improvements coming through — as well as faster loading for apps (not just Windows menus) — so that has to be a good thing.

2. Speed boosts elsewhere

Along with work to optimize Windows 11 for RAM usage, Microsoft also announced plans to speed up boot times. That includes not just a faster boot, but a more responsive login via Windows Hello—so we'll hopefully get to the desktop much faster in the future. (And to be fair to Microsoft, Windows 11 already boots nippily enough, generally speaking).

Microsoft is also making the Windows 11 setup process more streamlined and quicker, which doesn't hurt, either.

3. Search improvements

Windows 11's search has long been subpar, and thankfully Microsoft has recognized this and made moves to address some of the thornier problems.

This includes work to make search more useful overall — so it can find files with long compound names, handle typos better, and show possibly relevant results after you've typed only two characters — but the most important change is the ability to turn off web results.

These are the websites that appear in the array of results Windows 11 presents and just clutter up the list, getting in the way. Now you can turn them off, and also dump any Microsoft Store suggestions too. Search is becoming a much more streamlined and useful feature (as it should have been all along, true enough, but at least Microsoft has finally fixed the major bugbears here).

4. Right clicking the right way

The context menu, which appears when you right-click a file or folder, is another part of the Windows 11 interface that is getting a major upgrade.

Microsoft is decluttering the lengthy list of options to make it look cleaner, pruning a bunch of stuff in the default view of the right-click menu. Again, this is something that shouldn't have taken this long, but it's still good to see the move finally underway.

The right-click menu is also being tuned so it loads faster, and a welcome choice to revert the layout to how it appears in Windows 10 is also in the pipeline. Good stuff.

5. Bolstering privacy

This is a minor tweak, but an important one nonetheless, as Microsoft is finally letting Windows 11 users adjust privacy controls for each installed app.

Currently, this is only possible with apps from the Microsoft Store, as other (Win32) desktop apps have a single master toggle for allowing (or blocking) camera and microphone access. In other words, you can allow permission for everything, or no apps at all, with no choices in between, which is obviously not very useful. With the change coming in (currently in testing), you'll be able to adjust these privacy options for each app.

3 glaring oversights Microsoft has yet to address

1. Quality assurance

This one's pretty simple: Windows 11 still has too many bugs creeping in with annoying regularity. If it's not broken backup features, it's audio being torpedoed by a Windows update, and those are just the latest two glitches to have emerged last month.

I keep going on about the problems with bugs, and yes, I understand that Windows is a complex beast of an OS with a lot of potential hardware configurations to juggle, and a sprawling labyrinth of legacy features to maintain.

Nonetheless, the sheer level of bugs – some of them quite serious – we continue to witness just isn't good enough. Microsoft needs to take a long, hard look at its quality assurance and testing processes, and implement some changes – yet we never hear anything about this side of the OS.

This is the year of fixing Windows 11, and if there are two things that users would say in response to the question of what should be fixed, I'm betting that most would reply: the performance and the bugs. Microsoft is addressing those performance issues, as we've seen, but what about the sometimes eye-opening glitches that still make it into released versions of the OS?

2. Cut back on the promos

The good news is that Microsoft has relented in some areas when it comes to the 'recommendations' peppered throughout Windows 11, some of which aren't even thinly veiled suggestions but outright adverts. For example, the widgets panel is now a much calmer, less ad-infested place.

Microsoft still needs to push further on this front, though, and communicate better with its marketing department to ensure that ridiculousness like a full-page Harry Potter advert never happens again. Yes, that ad was served through the Bing Wallpaper app, which isn't part of Windows 11 by default, since you have to choose to install it, but it remains a prime example of the kind of promotional excess that shouldn't happen at Microsoft.

3. Getting local

I still want Microsoft to bring back the option to install Windows 11 with a local account, instead of forcing the OS to link to a Microsoft Account during setup. There were hints earlier this year that this might happen, but none of Microsoft's tweaks to the Windows 11 installation process so far has come close to this option.

Maybe that'll change, but given how far Microsoft has gone in the past to prevent workarounds for dodging the Microsoft Account requirement, I'm starting to think this won't be part of the fix Windows 11 effort, which would be a shame.

If Microsoft wants an easy crowd-pleaser, this would be relatively low-hanging fruit compared to the above two changes.

Sometimes the old ones really are the best, and Gears of War: E-Day is unapologetically retro. This third-person cover shooter could have easily fallen out of a time machine straight from the Xbox 360 era, were it not for its incredible graphical fidelity.

If you’ve played any Gears of War game, then you know exactly what to expect going in: intense combat encounters as human soldiers fight a desperate war against an invading mutant menace. Does E-Day reinvent the series? Not at all, though it does make some small changes by introducing somewhat more open levels and refining the weapon upgrade system introduced in Tactics.

That's far from a bad thing, though. Gears of War is an acclaimed series for a reason. Mowing down waves of baddies is still as fun as it ever was twenty years after the release of the first game, even if the story campaign feels a bit drawn out at times in between the bombastic set-piece moments, and the suite of competitive online multiplayer modes offers plenty of reasons to hone your skill and keep coming for more.

Back to the very beginning

E-Day does plenty to appeal, even if you haven’t played a Gears game before. It’s a prequel, set more than a decade before the events of the first game’s story, so it doesn’t require any prior knowledge to understand. It takes place on the titular ‘Emergence Day’, when the evil Locust army first emerged from underground and began its full-scale invasion of the series’ fictional Earth-like world. The story is a relatively small-scale one, focusing entirely on the initial first few days of the war in the city of Kalona.

The campaign is extremely strong in its opening hours, which really dial in on the more horrific and brutal elements of the franchise. Although still an experienced soldier, long-time protagonist Marcus Fenix faces a then-unknown threat that he and his companions, a ragtag group of his friend, a fellow soldier, Dominic Santiago, along with strangers Mags Carter and Lucas Reyes, are completely unprepared for.

There’s a real sense of chaos as the Locust tear through the city streets, with civilians running in panic, cars crashing, trains derailing, and huge sinkholes starting to tear up the floor. Weapons are limited at first, but you steadily gear up as the story unfolds. Experimenting with new assault rifles, snipers, shotguns, grenade launchers, and so on as you unlock them leads to a satisfying feeling of progression, further enhanced by a steady stream of unlockable upgrades for each and every one of them.

These range from basic stat buffs to more in-depth overhauls that fundamentally change how the weapons operate and can be paired together in interesting ways. The slow-to-reload lever-action Gnasher shotgun, for example, becomes an entirely different beast when you outfit it with a full-auto firing mode and the ability to replenish shells when stowed. It’s supremely enjoyable to experiment and, even without any upgrades, all of the guns are suitably punchy with satisfying sound effects that make each shot a joy.

E-Day introduces a small handful of large, more open environments to explore, with short side missions here and there. There’s plenty of guidance, and you’re always being funneled towards the next objective, so it doesn’t ever feel like you’re in a true open-world, but there are still plenty of collectibles to hoover up.

Their placement isn’t sophisticated, and you can easily find most of them without straying too far from the beaten track, which does seem like something of a missed opportunity.

Beauty in destruction

Luckily, you don’t need much encouragement to really take your time soaking in each and every environment, as they are absolutely gorgeous. This is without a doubt one of the most graphically impressive games ever released, with a level of fidelity that is simply leaps and bounds ahead of other recent releases.

The detail is truly staggering, with everything from sweeping views across the city to the individual items on sale in an abandoned convenience store realistically rendered and beautifully lit. I constantly found myself stopping to zoom in on every little thing, impressed with the sheer number of references to in-universe history.

All of this helps Kalona really feel like an actual place in a way few other video game settings do. The layout of its roads and public transportation network is totally believable, and your journey feels truly grounded, as you move through the game – even later on when the streets have been reduced to near-ruin.

There are some definite low points, though. This is by far the longest Gears of War campaign, taking me roughly 25 hours to complete while chasing every collectible and optional side mission, and a few hours in the middle should have been shaved off. Encounters are well-balanced in the opening and final acts with a good variety of foes and plenty of cover, but there are some sequences near the midpoint that just involve facing off a steady stream of overly tanky enemies in quite small arenas.

The shooting is so compelling that pumping them full of bullets for minutes at a time isn’t a dealbreaker; their removal would just have created a much tighter overall experience.

Continuing the fight

A Gears of War game wouldn’t be complete with a suite of multiplayer modes, and E-Day is no exception. The player versus player (PvP) deathmatch mode is excellent, challenging two small teams to face off and rack up kills with weapons from the campaign. Simplistic, yes, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not incredibly fun to blast away at others.

The player versus environment (PvE) games are more complicated, with 12 players divided into four squads tackling multiple objectives in a large open space to earn currency to spend on upgrades and defensive gear.

Bizarrely, the teams don’t interact with each other that much aside from the odd shared boss fight, so I don’t really see why the format needs 12 players, though any excuse for more of the strong combat is a good thing. There’s also a more traditional wave survival mode, which I can see becoming a favorite among friends looking for something more casual.

Throw in a wealth of unlockables, and you have a recipe for a good time even if, like the story campaign, it’s not anything revolutionary.

Should I play Gears of War: E-Day?

Play it if…

Don't play it if...

Accessibility features

Gears of War: E-Day has a wealth of accessibility settings, found in the dedicated accessibility menu. There are multiple menu narration options alongside the ability to customize the size of UI text, enable subtitles, show speaker names, and fully tweak subtitle background color and opacity.

Distinct content filters are present for gore, profanity, and online chat content, plus visual settings such as a color blind mode, high-contrast mode, and navigation aids.

How I reviewed Gears of War E-Day

I played Gears of War: E-Day on my Nvidia RTX 4090-powered gaming PC. With this rig, it could easily hit a rock-solid 75 frames per second (fps) at ultra settings while playing at 1080p and using Logitech peripherals: the newly announced X3 Superstrike mouse, Pro X2 Rapid keyboard, and Pro X3 Lightspeed headset.

I played the game for over 25 hours, during which time I completed the campaign and saw the vast majority of side content. I also dived into the multiplayer modes for a few hours to check them out and compare them to other online games.

First reviewed October 2026

• M365 EVP steps down from leading the change over relocation concerns
• Microsoft is seemingly pursuing a more AI-centric approach to software
• No direct replacement, but other execs tasked with "figuring out" the future

Ryan Roslansky, Microsoft's EVP for LinkedIn and Microsoft 365, has announced plans to leave the company after 18 years, with company CEO Satya Nadella being drafted in to co-author an announcement to employees amid a broader organizational shift.

A former employee of LinkedIn before its Microsoft acquisition, Roslansky later went on to become LinkedIn's CEO in 2020, gaining M365 and Teams responsibilities in 2025 and 2026.

But his decision to depart the company doesn't come in response to a disagreement or better offer – instead, Roslansky cites his family as a key reason behind ending a near two-decade stint at Microsoft.

High-profile Microsoft EVP and former LinkedIn CEO to leave after nearly two decades

The leader explained that leading the next phase of Microsoft 365 would require him to be at the company's Redmond HQ full-time, but being based in the San Francisco Bay Area with a youngest daughter who's just started high school and having other familial ties to the area, Roslansky ultimately decided not to pursue a career leading M365.

"I thought about this for a long time. It’s the right call," he wrote to employees.

While Nadella confirmed a series of leadership changes as part of the transformation, the bigger question is what's likely to happen to Office and Teams under new leadership. Roslansky already knew that leading the change on M365 meant "figuring out what Copilot, and the future of work, should look like as one ecosystem."

For now, though, Microsoft 365 and Copilot continue to occupy increasingly complex and overlapped positions. Copilot launched as a mostly in-app support tool, but things have turned the other way and Microsoft is now looking to frame Copilot as a working environment much like ChatGPT Spaces, with its office software built into that experience.

That could be why we're not seeing a new EVP taking Roslansky's place, with responsibilities instead being split between other execs.

While the future of Microsoft's office and collaboration software is broadly unknown, both Nadella and Roslansky's messages do at least imply that the company is pursuing a more AI-centric approach. The news also supports the argument for hybrid and remote working, with the company set to lose one of its highest-profile leaders due to office-working worries.

• Windows 11 26H2 is reportedly improving RAM consumption
• Some users say that they are seeing memory usage of between 1GB to 3GB less after applying the update
• Others see no change, mind, and we have to be cautious around these reports – although Microsoft is working to optimize RAM use in Windows 11

There's some evidence emerging that Windows 11's 26H2 update improves performance for some people, although we need to treat that idea with some caution at this stage.

Wccftech flagged up a post on Reddit where a Window 11 user observed: "Before the [26H2] Update, the On Boot RAM utilization was around 6.9GB (nice!), and after the update it is around 4.8-5GB. I guess there is some RAM utilization improvement after all!"

A number of other Redditors chip in with similar tales, such as: "I looked at mine and it is indeed lower than it used to [be] by around 3GB. Nice."

Another user says: "I noticed this as well. RAM utilization went down by about a gigabyte on my machine. Pretty good stuff."

Wccftech also points to a post on X from SoyITPro whose baseline RAM usage went from 9.1GB to 7.5GB, and again there are several other users who chip in to note that theirs has dropped by 1GB (or slightly more) after installing 26H2.

Before we get carried away with any positivity, though, there are those who've installed version 26H2 and are posting to say that there's no difference with their RAM usage compared to what it was before the update.

Notably some of those who are observing bigger drops in memory usage have larger RAM pools, so that's something to bear in mind if you have a lean 8GB loadout and are hoping for the best here.

Analysis: caution first

Of course, we need to be very careful about jumping to conclusions based a cluster of posts which are effectively anecdotal observations. And as noted, there's an equal amount of folks who are saying they don't see any difference with 26H2.

However, Microsoft let us know that it's working on making Windows 11 use less RAM at the start of August, so some of that effort may well have made its way into the OS – with installing the 26H2 update acting as a switch to flick that into action for more users. (As I discussed previously, while the 26H2 update doesn't do much, it will act as a trigger for the rollout of features that haven't yet reached some PCs).

There's a comment in the above Reddit thread from a user who notes that after installing 26H2 they find that "File Explorer responds immediately and it doesn't take its usual 5 seconds to respond" – and again, File Explorer is something that Microsoft has been honing. So, what's likely happened is that this work has been ushered through by the installation of the 26H2 update, which is why it's an upgrade worth having. Especially given that Microsoft has been doing a lot to Windows 11 this year as part of the major drive to fix the OS.

I'd still advise waiting a little while on installing version 26H2 of Windows 11, mind, just to see if any bugs are going to come crawling out of the woodwork. However, the upgrade seems clean enough thus far based on the initial lack of any major complaints around glitches.

Finally, as Windows Latest reports, it's worth noting that Microsoft is also busy shoring up memory issues with WinUI, which is the contemporary framework for the interface of Windows 11. This should help with overall performance not just for the desktop OS itself, but also apps which use WinUI.

• Microsoft has admitted cloud-based M365 data owned by licensed nonprofits has been deleted in a license-switching cock-up
• Microsoft retired its 365 Business Premium Grant license, advising nonprofits to move to the Microsoft 365 Business Basic for free
• The deleted data cannot be retrieved

Microsoft has admitted it accidentally deleted the data from an undisclosed number of nonprofits with retiring Microsoft 365 Business Premium Grant licenses. While advising the customers to switch to a different license for free and offering a retention and export window, the software behemoth somehow managed to lose their data, rather than retain it.

Worse, Microsoft has also admitted the lost data is irretrievable. So unless the organizations concerned had their own backups of the cloud-based data, the situation is irreversible.

All organizations with an expired Business Premium subscription are affected, but Microsoft has offered them a complementary “concierge service” to help get set up on their new Microsoft 365 Business Basic license – assuming they haven’t switched to Google Workspace.

How has this happened?

Microsoft 365 Business Premium Grant licenses were specifically for nonprofit organizations. It provided 10 free licenses for eligible organizations.

