• A report commissioned by Mozilla accuses Microsoft of using 'harmful design' to undermine browser choice in Windows 11
• That allegedly includes trick wording, nagging, preselection, and generally dubious tactics to push Edge over other browsers
• The report does observe the situation is better in the European Economic Area, due to regulations there, and notes that "regulatory action works", urging authorities elsewhere to take a similar stand

Mozilla, the maker of Firefox, has published another report that claims Microsoft isn't maintaining a suitably level playing field for web browsers on Windows, and is unfairly pushing users towards Edge.

As Mozilla makes clear, it published the first 'Over the Edge' report – about 'How Microsoft's design tactics compromise free browser choice' – two years back, and the follow-up has just arrived (as spotted by Eteknix).

It's not actually written by Mozilla, I should note, but two independent researchers commissioned by the Firefox maker (Harry Brignull and Cennydd Bowles, the same pair who wrote the first article). It takes in user opinions from the US, UK, India and Germany regarding "key browser-choice journeys" on Windows 11 and 10.

In a nutshell, they conclude that: "Microsoft continues to deploy harmful design to undermine people's browser choice."

That specifically involves, according to the report: "Trick wording, obstruction, visual interference, preselection, nagging, and forced action — at almost every step of the user journey."

Some of the worst excesses highlighted are the pop-up banner that Edge users see when they go to the Chrome download page (trying to get them to stick with the Microsoft browser, which, it says, has the same tech as Chrome but with the "added trust of Microsoft"), and nagging within Windows around using Edge as the default browser in one way or another.

The report also notes how Edge is pre-pinned to the Windows taskbar, and how a migration from Windows 10 to Windows 11 resets Edge as the default browser, overriding any previous choice. There are a lot of accusations around trick wording, too, as well as an observation that Microsoft is using Copilot (AI) to open links in Edge rather than your default browser.

On the topic of AI, the report notes: "The researchers suggest that a sequence of seemingly minor consent requests across Windows and Edge may combine into a 'pipeline' funneling browsing data — potentially including data originating in rival browsers — into Microsoft's advertising and personalization systems."

It's notable that Germany — included as a representative country within the European Economic Area (EEA), which has different regulatory requirements Microsoft must adhere to — escapes quite a few of these excesses (the Chrome download nonsense included).

Despite that, the researchers argue that their broad conclusion that "Microsoft does not allow people to download and install an alternative browser, to set it as their default, or to continue using it as their default, without harmful interference" is, they claim, true "across every region tested".

Analysis: a call to regulate

Yes, this is a report commissioned by a browser rival, but these findings aren't at all surprising in the main, and it's long been known that Microsoft overzealously promotes Edge in Windows 11, trying various dubious shenanigans to get the browser in play as the report observes. Of course, on the flipside Google pulls similar stunts with Chrome.

Still, that's not an excuse, and no browser should be actively attempting to dissuade people from downloading another rival browser. What Mozilla is also pointing out, of course, is that Microsoft is in a particular position of power here, given that it owns the world's primary desktop OS, and it's leveraging that platform in various ways to push adoption of Edge.

Whether that's worked for Microsoft, or not — spoiler alert, it hasn't — is irrelevant, as this behavior obviously isn't ethical or fair, and while it may not have dented Chrome's reign as the top browser, it may have damaged smaller rivals like Firefox.

While the EEA may have a considerably better balance of browser equality within Windows, the report notes that this is, of course, because regulations have forced Microsoft's hand. Arguably, this is another negative in that it shows Microsoft only respects user choice in terms of browsers when it's forced to do so.

Mozilla finishes with the following paragraph that sums everything up nicely: "We again urge Microsoft to abandon these harmful patterns worldwide. And we urge regulators in the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, and beyond to consider this report as evidence that regulatory action works — there is much still to do."

So, if Microsoft really wants to talk about "added trust", how about some action on some of these sticking points? Or is this just a case of having to be more trustworthy than Google?

• Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden says developers need to lead with innovation to justify the increasing cost of consoles
• He says studios are "limiting our reach just because of the games we’re building now"
• While Grand Theft Auto 6 will be a hit, Layden says "there are a lot of people in the world who really don’t care" about it

Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden thinks studios need to start investing in unique games that entice a wider audience to justify the increasing cost of consoles.

The price of hardware has been rising over the past few years. We can blame the rising cost of manufacturing, the shortages driven by AI data centers eating up all the components, or inflation. For whatever reason, the current landscape is a mess, and the next generation is bound to be expensive.

As Sony and Microsoft hike the price of current-gen systems, despite the PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S being six years old, analysts suggest that the PS6 and next Xbox could cost as much as $1000. It doesn't sound out of the realm of possibility when you consider Valve has just launched the Steam Machine, a console-PC hybrid, for the same cost.

From what little we know about the PS6, we can expect technical improvements over the PS5, which could mean better ray-tracing and higher frame rates. With PlayStation's plan to end physical disc production in 2028, analysts predict that it could also be an all-digital console, sadly.

But would this justify a $1000 price tag? According to Layden, who spoke about the changing industry in an interview with Kotaku, it doesn't, and Sony will need to lead with software innovation to draw in gamers instead.

“I mean really, how much more ray tracing can you put in there?” he said. “And will my eyes actually see 120 frames per second?”

Layden can't say what the PS6 will look like compared to the PS5 since he hasn't worked at Sony since 2019, but if there's a chance the technical gap between the two consoles is too narrow, software is where things need to change.

"I think we’re already kind of limiting our reach just because of the games we’re building now. I mean, variety and range seem to be narrowing," Layden said. "Most games are falling into a standard set of buckets."

He pointed to the genres of games we've been seeing over the years, including zombie apocalypse and space-marine games, action titles with "guys with really long swords and not much armor and dragons."

Layden then brought up GTA 6, and while he acknowledged that the game is going to be a massive hit, some gamers don't care about it.

"So, you see those categories and coming around that, of course, Grand Theft Auto is going to be like an asteroid piercing the atmosphere and hitting the gaming universe with great force and power," he said. "But there are a lot of people in the world who really don’t care about Grand Theft Auto, the non-gaming community."

He continued, explaining, "We talk about how big we are, $220 billion, $250 billion industry, but our social impact is the reverse. Everybody has a favorite song. That’s probably the least revenue-generating entertainment category, music, compared to gaming and film and television. But yet it has the widest impact. And so gaming, it’s huge on the revenue side of things, but it’s a very select group that are doing it.

"We’re getting more money from the same people all the time and not necessarily bringing in new people into the experience. And if these people who aren’t in the gaming experience have already said ‘we don’t care about Call of Duty, we don’t care about Grand Theft Auto, we don’t care about Gran Turismo,’ doing more of those same games is obviously not going to appeal to those people either."

While Layden thinks discoverability is one facet of the issue, the main problem is creativity, and if developers "close ranks" and continue making shooters by appealing to what the "base user" wants, things will be fine, "but we won’t get any bigger. We won’t bring any more people into the tent. And that’s probably bad."

He added, "We need to bring out more games for more people, which means actually you have to have more people making games and in different places and different experiences. I want to find out what games from Uruguay look like and what kind of game designers we have in Bulgaria."

• Microsoft sees itself as cheaper and more effective at bundling the full stack
• The company is clearly pushing its own internal models
• Claude also slated for being slower and less accurate

Microsoft is reportedly teaching sales workers how to compare the company's AI offerings to rival companies like OpenAI and Anthropic.

Per Bloomberg reporting, the company's sales staff are being told to emphasize benefits like efficiency and cost advantages when using Microsoft's offerings, which offer a much fuller picture than just the models and tools, extending to compute and other workflow tools.

"Everyone else is selling parts – we’re selling the full end-to-end system," EVP Jay Parikh reportedly told workers. "That’s the story that we all need to get out there and tell in FY27."

Microsoft sales teams up the ante against OpenAI, Anthropic

Clearly, the company wants customers to see the combination of its own models and third-party models, cloud infrastructure, applications and security as better value compared with having to piece these elements together separately.

Copilot EVP Jacob Andreou also reportedly compared Copilot to Claude, accusing Claude of being slower, less accurate and missing certain security integrations.

The sales push comes at a time of change for the company, which has started to push more of its own internal models across different apps and workflows to replace OpenAI and Anthropic models. It's also a marked shift from the company's earlier AI strategy, which leaned heavily on its multibillion-dollar partnership with OpenAI.

Company CEO Satya Nadella also pointed at a major customer, Unilever, which recently switched form an unnamed frontier model to one of Microsoft's own cheaper models to make significant savings.

In April, the company announced that its AI business is now worth around $37 billion annually, marking a 123% year-over-year increase.

• Microsoft’s July 2026 Patch Tuesday fixed a record 622 vulnerabilities, including 58 critical, two exploited in the wild, and one publicly disclosed, plus 428 Chromium bugs
• Actively abused flaws include CVE‑2026‑56155 (AD FS privilege escalation) and CVE‑2026‑56164 (SharePoint privilege escalation), alongside notable issues in BitLocker and Copilot
• Surge in fixes is linked to Microsoft’s use of Anthropic’s Mythos AI, with patch volumes rising sharply since its adoption

Microsoft has released its July 2026 Patch Tuesday download, marking another record-breaking update, addressing hundreds of flaws across the ecosystem.

The release, which is currently rolling out to Microsoft users, fixes a staggering 622 vulnerabilities, including 58 critical-severity ones, two that were observed as being abused in the wild, and one which has already been publicly disclosed.

On top of that, Microsoft shipped fixes for another 428 Chromium bugs, as well.

A jump in numbers

There are simply too many vulnerabilities to mention all of them, however two that are being exploited in the wild are CVE-2026-56155 and CVE-2026-56164. The former is described as an “Insufficient granularity of access control in Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS)” bug, which allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally. It carries a severity score of 7.8/10 (high).

The latter is a “Missing authentication for critical function in Microsoft Office SharePoint” bug that allows an unauthorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network. Microsoft assigned it a medium severity score (5.3/10), but the National Vulnerability Database gave it a 9.8/10 (critical).

Other notable mentions include CVE-2026-50661, a protection mechanism failure in Windows BitLocker that allows unauthorized attackers to bypass a security feature with a physical attack, and CVE-2026-48561, an improper neutralization of special elements used in a command in Microsoft Copilot, that allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.

If you think fixing 622 vulnerabilities in a month is a lot, you’re absolutely right. It’s well above what Microsoft is used to do, and this is most likely due to the company now using the fabled Mythos - Anthropic’s cybersecurity-oriented AI.

In June 2026, roughly a month and a half after the release of Mythos, Microsoft fixed 206 flaws, which raised eyebrows because it was significantly above the company’s usual amount of bugs fixed.

In May it fixed 120 flaws, in April 167, and in March - 79.

• Microsoft deleted a user’s OneDrive account after it was compromised
• This resulted in the loss of 25 years’ worth of photos and games
• The incident is a reminder to use multiple backup solutions

How much do you have stored in your Microsoft account? Consider all the photos and documents backed up to OneDrive, the games and apps linked to your username, and all the rest. Many of us have a lot stored there, but as one Microsoft user recently found out, it can all be taken away in an instant — with Microsoft itself doing the deleting.

Posting on X, Joshua Khane related how a recent hack of their account led to Microsoft taking the nuclear option and removing 25 years’ worth of data, including photos of their infant son and “thousands of Euros spent on games.”

Khane shared an email from Microsoft explaining that, since “unauthorized access occurred” on their account — meaning a likely compromise by hackers — “we have permanently suspended the account.” Microsoft confirmed that “this action is irreversible … Additionally, if you had files stored in OneDrive, those files are no longer accessible. Due to encryption and privacy safeguards, even our engineers cannot retrieve them.”

The move left Khane incensed, with the disbelieving user condemning Microsoft’s decision not to restore their account: “One of the biggest companies ever couldn’t do that so they just deleted that sh*t like it was nothing??”

“Even though the security could be tighter from my side (lessons are learned),” they added, “it bothers me the most that Microsoft says that they cannot recover my account and suspended it … Thousands of Euros are gone down the drain as I’ve lost all my games also! Couldn’t back those up and I relied on Microsoft to keep that safe, even if I got compromised!”

How to keep your data safe

After the saga was posted on Reddit, other users chimed in with similar stories of their own. “Happened to me also,” said one user. “I had payment proof and everything going back 20 years. They said sorry, best we can do is lock your account for good.”

Another had a piece of advice for Khane: “When this happened to me, I created the new account and sent an email to them (on the same thread) with the new account info. They basically cloned the old account into the new one and I got everything back.” Elsewhere, many users recommended Khane take legal action against Microsoft.

If you want to avoid a similar fate, it’s important that you don’t just back up your important documents to one source — be that cloud storage like OneDrive or an external storage drive. If something goes wrong, your only copy has vanished into the ether.

Instead, build redundancy into your backups. Use a cloud backup service like Backblaze and a local NAS or offline archive drive. If possible, ensure your backups are in different physical locations, including one off the premises.

As Redditor Linesey rightly suggested, “Get a NAS, get an off-site location like a safe deposit box for cold storage, and then use the cloud if you really want to, as another layer.” That way, you’ve got at least one fallback option if a firm like Microsoft decides to delete your data without warning.

It’s also worth setting up passkeys and multi-factor authentication on your accounts and using one of the best password managers to strengthen and store all your logins. That way, you make it harder for bad actors to gain access to your account — and less tempting for Microsoft to hit the big red button, with irreversible consequences.

• Windows 11's July update has arrived
• It packs some smart features, including pausing updates at length and a new recovery option
• This patch also cures a nasty bug that slowly eats more and more drive space, but there's an issue to be aware of for Dell laptop owners

Microsoft has released its monthly patch for Windows 11 and the July update is a biggie, packing a feature that I've been awaiting for quite some time.

That would be the ability to pause updates on Windows 11 Home – beyond just a short period of time, which has been the only choice to date – and there are some other impressive additions from Microsoft here.

I'm going to pick out my top four features introduced by the July update, as well as rounding up some of the other more notable changes here. I'll also highlight an important bug fix that has been deployed for a nasty flaw that eats your drive space – along with a warning for some of those with a Dell laptop (who may not get this update for a good reason, as you'll see).

As ever, these changes were seen in the last optional update (June preview), and most of these features are being rolled out gradually, so you may not see them right away after installing this update (indeed, you may have to wait a while based on how the update winds blow regarding your exact PC configuration).

1. Pausing updates

Sometimes you want to hold off installing an update because of a bug that you're nervous about potentially affecting your system, and up until now, Windows 11 users have only been able to avoid any given update for five weeks.

Okay, so that's a fairly long time, but what if the bug is one of those persistent and niggly affairs that Microsoft takes an age to fix? You may want to delay the update beyond five weeks, and now you can. The catch is that you'll need to continually renew the delay for every 35-day period, but nonetheless, you can now keep an update at bay for as long as you want. (Well – until you're forced to update to a new version of Windows 11, that is, when support runs out for your current version).

2. Point-in-time restore

Another neat addition is point-in-time restore, a new recovery option that you can employ when something bad happens to your PC and you can no longer reach the desktop. Point-in-time restore lets you roll back a non-functioning system to a previous working state. It reverts to the "full system state" meaning that all your apps, files, and settings are recovered as captured at that previous time.

Hopefully this is a feature that you'll never need, but if you do, you'll be very glad of it. Note that the system backups obviously take up drive space, with older backups automatically deleted after 72 hours by default. Also, if you have a system drive that's smaller than 200GB, you'll have to enable this feature yourself (as it won't be turned on automatically due to potential space issues – note that you can specify a maximum amount of storage space used).

3. Fewer annoyances with widgets

The July update is making the widgets panel 'quieter' by which Microsoft means that it has cut out a lot of clutter. The main change is that by default the panel just displays your widgets and Microsoft has got rid of the promotional nonsense in terms of ads and the MSN feed. Notifications and taskbar badges are also minimized by default, and widgets no longer open when you hover over them.

There are some other streamlining moves here, and even if you don't use widgets, I think this is a noteworthy change as it shows the direction Microsoft is now heading in with Windows 11 – chilling out on the upselling as was previously promised (if not entirely banishing it).

4. Screen tint

Windows 11 has been graced with a number of accessibility improvements in the July update, first of which is a new screen tint ability. This does what it says on the tin, allowing you to tint the screen with a choice of colors to help reduce eye strain, or to make text more easily readable. You can adjust the tint intensity, and this is a very useful addition that'll save people from downloading a third-party app to get these kinds of color overlays.

Other features in the July update

There's quite a lot going on here aside from the above major moves, and that includes Microsoft boosting the speed at which File Explorer launches (helping Windows 11 to feel more performant overall).

