Software & Apps

Support for most Windows 10 users ended on October 14, 2025, and those who want to keep receiving security updates (primarily businesses) must purchase an Extended Security Updates (ESU) subscription. And with that, Microsoft's big push for consumers, businesses, and schools to use Windows 10 has been to either upgrade existing systems to Windows 11 or buy a brand-new Windows 11 PC.

The migration process has been slow to say the least, withStatCounter's data showing that Windows 11 only became the most popular version of the operating system worldwide in June 2025 - almost five years after its launch. And Windows 10's market share hasn't changed much in the past six months; it's at 42.7% as of the end of November 2025. In fact, when you compare October 2025's figure to November 2025, Windows 10 market share actually grew.

And in that same period, as support for Windows 10 officially ended, Windows 11's market share actually decreased from 55.2% to 53.7%. It's a surprising stat that reflects the general consumer sentiment that Windows 11, despite its focus on AI tools to enhance productivity, is an inferior OS.

Microsoft's Windows 11 is widely considered to be in a pretty rough spot thanks to ongoing performance issues, unnecessary features taking up system resources, and bloat from AI, ads, and telemetry. One notable issue that many have been pointing out, which recently got a 'fix', was the slow performance of File Explorer, the main app for accessing files and folders.

Microsoft's solution was simple: pre-load the application at startup, have it sit there in memory so that when you click on the File Explorer icon or run the app, it fires up instantly or at least a lot faster than it used to. 'Just have it load into memory on startup' is not exactly an elegant solution, and per this new report from Windows Latest, the execution sounds a little half-hearted.

With the File Explorer fix available via Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7271 (KB5070307), the app's resource usage effectively doubles, jumping from 35MB to over 67MB. In the era of PC builds with 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB of memory, this isn't much and wouldn't be noticeable. However, it looks like doubling the amount of RAM used by File Explorer hasn't really solved the speed issue, as it's still slower than Windows 10's File Explorer.

Microsoft went through with the severing process from Windows 10 in October, meaning the company no longer provides security updates to the now out-of-date operating system, leaving PCs running Windows 10 to be at exponentially greater risk of compromise.

With Windows 10 now in the rear-view mirror for Microsoft, the company hoped many users would make the jump to Windows 11. However, Microsoft's latest operating system comes with much stricter requirements than its predecessor, and as always, some people won't upgrade until they absolutely need to. But, it appears the rate at which users upgrade to a new Windows operating system is slowing, as around 1 billion PCs are still running Windows 10.

Those figures come from a recent Dell earnings call where Dell COO Jeffrey Clarke said, "We have about 500 million of them capable of running Windows 11 that haven't been upgraded. And we have another 500 million that are four years old that can't run Windows 11. Those are all rich opportunities to upgrade to Windows 11 and modern technology. Equally important AIPCs."

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, commonly referred to as BOM by Australians, is a website that receives more than 2.6 billion visits every year and could be joining the list of the most expensive website upgrades in internet history.

It was revealed that the make-over for the BOM website cost about $96.5 million AUD, which is about $62.3 million USD. That figure is 20 times the original estimation for the website upgrade, which was $4.1 million AUD ($2.7 million USD). While that is an astronomical figure for a website upgrade, BOM has since gone live, and the response from users has been far from good, with the hashtag "#changeitback" going viral since the new website went public.

Users took to social media to criticize the new website, including the new color scheme for the rain radar and the reduction in functionality, specifically the inability to enter GPS coordinates to obtain forecasts for specific locations. Farmers and fishermen commonly use this feature. According to reports, that feature is now gone.

Microsoft recently ended official support for Windows 10, prompting a significant push from the company and its partners to move people to newer devices or upgrade their existing hardware to Windows 11. Well, it's looking increasingly like the Windows 11 transition has been moving at a slower pace than expected, with Dell chiming in on the status of the PC refresh and upgrade cycle as part of the company's recent Q3 2025 earnings call.