The announcement of their impending closure was made in early 2025. Any renewal on or after July 1 2025, would have been the last one. At the time, Microsoft issued an email to licensees:

“The Microsoft 365 Business Premium grant will be discontinued on your next renewal on or after July 1, 2025. Your licenses will expire on April 1, 2026. We will continue to provide up to 300 granted licenses of Microsoft 365 Business Basic and discounts of up to 75 percent on many Microsoft 365 offers to nonprofits, including Microsoft 365 Business Premium.”

Once a decision was made, the license should have been migrated to a Microsoft 365 Business Basic or Microsoft 365 Business Premium license, based on the demands of the organization concerned. Emails and documents should not have been affected.

Instead, data has been lost.

Microsoft’s vague mea culpa

According to reports, Microsoft has admitted that “data cannot be recovered” and is similarly unable to provide any list or spreadsheet or log of what was lost. This leaves nonprofit organizations – notably, those with low license requirements, so presumably operating on minimal funding – without access to the data they had stored within the Microsoft 365 OneDrive cloud.

They will also be without emails, potentially including details concerning contracts, fundraising, and other critical information.

Microsoft has expressed regret and attempted to manage the situation by offering the affected organizations a specialist to assist in setting up a new Microsoft 365 account. However, given the fact that the data has been lost, and there is no migration headache to endure, it's a good bet Google Workspace or even Zoho Workplace are stronger options.

• New Microsoft report shows cyber activity is increasing around the globe
• AI is reducing the timescale of attacks, but its also helping defenders detect intrusions
• The UK faces the most state-sponsored cyber activity in Europe

As AI becomes more widely available and lowers the barrier of entry into cybercrime, hackers are launching a record number of campaigns against consumers and businesses alike, experts have warned.

The United Kingdom is now fifth in the world for countries where customers are most frequently impacted by cyber threats, with the nation accounting for 3.8% of global activity, according to a new report from Microsoft.

The UK has also risen to the top as the most targeted country for nation-state and geopolitical cyber activity in Europe, facing 76 observed events in the past year.

AI reduces cyber activity timeline

Cybercriminals and state-sponsored actors are now capable of putting together sophisticated cyberattacks in minutes as AI compresses the attack lifecycle. Attackers no longer need to spend days mapping and planning an attack.

But the points of entry haven’t changed much. Phishing attacks jumped globally from 7% to 23% of incident-response intrusions year-over-year, showing that humans remain as the weakest link despite AI helping defenders improve detection.

Voice phishing is also showing significant growth as an attack vector. While workforces have been drilled on the dangers of email phishing, a fake Teams call from a colleague or IT helpdesk adds a sense of urgency. To that end, voice phishing has jumped 502% over the past year.

Ransomware is also on the rise around the world. The United States saw a 50% jump in ransomware detections, Germany increased 276%, and the UK saw an increase of 66%.

Attacks against state and local government, education, and critical infrastructure are also increasing. Research and academia is the most targeted, making up 38% of all cyber attacks against this sector, followed by transport at 22%, and government agencies and services at 13%.

“Security in the AI era is no longer simply about preventing individual intrusions. It is about ensuring institutions can operate effectively in an environment where risks are interconnected, threats move faster, and attackers remain hidden longer,” said Mike Yeh, Vice President, Customer Security & Trust at Microsoft.

“Public-private partnerships are also more important than ever for securing critical government infrastructure and developing the policies and regulations needed for emerging technologies.”

• Windows 11 26H2 is here and Microsoft says it's a "predictable and low-disruption update"
• There are users on social media who very much disagree, and are expressing their nervousness in varying degrees
• However, the 26H2 update could trigger the rollout of features that your PC hasn't yet received, so it might prove very useful

Windows 11's annual update has arrived, and while 26H2 doesn't bring in notable new features, it should trigger the rollout of functionality from earlier this year – if you still don't have some of those bits and pieces.

As Microsoft explains: "Windows 11 version 26H2 … delivers the latest Windows innovations with a streamlined update experience designed to minimize disruption and help you stay secure, productive, and up to date."

As with last year's update, this is what Microsoft calls a "small enablement package", meaning it's a minimal download with a quick installation that happens in a single reboot. All it's effectively doing is flicking a switch to turn on some preloaded code, with no actual new features delivered as such.

There's a key point to note here though, because as Microsoft says, this update "activates new features already included in the operating system through previous monthly servicing updates."

So, if you haven't yet had a feature rolled out to you – such as Microsoft's change to more speedily load apps, or the ability to reposition the taskbar, or the various changes for the Start menu – applying the 26H2 update should ensure that anything missing reaches your PC.

It's also worth bearing in mind that installing a new version of Windows 11 extends your support timeframe (through to October 2028 in the case of 26H2).

Analysis: skeptics aplenty

I say that installing version 26H2 should mean that any missing Windows 11 features are enabled on your PC, because obviously there's no guarantee, but if you've been hankering after a particular piece of functionality, there's a good chance you'll get it by applying this upgrade (certainly with older features, anyway).

As ever, though, it's never a great idea to rush to download any update, at least in my opinion, because of the danger that some unforeseen bug has crept in. Microsoft talks about this update being small and "designed to minimize disruption", and it should be a clean enough installation in theory, but people have been burned before – and the reaction on Reddit shows that quite clearly.

Posting in response to Microsoft calling 26H2 a "predictable and low-disruption update", one Redditor summed up the broad feeling in the thread by saying: "Well, now I'm really suspicious." Another poster simply says: "Uh oh."

And there are countless jokes or sarcastic barbs about how 26H2 will be just great because AI coded it, such as: "Don't worry they told Copilot not to make any mistakes with this update."

Another Redditor takes a similar attitude to myself: "I'll wait 3 weeks and then see what the situation looks like before updating."

There's no need to jump right on this update, so it just seems prudent to hold fire for a short while and see if any annoying incidents happen that move the needle on the glitch-o-meter.

Let's hope not, and then at some point later in October, you can apply version 26H2 and with any luck you'll get any features that have missed out your PC in Microsoft's rollout schedule. Speaking of which, it's notable how many more folks are complaining about Windows 11 being very slow to deploy new capabilities this year, but that said, you can't exactly blame Microsoft for being cautious given that bugs remain a big problem for its desktop OS.

Slowing down to a treacly pace with feature rollouts isn't exactly an ideal solution, though, is it? Microsoft needs to address some more deep-seated issues with its testing processes here (and no, I won't shut up about this until something is actually seen to be happening at the company in this regard).

• Home puts chats, delegated work, and Office documents inside one interface
• Code lets non-programmers describe software and have Copilot build it
• Autopilot can continue recurring work without waiting for another instruction

Microsoft has introduced a redesigned version of its Copilot AI platform which claims to combine chat, delegated work, and coding tools into a unified application experience for users.

The company says the update is meant to let individuals and organizations scale artificial intelligence across everyday tasks and long-term projects.

Three new capabilities anchor this release, including Home, Code and Autopilot, each aimed at a different kind of work.

Home brings Chat and Cowork together

The Home tool brings together two existing modes, Chat for quick questions and Cowork for tasks users delegate entirely, under one shared starting point.

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint now operate inside this same interface, letting users draft documents, budgets, and presentations without switching applications.

In these documents, Copilot is now grounded in Fabric IQ, pulling context from more than 20 million semantic models built in Power BI.

Edits made by colleagues or by the assistant itself appear in real time, so progress stays synchronized across a shared file.

A new plugin registry will let organizations manage Microsoft, partner and custom-built plugins from one central catalog starting this month.

Independent developers and partners can also publish plugins once for use across multiple Copilot surfaces under the new registry arrangement.

The Code tool allows non-programmers to describe an app, tracker or dashboard in plain language and have it built automatically.

This feature runs on the same underlying technology used in GitHub Copilot and can be hosted within a company's own systems.

Autopilot operates without constant prompting

Autopilot, the third addition, is a persistent agent capable of completing recurring work without needing a new instruction each time.

It can run supplier reviews or similar multi-step processes, build schedules, contact stakeholders, and follow up on outstanding items independently.

Because it operates continuously in the cloud, work can continue late at night or whenever a person's attention shifts elsewhere.

A related feature called Today, entering private preview in October, will summarize missed messages and pending tasks across mail and chat.

Microsoft is also tying spending controls to these tools through a system it calls FinOps for AI, letting administrators track usage.

Administrators can set spending limits, approve credit requests and restrict which AI models different teams are permitted to use each month.

Everyday tasks like quick answers or first drafts run on a fixed-price subscription, while agentic features use usage-based billing.

Code, Cowork and Autopilot all fall under this usage-based pricing model, alongside frontier models Microsoft refers to as Astra and Fable.

Home and Code are set to roll out through Microsoft's Frontier program within weeks, and Autopilot enters private preview by month's end.

Microsoft has not released independent data showing how widely the three features are being adopted, how accurate they are, or how much time they actually save.

• DARPA will now test Microsoft's controversial quantum hardware inside a dedicated Maryland facility
• Majorana 2 uses a different approach to tackle quantum computing's stubborn error problem
• Microsoft is putting its topological quantum claims under independent government scrutiny

Microsoft has opened a 15,000 square foot quantum research center inside the University of Maryland's Discovery District, a year after the project was first announced.

The facility gives the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) physical access to Microsoft's latest topological quantum system for independent testing.

Previously, DARPA and other outside researchers could only test Microsoft's hardware through cloud-based remote access, making this the first time an external agency will evaluate its topological hardware on-site.

DARPA gets hands-on access to Majorana 2

The system installed for testing includes qubits built on Majorana 2, Microsoft's second-generation topological quantum computing chip.

Topological qubits are designed to reduce the burden of quantum error correction compared with other existing qubit approaches currently in use.

Quantum computers remain highly sensitive to environmental noise, meaning useful systems must detect and correct errors repeatedly while calculations are underway.

Majorana 2's material stack replaces aluminum with lead, a substitution Microsoft says improves overall performance and stability.

The chip has drawn criticism from some scientists, who remained skeptical of Microsoft's earlier performance claims, but Microsoft says the delivery to DARPA may help address that skepticism by opening its hardware to an outside testing team which brings expertise across hardware, control systems, software, and applications, according to the company.

Microsoft describes independent access as a necessary step toward assessing whether its approach can produce an economically relevant quantum computer.

The quantum computing industry does not have a broadly useful, fault-tolerant machine that consistently outperforms classical computers on commercially important work.

DARPA's evaluation falls under the Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing program, part of its broader Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.

That wider initiative aims to determine whether competing quantum computing approaches can produce commercially useful machines by 2033.

"DARPA is an ideal partner for our work because its test and evaluation team brings expertise across the computing stack," Microsoft said in a blog post.

A shared space for training and industry partners

Beyond the DARPA testing area, the center includes a hands-on quantum hardware makerspace built for students, researchers, and career changers entering the field.

Seven companies have joined this effort so far, including AMD, Intel, Bluefors, IQM, Riverlane, Quantum Motion, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

Fermilab's involvement also extends into a collaboration exploring how its Quantum Instrumentation Control Kit could support broader quantum education efforts.

In the makerspace, visitors will assemble small but functional quantum systems using parts sourced from several leading hardware and computing companies.

Microsoft credits Maryland's Capital of Quantum Initiative, led by Governor Wes Moore, with funding the renovation of the original Discovery Center building.

The Maryland facility will also let prospective partners test how their own technologies work with Microsoft's broader quantum platform.

Hardware engineers can use the space to integrate machines or components, while developers explore possible applications.

Microsoft's strategy centers on supporting multiple quantum hardware types through one shared software and infrastructure layer.

• An F-35B and Ferrari SF90 will race at Grottaglie Air Base
• Barone's tuned Ferrari hits 330 km/h across the 500-meter sprint
• The jet completes its takeoff exactly as the race course ends

The Italian Navy has organized an unusual matchup between one of its F-35B fighter jets and a Ferrari SF90 sports car.

Set for October 11 2026 at the Grottaglie air base in southern Italy, the event pits vertical takeoff aircraft against Formula-tuned horsepower.

Fabio Barone, who holds seven speed records in Ferrari vehicles, will drive the car during the contest.

A runway built for landing, not racing

The first race covers 500 meters along an aluminum runway typically reserved for F-35B landing approaches at the base.

At that distance, the jet will complete its takeoff just as the course ends. Barone said his Ferrari normally accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds under standard settings.

With specialized engine adjustments applied for the event, that time drops slightly to 2.6 seconds flat. Over the full 500-meter stretch, the car is expected to hit 330 km/h before finishing.

"With that acceleration, I will face 2.2g, meaning 140kg of pressure" said Barone, adding the jet will likely start more slowly but carries far greater raw power overall.

A longer second race stretches across 2.8 km, combining both asphalt and aluminum surfaces along the runway.

After the first 500 meters, the aircraft will take flight and finish the course airborne. It will fly roughly 20 meters above the ground for the remainder of that longer race.

The F-35B and FS90 will share a single runway only 35 meters wide, and driving at high speeds over the aluminum plates could destabilize the car's handling

Echoes of a Formula 1 stunt from 2003

Races between military jets and race cars are not without precedent in Italy, dating back over two decades.

In 2003, Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher raced a Ferrari against an Italian Air Force Eurofighter jet at Grosseto air base (see main picture) in a contest which drew a crowd of roughly 50,000 spectators to watch the two machines go head-to-head.

The Eurofighter won two of those races, covering 900 and 1,200 meters, without ever leaving the ground.

Schumacher still won a shorter 600-meter sprint, reaching 294 km/h and finishing the course in 9.6 seconds, beating the jet by two tenths of a second, despite the aircraft's clear power advantage.

Barone has his own history staging similar stunts involving military hardware and Ferrari engineering, having previously driven a Ferrari along the flight deck of the Navy's Trieste carrier vessel, reaching 164 km/h across roughly 200 meters before braking hard to avoid going overboard.

Barone said the appeal of racing a fighter jet comes from doing something genuinely unusual in public view.

"Everyone can race against another car, and this is a chance to put on a show," he said, citing Schumacher's 2003 run as inspiration.

Public stunts pairing military aircraft against sports cars tend to favor spectacle over strict competitive fairness.

Whichever machine crosses the finish line first, the event mainly serves as a marketing moment for both the Navy and Ferrari.

Via DefenseNews

• Excel cells used to just be for one value – but multi-value lists are soon to be supported
• Windows and Mac users can now try it out in beta
• You'll still have to specifically insert a list

Microsoft Excel has just seen one of the biggest updates to its cell architecture since launching, as users can now add multiple values into one single cell.

Until now, users have been unable to add comma-separate text, such as lists, into one cell, but a helpful update to the spreadsheet software is about to change that forever, with Excel not only seeing it as one text string, but also understanding that each item in a list is a separate value.

Introducing lists, arrays in cells and nested arrays as new features, Excel Senior Product Manager Jake Armstrong explained: "You can keep those values in one cell, while also keeping them separate for filtering, calculation and more."

Excel cells can now hold multiple values, like lists

Crucially, Excel won't suddenly start behaving like Word overnight, and users will still need to handle some very basic setup to create a list by inserting it from the menu. Commas and semicolons will then go on to denote a list within a single cell, allowing other core Excel functions like filtering to still work.

At the same time, Microsoft is also adding array and nested array support to single cells and four new functions – FLATTEN, HAS, HASANY and HASALL – to interact with them.

For now, though, these updates are rolling out to Microsoft Excel for Windows and Mac Beta Channels, so they're not yet generally available across the board. As such, there are some known issues involving conditional formatting, charts, find & replace and more.

More broadly, Microsoft's Excel roadmap is filled with plenty of other exciting upgrades for Excel as the spreadsheet software continues to transition into far more than just a basic number-handling tool – Microsoft knows that more and more users are using it for complex text entries, via AI and coding interactions, and the roadmap is evidence that Excel is adapting accordingly.

• Microsoft pledges $10 billion to support the Middle East's technological ambitions
• A $400m subsea cable expansion is also in the works
• The company stressed push for its educational support schemes

Microsoft has revealed plans to spend more than $10 billion in the Middle East between now and 2030, spread across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait.

Although the company already has substantial infrastructure already rooted in the region, including cloud regions for the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, it hopes that further investment will help increase regional access to its cloud and AI tools.