There's a whole lot of work on the Bluetooth front, too, as Microsoft notes: "This update improves reliability and performance when connecting to and using Bluetooth devices." That includes better driver stability, improved audio routing for calls via Phone Link, and more.

File Explorer has also been honed to be more reliable, and Microsoft has implemented a performance tweak to the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) that means PCs will shut down more promptly. If you've ever sat staring at your computer while it takes 20 seconds to shut down, wondering what on earth it's doing, that kind of behavior will hopefully be a rarer occurrence going forward.

A major bug fix – and Dell laptop problems

There's some good news for those of you who have been suffering at the hands of a mysterious bug that eats storage space (due to an out-of-control database file). This is fixed with the July update (the cure was in the June preview before it), so you can grab this to resolve the issue (hopefully).

There's some bad news on the bug front, though, namely that you won't get this update on some Dell devices with Intel CPUs, as Microsoft has blocked it due to the July patch causing all sorts of weird issues. I say it's bad news, but at least Microsoft caught the problem and has prevented the update from being piped to those machines.

Microsoft informs us: "This update might not be available for a limited number of Dell devices with Intel processors due to an incompatibility reported by Dell that can potentially cause unexpected shutdowns, poor performance, increased heat, and battery drain. We are working together with Dell to prevent the affected models from experiencing the issue and plan to release a resolution for affected devices in the coming days."

So, if you were wondering why you couldn't get this patch on your Dell laptop, now you know. You'll just have to sit tight for now until Microsoft and Dell get this ironed out.

• ShinyHunters abused OAuth trust in Salesforce by tricking users and later compromising SaaS integrations, stealing tokens to access hundreds of customer environments
• Reports suggested up to 700 victims; attackers exfiltrated data via legitimate APIs, making activity appear normal and persistent
• Microsoft responded with Defender for Cloud Apps upgrades, adding richer telemetry, near‑real‑time detection, and stronger governance over OAuth‑connected applications

The ShinyHunters cybercrime group were so creative in breaking into corporate Salesforce environments that they forced Microsoft’s hand, making the company introduce new security upgrades just to address the attacks.

Microsoft has revealed it is focusing on improving visibility into OAuth-connected applications and strengthening governance over third-party integrations in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps. The changes fall into two main categories: Improved detection and investigation, and new posture and governance capabilities.

It makes sense, given that some reports claimed as many as 700 victims of the year-long campaign.

Changes and improvements

But first, a little context: In August 2025, it was reported that ShinyHunters operatives were calling their targets on the phone, claiming to be IT support, and convincing them to authorize a seemingly legitimate Salesforce Data Loader application. This app was, in fact, controlled by the attackers and requested OAuth permissions which allowed them to access Salesforce data through official APIs.

Since everything happened through legitimate authentication and API calls, the activity looked like normal user behavior.

In the following months, the campaign evolved. Instead of tricking individual employees, ShinyHunters compromised third-party SaaS providers that integrated with Salesforce, including Salesloft's Drift integration, Gainsight, and later Klue.

By stealing OAuth tokens or integration secrets from these vendors, they accessed hundreds of downstream customer Salesforce environments without interacting with each customer individually.

At one point, Google told reporters it was aware of more than 700 potentially impacted organizations.

“Microsoft consulted with Salesforce to improve granularity in telemetry for Defender for Cloud Apps with near-real-time detection, offering connected application attribution and expanded application permission insights,” the company said in a new report. “This activity was not the result of a vulnerability inherent to Salesforce. Rather, the threat actors abused trusted OAuth relationships for unauthorized access, data exfiltration, and persistence.”

In other words, Microsoft enabled greater visibility into OAuth-connected applications and their activity, allowed for better detection of suspicious API and OAuth behavior through richer telemetry and correlation, and now provides stronger governance of connected apps through permission analysis, risk scoring, and lifecycle management.

• Microsoft is improving Windows 11 search in multiple ways
• That includes a calmer search panel, the ability to turn off web results, a better way of prioritizing returned results, and a more stable search overall
• This is in testing for now, and the main worry is how long it might take for Microsoft to usher all this through to release

If you're fed up with the way Windows 11's search functionality works – and you wouldn't be alone – some incoming changes are set to greatly improve this experience.

Microsoft revealed the tweaks to the search box in a blog post, explaining that they're being delivered via a gradual rollout to testers in the Experimental channel for Windows 11 preview builds.

The first major change is simply to make search a calmer place, so when the panel appears, it only contains a list of your recent searches (allowing you to easily fire up one of those again if you wish). The current clutter to the right of that list, including recommendations – some of which are outright adverts – along with trending searches has all been banished.

And the second important piece of work here is that Microsoft is finally giving Windows 11 users the ability to get rid of web results in search. Currently, when searching for a file in the operating system you get not just local results (for files on your drives), but also some web results which can get in the way.

In this new scheme of things, you'll be able to switch off all web results in Settings, and also ditch Microsoft Store suggestions too.

If you keep these results on, Microsoft notes that they won't be prioritized, although this is something the company had already started to address (it used to be the case that web content could appear at the top of the returned results in a truly baffling fashion). Web results have also been stripped of any 'promotional content' so you'll only get the most relevant answers if these results are enabled.

Microsoft has also bolstered the handling of results for Windows 11 settings so that more relevant options are flagged up higher in the pecking order, and Microsoft says further fine-tuning is planned on this front.

The search box will also be able to handle typos, with an improved ability to guess what you really meant ('Chrome' rather than 'Chome' for example), and it'll start to surface possible results after typing just two characters (another enhancement we've already heard about).

While this is mostly all about streamlining, Microsoft is going the other way in one notable respect — adding a bit more detail in for the files returned in the results. Search will now provide more info about files (such as when they were last opened) and a more in-depth preview in the right-hand panel, so you can more readily tell what you'll be opening if you click on that result.

Finally, Microsoft is making search more reliable, which involves "reducing [the] likelihood of crashing and loading issues" which is obviously a welcome move.

Analysis: the rollout fly in the soothing search ointment

Windows 11 search has always been a somewhat painful affair for me, thanks mainly to the clutter of the thinly veiled (or not even veiled at all) ads, and the irrelevant results which were surfaced with a baffling level of priority, as noted. Windows 10 isn't a lot better, frankly, but at any rate, I'm very happy to see the fresh direction Microsoft has taken here.

The calmer search results are a major boon, with Microsoft following in the same vein as the streamlining it recently announced for the widgets panel, which was made a quieter place. (All this follows a broader early promise to rein in the upselling with Windows 11 and generally make the interface a more chilled place).

I was hoping that the option to turn off web results would be brought in, and this is the most important addition for me personally. I'm not alone, and the reaction to these various changes has been very positive, with the only real sticking point being impatience around when these new features will be rolled out. That's both in terms of testers wanting to try the revamped search box now, and the general computing public wondering when they will eventually get their hands on all this.

As this tester posts on Reddit: "We love this... except gradual rollouts. We don't like when things are inconsistent from PC to PC despite running identical [test] builds [of Windows 11]. It's really obnoxious and breaks muscle memory. But the changes seem great and I look forward to trying them."

As Microsoft points out in its blog post, it's worth remembering that there are now feature flags that can be enabled if you're really keen to try out something in a preview build, and it's not on your PC yet.

However, as for those asking: 'For those of us on release, when might this arrive?'

Well, that's a very different kettle of fish, as it could take quite some time for this work to progress through testing. Mainly because there are a lot of changes involved, and it's not something Microsoft will want to rush (especially given the drive to make search more reliable and stable).

And when these search improvements are eventually released outside of testing, it'll be on a controlled rollout that you won't be able to jump the queue with. However, there's a reason for that – Microsoft will need to observe the changes going live in a gradual manner to ensure no unexpected gremlins are crawling around in the works.

So, you will have to be patient, and there's some frustration around the length of time it can take for controlled rollouts to proceed these days (the Start menu overhaul from last year being a key example here – some folks still don't have it even now). But the good news is that these changes are coming, and they promise to revamp search in Windows 11 to a considerable extent. I can't wait (but I'll have to).

• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has warned AI companies are training their models on the business secrets of their customers
• These secrets are then used to train new, more powerful models, that are sold to their customer's competitors
• But, Nadella says there is a way to remain competitive without being locked in to one AI vendor

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has warned the big players in the AI industry are using their proprietary models to learn the business secrets of their customers, which they can then use to train and deploy more advanced AI models.

The crux of the issue, Nadella said in a blog post, is that, “You essentially pay for intelligence twice, once with money, and again with something even more valuable: the proprietary knowledge you must reveal to make that intelligence useful. The better you want the model to perform, the more of that knowledge you have to feed it!”

What Nadella is saying in essence, is that AI companies are harvesting sensitive business data from their customers, using it to make training their models cheaper, and then launching these models for use by their own customer’s competition.

“The kind of knowledge a competitor could never buy”

“Models learn from ‘exhaust,’ the prompts people write, the tools agents use, and especially the corrections people make when the model is wrong. Every correction is distilled into institutional know-how,” Nadella explained.

Nadella also criticized how AI companies are increasingly complaining about how their models are being distilled by their own competition. For example, Anthropic accused retailer and e-commerce company Alibaba for using thousands of Claude prompts to distill their own models. By figuring out how a proprietary model works, you don’t have to spend the enormous amount of capital needed to source training data and create your own AI model.

This, for Nadella, is a major contradiction in how AI companies work. “While the great innovation that comes from model providers having fair use rights to train models on public data is needed, I find it ironic that the status quo is to then turn around and impose restrictive terms on distillation,” he said.

It is also therefore hypocritical for AI companies to accuse other companies of distilling their own product, and then include within their AI usage contracts clauses that allow AI companies to “reserve the right to learn from customer usage and interaction data.”

“In consuming intelligence, you are creating intelligence. And what you create should belong to you,” Nadella added.

On-prem is back in fashion

Nadella’s fix for this growing problem? It’s time to move back to on-prem. Nadella encourages businesses to “retain ownership” of the data they feed AI models by switching to the use of “proprietary learning environments” built on the cloud.

The added benefit of moving to these environments is that they allow businesses to switch between different AI models provided by different companies using “orchestration layers” and AI gateways.

There is also a growing trend of businesses switching to using open source technologies, which goes hand in hand with businesses operating in the cloud. Businesses can train open source AI models using their data that is already available in cloud environments to do much of what the proprietary models do, for far cheaper — and without handing over that same sensitive data to be used by AI companies to train their own models.

The on-prem solution also has additional benefits. AI models operated on-site within manufacturing plants, stores, and other premises are far cheaper and require less specialized hardware. Businesses that operate using a centralized cloud are increasingly encountering issues with data egress fees, storage bloat, and idle specialized hardware.

Google Cloud recently released a report about these very issues, and also encouraged businesses to move towards using AI gateways and on-prem models to reduce latency, improve resilience, and cut per-token costs by switching to local, highly optimized models.

Via TechCrunch

Many consider two of the most valuable companies in the world, Microsoft and Apple, to be at different ends of a spectrum. While different in their broad target market, they compete intensely in similar markets like operating systems, consumer hardware and enterprise software. It's little surprise, then, that their respective leaders have looked at each other with disdain throughout history.

Big Macs and chips

Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs compared Microsoft to the fast food chain McDonald's in an interview for the 1995 PBS documentary series 'Triumph of the Nerds'.

In a set of scathing comments, he said the company that Bill Gates founded was only able to enjoy its reach and success due to a "Saturn-5 booster called IBM". Gates used the opportunity granted by IBM outsourcing the operating system for the first IBM PC to Microsoft, called MS-DOS, with Gates retaining the rights to license the software and "create more opportunity", as Jobs phrased it.

Although he praised this aspect of the business – reiterating that Microsoft deserves its success – Jobs was adamant the firm doesn't add any originality into the broader ecosystem and isn't interested in the user experience. They have no "spirit" he said, and described their products as "very pedestrian".

From enemies to friends

Despite the decades-long sparring that Gates and Jobs engaged in, they eventually underwent a multi-stage reconciliation process that eventually led to a very different kind of relationship before Jobs' death in 2013.

In today's technology landscape, the two companies enjoy less of a heated rivalry that peaked during the operating system wars in the 1990s – with each enjoying a moat (Microsoft in the enterprise space and Apple in the consumer space).

Instead, they now compete in domains like AI and cloud computing alongside plenty of other Silicon Valley rivals. However, that doesn't mean there isn't the occasional jab – like outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook dunking on the Surface Pro.

• Microsoft has blocked Secure Boot updates on some devices
• There have been issues with some devices updating from the 2011 certificate to the latest 2023 certificate
• Some older devices or those not supported by their OEM may be restricted in downloading the latest Secure Boot certificates

Microsoft has blocked some Windows 11 PCs from installing Secure Boot updates due to known issues with certificate updates.

The company is currently rolling out an update for Secure Boot on devices using certificates issued in 2011, which are now expired. The new 2023 certificate is being applied through Windows Update, but issues on devices with faulty firmware have forced Microsoft to halt the rollout.

“Devices in this group are affected by a known issue. To reduce risk, Secure Boot certificate updates are temporarily paused while Microsoft and partners work toward a supported resolution,” Microsoft said.

Secure Boot issues

Secure Boot has long been a device-saving feature when it comes to removing malicious files, as it allows the device to verify and load only authentic software before booting to Windows. However if the device cannot receive certificate updates it can fall victim to threats at the boot-level before Windows is loaded.

Microsoft is currently working with manufacturers to issue a patch that will allow affected devices to install the new Secure Boot 2023 certificate, with HP issuing a BIOS update to allow the installation of the latest certificate.

What this means in practice is that some older devices, or devices that no longer receive updates via their Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), will not be able to apply Secure Boot and Boot Manager protections. Microsoft clarified that, “this results in a gradual reduction in long-term security—not an immediate risk or system failure. Continue to follow standard security practices, including staying current with Windows updates.”

So even if your device is blocked from installing the latest Secure Boot certificate, it will continue to work properly, other Windows updates will continue to work, and your Secure Boot version will continue to protect against known vulnerabilities. It’s just future vulnerabilities that users affected by this issue will need to be aware of.

Many users may not be aware of issues until they need to use Secure Boot, so the silver lining in Microsoft’s warning is that now is the perfect time to check if your Secure Boot is working properly.

How to check Secure Boot is up to date

To check if you are using the latest Secure Boot certificate, take the following steps:

• Open the Windows Security app using the search bar
• Navigate to the Device Security dashboard using the menu on the right hand side
• Look at the Secure Boot section, and check for the following messages:

1. "Secure Boot is on"

If you see this message, Secure Boot is likely working properly. However, this does not display your certificates’ current state. Microsoft has been rolling out an update to show if your Secure Boot is running on the latest certificate, so make sure your don't have any pending Windows updates.

2. “Devices in this group are affected by a known issue.”

Devices with this message will likely be able to install the latest certificates once a firmware update has been issued by your OEM. Check your OEM update channel for availability.

3. “Secure Boot is on, but your device does not support the automated Secure Boot certificate update due to hardware or firmware limitations.”

Devices with this message may no longer be supported by your OEM, or the OEM might no longer be able to provide the firmware updates needed. Microsoft recommends checking your OEM’s Secure Boot support page to confirm whether your device is out of support.

Via WindowsLatest

• Windows 11's Copilot app has a new feature in testing
• 'PC insights' provides an easy way to receive clear answers to hardware-based questions about your device and its specs
• While there are some fears over privacy (and bloat), Microsoft has made it clear that Copilot needs to be granted permission to access your system and files

Copilot is getting a new ability to answer questions about your PC's hardware, allowing the AI to tap into the relevant hardware details to do so – and while Microsoft is treading carefully with privacy here, that's unlikely to stop some level of paranoia.

Windows Latest flagged the introduction of 'PC insights' for the Copilot app on Windows 11, which as Microsoft explains, "enables customers to conversationally ask Copilot questions about their Windows PC and receive clear responses based on their device's state without having to dig through system settings."

This is currently an experimental feature, so still in testing, and an optional ability that you must turn on for it to be in play. Windows Latest notes that it's gradually rolling out, but only in the US for now.

You can ask Copilot how much RAM you have, or storage space left, or what your GPU is, and the current level of usage for your processor, and a whole bunch of similar component-related queries. You can ask about elements as diverse as whether you have an antivirus running, or what your laptop's battery health is, diving into mild troubleshooting territory should you wish.

To get its answers, the Copilot app hooks up to Windows APIs to analyze your system, and the AI asks for permission to do this. You can allow it access to your PC's hardware details on a one-time basis for that session only, or you can elect to 'always allow' if you're happy to give Copilot this access on a more permanent basis.

