Best Windows apps this week
Five-hundred-and-ninety-three in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.
Microsoft reduced the size of Windows 10 updates to improve delivery performance. The same technique has been used on Windows 11 since the release of the operating system in 2021.
Microsoft tells users 'if you want to fix 0x80070643 errors, you'll have to do it yourself'
Updates released for Windows 10, Windows 11 and Windows Server back in January proved problematic for many users. There have been widespread reports of 0x80070643 errors, and Microsoft acknowledged the issue some time ago.
But for anyone holding out for a fix, there's some disappointing news. The company says that it will not be releasing a fix for the problem, but is instead expecting users to follow instructions to sort things out for themselves.
Windows 11 is losing market share to Windows 10
In what will come as something of a disappointment to Microsoft, the latest figures from Statcounter shows that Windows 11 is becoming less popular.
While Windows 11’s market share is in decline, there is an almost mirrored increase in Windows 10’s market share. It appears that there remains a preference for the significantly older version of Windows.
Microsoft may have broken your VPN with Windows updates
If your VPN has stopped working in Windows 10 or Windows 11, you can take some comfort in the fact that you're not alone. The April update for the operating system, or the preview version, is causing VPN connection failures.
It is not clear quite how widespread the problem is, nor just how many VPN tools are affected. However, Microsoft is aware of the issue but is offering little in the way of help at the moment.
Microsoft is optimizing Windows 10 update delivery just as it did with Windows 11
Having already taken steps to decrease the size of updates for Windows 11, Microsoft is doing the same for Windows 10.
The company describes this by suggesting that "Windows 10 is becoming more like Windows 11", although this is something of a stretch. What it means in practice is that Microsoft has used various techniques, including removing reverse differentials from the cumulative update package, to shrink update sizes quite considerably.
Best Windows apps this week
Five-hundred-and-ninety-two in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.
Microsoft will advertise a selection of apps in the Windows 11 Start menu. The change landed in the latest optional update for Windows 11 and will roll out to all users as part of the May 2024 Patch Day.
From Windows XP to Windows 10 -- How Microsoft's end-of-life nag screens have changed
Microsoft has evolved its approach to warning users about the end of life (EOL) of its Windows operating systems over the years. The methods and techniques used, from Windows XP onwards, have varied, ranging from the polite to the downright aggressive (we're looking at you, Windows 7).
This journey, revealed in a new video, highlights how Microsoft's strategy has shifted to ensure users are aware of when their operating system will no longer receive support, emphasizing the importance of security and system updates and, in some cases, upgrading you against your will without warning (we're still looking at you, Windows 7).
Best Windows apps this week
Five-hundred-and-ninety-one in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.
Microsoft claims that it has improved the performance of the Microsoft Store significantly. Product pages, for instance, load 40% faster now than before, according to Microsoft.
Best Windows apps this week
Five-hundred-and-ninety in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.
The Moment Update 5 for Windows 11 is finally here for most users. It is included in the April 2024 cumulative security update for the operating system.
Microsoft is up to its old tricks yet again -- Windows 10 users harassed with full-screen Windows 11 upgrade warnings
Microsoft, it seems, never learns. Despite having repeatedly riled users by pestering them with ads for its products the company seems intent on continuing to use Windows to badger people.
The latest example of this is a full screen message displayed to Windows 10 users inviting them on a "new journey with Windows". The nag screen serves as a reminder that support for Windows 10 comes to an end in 18 months, but it is also being used to promote Windows 11 -- even on computers that are not able to run the latest version of the operating system.
Windows 10 updates have broken Microsoft Connected Cache for some users
Microsoft has acknowledged that update released for Windows 10 this year may have resulted in unwanted side effects for some users. Specifically, enterprise users may have found that update released in 2024 have results in an inability to use Microsoft Connected Cache.
This affects how updates for Windows are delivered across networks and means that sysadmin may well have noticed spikes in download traffic as a result. For now, Microsoft has a workaround that those affected can try.
Microsoft issues a fix and a workaround for Sysprep error 0x80073cf2 in Window 10
There is good news for Windows 10 users who have been experiencing 0x80073cf2 errors when using the System Preparation Tool. Microsoft has published details of a work around as well as releasing an update that addresses the issue.
The problem was actually fixed a few days ago, although Microsoft made little noise about it at the time. The preview of the KB5035941 update released late last month not only brought new features to Windows 10, but also resolved the Sysprep issue.
Best Windows apps this week
Five-hundred-and-eighty-nine in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.
Windows 10 customers may extend support by up to three years after the operating system reaches end of support in October 2025. While Microsoft has yet to announce pricing for consumers, it announced that organizations will have to pay $61 in the first year for a regular extension. The price doubles each year, reaching an incredible $427 for the three year period.
Best Windows apps this week
Five-hundred-and-eighty-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.
Microsoft released the March 2024 optional update for Windows 11 this week. It includes all the changes of the Moment Update 5, which adds more AI to Windows and also changes for European Economic Area users.
Microsoft uses KB5035941 update to bring new features to Windows 10
Windows 10 may be in the later stages of its life, but Microsoft has still not given up on it. With just 18 months of support left, the company has released the KB5035941 update which adds Windows Spotlight to your desktop background as well as new lockscreen widgets.
The new additions come despite Microsoft's previous assertion that nothing new would be added to Windows 10. This non-security update also includes a number of fixes and changes, such as updates for Windows Hello for Business.
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