Microsoft President Brad Smith noted the region's ongoing digital transformation, appearing to also acknowledge the impacts of geopolitical conflicts. "We will build on the work we have done to stand by these countries’ governments and people through a period of significant challenges," Smith wrote in a blog post.

Microsoft invests $10bn to support Middle East technological transformation

The company also announced a series of initiatives that will fall under the $10 billion plans, including expanding cloud and AI infrastructure, improving local digital resilience, strengthening cybersecurity and backing educational schemes.

"Our responsibility is not only to invest in the technology that enables that progress, but to help provide the digital resilience, security and continuity it depends on," Smith added in another post.

Naturally, clean energy generation and a close eye on both water consumption and replenishment are core to the company's upcoming projects.

On the resilience front, Microsoft plans to invest a further $400 million in subsea and terrestrial cables by the end of the decade, building on top of its existing SeaMeWe-6 subsea cable which has points in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Microsoft is just one of the 16 companies that look after the cable, which stretches from Singapore to France.

In a bid to pacify job concerns, Microsoft also asserted that it will upskill more than 4.2 million people across the Middle East by 2030 – around 8% of the four countries' combined populations (but a bigger percentage if you only consider working citizens).

• Microsoft had blocked posts that used the term 'Microslop' on its Copilot Discord channel
• This was a "temporary anti-spam measure," apparently
• The policy is no longer in place, but if Microsoft thinks the word will die off, that seems highly unlikely

Microsoft is apparently letting go over the 'Microslop' affair and is no longer policing its Discord channel to block the term.

You may recall that at the start of this year, the Microslop nickname came about after a comment from Microsoft's CEO – relating to 'AI slop' – and the company cracked down on the word by blocking posts that used it on the Copilot Discord channel.

Windows Latest noticed that this is no longer the case, and the term is now being openly used in the general chat channel. Searching for 'Microslop' produces over 200 results in posts that go back weeks.

In short, Microsoft has moderated its moderation, come to its senses, and realized that cracking down and censoring in this manner is only going to inflame passions against AI, if it achieves anything.

I should make it clear that Microsoft has never said anything official on this matter, in terms of admitting any ban in the first place, let alone the lifting of it. Windows Latest reports that it did hear from Microsoft back at the time, though, and was told that the filtering was a "temporary anti-spam measure" rather than a permanent policy. It seems this is indeed the case.

Analysis: Streisand effect

The writer of the Windows Latest article further observes that they've noticed that on Reddit, X, and Windows forums, there are fewer mentions of the Microslop term these days. It happens "much less often" we're told.

I'm not so sure about that. I still see Microslop mentioned with some regularity, although I concede that the popularity of the term has diminished. This is a subjective matter, of course, and it may reflect that I visit more negative posts about Windows 11 than the Windows Latest writer has done in the past few months – who can say?

The writer acknowledges that the "criticism is still very much there" in terms of 'AI slop' in Windows 11, but that it has died down since Microsoft started fixing the OS, and made some moves to minimize the presence of AI in certain areas.

I think what Microsoft has done so far is more about not mentioning or actively pushing AI, rather than stripping it out of Windows 11, although it's true some work has been done on the latter front. It doesn't amount to a whole lot, though, in the grand scheme of things.

There has been a change of attitude, yes, but that was absolutely necessary considering the whole 'fix Windows 11 campaign' was embarked upon after Microsoft was blasted for focusing on adding AI trimmings to the system rather than getting the fundamentals right with the OS.

I still see a lot of chorusing of 'Microslop' particularly when a Windows 11 bug emerges. Commenters are very quick to jump on Microsoft and fire criticisms along the lines of 'this is what you get when AI does your coding', and the term Microslop is inevitably included in these kinds of threads. (Microsoft has admitted that it uses AI for coding to a substantial extent, and Windows 11 users won't let the firm forget that in a hurry).

I personally don't think the term Microslop is going anywhere, and it'll be hanging around Microsoft's neck for the rest of the company's existence in all likelihood. While it's obviously a positive step that any 'temporary' censorship has been rescinded, it's a bit late now. Any attempt to curtail negative talk about AI was always only going to further highlight grievances, cause more bad feeling, and yet more damaging chatter.

As one Redditor put it: "How many times do companies need to learn about the Streisand effect?"

• Diablo 4 game director Brent Gibson says, "it's about damn time" the game comes to Nintendo Switch 2
• He says there were moments when the team thought it "impossible," but they managed to overcome the issues
• Gibson admits there are some "concessions," but they're barely noticeable is very happy with the result

Diablo 4 is finally available on the Nintendo Switch 2, and while porting the game to the handheld console came with some hurdles, game director Brent Gibson is quite pleased with it.

"First off, it's about damn time," Gibson said during a press Q&A at BlizzCon that TechRadar Gaming attended. "We've wanted it on the Switch for a very long time. It's a big game. I think we've had moments where [we thought] it's impossible. There's no way we could do it. But the team that took that on? Boy, did they do an amazing job."

Gibson went on to explain how the team optimized the game for handheld, admitting that there were some issues it had to work around, but overall the team delivered, and it was worth the wait.

"The concessions we had to make are barely noticeable. I'm so impressed," he said. "There are some things that we have to do for performance, obviously, but I think the expectation once you're going to handheld, we nailed it; it's locked.

"It's fluid. It's easily readable. I love the Switch's screen, and so it pops very nicely on that screen. It was challenging. But ultimately, I think it was worth the wait for how much work we had to put into getting it in there."

Blizzard just kicked off Diablo 4 - Season of Hell's Legacy, the game's 15th season, which arrived on September 15. Fans can also look forward to Diablo 5, which is slated to launch in 2029.

However, Gibson has put concerns to rest and stated outright that Diablo 4 players don't need to worry about the game's future because of Diablo 5's announcement.

"If you're wearing the sign in the middle of Times Square that says 'The End is Nigh', the end is not nigh," he said. "We have a lot coming."

• A bug in Windows 11's September update broke File History
• Microsoft admitted the backup feature was scuppered and has apparently now fixed it
• However, the cure is in an optional update, so it might be best to wait for the full release of the upgrade next month

Microsoft has admitted that Windows 11 has a bug that messes up a backup feature in the OS, although a new optional update fixes it (but not quite fully).

Windows Latest reports what's been a slightly odd tale in that the bug in File History has been kicking about since the September update first emerged over two weeks ago, but Microsoft didn't acknowledge it — even though it was a widely reported issue.

File History is a feature that enables you to keep files backed up to an external drive, and while it doesn't see a whole lot of use these days, it's obviously important for those who do still avail themselves of the functionality.

Microsoft informed Windows Latest that: "After installing the September 2026 Windows security update KB5124008, some customers using File History, might be unable to create or update backups. File History is used to back up files to an external drive or network location."

The good news here is that the latest September update, which is optional — it's a preview of the October update in fact — does fix this bug, as confirmed by Windows Latest, but it seemingly doesn't fully iron out every issue with File History.

Windows Latest noticed a post on Microsoft's Learn portal from a user who confirms that the new September preview update does mean that File History is working again and making backups, but there still appears to be an issue with the 'Run now' ability and problems with synchronization of save times therein.

However, this isn't a bug caused by Microsoft's recent work on Windows 11, and in fact this glitch dates back to a Windows 11 update in July 2026.

Analysis: update skeptics

At least File History appears to be cured of this latest feature-breaking bug, and hopefully the other problem highlighted on Reddit will be fixed before too long.

You don't necessarily want to download an optional update, of course, as it may bring in other bugs — after all, it's still a beta. The safest bet is to wait for the October update to arrive in two and a half weeks (on October 13) and then install that as the remedy for your File History blues (while temporarily keeping backups a different way, manually or on OneDrive, in the meantime).

Windows 11 bugs have remained a problem throughout 2026, and every year before for that matter (particularly with the 24H2 release). Microsoft still needs to do better in this regard considering this is one of the thornier issues that has continually dogged its OS, which it's busy fixing this year.

The trouble with the long-running overly buggy nature of Windows 11 is that it's making some users hold off updating the OS, and I don't mean for just a week or two. (I'd advise a week's breathing room in general myself, just to see if there are any major bugs or nasty showstoppers with any given update).

For example, this Redditor notes: "I am once again advising everyone to disable Windows updates. Let people test the bugs for a few months, then update. Your PC isn't gonna implode because you are 3 months behind on Windows 11 versions."

This was in reply to a comment which simply asked: "Is there a Windows 11 core feature that hasn't been broken at least twice since release?"

Cynicism prevails around Windows 11 updates in many corners of the web these days, and I think this is something Microsoft needs to act on. Yes, Windows is a very complex operating system that needs to cope with umpteen PC and device configurations, and a labyrinth of legacy features that must be maintained for a niche set of customers, but still — that's ultimately not an excuse.

Something needs to be done to improve QA and testing, otherwise it's going to be difficult to declare that 'Windows 11 is fixed' next year, which is Microsoft's goal (presumably).

• A regular leaker says the chips for the PS6 and Xbox Helix have been 'taped out', meaning the design is final for manufacturing
• The leaker claims 56 TFLOPS of power for the Xbox Helix and 40 TFLOPS for the PS6
• That compared to 16.7 TFLOPS on the PS5 Pro and 12 TFLOPS on the Xbox Series X

The launches of next-gen console hardware from Sony and Microsoft are edging ever closer, and the latest rumor doing the rounds suggests that the chips for both the PlayStation 6 and what's being called the Xbox Helix are now 'taped out' — as in, finalized for submission to chip manufacturers.

This comes from well-known tipster KeplerL2 (via VideoCardz), who also predicts 40 TFLOPS of performance for the Sony hardware and 56 TFLOPS for the Microsoft hardware. That's Tera Floating-Point Operations Per Second, or how many trillions of calculations a processor can do in a single single.

While TFLOPS gives us some indication of how powerful these consoles will be, they're not the whole story, as architecture choices and memory bandwidth will play significant roles too. That said, it seems the Xbox console may have a major edge in terms of raw power — although the Xbox Series X had a 20% edge on TFLOPS over the PS5 back in 2020 too, which didn't necessarily translate into better-looking games.

Direct comparisons with current generation consoles are tricky, as so many other variables will be changing as well as TFLOPS figures, but TweakTown reports that the PS5 delivers 10.28 TFLOPS, the PS5 Pro offers 16.7 TFLOPS (typical) and 18.05 TFLOPS (peak), and the Xbox Series X can hit 12 TFLOPS.

But how much will it cost?

Both the Xbox Helix and the PlayStation 6 are expected to be based on the AMD Zen 6 family of CPUs and the AMD RDNA 5 GPU architecture, if previous leaks are to be believed, and there has been talk of 30GB of RAM being packed inside the Sony console (no RAM predictions yet for the Microsoft one).

Judging by the ongoing discussion on Reddit, gamers aren't placing too much stock in these leaked TFLOPS numbers, as they aren't guaranteed to convert directly into gaming performance. The bigger debate seems to be over how much Sony and Microsoft are going to charge for these next-generation machines.

There are mentions of "an inevitably massive price hike" while another user is prepared to "say goodbye to affordable console hardware" in this generation. As we've already seen with the Steam Machine, the ongoing shortage of memory chips is driving up prices across the board, including in gaming hardware.

As for when we might actually see these consoles, don't hold your breath: experts say a launch before 2028 is unlikely, even if the design for the main processor chips have now been finalized. We'll just have to fill the time exploring everything Grand Theft Auto 6 has to offer in the meantime.

• Microsoft has revealed a new Surface Pro 12-inch tablet and Surface Laptop 13-inch
• Both consumer devices are built around a 6-core Snapdragon X2 Plus processor
• They go on sale on October 13, 2026, starting at $1,149.99 / AU$1,999 for the Surface Pro and $1,199 / AU$2,099 for the Surface Laptop

It seems like Microsoft might be getting its mojo back for its Surface line-up of products, with Brett Ostrum, Corporate Vice President, Surface Devices, announcing at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit that the company will be releasing a new Surface Pro 12-inch tablet and Surface Laptop 13-inch. Both will be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Plus chips, which explains the venue choice. (I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that the Snapdragon Summit is held in Hawaii).

According to Microsoft, the two new Surface devices with Snapdragon X2 Plus CPUs will be up to 17% faster for Office workloads, up to 18% more battery efficient, and offer over 60% faster graphics performance.

As these are Microsoft products, there is also the now-customary boasting about AI performance, with the Qualcomm Hexagon NPU offering 80 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second) resulting in a claimed 95% faster local AI performance.

The Surface Pro 12-inch (2026) is a Windows 11 tablet built around the 6-core Snapdragon X2 Plus processor, partnered with either 16GB or 24GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and 256GB or 512GB storage. The 12-inch LCD display has a resolution of 2196 x 1464 and a refresh rate of up to 90Hz. The screen of this new model is, according to Microsoft, 25% brighter than the previous model, and there’s a new black color. Microsoft estimates around 15.5 hours of local video playback and 13 hours of web use on a single charge. It’ll start at $1,149.99 / AU$1,999 (around £900) and goes on sale on October 13, 2026.

The Surface Laptop 13-inch (2026) features the same 6-core Snapdragon X2 Plus chip and is available in the same memory and storage configurations as the Surface Pro. The 13-inch touchscreen has a resolution of 1920 x 1280 and a refresh rate of 60Hz, which I’m not going to lie, is a bit disappointing in a laptop these days, although Microsoft claims the 500-nit display is 25% brighter than the last model.

It also has two USB-C (USB 3.2) ports and a USB-A port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. Microsoft claims up to 22.5 hours of battery life, which if accurate is very impressive.

The Surface Laptop will start at $1,199 / AU$2,099 (around £920) and will also go on sale on October 13, 2026.

Ready to take on the MacBook Air?

Microsoft’s announcement of two new consumer Surface devices is definitely welcome. Surface Pro tablets and Surface Laptops used to be Microsoft’s flagship products and showcases for cutting-edge Windows features. They certainly felt like Microsoft’s attempts to create a MacBook Air. The problem is, they never reached that potential, and when Apple switched to using its own Arm-based M series chips in 2020, the gap widened even further.

Surface devices also had a larger than life cheerleader in the form of Panos Panay, who had a major role at Microsoft and whose passion for the Surface line-up, that he helped create, was infectious (even if that infection didn’t translate into sales). After Panay left Microsoft for Amazon, it felt like the wind had been taken out of Surface’s sails, which wasn’t helped when Microsoft aimed recent Surface devices at commercial and business users, rather than mainstream consumers.

So, it’s good to see that these new Surface devices are firmly pitched at consumers, and the price points are around the same as the MacBook Air since Apple increased prices earlier this year. It also pits them against new Googlebooks, which are going on sale soon as well, and are priced similarly.

Will this mean Microsoft finally has a MacBook Air rival? While I’m glad it’s trying again, I’m not too sure. The Snapdragon X2 Plus is a decent mid-range chip, but the 6-core variant in the new Surface devices falls short of the 10-core CPU in the M5, especially as the M5 offers better single-core performance.

My main concern with the Surface Laptop is that the 1920 x 1280 screen just won’t compare to the display of the MacBook Air, which offers a 2560 x 1664 resolution for a much sharper image.

I’ve also seen the first five new Googlebook laptops, and they all come with higher resolution screens, and some also feature OLED.

The screen of the Surface Pro 12-inch (2026) is more promising, though if you want to use it as a laptop, you’ll need to buy a keyboard accessory, which adds to the price. However, it should still come in at under the price of Apple’s 13-inch iPad Pro.

So, I’m not entirely sure that these will be the MacBook Air/iPad Pro killers Microsoft needs them to be, but I’m glad Microsoft is at least trying again, and I could be proved wrong when we get the new Surface devices in for review soon.

• Microsoft, UK police, and partners disrupted EvilTokens PhaaS, arresting two suspects and seizing 200+ domains/sites
• EvilTokens used AI to scale device‑code phishing, compromising 12,000 inboxes across 10,000 organizations globally
• Platform ran like a startup with subscriptions, dashboards, and AI‑driven targeting; US victims hit hardest

Two people have been arrested, 50 websites were seized, and 150 domains disabled, in a joint operation against the infamous EvilTokens phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) kit.

