Geesh

I talk to myself enough and don't need to add talking to my computer. 😄

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27718 (Canary Channel)

We are also not planning to release SDKs for 27xxx series builds for the time being.

Changes and Improvements

[General]

• [REMINDER] Insider Preview Build Expiration: The expiration date for Insider Preview builds flighted to the Canary Channel has been updated to 9/15/2025 starting with Build 27695. Please make sure you are updated to the latest build in the Canary Channel.
  

[Lock screen]

• We have updated the Lock screen so that the media controls will now show at the lower bottom center of the Lock screen now when media is being played.

[Start menu]

• You can drag apps from the Pinned section of the menu and pin them to the taskbar.
• [ADDED] Based on feedback, we've made some updates to the new account manager on the Start menu making the sign out option directly visible, and adding a list of signed in users under "..." so it's faster to switch accounts.
  

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Updated the taskbar to now support first letter navigation, so when keyboard focus is set to the taskbar (WIN + T), you can press a letter, and it will jump to the open or pinned app whose name starts with that letter. Pressing the letter multiple times will jump to the subsequent app which starts with that letter, if there are multiple apps for that letter. For those using uncombined taskbar, rather than app name, the first letter navigation will use window name. Along with this, pressing Home and End will now move keyboard focus to the first and last (respectively) items in the taskbar.

[Notifications]

• If desired, there's now an option to turn off the suggestions to disable notifications from certain apps. You can now press the "..." within the notification to disable the notification, as you can with other notifications, or you can go to the list of notification senders in Settings > System > Notifications and turn it off from there (called "Notification Suggestions" in the list). Note – this entry will only appear in the senders list after you have received one.
  

[Windows Share]

• We're rolling out some minor UI changes to simplify the Windows share window which removes the search box.

[Narrator]

• We have made several changes to improve the performance of Narrator scan mode. This is expected to make scan mode responses much quicker, especially while using Microsoft Edge, and reading through large documents. To try out scan mode, turn on Narrator first (Win key + Ctrl + Enter), and then turn scan mode ON by pressing Caps Lock + Spacebar during a Narrator session.

[Energy Saver]

• For laptops on battery, a notification will pop up asking you to plug in your laptop if the battery level reaches 20% while Energy Saver is set to "Always On".

[Windows Update]

• We've made some small design improvements to the dialog that opens if there's something that needs your attention before proceeding with a Windows update, for example if more space is needed or there's a compatibility issue. This includes updating the icon sizes and spacing.

[Input]

• We have updated Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touch to have a new section for touch screen edge gestures, where you can choose if you would like to disable the left or right screen edge touch gesture. Note, this feature is rolling out so not all Insiders in the Canary Channel will see it right away.

[Administrator protection]

• Administrator protection is an upcoming platform security feature in Windows 11, which aims to protect free floating admin rights for administrator users allowing them to still perform all admin functions with just-in-time admin privileges. This feature is off by default and needs to be enabled via group policy. We plan to share more details about this feature at Microsoft Ignite.
  

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue which was causing some Insiders to experience a hang at the boot screen and their PC to roll back with error 0xC1900101 when trying to upgrade to the previous flight.
• Fixed an issue in the last 2 Canary builds which was causing sporadic explorer.exe crashes when moving windows around.
• Fixed an issue causing some Insiders on the last 2 Canary builds to see a bugcheck with error message "SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION".

[Input]

• Fixed an issue causing the emoji panel to close when trying to switch to the kaomoji and symbols sections, or after selecting an emoji.
• Updated the logic for the setting "Press the lower right corner of the touchpad to right-click" Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touchpad so it shouldn't show in cases where the touchpad doesn't support the functionality.

[Widgets]

• Fixed an issue which could result in the Widgets icon unexpectedly displaying in the taskbar twice sometimes.

[Other]

• Fixed a high hitting wmiprvse.exe crash in the last 2 Canary flights.
• Fixed an issue which was causing certain apps (like Media Player) to crash when playing audio for some Insiders in the last 2 Canary flights.
• Fixed an issue for some Insiders with dual boot devices, where the boot menu (where you select which OS to boot into) wasn't displaying correctly (the color was wrong, and it might only display in half the available space).

Starting today, the 10th Anniversary of the Windows Insider Program, Windows 11 Version 24H2 is being released.

It will be a phased release starting with eligible devices running Windows 11, version 22H2 and 23H2 for those who have previously opted in to be amongst the first to experience new enhancements. Eligible Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2 devices require the May 2024 non-security preview update and a full operating system.

For those anxious to get the update, refer to the instructions at Get Windows updates as soon as they're available for your device.

The full announcement by John Cable, Vice President, Program Management, Windows Servicing and Delivery, is available at How to get new experiences for Windows 11 and includes information on new features in Version 24H2.

Mozilla sent Firefox Version 131.0 to the release channel.  Firefox ESR was updated to Version 115.16.0.

The update includes nine security updates of which seven (4) are rated high, three (3) are rated moderate, and three (3) are rated low.