As spotted by Windows Latest, the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11 for Dell's customer base has been slow. Jeffrey Clarke, the Vice Chairman and COO at Dell, says, "If you were to look at it relative to the previous OS end-of-service, we are 10, 12 points behind at that point with Windows 11 than we were the previous generation."

According to Dell, the Windows install base sits at around 1.5 billion. And with that figure, there are still 500 million Windows users with systems that can be upgraded to Windows 11 who haven't been upgraded. This means that these users are sticking with Windows 10 even though official support for things like regular security updates has ended.

Google could soon bring customization to your YouTube homepage, with the company currently testing a new feature it calls "Your custom feed."

Google has briefly explained the new feature in a recently posted thread on a support page, where a company employee wrote that its new experimental feature enables users to "customize recommendations for your Home feed."

Adding more explanation to the feature, the post states that for those who are part of the experiment, they will see "Your Custom Feed" appear on the Home page as "a chip besides Home", and after clicking it, they will be able to update Home feed recommendations by entering a "simple prompt".

Microsoft's Notepad is one of those simple legacy apps that has been around for decades. It has been a go-to app for countless Windows users because it offers fast and straightforward text-based editing and note-taking. That said, the Notepad in Windows 11 is a version of the app that has seen several functionality updates, including tab support, text formatting for links and headings, and AI-powered rewrite and summarize tools.

As part of a new update available to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels on Windows 11, Notepad (version 11.2510.6.0) now supports creating tables. The new option appears in the toolbar, and, in keeping with Notepad's lightweight, fast theme, it's a simple drop-down menu that lets you create a Table by selecting the number of rows and columns using a grid.

There's also some right-click functionality to add or remove rows and columns; however, the initial response to the update has been mixed, as the general feeling is that Notepad's basic text and note-taking functionality is what keeps it lightweight. And the more Notepad features Microsoft adds, the more it's going to lose sight of its original intention and become another unoptimized Windows app with too many unnecessary features.

Last week, we shared a story that involved Microsoft's Windows boss, Pavan Davuluri, posting on social media that Windows is "evolving into an agentic OS, connecting devices, cloud, and AI to unlock intelligent productivity and secure work anywhere." Basically, it refers to a plan to turn every major component in Windows into an AI agent that you can interact with using speech, text, and natural language.

As expected, this announcement didn't go down well, with the post quickly getting hundreds of negative comments from Windows users, engineers, developers, and PC enthusiasts. Although a big slice of the comments were along the lines of "no thanks" (with more colorful language), many were constructive, detailing why Windows 11's current state felt like a mess of inefficiencies, telemetry, bugs, and other issues.

It got to the point where Pavan Davuluri turned off the ability to comment on his post about Windows becoming an "agentic OS," but not before the message was received loud and clear. In response to a separate post by technology writer Gergely Orosz, who discussed how this new direction would see software engineers ditch Windows as a platform, Microsoft's Pavan Davuluri said, "We want developers to choose Windows."

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney and Elon Musk have joined in with the recent round of Windows 11 bashing since Microsoft revealed its grand plan to focus more heavily on AI and Copilot in the desktop OS.

As Windows Latest noticed, in a post on X from the official Windows account which was explaining how the 'Hey Copilot' voice command is the "new shortcut to everything Windows 11 can do", Sweeney chimed in with a swift jab that read: "Hey Copilot, make my taskbar vertical and don't ask me to create a Windows account ever again!"

Musk saw the post and agreed, noting "especially the Windows account part" before adding a flame plus tears of joy emojis. (It's a Microsoft account, guys, technically).

Microsoft's current Windows boss, Pavan Davuluri, recently took to the social media platform X to proclaim, "Windows is evolving into an agentic OS, connecting devices, cloud, and AI to unlock intelligent productivity and secure work anywhere." Written to promote the upcoming Microsoft Ignite event, taking place in San Francisco and online later this month, this message also serves as a reminder that Windows is undergoing a fundamental transformation to become AI-powered.