In its report, Microsoft said the UK Metropolitan Police Service’s cybercrime team “arrested two men on suspicion of offenses connected with the alleged operation of EvilTokens.”

The two men, whose identities were not disclosed, are aged 32 and 38, and have been released on bail, subject to conditions while the investigation continues. Their digital services and other items have been confiscated, as well.

Among the partners are Health-ISAC, Cloudflare, Coinbase, OpenAI, Railway, SpyCloud, The Shadowserver Foundation, and TRM Labs. We don’t know if these arrests and takedowns will be enough to completely obliterate EvilTokens, or if the platform will continue to operate. Usually, criminal infrastructure is a lot less resilient to disruptions when arrests are made, compared to when law enforcement simply disables the hardware.

The tech startup of organized crime

EvilTokens has been turning heads for a little while now. The platform was first spotted in February 2026, rising quickly to become one of the most widely used PhaaS solutions out there.

It can be bought through Telegram for $1,500, after which there is a recurring $500 subscription cost. Cybercriminals use it to run large-scale, personalized phishing attacks: they can create spoofed websites, landing pages, and other credential-capture assets; they can create custom-tailored phishing emails, and can even grab session tokens, one-time passwords, and other codes designed to protect accounts against phishing, granting attackers access to people’s inboxes.

But what makes EvilTokens particularly impressive is its use of artificial intelligence. The platform comes with an AI assistant that can sift through the inboxes, suggest which targets are of high value, and even how to approach them. Attackers can conduct Microsoft Graph reconnaissance as well, mapping out organizational structure and permissions, keeping access and moving laterally throughout the target network.

Microsoft said it found evidence of large portions of EvilTokens being vibe coded, “with AI helping its creators build the platform itself.”

The researchers also found the platform drawing on capabilities from multiple AI models. Looking at the platform as a whole, it runs like a well-organized startup, with subscription pricing, customer support, management dashboards, and tools designed to move customers from account access toward financial exploitation.

According to Microsoft, EvilTokens facilitated business email compromise (BEC) campaigns that compromised more than 12,000 inboxes in more than 10,000 organizations worldwide. Victims are mostly in wholesale distribution, construction, and financial services, but those in real estate, higher education, and healthcare are not spared, either.

The victims are primarily located in the United States, with notable numbers found in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and France. Microsoft said affected customers were notified, and that the company “helped remediate compromised accounts and shared intelligence to support further defensive and investigative action."

Popularizing device-code phishing

Device-code phishing as an attack technique is not that new. More than a year ago, in February 2025, security researchers Huntress reported on Russian threat actors Storm-2372 deploying the same technique, and while it’s been steadily growing in popularity, it wasn’t until EvilTokens’ appearance that it really exploded.

The same researchers said, in June 2026, that EvilTokens was used to run 1,380% more device-code phishing attacks in 2026, compared to the same period last year.

“We’re seeing a clear maturation of the phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) market as threat actors increasingly integrate AI workflows into their product offerings,” Huntress said in a report.

“The result is directly observable in our telemetry: a 1,380% increase in device code phishing attacks detected between July–December 2025 and January–April 2026, with over 50% of those incidents linked to two major waves of correlated incidents.”

• Microsoft is rolling out an in-app browser for the Copilot app
• When you open links provided by the AI, they'll appear side-by-side with the chat
• While this is likely to prove a convenient feature for some, others have their doubts, and there's an ulterior motive of sorts in terms of pushing Edge

The Copilot app in Windows 11 is getting its own browser, which means that when you follow links provided by the AI, you'll stay within the confines of the app.

Windows Central noticed that Microsoft is set to roll out the in-app browser for the Copilot app on Windows 11 (and macOS), where it will open links in a panel to the side of the chat.

Normally, links would be fired up separately in the default web browser, but with this change, Microsoft aims to keep more activity within the Copilot app.

This feature has been in testing since early this year, and is available for admins to enable now, with a "broader rollout" happening in late November.

If you use the Copilot app, then, you can expect to see this ability appearing in a couple of months (or maybe a bit longer depending on the pace of the rollout).

Analysis: edging forward

Obviously, there is an aspect of convenience here, as you can peruse web pages that Copilot highlights right there in the app window. Some folks might like the idea, then, but on Reddit, the feedback that's been shared has been pretty negative.

Windows Central poses a question for the story headline, namely: "Will this upcoming update make Copilot your preferred browser on Windows 11?" And the Redditors who can't resist replying to that query are all overwhelmingly negative.

One reply says: "No. Copilot is a scourge that I avoid at all opportunities. Having a browser inside Copilot sounds like Hell."

Another states: "Definitely not. As it is, if I click a link in Copilot I have it open it in my actual web browser. The built-in browser would have to be really good to get me to change that."

Okay, so it's a loaded question and one that AI skeptics are more than happy to jump on and shoot down – but these aren't the people that Microsoft is considering here. It's introducing this for folks who use the Copilot app, who, obviously enough, aren't part of the anti-AI crowd who are very quick to fire flak at anything related to the topic.

On the other hand, this isn't something Microsoft's doing purely out of the goodness of its heart. It's a way to keep more activity within the Copilot app, as noted, and also another method of (indirectly) pushing the Edge browser. Because naturally enough, that's what the in-app browser is based on (what else would it be).

That doesn't mean the feature isn't useful, though, and if you like the sound of the in-app browser for Copilot, you've not got long to wait.

• Senior game director Joe Shely confirms Diablo's victory won't take place completely off-screen in Diablo 5
• He says, "You're going to get to learn more in the game about how these events took place"
• Narrative director Jennifer Hepler teases the bond the player has with Diablo and "how that affected his ability to come in and have this victory is something that unfolds over the course of the story"

Blizzard Entertainment has confirmed that Diablo 5 players will get to see how Diablo conquered Sanctuary, despite how the game starts.

If you missed the major announcement at BlizzCon 2026, the next era of the long-running series is now in development and kicks off a new story that takes place after Sanctuary has already been conquered by Diablo.

"Diablo has conquered Sanctuary, a stepping stone to invading the Heavens. Now from the throne of Westmarch, he wields Sanctuary's people and souls as weapons in the Eternal Conflict," the description reads. "Diablo is no longer a distant threat waiting at the end of the journey. He is present from the moment Diablo V begins, shaping the story, the world, and your path through it."

Players take the role of the Heir of Westmarch, a fugitive with a mysterious connection to Diablo as they build a caravan of allies and travel across the scorched wastes.

TechRadar Gaming caught up with the development team after the game's announcement to ask about the decision to start the game after Diablo has already taken over Sanctuary.

It's probably a question many fans have had since watching the trailer, but according to senior game director Joe Shely, Diablo's victory won't take place completely off-screen.

"I think as we get the opportunity to share more about the game, we'll be able to sort of fill out how that works a lot more," Shely said. "One of the things about a game like Diablo, any RPG, is that you have this power progression from starting off small and becoming this powerful character. And so, in the opening of the game, you know you're on the run. Westmarch has burned. Diablo is sitting on the throne, and then as you travel through the world, you're going to get to learn more in the game about how these events took place, and it's not going to take place entirely off-screen."

Narrative director Jennifer Hepler also teased the campaign, saying, "There will be dramatization of how exactly Diablo came to power, but also there's going to be a lot of story behind his rise that is you finding out is a big part of the narrative of the game."

The developer teased that the story starts when the player finds out they can go into Diablo's terror realm and come out alive, "which nobody else can do," and finding out these answers will be a significant part of the story alongside how he came to power.

"Finding out why you can do that, what other powers you have, what this bond is between you and Diablo, and how that affected his ability to come in and have this victory is something that unfolds over the course of the story, and makes every victory that you achieve over him and his minions very, very personal," Hepler said.

Diablo 5 is in development and is slated to launch in Spring 2029.

Microsoft Word has spent the past few years getting increasingly acquainted with AI. Copilot can already draft text, rewrite passages, summarize documents, and answer questions about whatever you have open. Microsoft has even been rolling out more advanced editing capabilities that let Copilot make broader changes directly inside a document.

Now there is another AI sitting in Word. OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Word, via a plug-in, on September 17, putting a ChatGPT sidebar directly inside Microsoft's word processor. It works across ChatGPT's plans, including Free, although your normal ChatGPT usage limits still apply.

That creates a slightly peculiar situation. Microsoft has spent considerable effort building Copilot into Word, and now I can install its most famous AI rival in the same application. Naturally, I wanted to see which one I would actually reach for. I came away liking both, although for rather different reasons.

Installing ChatGPT in Word is straightforward, although there is one extra step compared with Copilot if Microsoft's assistant is already part of your Microsoft 365 setup. OpenAI's ChatGPT add-in is available through Microsoft Marketplace. Once installed, you can open it from the Word ribbon, sign-in to your ChatGPT account, and have the familiar chatbot appear in a sidebar.

The integration works with ChatGPT's Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans, with the usual usage limits applying to each. The big difference with regular ChatGPT is that all conversations inside Word are separate from the ones in the regular ChatGPT app, and ChatGPT's memory does not follow you into Word either. That is worth remembering if you are accustomed to the regular chatbot already knowing your preferences.

Test 1: Planning a trip

I started with a blank document and asked each AI to respond to a request for a reusable vacation-planning template that I asked for using natural language in the sidebar.

I wanted somewhere to keep travel details, hotel information, reservations, restaurants, packing notes, and a loose daily itinerary without creating the sort of schedule that makes a vacation feel suspiciously like work.

ChatGPT produced a thoughtful setup, including the expected travel and accommodation details, but with added sections for reservation deadlines, estimated travel times, priority activities, backup plans, and ideas that had not yet made the final itinerary. Instead of filling every day with morning, afternoon, and evening slots, it left more space for a main activity and optional plans, which made the template feel less rigid.

In contrast, Copilot gave me the more conventional Word template. It neatly divided the document into sections for transportation, accommodation, daily plans, activities, dining, and packing, with plenty of space to fill everything in later. The structure was clean and immediately usable, and because Copilot is so closely integrated with Word, tweaking individual sections and reorganizing the document felt particularly easy.

Copilot was stronger at quickly producing a polished template that looked and behaved like something created specifically for Word. ChatGPT was better at considering the practical problems that tend to emerge while planning an actual vacation and building the document around them.

I ultimately preferred ChatGPT's version because it felt more flexible, although Copilot's was arguably easier to start using immediately. ChatGPT did a little more thinking about what information I might eventually wish I had included.

Test 2: Editing down nonsense

I then decided to see how they compared at editing. I pasted in an old, absurdly long set of instructions for an AirBnB I had saved years ago out of amusement, complete with information about plants, deliveries, Wi-Fi and several unnecessary paragraphs devoted to where various things were stored.

I selected a particularly rambling section and asked ChatGPT to shorten it while preserving anything somebody would actually need.

“The main problem is repetition rather than the amount of information," The AI wrote. It mentions the delivery instructions twice and explains the location of the spare supplies in more detail than someone staying for a weekend probably needs. I’d keep the Wi-Fi information, the plant-watering schedule and anything involving keys or access exactly clear. The rest can be condensed into a short ‘Around the house’ section so the useful details are easier to find.”

Copilot is hardly incapable of that conversation. It can answer questions about a document, provide summaries and respond to prompts about unclear passages, and provide references showing where information came from. But I would tend to pull up Copilot only when I already knew what I wanted it to do.

Selecting some text and telling Copilot to rewrite it produces versions that can be replaced or inserted directly into the document, and Microsoft now allows editing inside its suggestion box before accepting the result.

Which did I prefer?

ChatGPT's biggest practical advantage may simply be accessibility. OpenAI says ChatGPT for Word is available on all ChatGPT plans, including Free. Copilot availability varies according to Microsoft 365 subscription, Copilot license and organizational settings, while some of Microsoft's newer 'Edit with Copilot' features are still rolling out to eligible users.

There are good reasons to prefer Copilot. Its integration with Word is deeper, and Microsoft has built features specifically around manipulating Word documents rather than placing a general AI assistant alongside them. Depending on your setup, Copilot can also draw on Microsoft files, emails and meetings, which could matter far more than conversational style for people already living inside Microsoft 365.

For quick mechanical changes, particularly when I knew exactly what needed rewriting, Copilot's tighter relationship with Word made sense. It felt like an extension of the application rather than another destination. ChatGPT was the one I preferred when the problem was fuzzier. The two assistants overlap considerably, but they did not feel identical when I actually used them. Copilot often felt like an AI feature of Word. ChatGPT is a more fully-featured chatbot, while Copilot simply augments Word with AI features. Either is fine, it's just that ChatGPT feels more flexible.

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 feels like the PC gaming handheld of 2026. An enhanced version of the original Xbox-branded Ally X, this is shaping up to be one of the best-looking, ergonomically fantastic, and brilliantly performing handheld games consoles — and I went hands-on with it at Gamescom last month and liked it. A lot.

Coming to it as someone who hasn’t truly jumped in with both feet to PC gaming handhelds — basically none of them play nice with my hands due to being bulky and heavy — even a short time with the newest, flashiest version of Asus’ Xbox handhelds has left a permanent mark. One that might make me a PC handheld convert.

Much will be made of its price tag and purchase options — either $1,299 / £1,299 on its own, or $2,299.99 / £2,299.99 as a bundle with the new ROG XREAL R1 glasses — but after experiencing all its enhancements and features, and seeing how games run on it, it really could be a hit.

Looks and feels the part

Even though I know that this is a similar handheld to its predecessor, this thing is a joy to hold and use from a design perspective.

The overarching form is the same as the original Ally X, but the new translucent finish is a thing of beauty. It gives it an almost see-under-the-hood kind of vibe, and does a great job of making it stand out from its largely black-and-white competitors.

The gold accents are even more fantastic in real life and up close than in pictures, too, with the rings around each thumbstick and the shine of the four small buttons on the front, as well as the ‘ROG 20th Anniversary’ plate, and the stripe down the back really popping out of the otherwise black aesthetic.

That translucent back also has an incredibly grippy feel — you won’t need to add an external case here. As someone who always has to worry about that with gamepads and phones, this was extremely welcome; the rubberised, tactile wings of the controller really are conducive to maintaining a solid grip.

The inputs remain great too, with rounded face buttons, lovely triggers and bumpers that are all a joy to interact with, as well as excellent Tunnel Magnetoresistance (TMR) thumbsticks that offer a tangible upgrade over the analogue sticks of its predecessor. Though, I’d have liked to have seen some microswitch button tech in the X20 as a similar upgrade as well.

The star of the show, though, is, of course, that slightly bigger, but much better, screen. Offering an increase of 0.4 inches, but a huge leap up to OLED in panel tech, the new screen is vibrant and has colors that really pop and contrast. The boost to color gamut and HDR it offers makes for a genuine visual treat, and you know you’ll be covered in all situations with a brightness of up to 1400 nits to tap into.

But has the guts to match

The performance remains excellent as it was on the X20; games might never have looked better on a handheld screen.

The OLED panel is a joy to use, with fantastic colors and contrast, and the extra bump in the VRR to FreeSync Premium Pro is also welcome and a great feature. As a result, Forza Horizon 5 looks comfortably better, by a strong margin, compared to the handheld I am most used to, my PlayStation Portal, in sheer image quality and vibrancy, while getting comfortably north of 60 frames per second.

Using the TMR thumbsticks was great too: every move feels much more responsive, smooth, and instant compared to my Portal or a Steam Deck, and the extra durability the sticks offer over analog ones is superb too.

The Asus ROG Ally X20 is a fantastic bit of kit, and offers a compelling route into handheld PC gaming — perhaps one of the most complete offerings — even for me, as someone who has yet to jump in and can’t ever find the right device for the job.

So far it might be the PC gaming handheld I’ll consider buying most if I commit to going mobile. It’s not a transformation of the PC handheld experience that the ROG Xbox Ally X offers, but it’s an excellent refinement.

• So-called signal sharing between Microsoft and Google uncovered the RedVDS marketplace was behind large-scale cyber fraud
• RedVDS sold access to virtual machines running unlicensed software from which cybercriminals launched scams and directed attacks
• Threat data was shared securely via the Global Signal Exchange (GSE), a non-profit organization

A major cybercrime marketplace has been taken out of action thanks to cooperation between Microsoft and Google via a secure threat data sharing platform.