Analysis: fears over hallucinations and bloat

As ever, this is AI, and as Microsoft notes, Copilot "may not always provide complete or accurate information", especially during this testing phase. So, if you do get a chance to try out PC insights, maintain a healthy sense of skepticism with the responses you get.

As Windows Latest makes clear, there's also a certain irony about a Windows 11 user checking up on resource usage, perhaps due to system sluggishness, employing the Copilot AI to run diagnostics when the app itself uses the best part of 1GB of RAM when running in the background and doing nothing.

That doesn't stop this new PC insights feature from being situationally useful, of course. Some of the reaction has come from a place of disdain, though, as you might guess, with comments such as the one from this Redditor: "Oh hey it's like Task Manager except instead of lightweight and authoritative, it's bloated and might be lying to me."

Of course, this is a feature aimed at less well-informed PC owners, not those who can easily understand what's happening in Task Manager at a glance. Criticism around the bloat of the Copilot app is fair enough, mind, and this is because in its most recent incarnation, Microsoft changed things so the app is essentially a standalone spin-off of the Edge browser.

Another worry is that of privacy, and having Copilot 'snoop around' on your machine, but as noted, there are clear requests for permissions, and the new feature is strictly opt-in. You don't ever have to go near PC insights if you don't want to. It's also worth noting that giving the Copilot app access permissions doesn't mean it can read the actual contents of files, but only their sizes (for weighing up questions about storage and the like).

At the moment, this is a purely informative or troubleshooting feature, and in the case of attempted diagnostics, it may point to issues with your PC, but won't resolve them for you. However, it's not difficult to envision where Microsoft might head with this, in terms of getting Copilot to implement fixes for certain issues that the AI flags up. I'm talking simple Settings changes rather than anything in-depth, and this has always been the idea of Copilot (even though it hasn't yet been realized to much of an extent).

When we get AI agents in Windows 11 – and they are coming, make no mistake – this kind of functionality may turn into a full-on troubleshooting agent. The trouble (pun not intended) with that being that the mistakes and hallucinations that AI can make could be considerably more aggravating in this kind of scenario.

• One of the original Xbox founders, Laura Fryer, suggests Sony is stripping away game ownership via an all-digital future
• It comes after PlayStation announced physical game discs won't be produced starting from January 2028
• Fryer claims Sony let Rockstar 'take the heat' by announcing a digital-only GTA 6 first

Sony is still under fire after its latest announcement of a future all-digital future for PlayStation games, as physical game copies are due to be axed — and not only are consumers livid, some gaming industry veterans are too.

As reported by Notebookcheck, Laura Fryer, one of the original founding members of Xbox, has recently condemned Sony's announcement ending physical game discs for future PlayStation games, and highlights the threat the move poses to game ownership.

The announcement from Sony has since resulted in major backlash regarding game ownership from thousands online, including a slight pushback (or support for physical media) from indie game developers like Astrolabe Games.

In this case, Fryer hasn't been shy about noting just how dangerous the end of physical game discs will be once 2028 arrives, especially since rumors suggest Microsoft may follow in a similar direction with its next Xbox console.

"Digital is convenient until someone else decides you've had enough, and there are some games and movies where I will never have enough of them," Fryer stated, which is arguably a valid statement since Sony recently removed over 500 purchased movies from users' libraries.

It's worth noting that Rockstar Games recently opened GTA 6 pre-orders, with the announcement that there won't be a physical copy of the game, which Fryer highlights as an important step to Sony's latest plans, stating: "Sony waited for Rockstar to make the first move, take the heat, and now they're going all in to make this the new normal."

Fryer even references Don Mattrick's infamous statement regarding an 'always online' Xbox One console experience, as she suggests that this is what Sony, Microsoft, and, frankly, Hollywood are doing today.

"When was the last time you put a disc in and the game just worked without a big download? All the major players, Sony, Microsoft, even Hollywood, they're all aligned here. Digital kills the used market, and it stops your old library from competing with new games on the next console."

That 'always online' future is closer than it ever has been, and with Sony also shutting down PS3 and PS Vita stores in 2027. That means whenever the PS6 (or future PlayStation consoles) eventually becomes a retro console like the PS3, there will be no way to play games on the system unless it's via digital means — and that directly eliminates game ownership completely.

UK tech retailer Currys has cut the price on a number of big name laptops, including models from HP, Asus and Microsoft.

The Surface Laptop 13.8", Copilot+ PC, powered by a Snapdragon X Elite processor and backed by 16GB of DDR5 memory and a 512GB SSD, sees the biggest discount. Usually priced at £1599, it's currently available for just £999, a solid £600 saving.

If that's not a big enough incentive for you, the laptop also features a Quad HD+ touchscreen and up to 20 hours of battery life, so you won't have to spend ages looking for someone to plug it in.

My top 4 business laptop deals at Currys

Also on sale at Currys are two Asus laptops. The Zenbook 14 OLED 14" model is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H Processor and comes with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD.

It also comes with a 2K touchscreen and promises up to 15 hours of battery life, which will be more than enough to get you through a full working day

That model usually sells for £1399 but you can snap it up for £999 at Currys right now, a solid £400 saving.

If you need a larger laptop, the Vivobook S16 OLED S3607CA 16" model is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 5 225H Processor with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. It also comes with a Full HD+ OLED screen and up to 20 hours of battery life.

That model usually costs £999 but Currys has slashed the cost down to £599, which means you'll also save £400 with that one.

If you're after a laptop with a bigger-than-normal display, then HP's OmniBook 7 AI is the model you want. It features a 17-inch, Full HD touchscreen and is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V chip, backed up by 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a 512GB SSD.

That model promises up to 12 hours of battery life. It should be enough to get you through a full working day, but depending on what you're using it for, it might require a top up when you're out and about.

While the OmniBook 7 AI usually retails for £999, you can save £699 right now at Currys, which is a welcome £300 off.

For more top picks like this, these are the best business laptops we've tested and reviewed.

• Shop all laptops at Currys

• Microsoft produced 20.3 million tons of CO2e emissions last year, up from 16.2 million tons
• Of the 37.5 million MWh of energy used, only 422,000 MWh came from unsustainable sources
• A rise in diesel/crude oil consumption and Scope 2 emissions are key drivers

In its latest sustainability report, Microsoft has admitted its greenhouse gas emissions actually rose 25.1% year-over-year from 16.2 million tons to 20.3 million tons in 2025.

With the company targeting a 2030 carbon negative deadline, rising emissions presents a major challenge that it must overcome, however current trends point to emissions continue to rise even further.

Microsoft said its rapid expansion of AI and cloud data centers as a key driver for rising emissions, and with more projects in the pipeline, this could be an ongoing challenge for years to come.

Microsoft's emissions are moving in the wrong direction

The company also noted its decision to stop buying short-term renewable energy certificates that do not directly support additional clean capacity. While the previous year's 16.2-million-ton figure was lower than last year's, it was largely offset by carbon credits and doesn't accurately represent the true emissions.

More broadly, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions are also under pressure from the continued data center expansion, due to electricity purchases, unsustainable construction materials and compute hardware. For example, Scope 2 emissions went from accounting for 1.6% of total emissions in FY24 to a staggering 13.3% in FY25.

As for fossil fuel use, the company saw a 51% rise in diesel and crude oil consumption despite reductions in natural gas (-6.5%), propane/LPG/jet fuel (-10%) and gasoline (-16%) use. Still, of the nearly 37.5 million MWh of energy the company used in FY25, only around 422,000 MWh came from non-renewable sources (per a separate data sheet).

However, despite expansion-related challenges, Microsoft did make significant progress to reducing overall emissions, hitting around 20 million tons last year instead of the 34 million tones it could have hit without work on carbon-free electricity, sustainable fuels, energy efficiency improvements and other supple chain refinements.

Microsoft isn't the only company battling the impacts of AI – Amazon also recently noted a 16% annual increase in emissions, while also blaming AI and data centers. Google also saw a 25% rise in emissions for its most recent full year.

• Microsoft warns of “GigaWiper,” a destructive malware attributed to Iranian group CyberAv3ngers that combines multiple variants into one
• It can wipe drives, encrypt files with a fake ransomware extension, or overwrite Windows partitions, while also spying via screenshots, VNC sessions, and system data theft
• The malware hides under fake OneDrive tasks and registry keys, showing both espionage and sabotage capabilities with no recovery path for victims’ data

Microsoft is warning about a new piece of malware called GigaWiper, which can spy on people’s computers and then destroy them entirely, in different ways.

It was built by mashing different malware variants into one, and it seems to be the work of Iranian state-sponsored threat actors called CyberAv3ngers. The hackers also took a little cheeky dig at Microsoft, through the malware’s obfuscation mechanism.

As Microsoft explained, GigaWiper can overwrite the physical drive and wipe the partition table, destroying the contents of the disk directly. It can also encrypt all files on the drive, add a .candy extension, and change the desktop wallpaper to show a warning. This ransomware approach does not share a ransom note, and does not generate a decryption key, so there is nothing to pay, and no way to decrypt the files - they are gone for good, just giving victims false hope.

Spying on the victims

Finally, the third method goes straight for the Windows drive, overwriting it multiple times with different data patterns.

Besides bricking the disk, GigaWiper can also spy on its victims by grabbing screenshots, recording the screen, or opening a VNC session to either stream someone else’s work, or allow the attackers to use the mouse and keyboard. The malware can also extract system data, manage programs and services, modify the registry, and more.

But the cheekiest feature is how it hides. It schedules a task called OneDrive Update and tracks itself in a registry key called OneDrive\Environment. Perhaps the attackers assumed no one really pays attention to OneDrive, and thus the malware could stay out of sight for longer.

Speaking of the attackers, Microsoft does not name them, but most of the components mashed together to form GigaWiper were previously attributed to CyberAv3ngers, a group linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

• Senior Bethesda character artist Christiane Meister has been laid off as part of Xbox's restructuring
• Meister designed Skyrim's Khajiit and Argonian races
• Kevin LaChapelle, one of the lead developers behind Xbox's backward compatibility initiative, has also been laid off

As part of Xbox's most significant restructuring strategy we've ever seen, thousands of staff have been laid off, including two industry veterans who worked at Microsoft and Bethesda for decades.

As PC Gamer reports, Christiane Meister, a senior character artist who worked at Bethesda for 27 years on games like Morrowind and Skyrim, was laid off and is currently looking for work.

Writing on LinkedIn, Meister said, "I have recently been laid off from Bethesda Game Studios and I find myself in the novel position of looking for a job. I thought I would stay there forever because I loved making those games. Life had other plans as it so often does."

As Meister explained in a separate update on her page, she was "in charge of design, creation, and management of character art assets throughout all of The Elder Scrolls projects, starting with Morrowind to our latest title, Skyrim."

"This included drawing concepts and seeing the art piece through to the final stage of getting the object in the game as well as handing off concepts to other artists in the character group. I also oversaw outsourced assets from design to final in-game models," Meister said.

The veteran developer was responsible for designing the visual identities of the series' khajiit and argonian humanoid races, as well as some Fallout creatures and horses in Oblivion and Skyrim.

She also worked on UI, title design, and marketing materials in her early career at Bethesda, the iconic armor associated with Skyrim, and new armor sets and the key art for The Elder Scrolls: Blades.

Meister later moved on to creature work on Starfield "and had a great time balancing the extraterrestrial while grounding it with recognizable fauna that exist here on Earth."

She adds that she also worked on "The latest game of the Elder Scrolls series," which could mean The Elder Scrolls 6, where she oversaw "an important aspect of the game as well as continuing to create realistic creatures."

"I hope people will get to see them," she said.

Another industry veteran, Kevin LaChapelle, one of the lead developers behind Xbox's backward compatibility initiative, has also been laid off.

On LinkedIn (via VGC), LaChapelle said, "I will add my name to the list of people who were laid off today at Xbox," after working for Microsoft for 37 years.

"I have worked in many different parts of the company, and I will say my fondest memories are of leading the team of very talented engineers who built the Xbox Backward Compatibility program," he said.

"Sitting in the auditorium when Phil [Spencer] announced the program at E3 2015 was incredible. The audience's reaction was unbelievable. I followed that with leading the team who created our Cloud Gaming product. I am a firm believer that all entertainment will eventually become streamed to you wherever you are. I look forward to watching how Xbox evolves going forward and I wish the team nothing but success."

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma confirmed that 1,600 jobs were immediately cut and another 1,600 to come will follow before the end of the current financial year.

The company has also let go of four studios, including Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions, which are returning to independence, while Ninja Theory and Undead Labs are currently looking for new ownership.

Obsidian Entertainment is also reportedly working on a new Fallout game led by Fallout: New Vegas lead designer and project director Joshua Sawyer, in collaboration with Bethesda, after scrapping plans for an Avowed sequel amid Xbox's restructuring strategy.

• Could Microsoft sell off Xbox amid the company's biggest restructuring strategy yet?
• Analysts say Xbox, as it stands, would be too expensive for even some of the biggest buyers
• It's suggested that big players would be more interested in purchasing "specific pieces" of the business

As Xbox goes through its biggest restructuring yet, and the seemingly never-ending stream of bad news for those involved continues, the future of the gaming company is uncertain.

While some question whether it would be in Microsoft's best interest to sell off the gaming company, industry analysts have suggested that the move would be a hugely expensive endeavour for interested parties, but it's possible that the Xbox we know could be dismantled piece by piece.

Microsoft's major Xbox restructuring announcement, which Xbox CEO Asha Sharma called a "reset," confirmed that thousands of employees were affected by layoffs, including 1,600 immediate job cuts with another 1,600 to come before the end of the current financial year.

The company has also let go of four studios, including Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions, which are returning to independence, and Senua and State of Decay 3 creators, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs, which are currently looking for new ownership.

This new strategy follows a year of struggles for Xbox, which has increased the prices of its consoles once again, cancelled and shuttered several games and studios, with Sharma now admitting that the company is "not healthy" in its current state, with Game Pass being a key fault.

"Our business today is not healthy," Sharma said in an email sent to Xbox employees. "We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. We entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected."

Before the recent upheaval, The Information (via Reuters) reported that Sharma was looking to speed up development on games in The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Halo franchises and that Microsoft is considering options for its Xbox gaming unit, including a potential spinoff or restructuring ​as a wholly owned subsidiary.

While some believe that the recent restructuring is a plan to make Xbox easier to sell, analysts have suggested to The Verge that there wouldn't be many interested stakeholders who would purchase the entire business, mainly because it would be too expensive considering Xbox's current portfolio.

"I think all options are on the table, considering the drastic measures already put in place to try and restructure the business at both a cyclical and structural level," said Yoshio Osaki, president and CEO of market research firm IDG Intelligence.

Similarly, New York University professor Joost van Dreunen told The Verge, "A wholesale divestiture of Xbox remains on the table, and it looks likelier given Xbox's struggles with rising hardware costs and Microsoft's focus on AI and infrastructure."

He added, "It's never been clear what role Xbox plays in Microsoft's flywheel," but a full sale is the "less likely path" since there are few buyers, including giants like Netflix, Amazon, and Tencent, who would want or afford "an entire interactive-entertainment conglomerate running north of $23 billion in annual revenue."

Instead, Van Dreunen said the likelier scenario is that big players might go after "specific pieces" of the business, with Osaki noting "it's possible that "individual studios, IPs, and teams are sold or spun off piecemeal.”

Sharma revealed her vision for Xbox after taking up the position of CEO in January and said she plans to return to the spirit of what the company was founded on, as well as reduce "the artificial divide between different types of devices."

With the latest part of her plan underway, which has notably delivered another crushing blow to the studios under Xbox's ownership, it's unclear right now where the gaming giant is headed.

According to Osaki, the full vision will be clear by "year-end," while van Dreunen thinks it will be "within 24 months."

• Obsidian Entertainment has cancelled an Avowed sequel and is now reportedly developing a new Fallout game
• The game is helmed by Fallout: New Vegas lead designer and project director Joshua Sawyer
• This comes as part of Microsoft's major Xbox "reset"

Obsidian Entertainment is reportedly working on a new Fallout game after scrapping plans for an Avowed sequel amid Xbox's restructuring strategy.

That's according to Bloomberg, which reports that the Avowed sequel and other unannounced projects were the studio's priority, but will now focus on a new Fallout game helmed by Fallout: New Vegas lead designer and project director Joshua Sawyer, in collaboration with Bethesda.

Sawyer was working on a different role-playing game (RPG) similar to Fallout, but it's unclear which one.

While Avowed 2 has been cancelled, a small team will continue working on the game in case the project is revived in the future; for now, Fallout is the new priority.

The report comes as part of Microsoft's major Xbox "reset," which recently saw thousands of layoffs, including 1,600 immediate cuts. It's said that Avowed 2 was to be announced within the next year, but Xbox CEO Asha Sharma didn't see it fitting into the company's new strategy.

