techosarusrex.medium.com/a-n… A new blog post I wrote about the changes coming to Windows 11 and the Windows Insider Program and my thoughts on them #Windows11 #WindowsInsider #WindowsInsiderProgram #Windows

Big ideas and exciting new breakthroughs are coming to Microsoft Ignite. Join us live on November 17 to be a part of what’s next. nitter.siddz.com/i/broadcasts/2jPdeKPNB…

For most people, 8 GB is a great fit for what they do every day. And we’re continuing to make that experience even better. The latest Windows 11 updates make 8 GB PCs up to 20% more responsive, with multitasking up to 40% faster in our lab tests. You’ll feel it in everyday moments like opening Start, launching an app or getting back to a tab. Available today, with more improvements to come: blogs.windows.com/windowsexp…

Great product design is built on fundamentals. We've been working across the full Windows stack, from the kernel to the shell to apps, to make Windows feel faster and more responsive on 8 GB PCs. A few things worth knowing about today's Windows 11 performance updates: 1. You'll feel the difference in everyday use. Opening Start, launching an app, getting back to a tab. In our lab tests, we're seeing up to 20% better responsiveness and up to 40% faster multitasking on 8 GB PCs. 2. Making better use of the memory you already have. Windows can now keep up to 2 GB more of your active data in memory instead of moving it to slower storage. More of what you're working on stays ready when you need it. 3. The work goes beyond Windows itself. We've been improving how Windows, Edge, and Microsoft 365 apps use memory, helping your PC stay responsive as you move between apps. These improvements are available today in the latest Windows 11 update, and we're continuing to build on this work. More details here: blogs.windows.com/windowsexp…

Today, we’re sharing updates from the team on memory improvements, including work that makes experiences on 8 GB @Windows 11 PCs faster and more responsive. Windows quality is an ongoing journey. We’ll keep listening, building on what we learn, and sharing our progress 🚀. blogs.windows.com/windowsexp…

I ran 486 m as Andy Burnham and scored 946 in Burnham Dash. Beat it. fantasyparliament.co.uk/burn…

Friday’s Windows tip of the day! If you're checking your internet speed, why should you have to leave Windows to do it? You can now check it right from Quick Settings. This came from feedback we heard about wanting a more integrated experience. And fittingly, the team moved pretty fast on this one. @pavandavuluri asked @bacadd from our design team to take a look. Within a day, Diego had a working prototype. From there, our connectivity team worked with partners to bring the experience into Windows. The design and build work was driven by an agentic AI workflow, with a person guiding the process in their spare time. This is where I see a lot of potential in AI. Using agentic workflows and WinUI 3 to build more integrated Windows experiences. Getting from idea to customer value faster. Without AI slop. That is the way. In WIP now, read more here: blogs.windows.com/windows-in…

No tricks, just treats! New Windows 11 Insider Preview builds today: Beta: aka.ms/WIP-Beta-10-30-2026 Experimental: aka.ms/WIP-Experimental-10-3… Beta (26H1): aka.ms/WIP-Beta26H1-10-30-20… Experimental (26H1): aka.ms/WIP-Experimental26H1-… Experimental (Future Platforms): aka.ms/WIP-ExperimentalFP-10…

Preview new features before broader rollout and validate upcoming fixes in the November 2026 security update.

An emotional day. Little guy is growing up.

A couple weeks ago, we introduced Surface Laptop Ultra, including our new magnetic USB-C power connector. One of the things we spend a lot of time on in Surface is getting the feel of an interaction just right. With this connector, it's about how the magnets guide it into place, the sound and LED that let you know it's connected, and how easily it releases. The team built hundreds of prototypes, experimenting with magnet sizes, positions, forces, and cable alignment. One of my favorite details: moving the magnets just 0.7mm changed the experience from needing a final push to smoothly finding its way into place. Once we found the right feel, the next challenge was making it repeatable. The team selected a prototype that captured the experience we wanted, then worked through simulations and multiple manufacturing iterations to reproduce that feel in production. And it had to hold up. Thousands of connection cycles, off-axis pulls, and tests for the kinds of forces a cable might experience when someone trips over it. The cable has another useful detail: flip it around, and you can charge other USB-C devices, like your phone. A lot of work across industrial design, mechanical engineering, reliability, and manufacturing to make one small interaction feel right.

One of the things we do through our Inclusive Tech Lab is learn from people who use and build technology in different ways. Recently, @brycej from our team connected with Owen Kent, an entrepreneur and accessibility advocate who uses a mouth-operated joystick to navigate his PC. Owen uses creative tools like Blender and Unreal Engine, where right and middle mouse clicks are just as important as left clicks. He saw an opportunity to extend Click Lock, a feature that’s been part of Windows for years. Bryce connected Owen with Niels on our PowerToys team, and they worked together to add support for right and middle mouse buttons. Really cool to see Owen's work come to life in PowerToys.

Iykyk

Windows Server 2028 Technology Adoption Program (TAP) forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/…

14 years of Surface 🎉

Now we wait for Longhorn and Blackcomb. I'm very excited for the future of Windows.

Microsoft releases operating system Windows XP.

Reminder: On January 12, 2027, all editions of Windows Server 2016 will reach end of updates. A 180-day evaluation of Windows Server 2025 and Extended Security Updates are available if you need more time: microsoft.com/windows-server…

Friday’s Windows tip of the day! If you use a Windows PC with a touchpad and spend a lot of time scrolling through long documents, webpages, or code, this one’s for you. Three touchpad improvements we’ve been working on: accelerated scrolling, edge scrolling, and single-finger scrolling. Small details that make everyday navigation feel more natural and comfortable. Accelerated scrolling is available today, with edge scrolling and single-finger scrolling coming next week to WIP. Here’s a quick look at them in action:

New builds today across all channels! Beta: aka.ms/WIP-Beta-10-23-2026 Exp: aka.ms/WIP-Experimental-10-2… Beta 26H1: aka.ms/WIP-Beta26H1-10-23-20… Exp 26H1:aka.ms/WIP-Experimental26H1-… Exp Future Platforms: aka.ms/WIP-ExperimentalFP-10…

Microsoft has been quietly testing a new Windows 11 AI app that works like Recall, except it only remembers what you choose to save. I found it in an unlisted Microsoft Store listing and spent part of the summer using it, including to plan a beach trip! Codenamed Project Pantheon, the app I tested is called Context Vault, and an easy way to describe it would be a second brain for Windows. You can save web pages, files, screenshots, copied text, audio, and video as "memories," organize them into collections, and ask AI questions about everything you've saved. What intrigued me the most was its MCP server, which allows AI apps like Claude and Cursor to access your saved memories. I like that Microsoft isn't trying to lock all the context inside another one of its apps. In my testing, Pantheon worked surprisingly well. Instead of searching through different folders, websites, and screenshots, I could ask AI about my saved information and get useful answers. It also worked without an NPU, thanks to cloud-based AI models. But here's something funny. I kept forgetting to save things manually, and ironically, the one thing Recall does well, capturing your activity automatically once enabled, is what I missed most! Microsoft hasn't announced Pantheon, and there's no guarantee it'll ever ship. I'd also want proper encryption, consent controls, and clarity about where memories are stored before trusting it with personal information.