Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse is made of garbage, and that's a good thing
Earlier today, Microsoft held its big Surface Event, and there were many new devices announced. As my colleague Wayne Williams shared, the company unveiled the Surface Pro 8, Surface Duo 2, and the Surface Laptop Studio just to name a few.
All of the new Surface computers are exciting, but believe it or not, I was mostly intrigued by a simple wireless mouse. Specifically, the "Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse," as it is called, really inspired me. Why? Well, the Bluetooth mouse is partly made of literal garbage. And yes, folks, that is a good thing. You see, as the name implies, the Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse is manufactured using plastic recovered from the ocean -- things like non-reusable water bottles.
Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 22463, fixes taskbar
At a special hardware event hosted earlier today, Microsoft unveiled a number of new Surface devices designed to run Windows 11.
Following that, the company rolls out Windows 11 Preview Build 22463 to Insiders in the Dev Channel. This flight fixes a lot of problems, including the issue impacting the Taskbar where icons appeared misaligned and/or cut off.
All the new Surface devices Microsoft announced today
Today, at a online hardware event, Microsoft unveiled a large number of new Surface devices, including Surface Pro 8, Surface Pro X, Surface Go 3, and Surface Duo 2. There was also a new flagship laptop announced -- Surface Laptop Studio.
If you’re in the market for a new tablet or laptop that can run Windows 11, then Microsoft certainly has you covered.
Watch Microsoft's new Surface launch event today -- live
Microsoft is holding an online launch event today, September 22, when it’s expected to unveil a number of new Surface devices, including tablets and laptops. It’s even rumored to be set to unveil a new Surface Duo 2.
Of course, there will be a heavy focus on Windows 11, as the new devices will come with that OS.
Microsoft may not block installing Windows 11 on PCs that do not meet minimum requirements
The issue of Windows 11's hardware requirements has reared its head once again, just after Microsoft publicly released an updated version of its PC Health Check compatibility checker. For people with computers that do not meet the minimum requirements, there may be some good news from the last twist in the mixed messaging from Microsoft.
While it was looking rather like installing Windows 11 on incompatible hardware was going to be blocked, now it appears that Microsoft is going to let people go ahead with the installation -- with a caveat. The installation can only proceed on systems that do not meet minimum requirements if users agree to a statement acknowledging the fact that any damage caused by installing Windows 11 on such hardware is not covered by the manufacturer's warranty,
Ubuntu Linux 14.04 and 16.04 each get a decade of support from Canonical
If you are a home Linux desktop user, there is a good chance you like living on the bleeding edge. When a new version of a Linux distribution is released, you may find yourself upgrading immediately. After all, if something breaks, you can just reinstall the OS or move back to the previous version. This is particularly easy if you store your data on a secondary drive and you can format your boot drive without worry.
For business users, however, constantly upgrading to the latest and greatest often isn't feasible. Instead, an organization may want to install a Linux distro and just have it work -- with several years of official support. For instance, Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty Tahr) and 16.04 (Xenial Xerus) are pretty dated, as they were released in 2014 and 2016 respectively. Age aside, they are rock solid from a stability standpoint. Despite newer versions of Ubuntu being available, some organizations simply don't have the resources to upgrade. Plus, why fix what isn't broken?
You will need to download many of Windows 11's 'pre-installed' apps in order to use them
Here's an odd one: when Windows 11 launches in a couple of weeks, it will include a number of pre-installed apps... except they won't really be pre-installed. Eh?
This slightly strange state of affair comes as a result of Microsoft taking steps to reduce the size of Windows 11's footprint to help improve performance. What it means in practice is that in order to use apps such as Microsoft To-Do, you'll click the shortcut -- which is really just a placeholder -- and the app will then be downloaded for you.
Check if your PC is Windows 11-compatible with Microsoft's updated PC Health Check app
Windows 11 starts to roll out as a free upgrade in just two weeks and there is still great confusion about the system requirements for the operating system. Microsoft had released a compatibility testing tool called PC Health Check, but the launch of this utility was fraught with issues.