Bloomberg said these layoffs included a quarter of Obsidian, with GameFile reporting that a WARN notice in California indicated it was 52 workers in total, including 43 in Obsidian's California offices and nine in-state remote workers.

Obsidian, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2018, released three games in 2025, including Avowed, The Outer Worlds 2, and Grounded 2. Bloomberg confirmed that the studio will continue developing content for the latter two titles.

• Microsoft is moving to once/year foreign exchange rate checks, not twice/year
• Many commercial products saw price increases due to AI, security
• Other recent changes could all add up to major price changes

In a bid to make pricing more predictable for customers and partners, Microsoft is ditching its current twice-yearly exchange rate reviewing to once-yearly for many of its commercial cloud lines.

The change would reduce the frequency of unexpected pricing changes for organizations across services like Microsoft 365, Office 365, Dynamics 365 and more.

It marks a shift from the regular exchange rate checks Microsoft had previously introduced, citing a need to keep local pricing aligned with USD pricing.

Microsoft will review exchange rates once per year, not twice, going forward

In early 2026, European Microsoft customers were greeted with a 7.4% price reduction as a result of a weakening dollar, but under the new policy, customers would expect fewer revisions and, should the dollar continue to weaken, higher costs.

However, at the same time, Microsoft is raising prices for a number of commercial licenses due to additional AI capabilities, new security features and more. From July 1, many customers saw costs rise as much as 33% in the most severe cases, but some services like Office 365 E1 remained unchanged.

While existing subscriptions are generally protected until renewal, customers approaching the end of their contracts could face substantial changes as the two price tweaks come into play.

Acknowledging that geopolitical uncertainty can fluctuate currency values drastically, the company added that it could make one-time changes outside of the once-yearly revision period "in limited exceptional circumstances."

But with the company previously removing volume discounts on certain lines, some customers could be facing some pretty significant price changes in 2026, leaving them wondering if next year could be much of the same.

Via The Register

• Residents near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, file class-action lawsuit against Microsoft over “excessive noise” from its Fairwater AI data center
• Complainants also report light pollution from the facility
• Microsoft says it has taken “immediate steps to address the sound concerns”

While it is an inherently useful technology, AI comes with many challenges, not least the impact of data centers on the landscape and local environment. Microsoft’s new $7.3 billion AI data center in Milwaukee is demonstrating some of those challenges, having amassed complaints during construction and now a class-action lawsuit from Wisconsin residents.

Residents of Sturtevant, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are situated just 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the Mount Pleasant “Fairwater 1” datacenter, which came online in April. Following noise during construction, the installation itself has since been blamed for “not only excessive, but consistent and pervasive” noise.

Over 1,000 homes in the Mount Pleasant area are affected, and these are represented by three citizens who filed the lawsuit.

How noisy is Microsoft’s Fairwater 1 data center?

According to the filing, “Through its operation and maintenance of the Data Center, Defendant has emitted, and continues to emit, unreasonable and excessive noise onto Plaintiffs’ properties, thereby causing property damages through private nuisance and negligence.”

While no formal test results have been published, one resident stated in the lawsuit “It sounded similar to the whirring engine of a freight train parked nearby. We heard it 24 hours a day, and eventually realized it was coming from the Microsoft campus.” This followed a period of six months when previous issues concerning noise and dust had subsided.

Meanwhile, a resident told Wisconsin Public Radio that light pollution is a problem, noting "“It was so dark out there, you could see all the stars, and now you have a hard time seeing the stars with all the light.”

The filing (reported by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) notes that the Fairwater 1 data center "generates significant noise pollution from diesel generators and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, including chillers, cooling towers, air-handling units, and condenser fans."

Microsoft is yet to respond

As the demand for cloud AI increases, more installations like Fairwater 1 (up to 15 Microsoft data centers are planned for the location) need to be developed.

So far, Microsoft has responded to the previous complaints about noise and dust with street cleaners, but these concerns have made it into the filing, along with accusations that Microsoft failed to "implement adequate acoustic barriers, shields, or walls that absorb, mitigate, and/or prevent the escape of noise, thereby resulting in the offsite emission of excessive noise beyond its property."

At the other side of this argument, however, are the 375 employees at Microsoft’s Mount Pleasant facilities, many of whom live locally.

While Microsoft is yet to respond to the lawsuit, it previously posted on its blog that it will “continue to work on short-term mitigation, and [...] also install additional sound reduction components and continue to monitor sound at the site.”

• Microsoft's new Windows 11 recovery method is available for Windows Insiders
• Cloud Rebuild allows users to reinstall Windows 11 and necessary drivers via the cloud, without a USB drive
• The feature should begin rolling out to users on stable Windows 11 builds

Microsoft is continually making adjustments to its Windows 11 operating system through patches that address user pain points, and, fortunately, its latest move is certainly welcome.

As reported by Windows Central, Microsoft has implemented a new recovery method for Windows 11, known as Cloud Rebuild, which is available to Windows Insider users. Cloud Rebuild allows users to reinstall the operating system and drivers from the cloud without the need for a USB drive.

It's a major step in the right direction for users who need to reset their PCs, whether due to data corruption, malware, or simply wanting to start anew, especially since not all users have immediate access to another device to download a Windows image or a USB drive to install it on.

Unlike the Windows Recovery Environment's 'Reset this PC' option, Cloud Rebuild doesn't allow you to keep personal files, but Microsoft says Cloud Rebuild reinstalls Windows with the appropriate drivers and "without depending on the integrity of the installed operating system".

Notably, Cloud Rebuild can still work when users can't boot into Windows 11, making life easier in a dire situation where the operating system is dysfunctional.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of Cloud Rebuild is for the acquisition of drivers, saving users plenty of time from manual downloads. This comes in handy for Windows 11 handheld gaming PCs, where reinstalling drivers can be slightly complicated, especially without the necessary peripherals being on hand for quick and easy navigation.

Cloud Rebuild isn't available to all Windows users yet, but the gradual rollout phase shouldn't be too far off. Fortunately, it's not a feature that most users urgently require (at least, I hope), so the wait for its arrival in stable Windows 11 updates shouldn't be frustrating.

• IO Interative has regained the rights to its online fantasy RPG, Project Fantasy
• Xbox pulled funding from the project, ending its parternship with the 007 First Light studio
• IOI will continue working independently on the project, but a studio will be closed down and some workers will be laid off

Last week, 007 First Light and Hitman developer Io Interactive confirmed that it had ended its relationship with an external financial backer for Project Fantasy, which was later revealed to be Xbox (via Bloomberg).

As a result of Xbox pulling out of the deal and amid major restructuring at Microsoft that has seen thousands of layoffs, IOI has announced that it has regained full ownership of Project Fantasy and will continue work on the project independently. However, its Istanbul studio will be shuttered, and an unconfirmed number of workers will be laid off.

"Dear gaming community. Following the end of our external finance partnership on Project Fantasy, IOI has regained full ownership of the project and our IP," the studio said in a statement on social media.

"We will continue to develop and fund it independently amongst our other projects. With this context, we had to find a new balance for the long-term future of the studio, focused on the success of our main internal core titles instead of external projects and potential mobile game derivatives. This has meant making changes as well as proposed changes across our studios: the closure of our Istanbul studio and starting a process to part ways with colleagues who have been a meaningful part of what makes IOI what it is.

"Our immediate focus is on supporting those affected as best we can through this period. If you are aware of any opportunities within your network, we would be genuinely grateful for any support you can offer to any of the talented people across IOI who might be looking for new opportunities."

IOI concluded: "These are hard, but necessary decisions, in order to retain the long-term future of IO Interactive as one of the very few fully independent AAA developer and publisher, as well as to give Project Fantasy the best possible foundation to succeed under our own passion and direction. Project Fantasy is a game, a world, and an IP that we are wholly committed to, and we cannot wait to share the love with you."

Yesterday, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma outlined the company's plan to "reset" and announced it will cut a total of 3,200 jobs, starting with 1,600.

In addition, the company also plans to ditch four studios, including Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions, which are going independent once more, while Ninja Theory and Undead Labs look for new ownership.

Dishonored developer Arkane Studios is also "beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options," but due to French labor laws, the process will take longer.

• Xbox has shared plans to cut thousands of jobs as part of a restructuring initiative
• Several studios are also looking for new homes, while others are going independent
• The fate of Arkane Studios is undecided, but I'm desperately hoping it can be saved

If you missed the crushing news, Xbox has announced a major restructuring that includes job cuts for a total of 3,200 workers, as well as plans to ditch four studios as part of what CEO Asha Sharma is calling a "reset" of the gaming giant.

Those studios include Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions, which are going independent once more, while Senua and State of Decay 3 creators, Ninja Theory and Undead Labs, find new ownership.

The fate of other Microsoft-owned developers also hangs in the balance, namely Arkane Studios, which is "beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options," but due to French labor laws, the process of what happens to the beloved studio will be a longer one, meaning the outcome is unknown.

Following Sharma's lengthy restructuring announcement, Arkane Studios founder Raphaël Colantonio asked the CEO, "Regarding Arkane... how much? I'm asking for a friend."

While the post seems to be a joke, many fans are eager to see Arkane and its projects in the hands of a company other than Xbox, with Colantonio, who now runs WolfEye Studios as of 2019, being a top contender.

"Please do it -- Xbox and this incompetent leadership will absolutely destroy Arkane, try your best to save what's left of it," one fan said, while another replied, "I speak for the entirety of the fan community when I say we would support any sort of crowdfunding needed to help make this happen."

I'm inclined to agree with the masses because the result of Arkane going defunct would be another huge blow to the industry that absolutely needs to be avoided.

The Lyon, France-based developer is a one-of-a-kind studio that has produced some of the most memorable first-person action-adventure games ever. Chief among them is Dishonored, a rare gem and one of the best stealth titles you can play right now.

It's the sequel, Dishonored 2, that really made me fall in love with the studio back in 2016. While the sequel didn't perform nearly as well as its predecessor, it's by far one of the most underrated games of the 2010s and somehow managed to raise the bar even higher in terms of world-building and intricate level design.

It's a choose-your-own adventure that still comes to mind today when discussing my favorite gaming experiences of all time, thanks to its meticulously built world, exhilarating stealth combat, and incredible layers of environmental storytelling. Dare I say, Dishonored 2 is even better than the first game...

Then there's Prey, another game that didn't quite soar to popularity, but is another example of Arkane's ability to create stylish and intelligent worlds that feel totally unique and will stick with you longer after you've rolled credits.

The studio is currently making Marvel's Blade, though development updates have been few since its announcement in December 2023. It's a win-win situation for someone like me who is a huge Marvel and Arkane fan, and I'm eager to see what's in store; if the teaser trailer is anything to go by, it will certainly look as beautifully stylized as every other title from the studio, but I'm afraid of the outcome under Microsoft's ownership.

Given other recent events, namely the cancellation of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, acclaimed developer of Hi-Fi Rush, Tango Gameworks, which has thankfully now been acquired by Krafton, the closure of Redfall studio Arkane Austin, and not to mention the seemingly never-ending layoffs that have impacted Xbox since the start of the year, it feels inevitable that Arkane Studios will be hit next, but I'm holding out hope for a spin off instead.

If Arkane Studios wants to stay afloat in an environment that seems to be falling apart at the seams, Xbox should do the right thing and cut a deal with whoever is willing to buy and set the developer loose before it's too late.

• Microsoft Frontier Company to embed 6,000 engineers and specialists into customer organizations
• Backed by $2.5 billion in Microsoft funding, it will help customers transform with custom AI
• This is the "largest" of its type, 2.5x the value of Amazon's alternative

Microsoft has launched a brand new subdivision to expand its own AI consultants into customers' companies backed by a massive $2.5 billion investment.

The new Microsoft Frontier Company will embed more than 6,000 specialists, AI engineers and technical experts directly inside customer organizations to help build, deploy and optimize their own AI strategies.

Microsoft described it as the "largest, most capable, outcome-driven engineering organization in the industry" – the scheme comes days after Amazon announced a similar scheme backed by $1 billion.

Microsoft launches forward-deployed engineer (FDE) program for AI

Though similar in concept to other FDE programs, Microsoft believes its Frontier Company will be different in that it adds extra layers of industry expertise, change management, continuous improvement and more, rather than just racing to deliver AI ROI.

Microsoft Commercial Business CEO Judson Althoff emphasized the importance of intelligence and trust in tailoring a suitable AI strategy for its customers. Intelligence's role involves understanding broad organizational context, workflows and processes, while trust is all about governance, observability and accountability.

Early Frontier Company customers include LSEG and Unilever, and of course, being an enterprise-focused solution, the company stressed that proprietary data, workflows and more remain private to companies and doesn't get used to train models.

Another major selling point for the "largest" AI FDE scheme in the industry is that customers can pick and choose between models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft and other open-source alternatives to provide the best solution for every workload, rather than forcing companies to lock in to one single tool.

Microsoft Frontier Company will be led by former President of Microsoft Asia, Rodrigo Kede Lima. "He has been at the forefront of helping customers and partners translate technology shifts into business outcomes, and understanding how platform innovation, engineering and partner ecosystem collaboration come together to drive growth," Althoff wrote.

• Xbox has announced that it is undergoing a "significant restructure"
• This will include the loss of 3,200 jobs over the fiscal year
• This includes 1,600 job losses today

Microsoft has announced that Xbox is to undergo the "most significant restructure" in the brand's history, with 1,600 jobs being cut today, for a total 3,200 jobs going over the coming months including four studios being jettisoned.

In another crushing blow for the people who make the games we love, these layoffs were strongly rumored to be coming this week — the sheer scale was unknown but predicted to be big. It turns out that was true.

In an email sent to Xbox employees that has now been made public via Xbox Wire, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma began by saying, "After careful consideration, I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our team by approximately 3,200 throughout FY27. This will include approximately 1,600 role eliminations today, and in addition, four studios will leave Xbox to new management."

Sharma added: "Our business today is not healthy. We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. We entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected."

As well as the total of 3,200 jobs going this fiscal year, four studios are also affected. Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions are returning to being independent studios, while Ninja Theory and Undead Labs will gain new ownership with funding to complete their upcoming games, Senua and State of Decay 3.

Arkane — a studio many feared for in the run-up to this restructuring — is "beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options."

In a series of moves over the past decade or so, which has seen Microsoft acquire multiple studios, spend billions and billions of dollars, and make some curious decisions about Game Pass, prices, and more — all to take the brand from third in the console space to, well, third — this kind of feels like the bubble bursting before our very eyes. And the people who will pay the price will be the developers who make the games we all love playing.

• Microsoft Teams will now let users turn off its AI tools
• Copilot, Facilitator and Intelligent recap all affected
• Users will be able to pick and choose which AI tools they want on Teams

Microsoft has apparently backed down in plans to introduce a host of AI tools across Teams after it faced a major backlash from users.

In recent weeks, the company has revealed several new AI-powered Teams features it says will help boost user productivity and efficiency, offering the likes of catch-up tools, note-taking and even translation.

However, following an apparent fightback from users, the company says it will now offer a simple toggle to turn off its "Meeting AI" features on your calls.

Turn off AI in Microsoft Teams

The news was outlined in an admin center post, seemingly admitting the company might have overdone its AI expectations.

“Microsoft Teams will add an in-meeting toggle for licensed organizers and presenters to turn Meeting AI (Copilot, Facilitator, recap) on or off during live meetings,” the company said. “Rollout starts early July 2026, with no changes to existing compliance or licensing requirements.”

Microsoft also demonstrated what the feature might look like in a Teams meeting, with a screenshot showing a toggle to individually disable the likes of Copilot, Facilitator, and Intelligent recap - or turn off all tools at once.

The company also pointed out its Meeting AI tools will only show up after being cleared by your admins, so specific policy considerations will always be considered - and the toggle will not appear if Meeting AI is specifically turned off by policy.

The news comes shortly after Microsoft revealed Facilitator, a new AI-powered tool which will look to help better manage Teams calls, filling in any potential knowledge gaps which pop up during a meeting.

This has already led some observers to worry about the tool's privacy and security limits, however Microsoft noted it will need to be activated to listen and watch all of your meetings, so it knows when to interfere and chip in.

The toggle is rolling out now, and should complete by mid-July 2026, with Teams users across all devices, including Windows, macOS, mobile, and web, included.

Via WindowsLatest

The 'women in tech' discourse has, over time, shifted from general awareness around key issues to instigating meaningful and systemic reform. Each year, there are thousands of events, panels, initiatives and policies devoted to equalizing the experience between men and women – with remuneration a key part of this.