Update: To get the update now, select "Help" from the Firefox menu, then pick "About Firefox".  Mac users need to select "About Firefox" from the Firefox menu.  For non-English versions, Fully Localized Versions are available for download.

References

• Security Updates
• Release Notes
• Rapid Release Calendar
• ESR Release Notes

"Last week, Microsoft released an optional Windows 11 update that brought some new features to the Start menu, taskbar, and lock screen. Unfortunately, that update is wreaking havoc for some users.

As reported by Windows Latest, after installing Windows update KB5043145, you may not be able to restart your PC as you'll be hit with the infamous Blue Screen of Death or the less common Green Screen of Death. In some cases, BitLocker recovery may also be triggered.

Microsoft has confirmed this as a known issue, stating that all users on Windows 11 versions 23H2 and 22H2 can be affected. As of right now, Microsoft has taken down the update".

Article continues:   https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/do-not-install-recent-windows-11-update-wreaks-havoc-and-breaks-pcs/ar-AA1rtuDJ?

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1912 (Dev Channel)

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Dev Channel with toggle on

[General]

• This update includes a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience for Insiders running this build on their PCs.

[Mobile Hotspot]

• The Windows Mobile Hotspot has been enhanced to support 6 GHz connections. The new band requires chips that support the feature and updated drivers; not all chips that support 6 GHz Wi-Fi in general will support the 6 GHz mobile hotspot. The change will be visible under Settings > Network & internet > Mobile hotspot when you edit the mobile hotspot properties. For compatibility with existing devices, the mobile hotspot will only use 6 GHz when explicitly enabled.
  

[Other]

This update includes fixes for the following issues:

• [Open Source Software] This update adds attributions to txt files for Rust OSS components.
  
• [Task Manager]
  
  • Its Settings page might have a white background when it should not.
  • It stops responding when you switch from a high contrast theme to a normal theme.
• [Input Method Editor (IME)] When a combo box has input focus, a memory leak might occur when you close that window.
  
• [WebView2 apps] They do not detect input from Xbox 360 and Bluetooth controllers.
  

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4291 (Beta Channel)

Changes and Improvements gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[Task Manager]

• We've updated the design of the Disconnect and Logoff dialogs in Task Manager to now support dark mode and text scaling.
• In the Performance section we now label listed disks with their type.

[Settings]

• Tailored Experiences is becoming Personalized offers in OOBE. The new setting can be found on the Recommendations and offers page under Settings > Privacy & security. Personalized offers will let users opt-out of allowing Windows to use info about their devices and how they use them to enhance Windows.

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on

[General]

• Fixed a few issues which could cause explorer.exe crashes, including one causing sporadic explorer.exe crashes when using ALT + Tab in recent builds.

[Start menu]

• Fixed an issue where if you clicked or tapped on a letter on Start menu's All apps list, the All apps list may break and not display correctly.

Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel

[Other]

This update includes fixes for the following issues:

• [Microsoft Defender for Endpoint] Work Folders files fail to sync when Defender for Endpoint is on.
  
• [Outlook and other encrypted email apps] This issue prompts for your PIN each time you open an encrypted email.
  
• [Microsoft Edge] It sometimes stops responding when you use IE mode.
  
• [Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)] There is inconsistent data between TCP_INFO_v1 and GetPerTcpConnectionEstats. File synchronization services use TCP connection performance analysis tools. This issue affects how accurate those tools are.
  
• [Country and Operator Settings Asset] This update brings COSA profiles up to date for certain mobile operators.
  
• [Task Manager] It stops responding when you switch from a high contrast theme to a normal theme.
  

Dev Channel update to 130.0.2849.1 is live

Added Features:

• Implemented button functionality in the permission prompt on the web UI2.

Improved Behavior:

• Fixed an issue where browser would crash when opening the Settings page on Xbox.
• Fixed an issue when signing in with both MSA and AAD, then signing out of an account, would     cause browser to crash on iOS.
• Resolved an issue that caused a crash when activating Tab Center with existing groups.
• Resolved an issue where browser crashes after being open for a while.

Changed Behavior:

• Fixed an issue where the shortcut for the 'Manage Favorites' menu item on the favorites bar was incorrect.
• Fixed an issue where the Name property was not defined for all the checkboxes and the edit field on the Workspace internals page.
• Resolved an issue where the X button in the search box was not centered when focused using the Tab key in the favorite's hub.
• Fixed an issue where, after removing the search app from the sidebar, clicking on Visual Search did not open the Visual Search page.
• iOS:
• Resolved an issue where the frame and background color became invisible when the page layout was set to Inspirational mode in dark mode on iOS.
• Resolved an issue when after clicking the share button of a downloaded file, a pop-up window appears in the wrong location on iOS.
• Resolved an issue where the Rewards page was unable to load an image on iOS.
• Android:
• Fixed an issue where an exception occurred on the page when editing top sites in landscape mode on android.
• Fixed an issue where the title for most visited sites overlapped on android.
• Resolved an issue where keyboard focus does not navigate to the controls on the Extensions page on android.
• Resolved an issue where the top tab title bar color and the InPrivate tab group background color appeared abnormal on android.