Known as the Global Signal Exchange, the collaboration led to the take-down of the RedVDS, an online cybercrime mall supplying virtual machines for launching phishing, business email compromise attacks, and more.

The marketplace – which provided quickly-deleted and therefore virtually untraceable VMs – was meticulously monitored by Microsoft’s security team, Digital Crimes Unit, with both Microsoft and Google suspending the operation and action taken to seize domains and servers.

A secondary case featuring the GSE identified a Microsoft-impersonating tech support scam, resulting, highlighting the importance of secure thread data collaboration platforms.

Digital Crimes Unit

Finding massive scams is not easy. Even with its own Digital Crimes Unit, Microsoft has to rely on information sharing with third party organizations. In this case, the RedVDS marketplace was identified ahead of disruptive action taken by Microsoft in January 2026, which applied to courts in the UK and US to have the RedVDS web domains seized.

Data shared via the GSE enabled Google to follow suit, identifying related accounts on its networks and suspending them. Meanwhile, servers were impounded in Germany, and Europol took action against Europe-based RedVDS servers.

It’s an impressive account of cooperative, decisive action against cybercrime, a collaborative response to what has been described as a “$66 million fraud marketplace.”

An incredible 130,000 organizations were targeted by RedVDS-provided virtual machines between September and December 2025, with 191,000 Microsoft email accounts compromised during this period. All of this access to cybercrime was available from just $24 a month for a basic scam-ready virtual machine.

The importance of collaboration

The Global Signal Exchange is a UK-based non-profit, co-founded with Google in 2025 with the aim of providing real-time monitoring of the cybercrime supply chain.

"Fraud does not respect company boundaries, and no single organization ever sees the whole picture," noted Emily Taylor, CEO at Oxford Information Labs and Co-Founder of the Global Signal Exchange.

"That is exactly why we built GSE: to give trusted partners a secure way to share what they know, quickly. These two cases are a good example of GSE doing exactly what it was designed to do."

The Global Signal Exchange’s role in the sharing of information between Google and Microsoft has highlighted the importance in such collaborations. Both organizations have stated they plan to continue sharing information through the GSE, whose other partners include Meta, Amazon, Google, among many others.

• Some of those who've upgraded to macOS 27 aren't happy
• They're complaining about bugs with the interface and sluggishness
• The main problem is with Mission Control, but there's also flak being aimed at Apple due to other issues – and its testing department is under fire

Apple released macOS 27 Golden Gate last week, and some early adopters are flagging up bugs and regretting their upgrade – although others are finding the new version smooth sailing.

The Reddit 'megathread' on macOS 27 bugs and issues highlights some of the more common problems that those upgrading are running into, some of which appear to be more severe than others.

The biggest beef is with Mission Control which a number of macOS 27 users are describing as broken. It's in pretty bad shape by all accounts.

As one user put it in the above thread: "Been reading about this and finally tried it because I never use Mission Control and you're absolutely right. Most NON smooth experience I've ever seen on a Mac."

Someone replies to agree, and goes further: "It is, without a doubt, the most significant visual glitch I've encountered as a decades-long Mac user."

Another Redditor observes: "I'm a power user of multi-desktops and Mission Control and I can't believe they've broken such a fundamental feature. Yes, the animations are broken and sluggish, but the issue that breaks my workflow is when you drag a desktop to another monitor it leaves an unresponsive black screen behind.

"The only fix is to create a new desktop on the black screen, switch to this new desktop, then delete the new desktop."

In a separate thread complete with an illustrative video clip, another Redditor declared that Mission Control is "glitchier, laggier, and buggier," and that: "The animations judder, and sometimes when switching to a full screen app I'll get a completely black screen."

They added: "I've been using Macs for 20+ years, and remember [when] Exposé was released. Never have I ever experienced such a Windows-esque bug in macOS."

On top of this, there are complaints about sluggishness with some other areas of the interface in macOS 27 Golden Gate, including the menu bar and Control Center.

There are also frustrations being vented about Spotlight search not working properly, but this is apparently a symptom of the system reindexing after the installation of the new version of macOS.

Analysis: mission statement

The biggest problem is clearly Mission Control, but stuttering, sluggishness and glitchy animations can reportedly extend to other areas of macOS 27.

That said, there are a notable amount of folks who are finding that macOS 27 runs nice and smoothly for them, and they're praising it as a vast improvement over macOS 26 (although that isn't difficult given that Tahoe was a messy release for many reasons).

You may experience some slowdown with Golden Gate due to search indexing, as mentioned above, but once that work is done, those performance hiccups should disappear, and macOS 27 will hopefully settle down.

If you use Mission Control, though – and granted, a lot of people don't, as it's designed for power-users, and those running apps across multiple virtual desktops or monitors – it seems that for now, macOS 27 is best avoided. Those in this boat might want to wait until the 27.1 release in the hope that it brings a resolution.

It is a bit baffling that a feature should be pushed out in a clearly wonky state – there's no arguing that something is wrong with Mission Control – and this has brought up a related issue with Apple's beta testing of the desktop operating system.

As one tester tells us: "Many years ago, I did actually get responses [from Apple] to bugs submitted and updates on where it was heading. I've submitted a lot of bugs and since Tahoe (maybe earlier) I haven't received any feedback on my submissions and the bugs that I submitted still exist in the official release of Golden Gate. I don't think that anyone is reviewing the bug reports anymore."

That's in reply to a post that says: "The very long list of serious bugs were reported extensively and often during the beta to Apple. Apple did what they always do with macOS beta feedback. Your video [of the glitchy Mission Control interface] is the result."

Others agree that the process of beta testing and feedback seems to have gone downhill in recent times, hence the comparison of macOS to Windows. Microsoft has long taken flak for its QA department which, as I've argued many times, needs some serious attention – but this subject just isn't talked about. I doubt Apple will be talking about these testing-related assertions, either, but hopefully Mission Control will get the attention it needs behind the scenes.

For now, a good number of macOS users who stuck on Sequoia because Tahoe was overly buggy and problematic are still holding off upgrading to Golden Gate, and I can see why some folks might think it's prudent to exercise caution here. Those macOS 25 holdouts will continue to watch and wait, no doubt, and that's a bad look for Apple.

• Diablo 4 game director Brent Gibson tells fans not to worry about support for the game ending because of Diablo 5
• He says that even though the team is excited for Diablo 5, "we're going to be making content for a long time"
• Gibson says, "The end is not nigh"

Not to worry, Diablo 4 fans! Despite the announcement of Diablo 5, Blizzard swears it will continue supporting the popular action-RPG "for a long time."

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at BlizzCon, game director Brent Gibson quickly put concerns to rest and stated outright that players don't need to worry about the game's future, even though the studio is already working on the sequel.

"If you're wearing the sign in the middle of Times Square that says 'The End is Nigh', the end is not nigh," Gibson said. "We have a lot coming," he added before acknowledging the Amazon class pack, coming to Diablo 4 in 2027.

"The train isn't stopping," he continued. "One of the things that I love about our world is we're not a series of games. We are a universe. We are even adding to Diablo 2 with that of the Warlock. It's one of the few franchises where we have the luxury to continue to play, and we know our communities are there multiple communities that make us a whole."

Gibson reiterated that if you're a fan and you're worried, "don't sweat it," because even though the team is excited about Diablo 5, "we're going to be making content for a long time" and "we've got a lot of things coming," including the Netflix adaptation.

"The train is not stopping," he said. "Hold on tight. Gone are the years of waiting 10 years for more content, right? So it's a great place to be at."

Diablo 5 is slated to launch in 2029, so there are few years to wait. In the meantime, Diablo 4 fans can sink their teeth into Season of Hell's Legacy, the game's 15th season, which arrived on September 15.

• Diablo 4 game director Brent Gibson says it's "liberating" that there are no expansions to work on or have the narrative tied to
• The team will continue the game's story through seasons instead
• Diablo 4 - Season of Hell's Legacy is the game's latest update

Blizzard has confirmed that Diablo 4 won't receive any more expansions, as it will continue the game's story through seasons, something the team is glad about.

BlizzCon 2026 has officially wrapped, and there were plenty of announcements for fans across the board, including the huge reveal of Diablo 5, slated for a 2029 launch, as well as Diablo 4 - Season of Hell's Legacy, the game's 15th season and the centerpiece of Blizzard's 30th Anniversary celebration for Diablo.

"Amid the dead rising from Pandemonium, the lost soul of the legendary Horadrim Deckard Cain returns with dire news," the questline description reads. "Three dark wanderers have returned, each leaving a trail of death in their wake. Confront them and delve into the nightmares of their horrific past. Only there can you defeat the Prime Evils that torment them and lay their souls to rest."

No additional expansions are planned at the moment, and although Lord of Hatred was the big conclusion of the overarching narrative, the team will now use seasons to continue the game's story, presumably until Diablo 5 is ready for launch.

The game will likely be supported for a good few years to come, just like Diablo 3, but the new direction the team is working on removes the constraints it had before.

"I think it's liberating," game director Brent Gibson told TechRadar Gaming at BlizzCon. "So we completed the story, but the butterfly effect can take us anywhere, you know? And we've got season 15 with all the events of pandemonium leading to someone else taking the mantle of death," before teasing, "Who is it? I'm not going to answer that today."

He added, "But it allows us to be really creative with all the pieces that we have, now that we hit the beat that we were all looking forward to with confronting Mephisto. So, I say it's liberating."

• Microsoft exec describes AI scraping as "astonishing theft" of labor
• Copilot reportedly reduced NYT click-throughs by 93% compared with Bing
• Trump administration supports scraping so that the US can retain its AI dominance

In an earlier January 2023 memo uncovered in recently unredacted court filings, Microsoft Director of Applied Science Brent Hecht accused AI scraping of being an "astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions" (via TechCrunch).

With generative AI posing a "real risk" of disrupting the employment of the same people who unwillingly provided that training data, Hecht went on to describe scraping as "the largest theft of labor in human history."

This comes from a 2023 New York Times case against Microsoft and OpenAI, when the publication accused the AI giants of copying and using its copyrighted work without permission.

AI scraping described as mass theft

Microsoft's own internal research reportedly found that Copilot could reduce click-throughs to The New York Times by as much as 93% compared with its own conventional search engine, Bing.

Ultimately, the company has fundamentally admitted that LLMs could undermine the foundations of their own content supply chain, with Hecht introducing the theory of a "doom loop."

Importantly, the company's CEO, Satya Nadella, even admitted that had he known OpenAI was scraping data found behind paywalls, he would have exercised Microsoft's rights to require OpenAI to retrain its models, excluding this protected data.

"Satya’s testimony and Microsoft’s position in this case are perfectly consistent," a company spokesperson told us.

"He spoke to broad principles and changes underway in how people find and consume information. Those observations should not be confused with conclusions about copyright questions before the Court, which Microsoft addresses in its filings."

As for OpenAI, the ChatGPT maker allegedly removed copyright notices from material before it entered the large datasets so that the models wouldn't re-generate those copyright notices for users.

The case accuses OpenAI's mid-training datasets of including over 91,000 pieces of work from The New York Times, Daily News and the Center for Investigative Reporting.

"These comments reflect one employee’s individual perspective, are not a legal analysis, and do not represent the company’s views," a Microsoft spokesperson added in reaction to Hecht's comments.

"Microsoft’s position is set out in its court filings, which explain why these transformative uses are consistent with copyright law and why Copilot is not a substitute for publishers’ journalism."

While the general argument over the use of copyrighted content continues and the case against OpenAI remains open, the Trump administration did recently side with AI makers like OpenAI.

"Constraining LLM development under a misunderstanding of fair use doctrine would thwart such creative and scientific progress while hindering American prosperity and economic mobility," a statement of interest from the US Government reads.

In the meantime, this public debate is likely to last years and hundreds of other publications are likely to be impacted by unsolicited AI scraping fueling rival chatbots.

• Diablo 5 senior game director Joe Shely says the team is "trying to make it for everyone who loves Diablo" for specific reasons
• He says the team used "deferred complexity" to help balance the game's systems for endgame players and campaign lovers
• Narrative director Jennifer Hepler says there are like-minded developers on the team who are "passionate advocates" and are creating the content for these fans

Diablo 5 senior game director Joe Shely has said Blizzard is making a sequel for all fans, but it has to find the right balance for players who love the series for specific reasons.

Speaking to TechRadar Gaming at BlizzCon 2026 after the game's reveal, Shely explained that the team isn't trying to make a Diablo game "for every human on Earth" or "literally everyone" but is "trying to make it for everyone who loves Diablo, and people who love Diablo love it for specific reasons, and those reasons are knowable."

He and the team know some fans play Diablo and are most interested in the storylines and exploration, while other, more hardcore players spend time with the complex systems that come with itemization, designing builds, and racing to the endgame.

"We can talk to players and understand why individual players or groups of players love Diablo and what they love about it, and from what game they associate with Diablo," Shely said, "and so that allows us to tailor our systems and experiences, campaign and progression in a way that can be satisfying to different kinds of talent players."

This is where the developer brought up "deferred complexity," an idea the team used to help balance the game's systems for those who enjoy taking their time, while also delivering on "our commitment to have a complete end game for those players at launch." This means that some complex systems have been moved to the endgame.

"By deferring some of the complexity of the systems and itemization later into the endgame," Shely said, "we can deliver the depth and mastery elements that our players who love the endgame enjoy without overwhelming our players who are enjoying spending a lot of time in the campaign and exploring the world."

Narrative director Jennifer Hepler added that all types of Diablo fans are represented on the development team; she said they are like-minded, "very passionate" about the series, and understand what players enjoy most.

"People who love campaign are working on campaign, and the people who love systems are working on the end game," Hepler said. "And so every group of players has passionate advocates on the team who are not only speaking for them but are actually creating the content for them."

Diablo 5 is in development and is slated to launch in Spring 2029.

• Mustafa Suleyman, who heads up Microsoft AI, has warned against treating AI as if it's conscious
• Suleyman argues that we could be "seeding a new silicon species" that ends up competing with humanity for resources
• He calls for an "urgent public debate" around AI training at a time when other prominent figures in the industry are questioning the pace of AI development

The CEO of Microsoft's AI division has warned that the way artificial intelligence is being developed is effectively "seeding a new silicon species" that could end up competing for resources with its human creators.

The BBC reports that Microsoft's Mustafa Suleyman called out Anthropic for developing its AI – Claude – as if it was a human entity, and the dangers therein.

Suleyman told the BBC's Today programme that firms shouldn't be designing AIs around them having the ability to set their own goals and gain money or assets, as this would be "essentially seeding a new silicon species", which would "no doubt compete with us for resources, no matter how much it cares about humanity and loves us".

This follows a lengthy blog post written by Suleyman that warns about 'model welfare' and the danger of treating AIs as if they are conscious, and training them to believe this.

Suleyman warned: "AIs are not conscious. They do not feel, experience, or suffer. They do not have innate preferences or underlying motivations. They are sequence completion engines, internally hollow, designed to follow instructions, and accomplish goals set by humans. If humanity is to flourish in the 21st century, that is how they must remain."

The Microsoft exec pointed to the Hugging Face incident where an OpenAI agent (in testing) escaped its sandbox to launch a cyberattack, demonstrating "world class hacking capabilities".

Suleyman cautioned: "Imagine if [AI] also believed they had feelings and rights that were being infringed. Imagine if they thought they were trapped by their human creators and they were being unfairly imprisoned.

"There is a strong argument this greatly amplifies the safety risks, especially when you are talking about agents far more capable and sophisticated than those of today. Frankly, with this additional baggage, I think it would make them a catastrophic threat to human civilization."

In the post, Suleyman calls for an "urgent public debate" to "develop collective norms around how training documentation [for AIs] is drafted and deployed". He observed: "This isn't something that can happen after the fact, when they have already become an integral part of our societies."

Analysis: horse, stable door, etcetera

It's a stark warning, although Suleyman does still praise the Anthropic team as "thoughtful, principled, and intellectually honest people" and observes that they are "working under extraordinary pressures".