Mind the gap

Speaking at the 2014 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, the then newly appointed Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella clumsily commented on how women should approach the question of unequal pay in the workplace.

People immediately pushed back against his remarks, with widespread and universal condemnation. For example, the interviewer, computer scientist Maria Klawe, immediately pushed back, giving women the opposite advice.

You should, she advised, do your homework on fair salaries and actively practice negotiating. This was followed by media reports and social media commentary ridiculing the comments — drawing a swift apology from the Microsoft CEO.

Bridging the divide

Nadella addressed the controversy in an internal memo, as reported by GeekWire, and reaffirmed Microsoft's commitment to positive action.

In the years that have followed, there's been a mixture of changes across the tech industry – for better and worse. There is, for example, a higher proportion of women in tech now than more than ten years ago. But female leadership is declining.

There are also concerns that the pay gap is widening, and that women have disproportionately comprised over 45% of total job losses despite making up roughly 30% of the workforce. Despite a huge and very vocal push, the reality remains that progress on better representation, equal pay, and equal opportunity is patchy at best.

Windows 11 is being fixed, you heard it here first.

Of course, we're all very much aware that Microsoft is busy addressing a plethora of issues with Windows 11, and has been for some time now. In fact, the campaign to right the wrongs of the OS began late in March 2026, and so Microsoft has now had three full months to get its act together with the initial work towards making Windows 11 better.

So, what's been done to that laudable end throughout April, May and June? And how has Microsoft fared in general during this first quarter of the effort to mend the operating system? This will be my first quarterly report on how fixing Windows 11 is going, and hopefully, I'll have plenty of good things to say about the initiative as it rolls onwards throughout 2026.

I'll pick out my highlights of the top changes made to Windows 11 so far – those moves that are really going to make an impact – and then provide my evaluation of how Microsoft is progressing overall. Then finally, I'll talk about what else the company might do, and what's notably missing thus far.

Key changes and features to fix Windows 11

There's been a lot of work done in this first quarter of Microsoft's campaign, with some huge moves for the Windows 11 interface that spring immediately to mind.

For starters, Microsoft has delivered what many Windows 11 users have been asking for since the OS first arrived – the ability to move the taskbar to the top or side of the screen (just as you can in Windows 10). As well as taskbar repositioning, we'll also get the ability to make it more compact, too.

Microsoft is revamping the Start menu to allow for a much greater level of customization – which is a theme with the interface changes in this fixing campaign – and that includes turning it into a compact, streamlined box with not a 'recommendation' (read: advert) in sight, if you want. This is one of the absolute highlights for me, and it comes alongside a lot of smoothing over of interface wrinkles, including modernizing legacy parts of the UI that look jarringly old.

The widgets board is also being made a calmer place, with no MSN feed (which comes with ads) by default, and Windows 11 search results are being tuned so you no longer have to suffer websites being surfaced in them, removing that clutter and unnecessary promotion (those results were opened in Bing, of course).

Windows updates have been heavily worked on, including something I must admit that I never thought I'd see Windows 11 Home users get the choice to do – namely to delay an update indefinitely. More updates are going to be bundled together, too, meaning you won't have to reboot to install them quite so often. On top of that, Microsoft is putting mechanisms in place to ensure that installation failures don't happen so often with updates.

Performance in Windows 11 has been another major focus for Microsoft in these early days, and that includes boosting the responsiveness of File Explorer with various optimizations and 'foundational' tuning to speed up this critical part of the Windows 11 interface (which drives the folders on your desktop). This includes a faster overall launch speed for File Explorer, as you might hope.

Away from File Explorer, another key performance enhancement is a 'Low Latency Profile' trick to give the CPU a brief boost when launching apps or Windows 11's menus, to make sure they run in a much snappier manner. Additionally, Microsoft is honing the contemporary framework employed by Windows 11's interface (WinUI 3) to be more performant, and the sum total of all this fine-tuning is that it should make a big difference to the overall feel of how Windows 11 runs in general, eliminating the sluggishness experienced in certain scenarios.

Other notable introductions include a 'turbo mode' for a much quicker installation of Windows 11, and a new 'Driver Quality Initiative' to usher in improvements with OS drivers (including ensuring that they don't excessively drain laptop battery life). A new point-in-time restore feature also gives you an extra recovery option to roll back your PC to a previous state when things go wrong, and that could be very useful should disaster strike.

Microsoft's progress with fixing Windows 11

As you can see, there's been a lot going on in terms of revamping, honing, and new features. Granted, a good deal of this is still happening only in testing, but of course it takes time to bring through this work, and it's best not to rush vital changes to the innards of Windows 11.

What's also good to see is that Microsoft is engaging with the broader Windows community online, taking on feedback, and acting on it too (in some cases). The company really does appear to be listening, and sessions where it actively solicits the opinions of testers on certain aspects of the desktop OS are a commendable move.

Beyond this, Microsoft has set up a system of panels whereby certain testers are brought in to contribute to studies designed to improve various facets of Windows 11.

Overall, I'm pleased with the scope of the work Microsoft has taken on here, and I'm impressed with the changes, as well as the new attitude towards feedback. All in all, what Microsoft has done in this first quarter of fixing Windows 11 is to resolve a lot of the most pressing issues with Windows 11 (or at least kicked off those resolutions).

Not all of them, mind, and I'll come onto that next.

What else should Microsoft be doing?

On the subject of what I think is missing from the drive to fix Windows 11, my biggest issue here is that there's not been much talk of how Microsoft is tackling bugs.

Yes, we've heard about working towards a more reliable Windows 11, an OS with better stability – the mentioned driver quality program is part of that, of course – but what about the actual core quality assurance processes?

The fact is that there are still too many bugs creeping through with each monthly update for Windows 11, and while some may be niche in their impact, they're happening too regularly, and some glitches are very odd in nature.

Just in the last couple of weeks we've seen the Recycle Bin weirding out, leading to accusations of 'well Microsoft, this is what happens when you get AI to code', and a strange bug with a Windows component eating up storage space in a mystifying manner (the fix is coming in the July update, and is in preview now, in case you were curious).

These kinds of oddities shouldn't be happening in the first place, though, and what I want to see from Microsoft is some concrete information on how it's revamping QA and bug fixing to be a more organized, thorough, and successful set of processes. This is absolutely key to fixing Windows 11 in my book, so get to it, Microsoft.

As far as crowd-pleasing features that are not yet on the boil, I'd like to see more ditching of 'recommendations' (those pesky ads that pop up here and there), the option to install Windows 11 with a local account should you wish, and the ability to switch off all telemetry with the Home version of the OS (well, save for the barest of details that need to be sent back to Microsoft's servers for security reasons).

And while you're at it, Microsoft, have a word with the marketing team responsible for Windows, and get them to tread a bit more carefully around AI. Overall, though, I can't complain, and as I recently discussed, I'm a lot more optimistic about the future of Windows 11 given what's happened so far in 2026.

Keep it up, Microsoft – but let's not forget about the bugs and QA stuff.

Early last month, when I was planning this half-year look at the best laptops that have so far been released in 2026, it was easy for me to pick the number one spot: the MacBook Neo.

Launched in March for $599 / £599 / AU$899, it was a shot across the bows of other laptop and Chromebook makers, as Apple showed that you could have a stylish and well-built budget laptop that didn’t have to feel cheap.

Sure, there were compromises, such as the 8GB of memory and slow USB ports, but those were easily forgiven thanks to such an affordable price — especially when so much of the MacBook Neo puts similarly priced budget laptops to shame.

However, at the end of June, Apple announced a Neo price increase, taking it up to $699 / £699 / AU$1,049. While that’s not the biggest price rise in a world that, at the moment, seems to be full of them, it’s enough to make the MacBook Neo less of an easy recommendation. Suddenly, all those compromises are harder to accept.

The MacBook Neo still earns a spot in this list, however, due to the huge influence it’s had on the laptop market. Since its launch, I’ve seen numerous laptop makers, including Acer and Dell, release products directly aimed at challenging the MacBook Neo; offering slim and stylish designs, strong performance and screens, all for around the Neo's original $599 / £599 / AU$899 price. While Apple has raised the price of the MacBook Neo, many of those new challengers haven’t — yet — done the same, which makes them even better value in comparison.

Now, it’s probably inevitable that those new MacBook Neo rivals will eventually increase in price too (thanks, AI, for gobbling up all the RAM and making price rises an everyday reality for a lot of tech). However, due to the variety of Windows 11 laptops available and where they’re sold compared to MacBooks, if you shop around you should find prices remain relatively competitive.

So, Apple might have just inspired its rivals to make better, and cheaper, alternatives. That might not be great for Apple, but for us consumers, it certainly is. So, as we’re at the halfway point of the year, let’s look at the five best — or most influential — laptops that have been released so far in 2026.

5. HP OmniBook 7 Aero

• Reviewed: February 2026
• Rating: 4.5/5

The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is a brilliant example of how Windows laptops are looking to beat Apple at its own game. The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is a thin, light and stylish laptop, with a capable AMD AI 5 or AI 7 CPU, integrated graphics, and a starting RAM configuration of 16GB, plus a 512GB SSD.

It launched at $949.99 / £649 (around AU$1,420), undercutting the MacBook Air and even (in the UK) the MacBook Neo after the price rise. For such a nicely designed laptop, this price is incredibly good value.

In our review we were impressed with the clear, bright, and vibrant screen and huge 26 hour battery life. Depending on the tasks you use it for, this laptop could go for multiple work or school days on a single charge, which is seriously impressive. It even manages to play games, such as Cyberpunk 2077, and while you certainly wouldn’t want to buy it as a gaming laptop, it shows how far Windows laptops, and the mobile components they use, have come in recent years.

4. Razer Blade 18 (2026)

• Reviewed: June 2026
• Rating: 4.5/5

This year’s Razer Blade 18 is another hit from the gaming laptop pros, which my colleague Christian Guyton, in his review, claimed "annihilates the competition". It features cutting edge mobile components such as an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX or Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus, Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti – RTX 5090 laptop GPUs, up to 128GB of RAM and a stunning 18-inch Dual UHD+ 240Hz / FHD+ 440Hz screen, which allows you to switch between resolutions to get even higher refresh rates. All of this is packed into a slim and stylish body that once again proves that gaming laptops don’t need to be big and bulky these days.

Gaming-wise, it’s a beast, hitting up to 160fps when playing Cyberpunk 2077, and 218fps with Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Basically, it’ll handle any modern game you throw at it, and allow you to play at 4K resolution and the highest of settings. Its battery life — often the Achilles’ heel of gaming laptops — is pretty impressive, hitting almost eight and a half hours in our tests.

What’s the catch? Well, there’s the price, starting at a whopping $3,499.99 / £3,299.99 (around AU$4,870), but going up to $6,999.99 (around £5,200 / AU$9,735) for the highest specification. Ouch.

Razer’s devices are premium products, and when you combine that with some of the most powerful components you can get, and the ongoing memory crisis driving up prices, you end up with a brilliant laptop that’s wildly expensive. It’s a brilliant investment if you can afford it, it’s just a shame so few of us can.

3. Apple MacBook Neo

• Reviewed: March 2026
• Rating: 4.5/5

As I mentioned earlier, if I’d written this article before Apple’s price rises, the MacBook Neo would probably be number one in this list. When it launched, it really was a game-changer. It proved that affordable laptops could still feel premium, with exceptional build quality, modern features and solid performance.

Unlike other recent MacBooks, the Neo is powered by the A18 Pro chip (which powered the iPhone 16 Pro), rather than Apple’s more powerful M-series chips. Compared to chips found in budget Windows 11 laptops and Chromebooks, the A18 Pro proved impressive on test, handling regular macOS apps with ease.

It's possible to use an iPad as a second screen, and see your iPhone’s messages and answer calls all from the desktop — features we’ve come to expect from more expensive MacBooks. The bright and vibrant screen makes a mockery of other cheap laptops that often feature dim, low resolution screens, to keep down prices.

When it first launched, this budget laptop (from a brand that’s more associated with luxury devices), which undercut and outperformed the competition, was a surefire hit. Apple has commented about how well the Neo sold, and even more importantly, it seemed to light a fire underneath many of its competitors. Not only was the MacBook Neo one of the best laptops of 2026, it was one of the most impactful.

What a difference $100 / £100 makes. While the new price doesn’t completely undermine the MacBook Neo’s value proposition, it makes it harder to recommend to everyone.

It makes some of Apple’s compromises to keep the price down, particularly the rather paltry 8GB of memory, slow USB speeds (it has two USB-C ports, but uses older USB 3.0 and the practically ancient USB 2 technology) and lack of a backlit keyboard, much harder to justify as well.

Worse, those competitors that Apple ‘inspired’ are fighting back. Acer’s Swift Air 14 (2026) will launch at the same original price of the Neo, with a great-looking display, and an Intel Core Series 3 processor. An Acer employee I spoke to at Computex 2026 was particularly pleased to point out that the Swift Air has faster USB-C ports than the Neo, an extra USB-A port and is thinner and lighter as well. The fact that it’s also now cheaper spells trouble for Apple, and it’s why the MacBook Neo has slipped down in my ranking.

2. Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra

• Rating: 4.5/5
• Reviewed: February 2026

I’ll be honest: I was torn between putting the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra or the MacBook Air (M5) in this spot. The reason I went for Samsung’s ultrabook in the end is that while the latest MacBook Air is undoubtedly a fantastic device (it sits atop our best laptops list for a reason), it’s also a bit… well… boring. It’s a simple spec update to the M5 chip, with no new design flourishes, but a new, higher price (which has since risen even higher after Apple’s price hikes).

The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra, on the other hand, feels a lot more ambitious. Samsung's laptops have never particularly impressed me, but with the Galaxy Book series, that’s changed.

As with Samsung's Galaxy phones and tablets, Galaxy Book laptops are high-end, premium devices, and as the name suggests, the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is the pinnacle of this. It’s thin, light and powerful (especially if you go for the option with a dedicated Nvidia RTX 5070 GPU), and with a strong battery life of over 15 hours, this is a great choice for anyone seeking a stylish workstation laptop that can handle heavy duty tasks such as 3D modeling.

Its AMOLED screen is also stunning, and easily one of the best displays you can get on a laptop (another category that Apple was once untouchable in).

What I really like about the Galaxy Book6 Ultra is how Samsung has been working on integrating its ecosystem of devices, so its laptops, earbuds, smartphones, and tablets can all work nicely together. It leads to some very Apple-like features, such as the ability to use a Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet as a second screen for the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra, simply by moving the devices close together.

It’s not quite as seamless as Apple’s implementation, mainly because Samsung doesn’t make the software its products run on (Windows and Android), but it’s come a huge way. If you have a few Samsung devices, the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is particularly great, then, but even if you don’t, this is still a brilliant laptop that’s doing new things, not just resting on its laurels.

1. Dell XPS 16 (2026)

• Rating: 4.5/5
• Reviewed: May 2026

The Dell XPS 16 is a remarkable laptop for many reasons. It’s a beautifully crafted device with a stunning OLED screen, as well as premium — and powerful — components, and it’s a great showcase for how good Windows 11 laptops can be.

It’s also noteworthy for bringing the XPS lineup back with a bang. Last year, Dell made the baffling decision to drop its XPS branding. It was one of the few product names outside of Apple that had mainstream recognition, and had long been associated with Dell’s most premium laptops. Thankfully, Dell realized its mistake and has resurrected the XPS brand for 2026, and the new Dell XPS 16 makes a fantastic statement: XPS is back, and it’s better than ever.

In our review, we gushed over this laptop's slimline design and high resolution OLED display, whilst also praising its performance. Powered by an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, which has an Arc B390 integrated GPU, the Dell XPS 16 can handle demanding tasks, and even a spot of gaming. Battery life is also superb, with the Dell XPS 16 (2026) lasting well over 17 hours in our tests.

It’s pricey, but the quality on offer helps justify the investment. Welcome back, XPS. You’ve been missed.

• A password-spraying attack successfully breached Microsoft 365 accounts
• The hackers abused improperly configured conditional access policies to bypass MFA
• Many organizations targeted had no MFA implemented

Hackers have used previously leaked credentials to target Microsoft 365 accounts in a password-spraying attack that resulted in over 81 million login attempts during a two-week period.

The attackers then abused the improperly implemented Conditional Access policies within the Resource Owner Password Credentials (ROPC) OAuth mechanism using Azure command-line interface (CLI), allowing the hackers to bypass authentication altogether when a matching username and password was discovered.

Cybersecurity company Huntress observed the attack campaign as it targeted customers and noted that 78 Microsoft accounts across 64 organizations were compromised between June 12 and 26 2026.

Hackers access 365 accounts without authentication

The success of the attack ultimately came down to how well organizations had implemented Conditional Access policies relating to multi-factor authentication.

