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We’re racing towards the end of the year and tech news isn’t slowing down at all. If anything, it’s picking up even more momentum. Join us as we recap the latest news from the Microsoft universe, including more bugs and their respective fixes, a bunch of Windows updates, and a few app updates thrown in for good measure. Without further ado, let’s dive into our weekly digest for December 10 – December 16!
Windows bugs
As has been the case for the past few weeks, we learned about many new bugs in various versions of Windows, along with their corresponding fixes, where available.
We’ll start with some good news. A bug that made Task Manager readable on custom themes in Windows 11 version 22H2 has now been fixed by Microsoft. This fix is offered via the latest Patch Tuesday update for the OS under KB5021255. In a similar vein, VMware has also rolled out an update for Workstation Pro and Workstation Player to fix the “unsupported processor” error when installing Windows 11 or Windows Server 2022.
Shifting gears a bit, Microsoft admitted that it pushed a minor update to Windows 11 version 22H2 and Windows 10 version 22H2 a few days ago. This update was previously only available for Windows 11 and Windows 10 version 21H2 when the bugs were discovered. Microsoft has now admitted its mistake but a permanent patch for the issues is still in the works.
We’ve also discovered that the latest Patch Tuesday releases in Windows Server 2019 and 2022 support software-defined networking (SDN) configured on Hyper-V hosts managed by System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) for new network adapters. Has broken the creative workflow. Again, a fix is in the works but a temporary solution has been released.
Continuing with this news thread, Microsoft has introduced an additional fix for the file copy kernel bug. However, it is currently only available as a preview in dev channel build 25267. The company also notes that it has fixed Direct Access connectivity issues in Windows 11 and Windows 10. A patch is now available for those affected by gaming performance issues on Windows 11. is also available.
However, a new bug that popped up yesterday has icons on the taskbar, the taskbar becoming unresponsive, and some apps freezing. Microsoft has initiated a known issue rollback (KIR) but apparently a permanent fix is still being worked on.
Windows 11’s Next “Moment” and Patch Tuesday
We heard rumors this week that Microsoft is planning to introduce a “Moment 3” Windows 11 update containing new features sometime in May 2023. Thus, not much is known about this release. And while it doesn’t make sense now, it looks like the zinc semester has begun to develop as well.
But let’s return to the present for now. This week was Patch Tuesday week and updates were received for all supported versions of Windows. Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 netted KB5021291 and KB5021294, respectively, fixing memory leaks and Daylight Savings Time (DST) issues. Meanwhile, Windows 10’s KB5021233 fixed an issue with the Camera app but also introduced some known issues. Finally, Windows 11 received KB5021234 (21H2) and KB5021255 (22H2) with a very long changelog of new features and issues.
This week also saw the release of Dev Channel. Build 25267 is the channel’s final build for this year and brings improvements to the taskbar, system tray, file explorer, a redesigned Windows Firewall dialog box, and more, along with obviously several new issues. As is usually the case, a Windows Server release with the same build number was released alongside the Windows Server Datacenter: Azure Edition preview. Windows 11 beta builds 22621.1037 and 22623.1037 also have voice accessibility improvements available.
Finally, if you are still using Windows 10 version 21H1 for some reason, it is time to upgrade as soon as possible as this particular version of the OS has reached the end of support. And if you’re an IT administrator managing Windows Update deployments, you’ll want to check out the latest Intune features that allow for flexible scheduling of feature updates and faster quality updates.
An alternative to File Explorer… and other app updates
The “Files app,” which won the 2022 Microsoft Store Award for Best File Management Capabilities, received a few major updates this week. First ported the app from the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) to the Windows App SDK with rounded corners, Windows 11-style grids, new layouts, menu items and more. Meanwhile, the second update introduced a “Fake Mica” theme to make Windows 11’s design more consistent. The good news is that all these features are also available in the Windows 10 version of the app which means you can take advantage. Windows 11 aesthetics even on an older OS.
