Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25330 was released this afternoon. One of the changes in this build is that the Snipping Tool will open when the Print Screen button is pressed. Previously it would take a full screen copy of your monitor(s) and save it to the Screenshots folder in Pictures. I will still use the Win-Shift-S method of taking screen shots as it is flexible and suits my needs, but many people swear by the full functionality of Snipping Tool so this change will be good for them.
On February 28th Microsoft announced the Moment 2 release. Part of that Moment was an announcement that Phone Link would work with iPhone. At the time only a small select group of people had access to it, and that made me sad. But today they widened the net and I (along with all the insiders) got access to it. As soon as that button appeared on the connect page I clicked on it and scanned the QR Code.
There must have been some backlash over the Windows Insider Program’s channel updates because there was an E-mail sent out to Canary users offering a USB Memory Stick if they don’t already have one. This would be used to create a bootable drive with which to reinsall Windows.
I got the code, but when I attempted to enter my address for them to send me the USB stick, the form didn’t have any values in the State drop down.
The Windows Insider Program is excited to announce a change in the channels for Windows Insider Builds. Starting today there’s a new channel and a restating of what’s in another channel. The new channel is called Canary Channel and it will support preview builds of platform changes. The existing Dev Channel will not be the place for enthusiasts to try out new features and experiences that have long-lead times.
Today a new dev build for Windows 11 dropped for Insiders. This build, 25309, contains a few enhancements and a flurry of bug fixes. Let’s get right into it.
Yesterday Moment 2 was released and I wrote a large post about it. This update to Windows 11 was a large feature update and came with numerous changes to our familiar Windows 11. From Phone Link to Studio Effects there was a lot in this release.
But waking up this morning, the Kool-Aid had worn off a bit, and I was searching for deeper meaning in the announcement. The iPhone Phone Link is only for a select few “Cool Kids” right now, and the Studio Effects are really only special if you have an NPU on your computer.
Today my favorite C-suite person at Microsoft announced the release of a new Moment for Windows 11. In a blog post Panos Panay (Chief Product Officer) announced a release for Windows 11 that is coming about 8 months early. Typically feature releases come out in October, but this isn’t a feature release, it’s a “Moment.” What’s the difference and what’s included? Well I’m glad you asked. Read on to learn more.
One of the biggest pains of being a Windows Insider is not that you get a new build usually once a week but it’s that after you install it and reboot there’s a .NET Framework update waiting and you have to reboot on it too. Always, two reboots. It’s been a major source of pain for me. Well that’s all changing with version 22H2 of Windows 11. The .NET Framework updates are integrating into the Unified Update Platform (UUP).
With today’s 22621.1343 build release to the Release Preview Channel, Microsoft has enabled Windows Studio effects on computers with an neural processing unit (NPU). That means that if you have a Project Volterra device you can finally use the NPU for something other than waiting for access to the Qualcomm beta. Windows Studio effects include:
Background effects - like background blur Eye Contact - this is an effect to make it look like you are looking directly into the camera instead of down at the screen.
This week the Windows Insiders were treated with a new build. Build 25300 was released, and you can even install it via ISO if you want a clean install. Among the goodies that are normally in a new build (bug fixes and some minor updates to features) was a host of new language support for Live Captions. Besides US English, which was previously in the build, we now have access to Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish and other English dialects.