“Many of the compromised businesses had implemented multi-factor authentication (MFA) via a Conditional Access Policy (CAP), but the MFA was not configured to cover this specific flow that attackers used,” Huntress explained, referring to the exploitation of ROPC.

“ROPC is considered problematic for several reasons, but one of those reasons is that it doesn't offer support for modern auth flows like MFA or SSO. That means, as we saw in this campaign, ROPC sends the password straight to the /token endpoint with no interactive MFA prompt.”

Several of the organizations that were breached did not enforce an MFA policy at all, with others only applying MFA for specific user groups such as administrators. In other cases, a login attempt only required MFA when the traffic was coming from an untrusted location, meaning that MFA was not enforced if the connection was coming from a trusted IP address. Additionally, some organizations had only enforced MFA in report-only mode, meaning that the MFA policies were never actually applied.

In order to protect against attacks of this kind of attack, Huntress recommended the following mitigations:

• Organizations should implement MFA for All Users, All Cloud Apps, and All Client App types
• The Azure CLI application should be restricted from use by non-admin users
• Response to the attack should be made on credential validity, rather than spray volume

Via BleepingComputer

• Microsoft posted an ad promoting Copilot on social media
• It said that Copilot is the "button you can press to fix everything"
• This has elicited quite the outpouring of rage from some folks, and it's not a wise promo given the prevailing climate around AI and Windows 11

Microsoft is catching some flak once again over the topic of AI in Windows 11, following what might be regarded as an overzealous piece of marketing.

Windows Latest noticed that Microsoft's marketing department posted an image across its social media (Facebook, Instagram, and X) which promoted the dedicated Copilot button and the AI assistant it summons.

The text featured in the pic was: "Them: There's no button you can press to fix everything," followed by a reply as if in a conversation that read: "Me: Wanna bet?"

Predictably this has stirred up some controversy, with responses to Microsoft's little ad that range from accusing Copilot of being "AI slop" (or "Microslop") through to comments along the lines of "no one wants this" and similar negativity.

Undermining the fix Windows 11 effort

This is a particularly poorly timed piece of PR, given that, as Windows Latest observes, Microsoft is finally bringing in the ability to change the Copilot key back to function as Right Control. This is the key that the Copilot button replaced on 'AI PCs' (laptops), but as some people have said, Right Control is crucial to their workflow (and has accessibility ramifications for one-handed keyboard use).

With that change coming to Windows 11 later this year — an effective softening of Microsoft's initial stance that you should have the Copilot key and like it — this marketing snippet feels even more badly judged.

What's worse here for me is the exaggeration of the usefulness of the Copilot key. The AI can "fix everything" can it? It's a frankly ridiculous statement to make, and yes, I know that's not exactly uncommon in advertising, but you've got to bear in mind your target audience here and the context.

AI in Windows 11 has triggered a lot of bad feeling in the user base since last year, and indeed Microsoft's blinkered focus on pushing AI was one of the reasons that people were up in arms about fixing the OS rather than adding Copilot trimmings. Or in other words, the big fix Windows 11 campaign — which is the focus of this entire year for Microsoft — was partly the result of all the anti-AI feeling.

So, erm, let's market around the Copilot key being this amazing solve-all feature, shall we? Sounds like a great plan, everyone. Full steam ahead! Let's talk about how great it would be to add more AI into Notepad while we're at it, yeah? (Apologies, I remapped my Copilot key to be a 'Sarcasm' key and it appears to be jammed down right now).

Microsoft also says the Copilot key is a button with "main character energy" in this advert, the problem being that if AI in Windows 11 was a movie, it's been a box office turkey for the software giant so far. Microsoft's hope is that AI agents in Windows 11 will turn things around, but it remains to be seen how that'll pan out.

Meantime, while Microsoft is trying to generate positivity and good vibes around Windows 11 with all its (very commendable) work to fix the OS, it'd be better for the software engineers and designers in the thick of it not to have those efforts undermined by the marketing crew wheeling out unintentional ragebait like this Copilot button nonsense.

Now, I'm not saying that Microsoft's PR team can never mention AI, of course, but this particular snippet on social media is a perfect example of how not to do it in the current Windows 11 climate.

• Some Windows 11 users have found their drive space has been mysteriously dwindling
• In some reported cases, this is down to a database file for a Windows component that grows massively due to an apparent bug
• The optional update for June fixes this, albeit that patch is still in testing

If you use Windows 11 and have been wondering why your drive space seems to have been mysteriously dwindling of late, the culprit could be a background process called Capability Access Manager.

Capability Access Manager (CAM) is a rather obscure Windows component which, as the name suggests, manages the apps on your PC in terms of permissions to access the camera, mic and so forth.

CAM keeps a database that logs app requests and this is stored as a file called CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal – and it's that file which is growing hugely on the drives of some unlucky Windows 11 users.

Neowin reports that Microsoft just implemented the fix for this aggravating issue in the latest update for Windows 11. This is patch KB5095093 which is the optional update for June (so it's still in preview, or testing, at this point).

In the changelog for this release, Microsoft tells us: "This update improves disk space usage for the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file."

So, with any luck, this will be an end to the gremlin, and those who install the June preview will find this database file has been changed so it doesn't spiral out of control and eat their storage like some kind of log-based black hole.

Analysis: a baffling case of bloat

This is a nasty little problem, especially for those who've got a modest main drive for Windows 11, such as a 256GB SSD (or maybe even smaller). With reports of the database file expanding to a size of 60GB to 100GB, or even larger (200GB according to this Redditor), you can see how problematic this could be when you're already short on space with your SSD.

Microsoft doesn't explicitly say that this is a bug, but surely it must have been? Albeit a situational one that only occurred on certain systems by all accounts (Dell PCs are mentioned in a few reports, I should note). It's clear, however, that there are a lot of reports of CAM woes on Reddit and Microsoft's own help site, with some folks left scratching their heads as to what on earth was going on – and why their drive space was disappearing into some apparent void.

Unfortunately, these problems have been around for some time, with those reports going back to March 2026, and some dating from almost a year ago. As one Redditor explained in a post some 10 months ago: "Turns out it's the 'CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal' file which ate up 25GB. Looked through some forums and seems like it's a notorious culprit for system bloat. That file is supposed to slowly build up then be emptied each month, but mine bugged and never emptied itself."

There are workarounds to delete the CAM database file and effectively empty it out, but they're somewhat fiddly, and the log will rebuild itself if buggy conditions still abound on your PC. As one Redditor observed: "I spent hours trying to delete that file. Like in a horror movie, it just wouldn't die, even when I thought I had killed it. Your procedure [workaround] worked perfectly. Thanks!"

So, the whole thing has been a bit of a headache really, and while it's good to see an apparent cure now, it's taken Microsoft long enough. And frankly, I'm not impressed with the communication on this issue from the software giant.

To be clear, the fix right now is to download and install the June optional update for Windows 11, but bear in mind that as noted, it's a preview, so there's no guarantee it'll work as it should. The resolution will be provided with the full July update, mind, in tested form, and that's just around the corner – so you might just want to wait for that. Assuming your drive isn't chock-full and causing you a whole load of grief, anyway.

• Microsoft Teams reveals more on new Facilitator AI tol
• Facilitator will monitor your Teams meetings and act as a manager and assistant
• It can help fill in knowledge gaps, but raises concern over privacy

Microsoft Teams is set to roll out Facilitator, a new AI-powered tool which will look to help better manage your calls, and fill in any potential knowledge gaps which pop up during a meeting.

However, in order to do so, the tool will need to be activated to listen and watch all of your meetings, so it knows when to interfere and chip in.

This has already led some observers to worry about the tool's privacy and security limits, but Microsoft says the tool will be turned off by default, meaning users will actively have to switch it on.

Bots in Teams

“We are introducing a new Microsoft Teams Facilitator capability that proactively detects and resolves knowledge gaps during meetings,” an update on the company's admin portal noted.

“Facilitator can identify when participants ask questions or express uncertainty and retrieve and share relevant answers using web search in the meeting chat.”

The company laid out a host of possible use cases where Facilitator may come in handy - such as monitoring an agenda in a meeting invite to help keep everyone on track, displaying the information in a sidebar.

Facilitator can also start a timer to make sure everyone stays focused on the key points of an agenda, which can be lengthened, paused or reset depending on the need. Anyone joining the call late can ask the tool for a quick summary of what has already been discussed, and quickly search for relevant information.

It can also create a document based on a particular topic discussed during a call, helping kick-start a new project or brainstorm ideas, as helping you manage any action items assigned by capturing details in the Notes app.

For those on the move, Facilitator can also instantly capture, transcribe, and organize in-person meeting notes, complete with speaker distinction and actionable recaps, directly from your mobile device.

Once a call is done, Facilitator can also review any content it generated during the meeting, which can be accessed in a separate recap menu, and shared among participants.

Facilitator is in public preview for selected customers now - the company added that a Microsoft 365 Copilot license will be required to add Facilitator to a meeting or turn it on during a meeting. However, any meeting participant (excluding external participants) can see all real-time updates in Chat and Notes.

Via WindowsLatest

• Xbox is reportedly working on a disc-to-digital feature for existing consoles called 'Positron'
• The feature will allow Xbox users to insert a disc and convert their game to a digital format
• A separate report also claims that Project Helix won't have a disc drive

Like PlayStation, it seems that Xbox is moving away from physical games as new reports claim that Microsoft is testing a disc-to-digital feature for existing consoles and could release a next-gen Project Helix console without a disc drive.

According to The Verge, sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans claim that the company is currently working on a way for Xbox users to digitize their existing physical game library following a reference to "enable Disc2Digital" found in the Xbox PC app code in May.

The new feature, reportedly called 'Positron', will supposedly only work with Xbox One and Xbox Series X discs, not with Xbox 360 or original Xbox consoles. However, some Xbox One discs might not work with this new feature.

"It all depends on how and when the disc was manufactured and it may not have the features we need for this program," Microsoft told its internal Xbox testers.

To convert a physical game to digital, it's said that users would only need to insert a compatible disc, install, and play the game. A Microsoft account on an Xbox console will grant a digital entitlement for physical games, which are tied to a specific disc and can be moved between accounts if users swap the physical game with a friend or log in to a different profile and try to play a disc-based game.

The feature will also work for physical games bundled with a console and multi-disc titles. Players can still use the discs after converting them, but they'll lose their digital entitlement if they loan or sell the disc to someone else.

More information will arrive in the coming months, so it appears to be a feature that could be planned for before the next-gen Xbox console, Project Helix.

Speaking of which, it seems Microsoft is going all in on the digital market by releasing Project Helix without a disc drive, according to Windows Central sources.

No additional details were provided, but it's said that new details about the console will be revealed later this year.

The Xbox reports came after Sony announced that no new PlayStation games will be released on physical disc from January 2028 onwards.

The company shared a post, saying that the decision is "a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs," and will "enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today."

• Qualcomm introduces High Bandwidth Compute (HBC) memory architecture
• It leverages a hybrid design stacking LPDDR memory in a 3D space, leveraging multiple layers to essentially replace what the current generation of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4) does
• The move, which makes use of Qualcomm's extensive experience with LPDDR, is not only power-efficient but also offers massive amounts of bandwidth and up to 768GB of stacked memory for AI workloads

Qualcomm is reigniting its Data Center ambitions, building on its expertise as a chip designer that excels in the low-power compute segment by focusing on an entirely new architecture: High Bandwidth Compute (HPC).

The solution is a hybrid take on existing LPDDR memory that Qualcomm has successfully stacked in 3D vertical space, not unlike the industry-standard High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and its latest iteration, HBM4, while delivering significant power savings along the way.

The move is possible by Qualcomm offering a near-memory compute architecture that combines memory with a compute-based die, with the former stacked vertically on top of the latter, effectively enabling up to 133 TB/s.

An AI memory offering for the future?

While the current industry standard, HBM4, is already widely used, Qualcomm's promised offering is expected to appear by mid-2027 as part of its next-generation AI inference accelerator, the AI250.

HBC Gen 1 offers a theoretical 768GB of capacity that HBM4 struggles to match, and Qualcomm's published 133TB/s bandwidth is an achievement, given that modern HBM4 solutions offer approximately 3.3TB/s per stack at the higher end.

Some of these bandwidth claims, however, might be a bit of an unfair comparison, as while HBM4 delivers raw bandwidth, Qualcomm's solution (and its theoretical speeds) is possibly in play only because it performs much of the compute on-die, making for an apples-to-oranges comparison in some ways.

Qualcomm, however, scores important wins with an AI industry increasingly obsessed with power, or rather, the lack of it, to continue many of their planned buildouts by touting its efficiency wins where it claims anywhere between 6x bandwidth per watt versus HBM for larger batch sizes and as much as 200x efficiency gains when it comes to a mix of small and large inference batches, such as coding assistants.

Qualcomm's partner list includes Meta and Microsoft, with the former's multi-generational agreement to use Qualcomm’s processors for AI being highlighted as an important win. Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadela, reassured investors by detailing the software giant's partnership with the chip designer across the PC, local AI, and data center segments.

Given that Microsoft is increasingly looking to address the environmental footprint of its AI data center rollout, with its CEO already reassuring concerned parties and communities that the Redmond-based tech giant aims to be mindful of the water and power footprints of both currently planned and future data centers, this makes efficiency an even more important theme of late.

Qualcomm's solution to 'eliminate the HBM tax,' however, does not exist in a void; Competing solutions such as High Bandwidth Flash, backed by Samsung, SanDisk and SK Hynix, are also shaping up as potential competitors that focus on a low-write, high-read situation that most AI inference workloads tend to be.

Perhaps more importantly, Qualcomm's solution and the impressive numbers it offers do not have any third-party's independent test results yet that could verify its efficiency claims, even as Microsoft's vote of confidence is seen as an important one for one of the most important players in the mobile SoC business as it gears up to take a share of a growing, but increasingly competitive datacenter pie in the coming decade.

• An ex-Microsoft software engineer has created a lightweight alternative to Notepad
• TinyRetroPad turns back the clock to avoid the bloat Microsoft has introduced to the text editor
• The engineer observes that the app has no bloat or telemetry, and that it's "just pure old school Windows done right"

Ever long for the days when Notepad was a lean, mean, text editing machine? If so, a software engineer who used to work at Microsoft has just released something you may well be interested in.

The Register noticed that Dave Plummer — who was likely one of admittedly many catalysts that sparked Microsoft's fix Windows 11 campaign — has created TinyRetroPad. (It's a fork of Dave's Tiny Editor or DTE by Matt Power, which, in turn, was built on the foundation of Plummer's HelloAssembly — the world's "smallest possible complete Windows application" no less).

TinyRetroPad is a fully functional text editor in the style of the original Notepad, completely streamlined and with all the bloat removed, so it's, well, tiny as the name suggests, weighing in at 2.5KB.

Plummer explains that he isn't keen on Notepad as it is, and so he "rebuilt it from scratch", with: "No bloat. No telemetry. No nonsense. Just pure old school Windows done right."

Analysis: note to Microsoft – debloat Notepad

In case you weren't aware, Notepad has been accused of being a bloated application for quite some time now, as Microsoft has expanded its features to cover all kinds of bases beyond what you'd expect from what's supposed to be a basic text editor.

Of course, the problem is that WordPad — which used to be the app that covered the middle-ground between Notepad and Microsoft's fully-fledged Word — was ditched back in 2024. Since then, Microsoft has drafted more and more features into Notepad in what's essentially covering for the removal of WordPad.

The trouble is that this is very much at odds with Notepad's core philosophy of being a lightweight text editor, and Windows 11 users now fear it's being bloated and will eventually end up less and less responsive, and therefore less useful as a quick-and-easy editor that puts a premium on convenience.

What all this means is that some people have abandoned Notepad and searched out third-party alternatives for Windows 11. Of course, TinyRetroPad represents another of these offerings, albeit about as pure and compact an alternative as you'll find.

How is this app so very small? Essentially, the program can be extremely compact because it taps components already installed in Windows.

As Plummer explains: "TinyRetroPad is basically a wrapper around the RICHEDIT50W control from the WinAPI."

So, Plummer notes, if you want Notepad to be "exactly like you might remember" from the Windows XP era, this is what TinyRetroPad does. I think the ex-Microsoft engineer may have a few takers on his hands.

• A video showing the Neo's apparent strengths versus Windows laptops went viral on X
• It wasn't a fair comparison, as pointed out in Microsoft's response — but the reaction of the computing public is even more telling
• A rumor is also circulating that Microsoft has ditched a couple of more affordable Surface devices

It's a tricky old time for laptops, what with the RAM crisis pushing up prices, and Microsoft has taken the opportunity to launch a counterattack on the MacBook Neo, following Apple's recent price hikes — not that the Surface lineup isn't suffering itself, with rumors of more misery inbound in the form of cancelled models.