Elsewhere, there were plenty of updates for other apps as well. We’ll start with Microsoft Teams where Microsoft is working on AI-powered file sharing and automatically reducing (digital) hands in meetings. Some of the capabilities currently available to gather feedback on Teams Rooms for Android and a wide range of new touch and whiteboard experiences are multi-question polls. In addition, a preview of Thames Premium has been launched with a 30-day free trial. It’s basically an add-on for Teams that includes more personalization, AI functionality, and security features. When it becomes generally available early next year, it will cost $10/user/month.
With all these updates on the Teams front, you’d think Microsoft doesn’t care about Skype anymore. But you would be completely wrong. For some reason, Skype has received an update that adds real-time translation with your “TruVoice” personalized voice. What’s more, the Redmond tech firm has announced a major Skype redesign aimed at introducing a more “pleasant and fun” experience.
Coming to Microsoft Edge, we found out that the browser will receive an update on February 14, 2023 that will permanently disable Internet Explorer. However, this will again be a staggered process and the actual mandatory axing will happen with the June 2023 Patch Tuesday updates. In related news, the final Edge Dev update for this year introduced improvements to the sidebar while the recent Canary update started offering 15GB of free data through Edge VPN instead of the previous limit of 1GB. While we’re talking about browser updates, it’s also worth highlighting that Firefox 108 is now out with Windows 11 Efficiency Mode support, PDF form improvements, and more.
Some native Windows apps have also received updates. The new Windows Media Player first introduced on Windows 11 is now also available to users of the Windows 10 Release Preview channel. It offers a modern interface with improved keyboard shortcuts and assistive technologies. Likewise, Quick Assist has been updated on older versions of Windows that Microsoft has promised to continue to support going forward. And the updated widgets design is now rolling out to all Windows 11 users as well.
Meanwhile, other smaller updates include the Microsoft Authenticator app shutting down on Apple Watch next month, Windows Admin Center version 2211, Soundscape going open source, and the Android 13 Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) preview. Finally, you’ll notice that the OneDrive app on Windows 11 has been redesigned, see all the changes here.
Good
We don’t have much gaming news this time but what we do have is an indication that Microsoft is more intent on offering Windows 11 as a gaming platform than Xbox, at least in India. At a recent tech event in the country, Microsoft touted the gaming capabilities of Windows 11 while crickets chirped at its Xbox booth.
On the deals side though, the Xbox Series S is down to $239 this holiday season. In the same space in digital gaming, Maximum Payne And watch dogs Headlining this week’s deals with gold, while The creed of the killer, Dragon Ball The BreakersAnd WWE 2K22 Freebies are on offer in this week’s Play Day promotion. Similarly hosting the Games with Gold. Bladed Fury As its latest addition. You may also find it interesting to know. COD: MWII There’s a free multiplayer event happening on Xbox this weekend and you don’t even need to participate in Xbox Live Gold.
Finally, don’t forget to check out this weekend’s PC game deals, handpicked by our news editor Plasthi Aryasinghe.
Dev Channel
Under the spotlight
Following up on her post a few weeks ago about five great features and improvements coming soon to Windows 11, news reporter Taras Boria went in the opposite direction a few days ago and shared her thoughts on these five changes. . OS
Taras also wrote a guide on enabling hidden themes in Windows 11, originally designed for educational environments.
Meanwhile, forum member Adam Botgen wrote a nifty TechTip Tuesday guide that explains how to use Wi-Fi calling when you’re in an area with poor reception.
Finally News Editor Plasthi Aryasinghe reviews. High on lifefrom the creators of Rick and Morty, talking about it he was surprised by the deep combat and the overall humorous tone of the game. You can read his thoughts here.
Logging off.
Our most interesting but somewhat scary news of the week concerns a proof-of-concept (POC) that demonstrated how to permanently delete your files with some antivirus solutions. may, including system-related files. Microsoft has already acknowledged the issue and fixed the vulnerability in Defender and so have Avast, AVG, and Trend Micro with their respective products. Some like CrowdStrike, McAfee, and BitDefender are apparently immune to this particular exploit.
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