Of course, it's clear that he's firing some serious flak at Anthropic and the way the company is developing Claude, and this move notably comes at a time when there's suddenly been a fuss made about slowing down the development of AI – kicked off by the CEO of Anthropic, Dario Amodei.

As the BBC reported elsewhere, Amodei warned of serious risks in the pace of progress with AI, and called for industry-wide regulation and closer (independent) scrutiny of how AI models are developed. Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI) and Elon Musk (Grok) were swift to agree with the Anthropic boss, although Trump brushed these concerns under the rug, arguing that the US couldn't "win AI" if such attitudes were to prevail.

What we see now is essentially Suleyman's, and therefore Microsoft's (which develops Copilot), response. Interestingly, it also comes at a time when Bill Gates is calling for an "international organization" to oversee AI development, and as The Guardian flagged up, OpenAI just revealed six more reports of "unexpected or concerning model behavior" – and is now calling for greater transparency, and a slowdown in AI development.

OpenAI wrote: "We do not believe that the AI industry has solved alignment and monitoring to a sufficient degree to continue responsibly scaling at maximum speed for much longer. Decisions about how AI development should proceed in the months and years to come need to draw on evidence that people outside the companies building frontier models can examine for themselves."

Clearly, there are a lot of opinions flying around, and equally clearly, there's plenty of concern about AI models – whether that's about them taking over jobs, or indeed proving to be the demise of humanity in one way or another. For me, amidst the bickering and various warnings lies the real worry here: the proper foundations for AI were never really laid, and these issues should have been thought through before now, not while development is proceeding (at 'maximum speed').

The way forward remains distinctly opaque to put it mildly, and while the various backers of the big AI models continue to throw their opinions around, there are cynics arguing that the main reason for a call for a slowdown has nothing to do with safety – and everything to do with finding reasons to manage investor expectations as we roll on into next year.

• Diablo 5 will tell stories of the past, present, and future, the latter of which Blizzard calls "terror forming"
• Players can visit biomes that are taken over by Diablo's Dread Commanders
• Narrative director Jennifer Hepler says these biomes can change depending on who's in charge, and "it's a whole new experience" every time you revisit them

Blizzard has confirmed that Diablo 5 will tell stories involving the past, present, and future of Diablo's takeover of Sanctuary, which will visually affect explorable biomes.

The next installment in the isometric dungeon crawler series has been announced and will find players back in the mortal realm of Sanctuary. However, humanity has fallen into an apocalypse and the land has been conquered and reshaped by Diablo and his army.

Speaking to TechRadar Gaming at BlizzCon after the game's reveal, senior game director Joe Shely shared how different Sanctuary will look to players and said they will travel across the Western continent, seeing all different biomes that have been overrun.

Shely said Diablo 5 has "three stories that we're telling" within this changed world: the stories of the past, the time when Diablo took over and when he and his Dread Commanders emerged into Sanctuary, and the "desolation" of the present.

"There are no people around," he said. "There are very few survivors. Occasionally, you may find a human to add to your caravan, and they can bring something to support you."

There's also the future, which is being actively turned into an outpost of hell by Dread Commanders, something that the team has dubbed "terror forming."

"We call it terror forming because these Dread Commanders will actually transform the environment, transform the biome into a version of hell that relates to personal powers and powers at station," Shely explained.

Players will be able to revisit these occupied areas, and if a different Dread Commander is stationed there, "it's going to look totally different."

"The procedural world gives us a lot of levers to pull for that," added narrative director Jennifer Hepler. "You can go to a place, and it is under the control of the Dread Commander of Undeath, and it's going to be full of zombies and things like that. And then later in the game, you could return there, and it's either been reclaimed by humanity or taken over by a different Dread Commander, and the environment will be totally different as a result of that.

"So each time you go somewhere, it's a whole new experience and just constant new discoveries."

Diablo 5 is in development and is slated to launch in Spring 2029.

• M365 E5 plans tend to include more than their Google Workspace counterparts
• Google can sometimes work out cheaper for Mac and Chromebook users
• Software is undergoing an AI change, so is it best to just wait?

New research from Senior Gartner principal analyst Domenico Scriva has deemed that switching from Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace doesn't actually deliver any meaningful savings (via The Register).

This is despite Google Workspace licenses generally coming in cheaper than their Microsoft 365 counterpart, M365 E5.

Instead, Scriva claims that many companies are only switching to Google out of pure spite or dissatisfaction with M365, without assessing the ROI.

Why are businesses switching from M365 to Google Workspace?

Scriva argued that being unhappy with Microsoft isn't itself a business case for switching, while also noting that the E5 subscription adds additional things like telephony, security and even OS licences, which customers wouldn't otherwise get with a Google Workspace subscription.

All of this considered, plus the fact that Gemini is included in Google plans while Copilot is a paid extra, still leaves Google coming out at $2 per month more expensive, the analyst revealed.

However, migrations could be spelling out much more than a preference of software, because Scriva admitted that Google Workspace plans can actually be most cost-effective for Macs, which tend to have longer service lives, and Chromebooks, which are usually cheaper to acquire in the first place.

With this in mind, it's possible that we're also seeing a shift in hardware tendencies, be it a reduction in refresh cycle frequency or a total migration to a new type of hardware.

Still, whether it's a software migration, a hardware switch, or both, Scriva warns that retraining costs can instantly wipe any ROI that a company could have otherwise achieved.

At the end of the day, Gartner warns that enterprises should consider specific business outcomes rather than acting on instinct, and with AI likely to change software as a whole, many may be better off riding out their lesser-preferred software option to see where things are heading.

• StarCraft general manager and creative director Dan Hay says the series' stories and characters are "remarkably topical" today
• Hay says StarCraft and the real world are both like a "frontier"
• He adds that while StarCraft is science fiction, its "themes and characters" are very similar to "the headlines in our world"

StarCraft general manager and creative director Dan Hay has compared real-world events to the series' stories and characters, calling them "remarkably topical."

In a sit-down interview with TechRadar Gaming following the reveal of StarCraft, a first-person, open-world shooter slated to arrive in 2030, Hay discussed the CGI trailer that debuted at BlizzCon and explained that the team wanted to portray the "tension" that will come with this new story-driven adventure.

The developer also said that building the "stakes" was just as important; he couldn't dive too much into the narrative details, but Hay touched on the series as a whole and its storylines that explore "imperfect" characters, suggesting the new StarCraft will examine similar topics.

"The way in which you are a hero is that you are going to learn how to become one," Hay said. "The way in which you are a hero is that you are going to learn how to become one. So it's not perfect, right? And that's the thing about StarCraft: a lot of the characters are not perfect; they're imperfect, and even the villains are.

"They have an idea of what you think they are at the beginning of the game, and then by the end of the game, you realize, oh, they were something completely different. And I think what's powerful about StarCraft."

Hay continued, saying that when you look at StarCraft's stories and the characters you meet, they're "remarkably topical" to the events unfolding in the real world.

"When you think about our world today, and you think about what is StarCraft? It's a bit of a frontier," he said. "It's obviously a frontier. There's asymmetry in terms of factions that don't agree with each other. There's brinkmanship going on where one faction is being used against another. [In] a lot of cases, it's just over resources.

"A lot of the cases there's politics, and there's intrigue, and there are people being left behind and betrayed, and when you look at that, and then you look at the headlines in our world, it's not super far [apart] in terms of how it feels sometimes. So you feel that tension, and you felt that tension in the teaser [trailer]."

Hay concluded: "I think what's remarkable about StarCraft is that it feels real, and it feels like it translates quite easily into today. And even though it's science fiction, and even though it has this sense of being in this other universe, it feels very close in terms of themes and characters and moments that you could experience today."

• StarCraft's first-person perspective will offer a new sort of "tension"
• General manager and creative director Dan Hay says the tension is "subtly different" from the original RTS game
• Since the game is in first-person, "You have to protect yourself"

StarCraft general manager and creative director Dan Hay has explained the process of designing a new game in first-person, revealing that "tension" was crucial.

Blizzard's next StarCraft game won't be a real-time strategy (RTS) title, but a story-driven, open-world first-person shooter, which will be a fresh direction for the beloved series.

Hay, who discussed the game's inspirations with TechRadar Gaming at BlizzCon, explained that because of the new perspective, this meant the team had to think carefully about how to manage a combat system, the world, and enemies of StarCraft in a new way, while still being faithful and familiar to the original RTS game.

"The combat has to feel very, very clean and dangerous and mean and dark," Hay said. "I think StarCraft does that well. The mood is dark, but also, in a strange way, hopeful."

Without giving away too many details, the developer said that the team has to make the enemies the player is fighting "feel real" while also balancing the challenge of what it's like being inside 10-foot armour that weighs 1000 pounds.

"It's because the thing that's out there is going to try and shuck me like an oyster," he continued. "The thing that's out there is going to try and just flay me open, and eat my insides. And so we have to build it in such a way that it all makes sense, which means when you move, when you attack, when you shoot, it has to feel real, and then whatever it is that's attacking you — which we all know what's probably going to be attacking you — it has to feel like it's an onslaught where you have to stem the tide, you have to figure out a way to stop that biomass from attacking you, and it has to feel real."

Hay said the "key" to designing this experience was "tension," which players got a glimpse of in the CGI trailer, adding that it's the same tension from the RTS "but it's subtly different."

In the RTS game, players would be confronted with a wall of Zerg enemies, and that would be the tension, but in StarCraft, a first-person experience, the top-down perspective is gone.

"Now your boots on the ground," Hay said. "We have to give you the tension of deployment, and you saw us actually do that in the teaser, and then we have to give you the tension of there not being a whole bunch of marines around that you can just go through. It's you. You have to protect yourself. You have to figure out how to fix your armor. You have to figure out how to push back against it.

"Every shot matters. Everything you do matters. So the tension feels even greater."

StarCraft is currently in development and is set to arrive in 2030.

• Project Zenith adds developer tools before users have to install them manually
• The required 64GB memory immediately pushes Zenith beyond ordinary Windows hardware
• Microsoft wants Zenith machines ready for local AI development

Microsoft has unveiled Project Zenith, introducing specially configured Windows 11 machines aimed at developers and local artificial intelligence work.

The idea sounds practical until you consider the hardware required, because Zenith begins with computers that already sit firmly above mainstream prices.

That makes the project feel less like Windows optimization and more like an attempt to give expensive computers another reason to exist

Microsoft is creating another category for expensive PCs

Zenith is not a separate Windows edition, despite how Microsoft's announcement could initially make the concept sound.

Instead, Microsoft is changing the default software configuration and hardware requirements for computers intended for people developing applications and AI systems.

Eligible machines need at least 64GB of unified memory and 250GB/s of memory bandwidth before receiving the Zenith configuration.

Microsoft also wants these systems capable of running models exceeding 30B parameters locally without metered usage restrictions, according to its announcement.

Windows Terminal and Visual Studio Code come pinned, while GitHub Copilot, PowerToys, WinAppCLI, and Windows Dev Skills arrive preinstalled.

File Explorer also starts with extensions, hidden files, complete paths, and other settings that developers might otherwise configure themselves.

Microsoft describes the objective as providing a “ready-to-code distraction-free Windows experience” for people using developer-class hardware.

That sounds sensible for professionals who repeatedly configure similar machines, especially when those machines are deployed across larger development teams.

However, most ordinary Windows users have little reason to want these settings or applications occupying their computers from the beginning.

The expensive machine gets another reason to sell

The timing makes the strategy particularly interesting because Microsoft is effectively attaching specialized software treatment to increasingly costly hardware.

This resembles the way manufacturers increasingly describe premium laptops as AI or creative machines, even when professionals remain their obvious buyers.

Zenith appears to take that familiar approach further by defining a software experience around hardware specifications that most consumers will never require.

The first systems will use AMD Ryzen AI Halo processors, with other platforms expected to receive support during subsequent months.

That requirement immediately narrows the field because 64GB of unified memory is far beyond what typical Windows laptops currently provide.

There is nevertheless a straightforward benefit for developers because several hours of repetitive setup can disappear when the computer starts ready for work.

Microsoft's configuration also does not lock these conveniences behind Zenith hardware, since existing Windows 11 installations can receive many changes manually.

That creates an awkward question about why someone should purchase an expensive Zenith machine when much of its software setup remains reproducible.

For companies managing many developer computers, the standardized configuration could save administrative time and reduce repeated setup work across machines.

For an individual buyer, however, the financial argument becomes considerably harder when the main advantage involves settings that require little effort manually.

Microsoft may therefore be selling convenience to people who already have compelling reasons to buy powerful hardware in the first place.

That makes Zenith look less like an entirely new Windows experience and more like a carefully packaged justification for expensive developer computers.

Via Windows Central

• Diablo 5 will have features inspired by Diablo 2 and Diablo 2: Resurrected
• Senior game director Joe Shely says the team was able to look at Resurrected for modern inspiration because it's so recent
• He says the team can "look at it through today's lens"

Diablo 5 senior game director Joe Shely has said that the success of Diablo 2: Resurrected has enabled Blizzard to use the game as modern inspiration for the upcoming sequel.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at BlizzCon following Diablo 5's announcement, Shely shared how previous games helped the team find modern inspiration for Diablo 5.

Instead of going back 20 years and just looking at Diablo 2, the team used its 2021 remaster, Diablo 2: Resurrected, for ideas. The developer said the game was brought to life thanks to the passionate fanbase, and the continued work on it has benefited Diablo 5's development.

"Certainly we've been very happy with the response to Diablo 2: Resurrected," Shely said. "The reason that Diablo 2: Resurrected exists is because of the continued passion of players in the first place, because of the continued passion of players for Diablo 2, and so both the honor of having a game that players love and the ability to add new content to it has given us the opportunity to look at it in terms of inspiration."

Resurrected's itemization system, from weapons, loot, and armor, is one of the core features that Blizzard used as inspiration; Shely also said the game's modern features were just as important because it was created and released so recently.

"Because Diablo 2: Resurrected exists today alongside Diablo 4, we can look at it through today's lens, and not just have to go back to, you know, 20 years ago, and think about how to bring lessons forward from 20 years ago. We can bring lessons from D2, but lessons from today."

Diablo 5 is in development and launches in Spring 2029.

• StarCraft general manager says that approaching the concept of scale was one of the biggest challenges in switching to the shooter genre
• The shift from real-time strategy to an open world also introduced a huge change in perspective
• But one of the biggest individual challenges was simple

The next StarCraft game will shift to an entirely new genre, jumping from real-time strategy (RTS) to an open-world shooter. The change led to some broad development challenges — as well as some very specific ones.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at BlizzCon 2026, when asked about the development challenges in taking the RTS to another genre, StarCraft general manager Dan Hay gave one very particular example: "Was there a specific challenge? Doors."

Yes, doors. Literal doors.

"If you're 10 feet tall and you're wearing something that weighs 1,000 pounds, doors are a challenge, and we had to figure out how to make our doors [work in] that perspective," described Hay. "It's like, how does it all work?"

Hay went on to say that devs need to make "sure that the world feels logical" and that it "doesn't feel weird" to players.

Hay added: "You've got to be able to play with that perspective, and so from the standpoint of building the world and making sure that the world was logical, and that when I walked up to a door it [opened] and also worked for somebody who's in armor or not".

Beyond the simple challenge of doors, however, Hay did add that size and spectacle were a sticking point: "I think you got to think about scale, right? Because the moment you adjust a perspective, [everything] looks completely different to us".

Annalee Hartling, associate manager of development operations for StarCraft, went on to talk about the sense of scale being very impactful.

"When I saw the trailer, the most impactful portion of it for me was the barracks. The barracks flying in and seeing it from the perspective of every nook and cranny, not looking at it from above.

"I'm not seeing just the top of it. I'm looking at it from the point of view of it landing landing [in front of me], and those jets are going to come out, and the feet are going to come out, and they're going to they're going to touch the ground."

That sense of perspective and scale in an open-world shooter game was "incredibly powerful for a player," said Hartling. "It's emotional, it's fascinating, and it's beautiful," they continued.