Windows Latest spotted the controversy around Windows laptops and the MacBook Neo, which wasn't started by Microsoft, but rather by a video that went viral on X. The clip, which was aired by @Ahmadansari2233 and has racked up 5.4 million views, shows how the MacBook Neo is superior to an 'others brand laptop' (meaning a Windows 11 model).

As Windows Latest notes, the video actually uses an HP Victus gaming laptop, and this is hardly a fair comparison. Why would you compare a budget gaming notebook to the Neo? Furthermore, some of the points made — like the level of flex in the lid of the HP model — are obviously cherry-picked to show the worst of Windows 11 devices versus Apple's budget creation (with flex being a known issue for the HP notebook).

Clearly, we'd have a very different video if we looked at the MacBook Neo's gaming prowess versus the HP Victus. (No, it wouldn't make any sense to do that either, but this just underlines the ridiculous idea of comparing a Windows 11 gaming notebook to Apple's portable.)

At any rate, the success of the video prompted Microsoft to respond, with the official Windows account on X showing the Dell XPS 13 being put through its paces (including a laptop lid and base showing little flex, unlike the HP notebook).

The post from Microsoft goes over some of the XPS 13's benefits — including that it packs a touchscreen — and highlights the price of $699 in the US, just after Apple has bumped the MacBook Neo price up to that level (increasing it by $100, and the regional equivalent elsewhere). Dell weighs in to back up Microsoft here.

And it's fair enough that Microsoft should defend itself, given that the original video is skewed against the Windows 11 side of the laptop world. (Not that Microsoft is above employing these sorts of tactics itself, mind.)

But there are problems raised nonetheless, firstly by the recent happenings with the Surface lineup, and secondly, in the painful reaction to Microsoft jabbing back at this bit of MacBook Neo promotion.

Surface issues — and a bigger problem of entrenched perceptions

If we're going to talk about pricing, an obvious stumble from Microsoft of late is that it has applied eye-watering cost hikes for the Surface range. These were truly hefty increases, even if Apple has just actioned its own hikes for the Neo and other MacBooks. (And yes, it's true enough that while the Neo cost bump was relatively mild, it has certainly diminished its appeal versus budget Windows 11 laptops).

What's more worrying, though, is the rumor that Microsoft is ditching models at the more affordable end of its laptop range. Windows Central reports that the Surface Go 4 and Surface Laptop Go 3 have gone out of stock with most retailers, and seemingly Microsoft doesn't plan to make any more of these devices. Neither are next-gen replacements for these cheaper Surface laptops coming, either, if Zac Bowden's sources are correct.

In fairness, the Surface Laptop Go 3 has effectively been replaced by the Surface Laptop, although the latter still starts from a higher price point, about 20% pricier in fact (and that's with the new cheaper 8GB model of the latter). And the Surface Go 4 will certainly be missed as a budget option, even if it was a business-targeted device. As Bowden notes, it appears that the Go 4 was a popular device in the enterprise sphere with a palatable price tag, even if our review didn't agree with that sentiment.

However, pricing and Surface rumors aside, the most notable concern for Microsoft here must be the reaction to its riposte against the MacBook Neo on X. As noted, I think it's a fair enough response, but the majority of Reddit doesn't seem to agree – or at least, many Redditors do agree that there's a key problem with any Windows 11 laptop.

As one poster puts it succinctly: "The problem with Windows machines is that they have Windows on them."

Others in that Reddit thread echo the same sentiment, if not a more barbed and pronounced take on it – and it's the same story in the replies to Microsoft's response on X. One poster says: "But it's Windows. You run the risk that any or every monthly update will break something. Sticking with my iMac and Mac Neo."

What's this illustrates is that despite the obvious improvements in modern Windows 11 laptops – of which the Dell XPS 13 is a good example – and Microsoft's big campaign to fix Windows 11, there are a lot of hardcore doubters still out there. Okay, so those detractors may be noisier than those in the happier-with-Windows camp, but there's still a good deal of negative feeling to overcome for Microsoft – which is made quite clear when the company tries to blow its own trumpet in this way.

In truth, I think Microsoft has done very well with the improvements made to Windows 11 thus far this year, and I hope that progress will continue throughout the rest of 2026. Frankly, that'll be necessary to really start to turn around some of the more entrenched perceptions about Microsoft's desktop OS, and all that's still going to be an uphill struggle as this episode aptly illustrates.

Fable is shaping up to be an absolute belter of a role-playing game. From deep systems like reputation affecting everything you do and stylish combat to funny talking pigs, what I’ve seen so far suggests a splendid fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that will be absolutely worth the wait.

Seeing a sliver of the game set in only one town, Playground Games showed what it’s like to carve my own path in the world, what impacts I can have on the locale and the people there, and how it can all affect me as the player.

From what I’ve seen, it’s basically a life sim, town builder, economy sim, RPG — and pig-fate-decider sim — all in one.

Systems on systems on systems

The main thrust of what I saw at the Xbox event around Summer Game Fest 2026 was how deep and rich some of the games’ systems were in how you interact with places and folk, and how your actions have consequences.

This allows you to play your own way, impacting the way people live and also carving your own lifestyle that doesn’t rely on a binary good-bad system, making things more interesting.

In the gameplay I saw behind closed doors, there was a talking pig whose fate we could decide, for example. But this wasn’t a one-and-done affair, as whatever you chose has consequences: save him, and the butcher is out of pocket, so you’ll need to cover his costs if you can — or get a job to earn the coin, and so on. And each of these steps, whichever route you take, will impact how you're perceived by everyone involved: some will think you're virtuous, some will be annoyed, and so on.

This leads to you garnering an array of reputation qualities for both the overall area and its inhabitants. And it can get very detailed and complex — in a good way — given every single fully-fledged non-player character (NPC) will have their own perspective. So while you may follow a path that gets you in with some local businesses that then give you better rates, for example, other shop owners may have totally differing opinions and make your life difficult later on.

Thankfully, the reputation is entirely local, though, so if you go berserk in one town, they won’t immediately be on the phone to the next area over. But even if they did, you can still turn things around and change people’s perceptions, but it will take a lot of work to win them back…

But, perhaps weirdly, this excellent chain of reactions, reputation characteristics, and events can abruptly stop. For example, in the midst of wooing a potential partner and going through the systems you require, including becoming a homeowner, you can just press a button to own a house. Or if you need money to buy gifts in the same relationship system and process, you can simply walk into any blacksmith and earn money at the press of a button.

This juxtaposition was the only thing that really raised my eyebrows, as it felt jarring: one moment you’re deep in a hilarious system rabbithole, the next you’re holding one button to solve or part-solve a problem. I’m very keen to see more of that and the impact it may or may not have on the experience on a larger, less isolated scale.

But could the sword be mightier than the pen?

Speaking of seeing more on a larger scale, the same goes for combat; what I’ve seen whetted the appetite, but I only saw a flash.

It was wonderfully slick, swift, fantastical, and elegant — and exciting — for sure, but over far too quickly. I’d love to see more of the options available to players in terms of builds, classes, and skills, and how to team them with weapon choices and magic, and more. It was all over far too quickly in my preview.

Plus, given how deep and rich the systems and reputation mechanics are, it feels like that same depth is needed in other areas like combat, in order to ensure a cohesive experience and feel.

Still, however, the fact remains that Fable was absolutely one of the very best things I saw at all the games events going on in June, and it’s set to be an absolute blast to experience all its systems — even if I only got a glimpse of them.

I can’t wait to dive in and explore all the shenanigans you can get yourself into when the game launches on February 23, 2027, on Xbox Series X and Series S, PS5, and PC.

Microsoft has revealed plans to axe its low-cost Surface Go devices, marking the end of one of the more interesting (yet personally frustrating) parts of its hardware journey.

A report from Windows Central claims both the Surface Go and Surface Laptop Go devices are no longer being manufactured, with no successors or updates currently planned.

This makes them the latest Surface device to be sent for an early bath - but I for one won't be too sad, having been forced to use the Surface Laptop Go for some time.

Why I'm glad the Surface Laptop Go is gone

At its launch, the budget-friendly devices were pitched by Microsoft as ideal for large-scale deployments, such as schools or universities. But for larger businesses, they were also ideal for bulk handouts to workers, especially those on the go who might appreciate a light and compact device.

Here at TechRadar, we were intrigued when our parent company announced we would be getting a Surface Laptop Go as a personal work device - surely this portable and powerful machine would be ideal for us.

As a journalist and editor, I'm often dashing around the city heading to meetings, events, interviews and briefings, so I guess this sort of device might have been perfect for me - however it had a number of issues which made it anything but.

Chief among these was the battery life, which was advertised as being set up for a full working day, but was anything but. After around an hour's usage, the battery would inevitably always be draining fast - not ideal if you're reporting on a conference keynote, or running around a show floor looking to grab interviews.

The power of the device was another major hassle - it really struggled with anything more than a few browser windows, which obviously isn't ideal for someone like me who often has a whole host of tabs open for multiple sources of information, or social media feeds.

Opening up any more than a few programs would cause a frankly alarming amount of heat to start issuing from the vents on the back of the device, with the cooling fans emitting a sound similar to a jet engine taking off.

The low-resolution display was also a bit of a let-down, often failing to show any kind of brightness even on the highest setting, another major issue when juggling multiple programs or windows.

Finally, the lack of a back-lit keyboard was a real frustration - this might not obviously be the case for everyone, but have you ever tried to type in a dark theatre while reporting on a keynote or speech? It is...not ideal.

Microsoft hasn't finished its Surface line-up by any means - in fact, the company recently unveiled its latest Surface Laptop Pro devices a few weeks ago, and I've been road-testing one for the last few weeks, enjoying a device which actually performs and lasts a whole day.

So thanks for the memories, Surface Laptop Go (and Surface Go, I guess) - I won't miss you, but I appreciate your push to motivate me to always go for the higher-cost devices when it's something I rely upon every day.

• 119 malicious Edge extensions flew under the radar
• They installed harmful code days after extension installation
• It's proof that static code review is no longer sufficient

Microsoft says it has taken down 119 malicious extensions from the Edge Add-ons store after "proactive threat hunting" revealed a campaign that's been dubbed StegoAd.

As part of the program, the company also had to suspend more than 90 developer accounts associated with the dodgy activity.

Believed to have been active since at least 2021, it's believed that the malicious browser extensions had been downloaded a total of 2.6 million times.

Microsoft removes 119 'StegoAd' malicious extensions

The campaign was so broad that the extensions didn't just occupy one category: ad blockers, VPNs, video downloaders, translators and utility tools like PDF exporters were all ploys for the malicious extensions.

This particular campaign got its name from the type of tactic used – steganography is the name given to hiding malicious code inside seemingly harmless files. PNG images, SVG graphics and font files had hidden JavaScript embedded inside to bypass traditional antivirus tools and web filtering.

Once installed, Microsoft says they remained dormant for three to five days to avoid detection before going on to steal browser credentials, redirect users to malicious websites, manipulate affiliate links for financial gain, download additional malicious code and even communicate with C2 servers for updated instructions.

"The StegoAd campaign demonstrates that browser extensions remain a potent and evolving attack surface," Microsoft wrote, admitting that even its own safeguards had missed these dodgy extensions.

The report also concludes that static code review alone is no longer sufficient, because extensions and other installations can download malicious code long after they were first installed.

For developers themselves, Microsoft recommends being as clear as possible by not obscuring code, requesting only the necessary permissions to build trust, and report any suspected impersonation.

• Microsoft Teams is getting better bot protection
• Humans will now need to clear any bots or agents attending a meeting
• Developers will be able to register and pre-clear their agents

Microsoft is cracking down on bots infiltrating Teams meeting, bringing in a new technology which will let humans check all participants in a call are who they say they are.

Much like a nightclub bouncer, the new tool will require a human user check the identity of bots in the call's lobby, before the meeting commences.

The company says it has used a combination of "behavioral and infrastructure signals to identify bots with a higher degree of accuracy” to be able to boost Microsoft Teams' ability "to distinguish between bots and human participants as they join a meeting.”

Bots in Teams

Rolling out now, the launch comes as transcription and note-taking bots and agents are becoming an increasingly common sight in meetings - ostensibly to help participants recap and recall details, but these unwanted guests could also pose a security and privacy risk.

“Bots have begun joining meetings that participants never intended them to attend,” wrote Microsoft product marketing manager Meera Ajam wrote in a company blog post. “For example, after connecting a third-party service to a meeting, some users have found that its bot continues joining future meetings automatically.”

“Admitting a bot should be a deliberate decision, not something that happens by mistake,” Ajam added, noting that multiple clicks from a human will now be required for a bot to be allowed in.

If this sounds like unwanted extra hassle, then never fear - Microsoft says it has added a way for users to pre-check agents or bots - notably, “a registration path for independent software vendors (ISVs) that build meeting experiences for Microsoft Teams.”

“When Teams recognizes that marker, it can identify the bot as a known participant,” Ajam wrote.

This means developers will be able to register with Microsoft to make sure their tools are cleared for use in Teams, with Ajam noting the company is working with "a limited set of ISVs to preview this capability and validate the experience before broader availability.”

• Grand Theft Auto 6 is selling eight times faster on PS5 than Xbox says IGN
• Xbox disputes this, however, in a statement to Windows Central
• This potential bad news comes just as Xbox announced console price hikes

IGN has reported that, based on its internal affiliate data, Grand Theft Auto 6 preorders on PS5 are surging ahead of Xbox preorders of the game at a rate of eight to one — Xbox is now saying this is far from the full picture. Though, I have a hard time believing Xbox is doing a heck of a lot better than this data suggests.

In a statement to Windows Central, an Xbox spokesperson explained that “This doesn’t represent pre-order data. We’ve had record orders. People should wait for real data and not clicks on affiliate links."

Now, I don’t doubt that GTA 6 is selling gangbusters everywhere it’s playable, leading to “record sales.” Grand Theft Auto 5 is considered the third-best-selling game of all time — trailing only Minecraft and Tetris (though not everyone counts Tetris, as the figures aggregate several versions of the game, and you might see some places calling GTA 5 the second-best-selling of all time). So it tracks that out of the gate GTA 6 would be hugely popular too, and I expect it will only get more popular when GTA 6 Online and the PC port eventually release.

However, Xbox seeing record orders and its preorders lagging behind PlayStation’s aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, it’s no secret that the PS5 has outsold Xbox consoles this generation, so you’d expect the Sony hardware to have more GTA 6 game sales — though with estimated sales figures sitting at around 95 million for PlayStation to 35 million Xboxes, you would expect a rate of two or three to one, not eight to one.

Is something more going on here as Xbox suggests?

What's going on with GTA 6 sales?

On Xbox’s side of the argument, there are reasons not to extrapolate too much from affiliate link data.

First, people might simply be picking the game up digitally directly from Xbox’s store rather than through typical affiliate partners like Walmart, Argos, and Amazon. Given that GTA 6’s physical edition is functionally identical to the digital version — as there’s no disc, just a download code in a plastic case — there’s little to no advantage to buying from a retail store.

And given Xbox's digital gaming focus with services like Game Pass and multi-platform gaming across consoles, PCs, and PC handhelds (even if GTA 6 doesn’t look set to be a Play Anywhere title at launch), it makes sense that Xbox gamers would be more comfortable (and possibly more likely to shop) at Xbox’s own store compared with PS5 gamers and PlayStation's store.

What’s more, affiliate data doesn’t necessarily mean sales. IGN hasn’t said much on what exactly its data is based on, but if it's affiliate link clicks (as the Xbox spokesperson suggests it is), then that doesn’t necessarily mean the PS5 version is selling eight times more copies, just that links for the PS5 version are eight times more popular.

Gamers could simply be clicking on them more but then not buying the game, or clicking a few times before making a purchase, though I’m not sure why you wouldn’t expect Xbox and PlayStation gamers to be equally flaky on a post-click purchase.

The only final piece of support for Xbox would be if IGN’s audience skewed more towards PlayStation at a rate disproportionate to the overall population’s two- or three-to-one.

Though as a general gaming outlet rather than one dedicated to either side of the aisle, I don’t see that being the case — all I could see happening is IGN’s audience of gaming enthusiasts could be more likely to own both an Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 console, and then with Sony’s promise that GTA 6 “plays best on PS5” they’d be more likely to pick up a copy for Sony’s hardware compared with Xbox’s.