If you're wondering what Pavan Davuluri means when he says "Windows is evolving into an agentic OS," this means that all significant parts of the operating system, including security, will involve users engaging with AI agents for tasks such as browsing, locating files, opening documents, and managing calendars and schedules. Instead of clicking on files and folders and menus, you'll instead talk to AI with natural language, and it will handle the rest.

Windows 11 and Windows 10 are currently the most popular operating systems among PC users. That said, when it comes to Windows 11, with or without AI features like Copilot, being popular in terms of the number of users is not the same thing as being likable. The consensus among PC enthusiasts is that Windows 11 is bloated, buggy, slow, and in need of a ground-up tune-up or redesign. So, the idea of it transforming into an "agentic OS" is not going down well.

Microsoft is working on a new version of Windows 11 with version 26H1 hitting the preview stage for Insiders on the Canary Channel, ready for next-gen Qualcomm and NVIDIA silicon based on the Arm architecture.

The company explained in a new blog post that "26H1 is not a feature update for version 25H2 and only includes platform changes to support specific silicon. There is no action required from customers".

What makes this really interesting is that NVIDIA has its new N1X and N1 processors in the ovens, and while they've been going through extensive delays (you can read more about that in the links above), they're coming, and Microsoft is preparing the OS groundwork for them. Not only does NVIDIA have new Arm-based silicon coming out, but Qualcomm's next-gen Snapdragon X2 processor will be out, and now Windows 11 will be ready for it.

A new report citing internal documents has revealed that Meta internally projected it would earn billions from ignoring scam advertisements on its platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

The bombshell report from Reuters revealed five years of Meta's practices, along with failures to prevent scammers from exploiting users on its platforms. As the documents showed, Meta was tentative about removing accounts; it even considered the "scammiest scammers". The hesitation to remove these accounts was, in part, a concern about the revenue drop the company could face without them on these platforms.

Instead of immediately removing accounts it believed to be scam, Meta enabled these accounts to accrue more than 500 strikes without them being disabled. Moreover, the report states that Meta increased the cost to run ads for these accounts, as the documents indicate Meta "penalizing" scam accounts by charging higher rates. Furthermore, the documents showed Meta acknowledging that scam accounts used Meta's system to target users who were more likely to click on the scam advertisements.

Australia's eSafety Commission has declared that it will now be restricting access to platforms Reddit and Kick to individuals under the age of 16, which widens the recently implemented social media ban across the country.

The live-streaming platform Kick and messaging board Reddit are now joining Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, which all now fall under the eSafety Commission's strict ban. Communications Minister Anika Wells announced on Wednesday that she had met with the major social media platforms to ensure there was "no excuse for failure" in making sure the ban was implemented.

Platforms that fail to correctly implement the ban by December 10 can face fines of up to $49.5 AUD million ($32.15 million USD). Some of the tech companies have argued that the Australian government's delayed release of information has made it difficult for them to implement the ban by December 10, as they don't have enough time to prepare for the incoming restrictions.

Microsoft wants to make Windows 11 updates easier to understand, and has a new naming scheme to help cut through some of the confusion that can be caused by convoluted names.

Windows Central noticed a new support document from Microsoft explaining the change to Windows Update. The idea is to introduce "more intuitive and consistent" naming practices that are more focused on the core aspects of each update, and therefore easier to understand.

For example, the cumulative update provided every month for Windows 11 will be known as a "monthly security update" and optional releases (coming at the end of the month) will be called "monthly preview non-security updates".

YouTube has published a new press release that reveals the video platform will now be using artificial intelligence to upscale low-quality videos to 1080p (HD).

In a new blog post on the official YouTube blog, the company outlines how it will be using the power of AI to give a resolution bump to lower quality videos to make them easier to watch on higher resolution displays, such as 4K, or even 8K TVs. Notably, YouTube states that it will also be expanding the thumbnail file size limit from 2 megabytes to 50 megabytes, which enables the use of 4K thumbnails for creators.