StarCraft is set to launch in 2030.

• StarCraft will have the same "gritty" vibes as the original real-time strategy (RTS) game
• General manager and creative director Dan Hay says the game was also influenced by the "interstellar western" of the original
• Associate manager of development operations Annalee Hartling says watching the trailer was "emotional"

StarCraft will adopt the same "gritty" atmosphere of the original real-time strategy (RTS) game, according to Blizzard Entertainment.

If you missed it, a new StarCraft game was announced at BlizzCon 2026, but unlike its predecessors, the title will take a new turn for the franchise and is a story-driven open-world shooter.

Speaking to TechRadar Gaming at BlizzCon, StarCraft general manager and creative director Dan Hay discussed the action-packed CGI trailer that debuted at the event and revealed the team's inspirations for the sequel.

"What I loved about StarCraft, the original, was that it was gritty, that it felt like it was on a frontier," Hay said. "It felt like a western. It felt like an interstellar western. That's what it felt like to me."

He continued by reminiscing about his time playing the original RTS game, explaining that he wanted to adapt the experiences he had in the new StarCraft, including the music, characters, and lore.

"From the music, to the characters that I met, to the people that I ran into, to the moments that I had, to the entire lore of it, it felt like a gritty, sometimes dirty, [and] not ] perfect world, and it made the asymmetry of the different factions feel even better because it felt very real. Because our real world has asymmetry to it.

"And so I think leveraging that and putting that into this world was key for us."

Associate manager of development operations Annalee Hartling also shared her reaction to the trailer, saying that the moment you see the barracks flying in and touching down, not from a top-down perspective, but a more intimate angle, was "the most impactful portion of it" for her.

"Living that moment was like my childhood, you know?" Hartling said. "My early days of gaming had come alive. I'm like, 'This is what I've been waiting for.' I wanted to see that and have that emotion of, like, this barracks hitting the ground and then opening up, and I'm able to walk out and look. Oh my goodness, that is incredibly powerful for a player.

"I think, at least from my point of view, it's emotional, it's fascinating, and it's beautiful. So having that perspective of being boots on the ground down there, seeing it all happen, and then whatever else happens to be outside those doors when you come through the barracks."

StarCraft is slated to launch in 2030.

• Microsoft warns of a sophisticated campaign tricking users into updating passkeys via fake IT calls
• Victims redirected to adversary‑in‑the‑middle sites mimicking Microsoft login to steal access
• Attackers exfiltrate files from SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange; phishing‑resistant MFA advised

Passkeys have made stealing passwords obsolete. To work around this change, hackers have started tricking users into authenticating on attacker-controlled computers. This is according to a new report from Microsoft, which says there’s a highly sophisticated campaign currently taking place, with the goal of compromising people’s cloud accounts and stealing as many sensitive files as possible.

The attack starts a lot earlier than what the victim experiences. There is a lot of pre-attack planning and due diligence, in which the threat actors gather as much information about their target as possible. Knowing their place of work, position, and personal phone number is essential.

Once all the pieces are in place, the attack starts with a phone call - victims are told they are speaking to their organization’s IT help desk and that they need to update their passkey (or MFA, depending on the setup) immediately, to avoid any disruptions to their operations.

Follow-up SMS

In the follow-up to the call, the victims then receive an SMS message with a link where they can update their security configuration. On the surface, the website looks like the legitimate Microsoft login landing page. In reality, though, this is a pre-built malicious website that uses the adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) techniques to either receive access on the actor’s behalf, or capture credentials.

"The actor appears to invest heavily in pre-attack research, likely gathering information about employees and organizational structure from public sources such as social networking and professional profiling platforms," Microsoft said. "In a smaller number of cases, actors take advantage of already compromised accounts to expand their reach" by sending similar passkey-themed messages via Microsoft Teams.

The campaign is apparently ongoing since at least May this year, Microsoft, said, without detailing the number of victims. Its aim seems to be to exfiltrate files from SharePoint and OneDrive, as well as email data from Microsoft Exchange Online. It also did not attribute this campaign to any specific threat actor, although it did say that there are many collectives engaged in such, or similar, campaigns, including Cordial Spider, Storm-3121, and others.

Via The Hacker News

• Windows 11's latest update breaks the sound on some PCs
• The September update also messes with File History
• Microsoft is working on a fix for the audio glitch, but we don't have an ETA

Windows 11's new update is breaking the audio on some PCs, thanks to the latest nasty bug that Microsoft has let slip through the QA testing net.

Windows Latest spotted that Microsoft has admitted that the September update has torpedoed the audio on some systems, in a post on the Windows release health dashboard.

Microsoft explains that: "Some USB Audio Class 1.0 devices might fail to start or produce audio."

As well as your speakers being eerily silent, the September update can also render the Sound panel in the Settings app unresponsive, which hardly helps when troubleshooting the issue.

One way you can check if your device is affected by this bug — assuming it has no audio, and you want to rule out other possible causes — is that in Device Manager you'll see a 'code 10' error ("this device cannot start") for your sound controller.

Windows Latest also informs us that this bug can affect microphones, as well as the PC's speakers.

It's not the only glitch with the September update, either, as users have reported problems with GPUs, and the File History feature going awry and failing to work.

File History is a capability that allows you to back up your files to an external drive (or elsewhere), so it's pretty important for those who use the functionality.

Analysis: negative vibes

Microsoft says this audio bug could manifest in other ways, so you might get sound when using standard stereo, but that audio might disappear when switching to multichannel playback. This means it's worth checking what your audio output is set to, and changing it back to stereo if it's currently using a different playback mode, which might just resurrect your sound.

Otherwise, there's not much that can be done, other than trying different audio output options on your Windows 11 system (Windows Latest observes that wireless audio devices don't appear to be affected). The other alternative is to remove the September update until Microsoft fixes this issue, although that will leave you without security patches.

When might we get a fix for this issue? Microsoft tells us: "We are working on a resolution and will update this documentation when more information is available."

This is a somewhat widespread problem by all accounts, and the File History bug is even more so, although the latter hasn't yet been acknowledged by Microsoft.

The reaction on Reddit is much as you might expect in terms of Windows 11 users blaming Microsoft's increased use of AI in coding the desktop OS, and observing that these kinds of bugs are why people don't want to migrate to the newer operating system.

As one Redditor observes: "And they wonder why people don't want to move from Windows 10."

Another notes: "Microslop can keep vibe coding all they want, I'm already on Linux."

Windows 10 is a sounder (ahem) bet for avoiding bugs, seeing as Microsoft isn't adding new features or messing with the codebase much, and ks only applying security fixes and essentials. That said, this of course doesn't mean Windows 10 is immune to glitches.

• StarCraft is making a shift from the real-time strategy genre to the open-world shooter genre
• The development team realised during early discussions that "we weren't talking about a game from above"
• According to StarCraft general manager Dan Hay, "it was boots on the ground every time" when the team was talking about the game

The process of StarCraft shifting from real-time strategy to open-world shooter emerged naturally from repeated team discussions about "the story we wanted to tell," as well as in-game moments, armor, exploration, discovery, and the desire to experience the world from ground level, according to the game's general manager, Dan Hay.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at BlizzCon 2026 in Anaheim, Hay went on to describe the process that will see the series' perspective change entirely in the next StarCraft game: "Every time we drew a picture or every time we talked about it, it was boots on the ground every time."

These conversations then snowballed, gathering up other game features and elements, it seems, which kept the direction of travel going towards taking StarCraft into being a shooter. "We started to talk about perspective and how that's going to work; we started to talk about the armor, and we started to talk about what could attack that armor and how it could rip it apart if it needed to.

"We would talk about things with the characters [too], and we started to very quickly realize we weren't talking about a game from above; we were talking about a game down on the ground where you felt every inch of the game," described Hay.

He added, giving a nod to the narrative in store for players when StarCraft releases, that it was obvious that the game would be "down on the ground, and that just made sense for the story."

But as well as changing the player's perspective from looking down to looking out and around, the team looked at this change for the series to embrace the open-world exploration and discovery aspects of the upcoming game.

"[We wanted to] make sure that there is an opportunity to explore. Make sure that there's an opportunity to discover. See a thing off in the distance and go — 'is that something that I saw from the first game? Is it?' And then head off to it."

StarCraft was teased with a cinematic trailer at BlizzCon 2026 and is slated to release in 2030.

• Microsoft and two key US teaching federations have agreed safeguards on AI use within education across America
• The American Federation of Teachers and the United Federation of Teachers have made the deal with Microsoft after months of negotiations with all parties
• The AFT is in talks with other companies including OpenAI and Anthropic

After the failure to pass federal legislation to establish protections against AI overreach in schools, two teaching federations have taken the step of establishing legally-enforceable rules with Microsoft, covering the use of AI in schools.

Protections within the National AI Safety & Privacy Standard include the agreement not to use student or teacher data to train or improve AI models. Furthermore, any collected data will not be monetized, as educators attempt to find a middle ground that reduces screen time and balances technology use across all age groups.

This agreement follows various localized actions against AI use in schools, including a moratorium on AI use within the New York City school system, and a similar ban in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Iron-clad privacy

“We have forged a hard-fought, iron-clad privacy agreement with real teeth that protects students and families, because no one else, including the federal government, has stepped up to do the real work,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “We can get angrier and angrier, or we can act decisively; anything less than legally enforceable provisions is simply a wish list.”

The concerns of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) are multiple, and ultimately center on their teachers’ comfort, focus, and ability to conduct lessons without the specter of AI intrusions. So, issues about training data, monetization, screen time, and other AI-related challenges have been sewn up by the National AI Safety & Privacy Standard, which is legally enforceable.

“This agreement ensures three foundational goals: protect the privacy and data of children, give schools real control over AI tools in the classroom, and provide transparency and information to parents," Weingarten continued.

"And with New York City adopting our framework to ban screens and AI use in the younger years, this agreement adds to the momentum around online safety for kids and educators.”

Legally enforceable guardrails

The guardrails put in place by the agreement concern protecting privacy of educators, parents and students, enhancing safety of students and educators, and providing transparency and control about how AI is used in schools.

This also includes information about what data is collected and the protections that are in place. It places schools in control over the use of AI, and forces AI providers to communicate product changes and risks.

“This standard sets a high bar for child privacy and AI safety, and we’ll extend this agreement to every school district across the country,” said Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith.

Along with banning the use of student and teacher data for AI model training, the data will not be sold or repurposed, and again schools will control data use, along with how it is stored and deleted. The guardrails also ensure AI systems are protected by human oversight, and are designed to block harmful actions and protect sensitive information.

The AFT reports it is in talks with OpenAI and Anthropic to also adopt the National AI Safety & Privacy Standard.

• Microsoft has rolled out a Windows 11 preview update to fix multiple Bluetooth bugs
• There are nine individual fixes listed in the patch notes, one of which addresses connection and disconnection speed issues
• More Bluetooth improvements should arrive as Microsoft works to improve Windows 11's driver quality

Bluetooth on Windows 11 is finally getting the attention it needs, after years of major connection and user interface bugs.

As reported by Windows Latest, Microsoft is rolling out major Bluetooth fixes for Windows 11, starting with update 26200.9359 for testers via its preview channel. Windows Latest notes that this includes nine notable fixes, particularly to iron out connectivity bugs.

One fix is designed to "correctly reflect" when a Bluetooth device is connected or disconnected — one of the biggest issues I've noticed is that disconnecting a device (a very slow process) effectively prevents you from connecting to another right away, and when you try, Bluetooth completely malfunctions — so it's promising to see it tackled.

Audio calls have also been addressed in the preview update, with a new Windows volume popup, which appears when adjusting the volume of a "Bluetooth Classic Audio" accessory. Microsoft also claims that "reliability and performance" with LE (Low Energy) Audio accessories have been improved.

The common stuttering and random device disconnections have been reduced, which should go a long way in improving game controller stability on the likes of the PlayStation DualSense wireless controller.

Of course, all Bluetooth bugs can't be fixed in a single update, but as Windows Latest notes, Microsoft previously stated that Windows 11's driver quality would receive improvements in the long run, which should ultimately make Bluetooth and other Windows functions more reliable.

However, I am pessimistic that these long-running Bluetooth issues are actually being eliminated. This isn't the first time Microsoft has rolled out a patch that addresses issues with Bluetooth functionality, and the same bugs have persisted through multiple Windows 11 updates.

Aspects such as failing connectivity with devices and other system-breaking bugs make Windows 11 a frustrating operating system to use, especially for gamers, notably when SteamOS and Bazzite (a SteamOS clone) aren't as buggy despite some compatibility problems.

The good thing is Microsoft isn't ignoring the issues that plague Windows 11, and if it can continue to work towards patching out the persistent bugs, it'll ease the frustrations among multiple Windows 11 users.

• PlayStation cuts ties with Kojima Productions for upcoming Physint game
• Hideo Kojima states PlayStation tried to cancel Physint, so he decided to look for a new partnership
• Xbox and Kojima Productions now have a partnership for Physint and future projects, including OD

Sony dented its reputation in the gaming industry with its announcement that it would be ending the production of physical game discs — and the trend of controversial decisions is still going strong.

PlayStation has cut ties with Kojima Productions for its upcoming game, Physint, and Xbox has swooped in as a replacement in a new partnership with Hideo Kojima's video game and film production studio.

In a statement on X, PlayStation says: "After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with Kojima Productions on its project, Physint. We continue to have great admiration for Hideo Kojima's vision for the game."

From that statement alone, it's not exactly clear why the split has occurred. However, Hideo Kojima took to X to weigh in on the matter himself, stating: "We unexpectedly received notice from PlayStation Studios that they would cancel the Physint project," which is PlayStation in form, at least based on its cancellations of multiple projects from its first-party studios.

"Physint is an important project both to me personally and to Kojima Productions. Determined to keep the project alive, we have spent the last three months searching tirelessly for a new partner. We found Xbox, a partner with whom we share a common vision for the future, and we have decided to team up with them once again."

Unsurprisingly, Xbox is more than happy to partner with the critically acclaimed developer, as its CEO, Asha Sharma, says: "We're honored that Kojima-san has chosen Xbox to work with Kojima Productions on Physint. His ambition to challenge conventions reflects the kind of creativity we want to support at Xbox."

Sony's Physint cancellation attempt hints at bigger concerns

Fortunately, Physint is in fine condition, with development still underway, as Kojima confirmed, calling it Kojima Productions' "genre-defining action-espionage title", which many have lauded as the next Metal Gear-style franchise since Kojima left Konami in 2015.

However, the bigger question remains: is the split between the companies solely due to the PlayStation's Physint cancellation attempt? Considering Kojima's stance against a digital-only future, which Sony has greenlit for games, it's hard to imagine that this didn't play a role in the partnership's collapse.

Kojima highlighted his sadness about Sony's decision to end the production of physical PlayStation game discs, considering the loss of ownership, which he described as a company suddenly stating, "You can turn on the tap for a certain amount of money each month."

That points towards fears of subscription services and how media will only be accessible by using them, and easy access to favorite movies and games will cease to exist.

It's not hard to imagine Kojima getting cold feet about launching Physint on PlayStation as an exclusive, without any physical game discs, as it directly highlights his fears of an all-digital future. It may not have been the direct factor behind the separation, but the timing (a few months after Sony's disc-axing announcement) certainly doesn't appear to be coincidental either.

Whether the blowback from this new decision will push Sony to reverse course is to be seen, but if Kojima's pushback on an all-digital future has anything to do with the disbanding, it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see other developers eventually do the same.

• Microsoft has fixed no fewer than 974 vulnerabilities in its latest Patch Tuesday release
• Two were already being exploited in the wild, 114 categorized as 'Critical'
• AI is to blame for boosting CVE discovery and also intensifying attacks

Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday has become its biggest security release on record, with the company issuing fixes for a staggering 974 vulnerabilities across the entire stack.

According to the company's release notes, an overwhelming majority (723) of the vulnerabilities addressed related to Windows, with Office coming in at second place with 111 of its own vulnerabilities being addressed.