Having released, pulled, updated and made the app Insider-only, Microsoft has now released a new version of the PC Health Check app -- and this time everyone can download it, regardless of whether they are an Insider or not. This means that you can now find out -- hopefully once and for all -- whether your computer can run Windows 11 or not.
Ubuntu Linux 21.10 'Impish Indri' official wallpapers now available for download
The next new version of Ubuntu will be designated as 21.10. Why? Well, the versioning scheme of that Linux-based operating system uses a two digit year followed by a period and then a two digit month (yy.mm). With October being the 10th month, Ubuntu Linux 21.10 is merely weeks away.
Besides knowing the version number of the next Ubuntu release, we also know the code-name -- "Impish Indri." We shared that detail with you back in April of this year. And now, the official artwork of Ubuntu Linux 21.10 "Impish Indri" becomes available for download.
This Ubuntu Linux version of 'Windows 11' is available to install now
Microsoft is set to start rolling out Windows 11 next month, but it will only be offered to newer, compatible systems at first, so even if you have a PC that fits the bill, and supports TPM 2.0, it might be the middle of next year before you have the chance to upgrade. And, of course, if you want to install the new OS on an older PC, the TPM requirement means you simply won’t be able to.
Windowsfx is a Linux OS that borrows its look from various flavors of Microsoft’s operating system, including Windows 7 and Windows 10, and now it’s offering a version that looks just like Windows 11.
Microsoft Surface Pro 8 is the Windows 11 device of your dreams
Tom Warren over at The Verge really hates Windows 11, proclaiming he won't be upgrading to Microsoft's upcoming operating system. Why? He has several reasons, such as his inability to easily locate the date and time when using multiple monitors. Oh well. It is his loss, as Windows 11 is really good. In fact, it is definitely the best version of Windows ever.
Despite Warren's apparent hatred of Windows 11, today, he shares some leaked information about the upcoming Surface Pro 8. Sadly, Microsoft's big announcement is due in just a few days, meaning The Verge and other leakers (such as the one it sources) have largely ruined the big reveal. Warren's actions are arguably a huge sign of disrespect towards Microsoft's Chief Product Officer, Panos Panay. Sigh. Thankfully, the leaked information signals a very exciting Surface tablet is on the way.
Run Windows 11 in VirtualBox? Nope!
The curse of Windows 11's system requirements has struck, and this time the victims are users of VirtualBox. Anyone hoping to run the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system in Oracle’s virtualization software is out of luck.
It comes after Microsoft tightened up the requirements for running Windows 11 in virtualized environment. The recent change in policy means that virtual machines are subject to the same hardware requirements as physical computers -- including the need for TPM 2.0.
Microsoft is launching Office 2021 on the same day as Windows 11 for subscription haters
While Microsoft would prefer that anyone in the market for office software paid for an Office 365 / Microsoft 365 subscription, the company is well-aware that "some customers aren't ready to move to the cloud".
More specifically, some customers do not want to pay a subscription to use software, and this is precisely why the subscription-free Office 2021 exists. Microsoft has just made the Long Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) version available for commercial users, but the consumer version is due to launch on October 5, the same day as Windows 11.
Microsoft even requires TPM 2.0 for Windows 11 virtual machines
If you were hoping to get around Windows 11’s TPM 2.0 requirement by running the operating system in a virtual machine, you're out of luck. People attempting to update to Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22000.194 in a virtual machine will have noticed a message warning them that "this PC does not currently meet Windows 11 system requirements".
More specifically, the message goes on to explain that "the PC must support TPM 2.0". But, as have been the case on more than one occasion with Windows 11 system requirements, confusion abound thanks to Microsoft's mixed messaging.
PowerToys is now available to download from the Microsoft Store for Windows 11
Microsoft recently started the process of giving PowerToys a Windows 11 makeover ahead of the launch of the operating system next month.
Now the company has released the latest version of the essential collection of utilities to the Windows 11 Microsoft Store. This means that PowerToys is now likely to gain a much bigger following as until now it has only been available to download from GitHub.
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.