As for the upscaling, YouTube writes that AI upscaling on sub-1080p (HD) content will be enabled by default, but creators, or the uploaders of the video will be able to disable the feature upon upload, with YouTube writing, "creators will retain complete control over their library."

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, or ACCC, is an independent government body that monitors fair trading and robust consumer protection laws in Australia. The body's latest target is Microsoft, which it is suing for allegedly misleading 2.7 million Australian consumers over its Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

It all boils down to recent price increases for Microsoft 365 plans, which cover the Microsoft Office suite, cloud storage, and more. Basically, Microsoft increased the subscription price for Microsoft 365 after integrating its Copilot AI tools and services. The only problem, from the ACCC's perspective, is that the company "deliberately hid" the fact that subscribers could have kept the old price if they didn't want Copilot.

According to the ACCC's investigation, once Microsoft increased prices on October 31, 2024, customers were notified that their auto-renewal would include the higher Microsoft 365 pricing, with the only other option being to cancel the service. However, once the cancellation process began, customers were informed about a hidden "classic" Copilot-free plan at the previous price point.

Apple Maps is soon to get adverts, much in the same vein as Google Maps, if some fresh speculation is to be believed.

If you're thinking this is just a rumor so it's most likely fine to ignore it, well, you might be right there, but it comes from one of the more reliable Apple leakers, Mark Gurman, in his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg (via TechRadar) - so that gives it a bit more weight than your average rumor.

At any rate, the theory is that Apple will use paid promotion in its Maps app, possibly as soon as next year (it's only a couple of months away now).

Twitch streamer Emiru was sexually assaulted at TwitchCon this year, resulting in a slew of backlash for the company over its lacklustre security protocols during meet-and-greets.

Emiru was conducting a meet-and-greet with fans when a male fan, who had jumped over multiple barriers, approached her and attempted to kiss her before her security stepped in and removed the individual. Emiru, along with multiple other streamers at the event and fans, has called out Twitch for its lacklustre security protocols for protecting its streamers at the company's own event, as well as the repercussions for people who violate the rules and guidelines for attending it.

Now, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy has acknowledged the situation publicly in a recent statement posted to the official Twitch X account. According to the CEO, "we take our responsibility to keep you safe seriously. We know that TwitchCon means a lot to a lot of people, and it means a lot to us." Clancy also recognized what happened to Emiru, and acknowledged the company "failed" in both "allowing it to occur, and in our response following." Clancy also apologized to Emiru for everything that took place.

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has announced "Atlas," a new AI-powered web browser that will be directly competing with Google Chrome, the most popular web browser in the world.

The ChatGPT creator is looking to take away market share from Google, which currently maintains 66% of the web browser market with Google Chrome. OpenAI has announced via a new press release that Atlas is built with ChatGPT at its core, and with that, the new web browser will be removing the classic search bar that is found at the top of most popular web browsers, and instead, users will be querying ChatGPT directly, which opens via a sidebar.

Notably, Atlas will also be able to summarize content on a webpage, analyze data from any site, and even compare products. Additionally, Atlas comes with an "agent mode," which enables paid users to have an AI agent interact with a website on their behalf, which means the agent can complete designated tasks such as filling out forms, researching a topic, or even completing a shopping list.

Meta has removed the Messenger app from both the Windows and macOS application marketplaces, as the company is discontinuing the desktop app entirely.

Messenger on Windows will officially stop working on December 14, 2025, according to a notification within the app itself. On Mac, Messenger will undergo a deprecation process, which allows users 60 days to use the app before it is fully deprecated.

Once the 60 days are over, users will be blocked from using the Mac Messenger app, and instead, will be automatically directed to Facebook for messaging. Users will be informed that the deprecation process has begun with an in-app notification.