The most popular operating system in the world, Microsoft’s Windows is the software that powers hundreds of millions of PCs. Introduced back in November 1985, Windows has changed and evolved over time to grow as gaming, design, development, and productivity needs have shifted. Whether XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, or, most recently, Windows 11, Microsoft’s OS is one of the most important pieces of software ever made.
If you’ve ever wanted to check a Wi-Fi network speed, Microsoft is making it easier to do it straight from the Windows 11 taskbar.
Good: quick access to a speed test from the Windows 11 taskbar.
Bad: it opens Bing to do the speed test.
Rejoice, Windows and em dash fans! Microsoft is finally adding an improved Windows-wide keyboard shortcut for em dash and en dash. The change is part of the latest Windows 11 Dev channel builds, so it should arrive for all Windows 11 users later this year. Currently, you have to use Alt+0151 for an en dash (–) and Alt+0150 to get em dash (—), which is problematic on smaller keyboards.
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Small form factor PCs are nothing new, but this is a refreshing take.
Microsoft first released Windows 10 exactly 10 years ago today. It introduced the idea of “Windows as a service,” a model that delivers regular updates to Windows instead of a major release every few years. While one Microsoft employee called Windows 10 “the last version of Windows,” Microsoft went on to release Windows 11 and keep that Windows as a service model alive today. Windows 10 is a hugely popular OS 10 years on, and Microsoft is still trying to get people to move to Windows 11 ahead of Windows 10’s end of support in October.
The idea is to make using passkeys a little more seamless. But this isn’t available to everyone just yet: Microsoft is initially rolling it out to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel and you need to install the 1Password beta.
First announced last month, the feature lets users describe what they need in Settings, like “my mouse pointer is too small.” The AI agent will then provide suggestions about how to address the issue, and can even fix it for them if users give permission.
Microsoft is bringing the AI agent to Windows 11 Insiders in the Dev Channel, but only for Snapdragon-based Copilot Plus PCs to start.