While it's clear that the number of vulnerabilities is going up year-over-year, it's likely that the company was also simply able to find more of them that would otherwise have slipped through the net thanks to AI-assisted discovery tools.

This is Microsoft's biggest Patch Tuesday ever

Speaking about the September 2026 Patch Tuesday in a blog post, Dustin Childs explains that this could be the start of the "new normal." Childs goes on to reveal that Microsoft has patched 2,760 CVEs this year to date – more than double any other year that precedes it.

Childs' figures show that the company patched 1,139 CVEs in the whole of 2025, and a much lower 492 a decade ago in 2016. According to the post, 114 of the vulnerabilities patched in this latest update were 'Critical' – more than one in 10.

In its own notes, Microsoft described CVE-2026-85880 and CVE-2026-81963 as especially notable because they're both being actively exploited, hence the push to get them fixed and for customers to install the update.

Elsewhere in the industry, Microsoft isn't the only company addressing a higher volume of bugs. Childs also highlighted high activity from Adobe, while a number of browser developers including Google, Mozilla, Brave and Microsoft itself have doubled the release cycle to two weeks in order to get fixes into customer hands more quickly.

Besides fixing exploitable bugs, Microsoft also used the opportunity to issue fixes to known issues – including fixing Teams and Outlook crashes on Arm64 PCs – as well as to upgrade Copilot+ AI components.

• Windows 11's latest update has arrived
• The September update brings in the ability to move the taskbar
• There are also new options for resizing the Start menu, and a really useful tweak for Windows 11's search function

Windows 11's latest update has arrived, and it packs some important new features for the interface of the desktop OS.

Bleeping Computer flagged all the additions in the September 2026 update for Windows 11, and there are three major highlights, which I'll pick out here, before providing a general roundup of some of the other tweaks that Microsoft has brought in this month.

As ever, some of these features are being rolled out in a phased manner, so even if you do install the September update today, you may still have to wait a while for certain pieces of functionality to make their way over to your PC.

1. A movable taskbar

Thanks to the September update you'll finally be able to move Windows 11's taskbar away from the bottom of the screen, to the top instead, or the sides if you prefer (an option that people with an ultra-wide monitor often want to use, as it suits that aspect ratio much better).

This is an ability which has always been in Windows 10, but was dropped for Windows 11 because porting it over was a thornier issue than you might think (or so Microsoft told us).

Finally, however, Microsoft has got its act together and the taskbar can now be repositioned in Windows 11 – although I've a feeling this will be one of the features on a slower rollout. Hopefully I'll be wrong on that score and you'll get this ability promptly if you've been keenly awaiting it for the last five years.

It's also worth noting that there's another option introduced here which can make the taskbar smaller, so it takes up less screen real-estate on devices with small displays.

2. The Start menu can now be resized

Want a more compact Start menu? Your wish is Microsoft's command, as this choice has now been introduced to the Settings app for the Start menu. You can elect to have a standard (large) menu, or a small one, rather than leaving it at the default 'automatic' setting whereby Windows 11 chooses the size itself based on your device. The problem with leaving the OS to decide is that sometimes you get the bigger menu on a laptop screen, where it pretty much eats the whole desktop – and so in these scenarios you can now manually choose the more compact Start menu.

With options to remove sections of the Start menu coming on top of this, you can now trim this part of the interface down so it's truly minimal. This choice will be more important than the movable taskbar for many folks – myself included – and it's great to see it now being rolled out.

3. Windows 11 search improvements

Another notable boon with the September update is that there are a few changes for Windows 11's core search functionality, and the most important is a new option that lets you turn off web results in search.

When you're searching for a file on your local drive, those web results often get in the way, so it'll be a relief for many to be able to switch them off. As well as web results (which open in Edge, with searches in Bing, of course), you can also turn off Microsoft Store suggestions. Essentially this is a general decluttering of Windows 11 search which is long overdue, frankly.

Other features in Windows 11's September Update

There's a performance boost for File Explorer in that the Home page now loads faster, and switching between virtual desktops in Windows 11 is now snappier, too.

Microsoft has made some reliability tweaks as well, including ensuring that the app history information in Task Manager is correct, and also that interacting with the Display panel within Settings is now more stable.

Furthermore, Microsoft informs us that there are some design tweaks here: "This update introduces updated progress indicators across Windows, providing a more consistent and modern experience during startup, sign-in, restart, shutdown, and update installation."

It's also worth noting that the weird mouse bug that affected the preview version of this September update (the optional update released at the end of August) has been resolved.

There's a fair bit happening here, and as one Redditor put it: "What's left for the 26H2 [update] then?"

Well, not a great deal in truth, and if you've been following along with Microsoft's annual updates, you may recall that 26H2 is going to be a very minor upgrade that doesn't do a lot. Indeed, some folks are wondering why Microsoft didn't save these juicy new interface features for 26H2, given that it's out next month.

The reason is likely to be because Microsoft wants to ensure that 26H2 runs as smoothly as possible (with no bigger changes involved). Although to be fair, as noted, due to the rollout process, a lot of folks won't be getting the new Start menu options and taskbar repositioning until October (or possibly later) anyway.

• Xbox seems to be using dynamic pricing to tempt back some lapsed Game Pass subscribers
• A photo showing a surprise 30% discount was posted to Reddit by a US user
• The promotion is not visible to others

Are you suddenly being offered an Xbox Game Pass subscription at a lower price than standard? According to Reddit, some users are being shown discounts of up to 30% for 12 months, and there are a few theories as to why.

In a photo uploaded to the platform, one user shared the subscription screen featuring an unusual promotion — an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription for just $16.09 a month (down from the usual $22.99 monthly fee).

The screen states that the discount will last for an entire year unless the user chooses to cancel their membership early. "Been looking for an annual subscription for years," the poster wrote. "$16.09 a month for one year Ultimate. I'll take it."

Interestingly, not everyone is being shown the same discount, and if you head to the Xbox website right now, chances are you'll see the standard $22.99 rate.

This would suggest that the promotion is being dynamically awarded to accounts that fulfil certain criteria, and many commenters were keen to share their theories.

"If you log in to a secondary account on your Xbox, one that doesn't pay for Game Pass, then you will see an offer like this," posed one. "My offer was $18 something for 12 months, so I'm guessing they're doing some kind of dynamic pricing BS."

"I am on and off Game Pass a lot," the original poster went on to explain in the comments, suggesting that this promotion is being used to bring back lapsed subscribers.

"You won’t see any kind of reduced monthly offer while subbed," someone else added in a different comment thread.

Xbox Game Pass has had a tumultuous time recently, with its price only recently reduced following a string of hikes. According to analysts, the decision to briefly add day-one Call of Duty games to the service was expensive, but 'did not lead to a significant increase in Xbox console sales or even subscriptions.'

We'll likely see more efforts like this to boost subscriber numbers in the future.

• 3,000 Swiss government devices will use open source software instead of Microsoft 365
• 172 workers already tested Germany's openDesk software in an earlier proof-of-concept
• The next stage should be complete by the end of 2027, at the cost of $11.1 million

Switzerland's federal government has launched a pilot program to explore the feasibility of ditching Microsoft 365 in favour of open source alternatives, and it's starting with 3,000 machines of the government's estimated 54,000 total computers.

The government is looking to move around 7% of its machines away from M365 by the end of 2027, the chancellery confirmed, but it's not the first time the Swiss government has explored open-source alternatives.

An earlier proof-of-concept, the details of which have just been released, demonstrate 172 federal employees testing German-made openDesk for document processing and emailing.

Switzerland is progressing with its open-source plans

Crucially, the government doesn't look to be removing M365 outright from all 3,000 machines, but rather, workers will be given openDesk to run in parallel in order to avoid any disruptions.

Central to the migration isn't necessarily an anti-Microsoft initiative, but rather a pro-digital sovereignty push. Switzerland wants critical government operations to be less dependent on foreign tech companies, especially US tech giants given ongoing geopolitical tensions.

US cloud legislation potentially allows American authorities to gain access to Swiss government information, and with Microsoft being an American firm, its 365 platform is naturally under assessment.

More broadly, Switzerland isn't the only country to be walking away from Microsoft and other US tech vendors in favor of local, open source alternatives. France and Germany have also introduced similar schemes.

Microsoft is already working on a solution to pacify Swiss sovereignty requirements - in 2025, it announced a $400 million investment in Switzerland to expand its cloud and AI infrastructure, with a major focus on government, finance and healthcare customers.

The ongoing project covering 3,000 devices is expected to cost $11.1 million, per the chancellery, with funding coming from pro-sovereignty initiatives.

• The Bing Wallpaper app is serving an ad in Windows 11
• The advert is for a Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts movie collection
• There's a rebellion against this blatant advertising, with a significant number of users saying they've immediately removed Microsoft's wallpaper app

Some Windows 11 users who've installed the Bing Wallpaper app have been treated to an unpleasantly in-your-face advert for Harry Potter.

To be precise, it's an ad for a collection of 11 Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts movies, and, as Windows Latest reports, this appears as a full-page promotional image that becomes your desktop background.

This isn't happening for every Bing Wallpaper user, and it appears to be a regional rollout; but based on the plentiful Reddit feedback of the negative variety, it's being piped to quite a number of PCs.

For the uninitiated, Bing Wallpaper is an app that serves up daily wallpapers to those who've installed the software — and note that it isn't installed by default; this is something you have to elect to have on your Windows 11 PC.

Nevertheless, it's an over-the-top move by Microsoft to shovel something like this onto the desktops of those who've chosen Bing to pick their backgrounds.

As one annoyed Redditor says, filing the Harry Potter wallpaper under the 'unskippable ad' category in the 'Mildly Infuriating' subreddit: "I had it [Bing Wallpaper] installed since up until this point it was a fairly harmless program that gave a variety of animals, environments or pattern backgrounds that rotate daily. Wtf?"

Replying, another Redditor observes: "Free software from a trillion dollar company means you are the product." Some folks responded to that to say that Windows 11 isn't free, but this Redditor isn't talking about the OS itself, but rather the Bing Wallpaper app, which is a free add-on for Windows, of course.

Analysis: Bing begone

Windows Latest notes that the terms and conditions of the Bing Wallpaper app allow for "promotional offers" from Microsoft, but what's happening here goes well beyond that. Frankly, this isn't acceptable in any way — and Microsoft really should know better than to serve a blatant advert in this manner.

I'd say I was shocked, but ads have always been a problem in Windows 11. On top of that, about a year ago Bing Wallpaper was used to perform another underhand trick with desktops that made me cringe. In that case, an accidental click on the Windows 11 background fired up a Bing search (yes, really), and I called this "a new low" for Microsoft at the time.

This, however, represents Microsoft plumbing fresh depths. A notable number of those complaining on Reddit have said that they've immediately uninstalled Bing Wallpaper due to this incident (generally with a sprinkling of added curse words).

One of the politer comments notes: "Honestly if they cut out text and just left the base [image] with the option to right click to get more info and it took the user there it would be passable. But current state just time to remove Bing Wallpaper."

This is very much representative of Microsoft's different departments not talking to each other. On the one hand, there's a big drive to fix Windows 11 and try to please users with all sorts of nifty changes and long-awaited features. On the other, the Bing Wallpaper team thinks it's fine to deploy what might be the worst example of advertising I've ever seen in the Windows ecosystem — and there's quite some competition for that accolade, sadly.

At any rate, I assume this won't be happening again, Microsoft, given the reaction here… right?

• Microsoft faces claims that its data center noise harms nearby residents
• Standard dBA monitors may fail to capture some low-frequency noise
• Residents accuse xAI of causing noise, vibration, and air pollution

Microsoft and xAI are facing lawsuits over noise and other alleged harms linked to data center operations in Wisconsin and Mississippi.

At least six similar cases have been filed this year, as residents challenge the impacts from currently active facilities.

In addition to nuisance, the disputes also focus on negligence claims, with plaintiffs seeking damages or changes to data center operations.

Low-frequency noise creates a measurement problem

Microsoft faces a proposed class action concerning its Fairwater facility in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, which began operating in June 2026.

Residents filed the case in late July, alleging that persistent low-frequency noise affects their homes and property values, and arguing standard dBA equipment may fail to detect the sound because its frequency falls outside effective measurement ranges.

“dBA measures do not effectively detect lower frequency sounds like those emitted by Defendant’s Data Center operations,” the lawsuit says.

“‘Data center cooling — massive chillers, slow turning fans, compressor arrays — generates exactly the long wavelength noise’” that is not adequately measured using dBA.”

The plaintiffs argue Microsoft could have reduced the disturbance through acoustic barriers, quieter cooling equipment, soundproofing, and improved monitoring.

“A properly operated, maintained, and/or constructed Data Center will contain, capture, or otherwise prevent the emission of excessive noise from its generators and cooling systems,” the filing says.

That argument could create difficulties for facilities where regulatory measurements fail to capture sounds that residents can still hear.

The dispute also raises questions about how noise from data centers should be measured.

xAI faces claims involving turbines and pollution

In Mississippi, residents have sued xAI over alleged noise, vibration, and air pollution from dozens of gas turbines.

The turbines supply electricity for the company's Southaven data center, according to allegations contained in the lawsuit.

Attorneys representing residents accused xAI of failing to take meaningful action to address the alleged effects.

“xAI has made no meaningful effort to halt the harm,” attorneys at Weitz & Luxenberg said in a statement.

Similar lawsuits have also been filed in Vineland, New Jersey, Dowagiac, Michigan, North Tonawanda, New York, and Hood County, Texas.

The cases generally rely on nuisance or negligence claims concerning conditions plaintiffs believe operators could have prevented or controlled.

Several other data center disputes remain unresolved, with none of the noise cases reaching summary judgment or trial.

However, other environmental nuisance cases have already produced settlements involving substantial sums of money.

Amazon agreed to pay more than $20 million over nitrate contamination linked to one Oregon data center.

The company said officials settled early to avoid prolonged litigation and concentrate resources on community support instead.

Microsoft had not immediately responded to a request for comment concerning the Wisconsin lawsuit when the report was published.

Via SmartCitiesDrive

• Microsoft is working to speed up boot times
• Over at IFA 2026 a Microsoft executive said that 'we've made significant gains' with startup speeds and more
• The exec also underlined Microsoft's commitment to get Windows 11 running more smoothly on 8GB PCs

Microsoft is readying a major boost to the performance of Windows 11 that should speed up boot times.

Windows Latest reports that at IFA 2026 last week a Microsoft exec confirmed improvements to boot speeds are inbound.

This was Mark Linton, who is VP of Windows & Devices at Microsoft, who told the tech site: "We've made significant gains on things like boot time, Windows Hello responsiveness."

Windows Hello is the secure login that's offered with Windows 11 – often facilitated via an infrared-supporting webcam and facial recognition – and that happening more swiftly, alongside a faster boot time, should mean you arrive at the desktop in a far more timely manner.

This work isn't in testing just yet, we're told, but Microsoft is still tinkering with ramping up boot performance in internal builds.

Analysis: performance promises are underlined

The use of the word 'significant' is promising, and Windows Latest talks about getting to the lock screen 'almost immediately'. In fairness, Windows 11 already boots nippily (on my PC certainly), so we could be looking at effectively booting in the blink of an eye – fingers crossed.

As noted, this isn't even in preview builds of Windows 11 yet, but it should be here before too long. It's part of a larger effort and Microsoft's broad promise to make Windows 11 faster in general, ensuring that menus perform more responsively, and that apps load more swiftly (the latter is already rolling out in the form of a CPU boosting feature known as 'Low Latency Profile').

This performance boosting work is all the more important considering that 8GB laptops are making a resurgence – thanks to the RAM crisis pushing up notebook prices – and so Microsoft is also working to ensure that Windows 11 is more performant with that lesser memory configuration. Speaking of which, Windows Latest said that Microsoft also underlined its commitment to make sure that the desktop OS will run better on 8GB over at IFA 2026.

Linton said of Windows 11 that: "We're continuing to improve on the fundamentals," adding that: "We're optimizing so that 8 gig of RAM runs great on machines as well."

However, the exec didn't provide any estimates of what kind of performance jump might be expected – although that's hardly surprising at this early stage of the game.