All that’s to say, while IGN’s stats might not be entirely accurate to the final picture, I don’t doubt that PS5 sales of GTA 6 are blowing Xbox’s out of the water. And even if current sales aren’t quite eight-to-one, I wouldn’t be surprised if sales trend in that direction.

My argument here is Xbox consoles are set to get a major price hike effective August 1, 2026, putting the Series X at $749 for the all-digital, and $899 for the disc drive equipped model (price increases outside the US are yet to be confirmed) — a sharp raise on the previous costs of $599 and $649 respectively which are the identical to the equivalent PS5 models.

Sony may announce similar hikes itself — it isn’t immune to the cost increases hitting the whole industry, though its drastically better sales may help it weather the storm for a little longer — but until it does, the PS5 looks like a much better deal. If casual gamers still rocking a last-gen console finally want to upgrade so they can play GTA 6, there will be a clear winner: the PlayStation 5.

There’s still a lot of time before Grand Theft Auto 6’s eventual November 19 release date (I’ll be ready for another delay until it’s actually in my hands), but I don’t think Xbox’s fortunes will turn around dramatically by then.

Like a vestige of a bygone era, my Hotmail email address still exists and works, even if the domain resolves to Microsoft's far less sexy Outlook online mail system. The continued utility of my Hotmail email address is a reminder that, 30 years after its launch, Hotmail played a valuable role in the early days of the Internet, even if its current existence is ephemeral at best.

It's easy to forget that Hotmail, which was founded by a former Apple Engineer, Sabeer Bhatia, and FirePower Systems engineer, Jack Smith, was the first free online email provider and was something of a sensation (the name was then quite apt). Also lost to history is its somewhat peripatetic journey from a platform used by millions (at its height around 130M) to a service that was deplatformed, derided, revived, and eventually abandoned.

Back in 1996, I was an editor at PC Magazine, then the world's most popular computing magazine, and I vaguely recall hearing about Hotmail and signing up for it. Microsoft, ever on the hunt for technology and companies that could fill its substantial online gaps (it licensed Spyglass Mosaic browser code to build Internet Explorer in 1994), purchased Hotmail in late 1996. Bhatia stuck around to run the platform for a year or two, and Smith appears to have left shortly after the acquisition.

Suddenly, 9 million or so early adopters were being quickly integrated into the burgeoning Microsoft ecosystem, with the Microsoft Network (MSN) in particular. To this day, my Hotmail address is tied to my Windows identity.

Hot until it's not

It was a good enough email system that I put my wife on it more than 20 years ago, but in 2006 or so, Microsoft, perhaps feeling the threat of the exploding Google Gmail userbase (launching in 2004, it was free and, at the time, with unlimited storage), decided to rebrand most of its services udner "Live" and the Hotmail service and domain was effectively retired.

But not dead. Our Hotmail address continued to work, but we were opening Windows Live inboxes instead. I hated it and teased Microsoft that if they thought Windows is "live" now, was it dead before?

I also wasn't thrilled that Microsoft had "put a pillow over Hotmail's face". It was a service I loved and used and served as the centerpiece for not just Microsoft's services, but other platforms where it was my login identity. The switch to a "@live.com" email address was just confusing.

In fact, Microsoft's entire email corpus at the time was a hot mess. We had Outlook addresses, Live addresses, Hotmail Addresses, MSN addresses. At one time, I may have had all of them.

A few years later, Microsoft reversed course, revived the Hotmail brand, and gave me the lovely cup you see above. All was forgiven, but, to be honest, by then I had moved on. My Hotmail email account became a resting place for forgotten and discarded subscriptions, as well as quite a few reminders about people's birthdays.

Don't email me

Hotmail as an email platform never really recovered, and eventually, Microsoft moved to put everyone on the Outlook email brand, which was almost as old as Hotmail and used, though not always loved, by millions of people who also use Microsoft Office.

My Hotmail account remains active to access Windows (though I mostly log in with biometrics or PIN codes now) and to access Outlook mail, where I can find emails going back 26 years (not as interesting as you might think).

The truth is, though, while that email account will probably live on, the most concrete reminder that Hotmail was once a thing (much like your old AOL email was once a thing) is that orange coffee cup.

• Windows 11's File Explorer is receiving major improvements via the latest preview update
• File Explorer should perform much faster, including mounting disk images
• The update is currently in the rollout process

Microsoft is still hard at work fixing pain points within Windows 11 for its users. While this case isn't focused on gaming improvements, it addresses an issue that should improve one of the operating system's fundamental aspects.

As reported by Windows Latest, Microsoft is rolling out File Explorer improvements with its latest preview update, KB5095093. The update includes much better speed and performance of the File Explorer and increased responsiveness when mounting disk images.

This is a long-awaited update for Windows 11 users, as File Explorer hasn't always been the most responsive or fastest, especially compared to macOS or SteamOS, both of which feature fairly responsive file managers.

It's also worth noting that PC hardware, specifically SSD speeds and storage space, can have an impact on loading times. Still, the onus has been on Microsoft to fix its Windows 11 File Explorer, which has been noticeably slow even with a high-speed SSD — so this update is very much necessary.

Perhaps the most important improvement being rolled out is better performance for mounting disk images, which was arguably the worst aspect of Windows 11's File Explorer. This would often result in a five-minute wait for the disk image to fully open, and that's frustrating, especially for users with high-speed hardware.

Windows Latest also highlights that the 'Properties' tab on a file will be seeing a visual overhaul, with a more modern look using WinUI 3, as opposed to the Windows 95-era UI.

It's great to see Microsoft address these issues, seemingly as a wider attempt to improve Windows 11's functionality and appearance due to consistent user complaints. For sure, there's still more to be desired in the game performance aspect, but Microsoft should get praise where it's due.

My only concern is a potential update that could undo all of the hard work, since Windows 11 updates are notorious for breaking functionality, whether that's via File Explorer or as far as GPU stability — which have previously impacted Nvidia GPU users.

• A post about Microsoft Edge has ignited a fierce debate on X
• The post asked who runs Edge on Apple’s macOS platform
• Users both praised and criticized Edge, but I still prefer Firefox

Apple and Microsoft are known to be arch-rivals in the tech world, so when X user Macfolio asked its followers “what kind of freak uses Microsoft Edge on a Mac?” they might have expected the debate to fall along partisan lines, with rival sets of fans lining up to berate each other’s products.

But while there was indeed a vigorous debate, it wasn’t the pile-on you might have expected. Instead, many users chipped in with reasons why they enjoy using the combination of Microsoft’s web browser and Apple’s macOS operating system.

X user @wiedymi, for example, described Edge as “the best browser for Mac.” User @secretised explained that when they used it, it was “the only browser that didn’t consume 4GB of RAM with four tabs,” while @osxdaily said “It’s actually pretty good!”

For others, the reason was more prosaic, with @asikunaa pointing out that “some internal government sites require you to use Edge actually because they don’t distribute the security certificates for Chrome.”

Meanwhile, user @tarekmohmd9 summed up what many people apparently felt, saying Edge on macOS has “the speed boost of Chromium without the horrible RAM management of Chrome, it’s great (faster than Safari, uses less resources than Chrome, supports most Chromium extensions unlike Opera and Firefox).” They finished succinctly by saying “it is excellent.”

Of course, not every response was positive. User @rafalo claimed that “I just downloaded it and uninstalled it after [five seconds].” And @LansorHQ simply asked, “What kind of freak uses Edge in general?”

Why I use Firefox instead

I’m a long-time Firefox user and have been rocking Mozilla’s browser for over 20 years. I’ve dabbled with other browsers, from big dogs like Chrome and Safari to more niche offerings like Opera and Vivaldi. And yes, I’ve spent plenty of time with Microsoft Edge, too.

Yet despite all that, I keep coming back to Firefox. There are a few reasons for that, and I’ve got to admit that a sizable one is inertia. After so many years of usage, Firefox feels comfortable and familiar. I like how it works and switching would be a chore considering how many extensions and tabs I have running.

But there’s a lot more I love about Firefox. I use both a Mac and a PC in my day-to-day life and Firefox runs on both, unlike the Mac-only Safari. I can also send tabs between any of my devices, which is helpful when I find something interesting on my iPhone and want to read it later on my Mac or PC.

As I've written about previously, it's also a genuine privacy-first browser that goes to great lengths to protect your data, which is something that I truly appreciate. It isolates cookies to stop them building a detailed picture of you, and Firefox limits access to my data that could be used to create a digital 'fingerprint' of my browsing habits.

So despite the debate on X, I won’t be switching to Microsoft Edge any time soon. But the discussion highlights that just because you use one operating system or another, you don’t have to be exclusively loyal to that developer’s own products — you can even switch to those made by their arch-rival.

• Halo Campaign Evolved will feature original content and new features, too
• Creative director Max Szlagor says the remake was a process of "crafting it piece by piece"
• The game will be "more accessible" than the original

Halo Campaign Evolved isn't just a simple remake of Halo: Combat Evolved's campaign, according to Halo Studios, but a blend of original content and new features designed for a modern shooter.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026, where we went hands-on with the upcoming game, executive producer Damon Conn and creative director Max Szlagor explained how the team recaptured the feel of the original game and the challenges of making it a fresh experience.

"It's a combination [..] of this Halo simulation, which we've built up over 25 years, foundationally from [Halo] Reach, but pulling in additional pieces and pairing that with this beautiful Unreal [Engine] renderer," Szlagor said. "As far as challenges, it's really just looking at it piece by piece as we build the levels, the encounters with enemies, vehicles, weapons.

"It's just a lot of stuff that we've put together. We've got all the original content plus these nine new weapons, ones you couldn't use in the original game, so making sure those fit in nicely with the Energy Sword, the Fuel Rod cannon, driving the Wraith, [and] vehicle hijacking. Just crafting it piece by piece."

Conn explained that the "key" is "to bring it into more of a modern shooter," which means "make it more accessible" by revamping old features so that they're more approachable.

"You can find your way through levels a little bit easier now," the developer added, "whereas back in the early 2000s, you had to find your way, and it was really trial and error. Now we have much more poignant waypointing to help you along."

There will also be quality-of-life features built using Unreal Engine 5, including a sprint button, but players can also play the game "the original way" by disabling the option.

"I like to sprint around and use it as a traversal function," Conn said. "It doesn't really change the way I'm going to play the game, but it definitely lets me move through the environment in a way that I'm more used to."

Halo Campaign Evolved launches on July 28 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.

• Lenovo has said that RAM prices will likely "never" fall back to pre-crisis levels
• The company also predicted a "new normal" for memory pricing from 2030 onwards
• Microsoft expects the cost of memory to double in just over a year

If you were hoping we might get to the weekend without any more bad news on the RAM front, that hope is about to be crushed courtesy of Lenovo and Microsoft — and there's a side serving of blame for Apple, too.

First off, as German tech site ComputerBase reports (via Wccftech), over at ISC 2026 — the high-performance computing, AI, and quantum conference in Germany — Lenovo said that RAM prices will likely "never" fall back to the pre-crisis levels of a year ago, even after the bolstering of chip production output that's coming (from 2028 onwards).

Lenovo seemingly said "never," accompanied by some on-stage laughter, according to ComputerBase, and the tech site (bearing in mind translation nuances) clarifies that this is really referring to the next five years (or maybe a bit more) for the RAM industry, and not an 'absolute' future.

However, the report then goes on to mention that Lenovo sees a "new normal" from 2030 onwards with significantly higher prices than pre-crisis levels — even given increased production.

On top of that, Microsoft just announced hefty price increases for Xbox consoles driven by the RAM crisis. The firm stated, "Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x, and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027."

Ouch. Microsoft underlined that the memory price hikes are especially painful for console makers, as these devices are typically sold at a (slight) loss, as the revenue is made up in game sales (and subscriptions).

Lastly, Wccftech also spotted that Micron has fired some flak at Apple, although the memory chip maker didn't name Tim Cook's firm specifically, but it's clear enough where the shot was aimed. As Rolfe Winkler, who reports for the Wall Street Journal, explains in a post on X: "Tim Cook says the memory guys are at fault for Apple raising prices. A Micron executive I interviewed last night pointed the finger right back."

Sumit Sadana, who is Chief Business Officer at Micron, informed Winkler, "We told a couple of the customers who were being very aggressive with pricing at that time that this is not constructive." The argument here might be that partners (presumably Apple) pressing Micron on the price of their RAM hurt Micron's bottom line and ability to invest in more production capacity.

Analysis: double, double toil and trouble

Although it's difficult to weigh up the exact meaning of Lenovo's comments on the RAM crisis at ISC, it's clear enough that the PC giant believes the future looks very rocky. At best, pricing looks like it's in trouble until the early 2030s, and there's likely to be a 'new normal' coming into play here for that next decade.

While there appears to be some joking around prices "never" coming back down to the levels they were before the crisis, I think there's a fair chance that they actually won't. When the cost of a product goes up to such an extent as we've seen with RAM (and storage), it's feasible that it won't ever quite normalize. Okay, so maybe we'll see some curveballs that throw things out of whack — like the AI bubble bursting, or at least deflating a good deal — but I'm increasingly doubtful about the prospect of any relief.

Microsoft predicting a further doubling of memory pricing in not much more than a year is a painful prediction to hear, too.

I'm not going to dive full-tilt into the gloom here, though, because as I've said before, at least in the consumer space, RAM prices can only go so high before a ceiling is hit, which means most people will simply refuse to pay the asking prices. And thankfully, there have also been a couple of glimmers of hope this week: Asus predicted that its products won't be hiked by as much in the second half of 2026 (but they'll still go up), and there was a rumor aired that memory chip giant SK Hynix may switch production away from AI-targeted RAM (HBM) to conventional RAM sticks, at least to an extent.

I wouldn't get swept away with any optimism just yet, though, because for now, as these latest developments in the memory crisis underline, the pervading sentiment around the future remains largely negative.

• The Nintendo Switch 2 is now the second fastest-selling video game hardware in US tracked history
• The console sold 5.9 million units by the end of its first year of release
• The PS5 and Xbox Series consoles have seen a drop in sales due to price hikes

The Nintendo Switch 2 has just hit a huge sales record in the US within its first 12 months of release, but Xbox and PS5 console unit sales have seen a steep decline.

According to a new report from Circana, the Switch 2 was the best-selling hardware platform in both units and dollars for May and 2026 year-to-date, achieving a US install base of 5.9 million units by the end of its first year of release.

This makes the Switch 2 the second fastest-selling video game hardware in US tracked history, behind the Game Boy Advance, which sold 6.5 million units in its first year.

Thanks to the Switch 2, overall spending on gaming hardware has increased by 38% to $249 million, compared to one year ago.

However, due to recent price increases, PS5 spending was down 43% and had a significant 58% drop in unit sales, while Xbox Series hardware spending grew 7% versus a year ago, but unit sales fell by 12%.

As a result, "PlayStation hardware unit sales fell to their lowest May total since May 2000, while Xbox hardware unit sales were the lowest ever recorded for a May month."

Microsoft yesterday announced that, effective August 1, 2026, the price of the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles will increase by $100 for 512 GB models and $150 for 1 TB models. The company will also be sunsetting its 2TB model, a result of the ongoing memory crisis.

• Halo Campaign Evolved executive producer Damon Conn says encounters and levels have reduced their "repetition"
• Conn explains that the original code is still in the game under the new build
• He adds that there are "different elements going on while retaining that story, that original intent"

Halo Studios has confirmed that Halo Campaign Evolved still has Halo: Combat Evolved's original code buried underneath the new Unreal Engine 5 build.

That's according to executive producer Damon Conn and creative director Max Szlagor in an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026, where they discussed how the team recaptured the feel of the original game while creating a modern shooter.

Conn explained that it also addressed some of the encounters and made sure to "reduce" their "repetition."

"Not to mess with the overall story or the way that the game even plays out," he clarified, "but just make that more of a better feel. Some of the levels are a little bit repetitive, and we tried to clean that up as well. While retaining that original feel."

The executive producer continued, confirming that the "original code" of Halo: Combat Evolved "is in this game, underneath the new Unreal Engine 5.

"It's under a layer of Unreal, so you are playing the DNA of the original game," Conn said.

Touching on The Library in particular, the maze-like levels in Halo: Combat Evolved that feature waves of The Flood, Conn said each space and encounter is now "visually distinct."

"Each level, you can see that progressing over time," he explained. "You can see the types of Flood you encounter on each floor changing. We've also leaned into some other facets of what it means to be in The Library. There's some new gameplay layered into those spaces as well. You'll see a new Flood form in there. Again, the new weapons are layered in here.

"There's really just a lot of different elements going on while retaining that story, that original intent. The lighting [for example] is really leading into the vibes of what The Library is too. It should feel like a very fresh experience going through that level."

Halo Campaign Evolved launches on July 28 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.