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Microsoft Surprises With Its First Server Linux Distribution: Azure Linux 4.0

The Hot Take: Been saying it for years, Microsoft is pulling Linux into windows on bite at a time. This probably I would assume only accelerates.

Microsoft is turning Azure Linux into a general-purpose, Fedora-based cloud distribution available to all Azure customers, while also productizing Flatcar as Azure Container Linux for immutable container hosts. "When Microsoft joined the Linux Foundation, there was this big conspiracy theory that somehow the Linux Foundation was undermining open source in partnership with Microsoft, and now you announce that you're shipping a Linux distribution," Jim Zemlin, the Linux Foundation's CEO, said in response to Microsoft's surprise announcement.…

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Microsoft is killing SMS codes for Microsoft account sign-in, aggressively pushes passkeys on Windows 11

The Hot Take: SMS/TXT is going to cause some pain for sure.

For years, typing in a six-digit code sent to your phone has been the universal standard for verifying your identity online. But that era is officially coming to an end in the Windows ecosystem. In a statement to Windows Latest, Microsoft independently confirmed that it’ll stop sending SMS codes for personal accounts. Now, first spotted by Windows Latest, Microsoft has officially announced that it is pulling the plug on SMS codes for personal accounts. According to a support document quietly published earlier this year, the company is…

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Windows 11 Update Changes Aim to Prevent GPU Driver Downgrades

The Hot Take: Well now, that definitely sucks it was doing that. No wonder people are moving to Linux!

Microsoft is reportedly preparing significant changes to how Windows 11 manages graphics driver installations through Windows Update. The update is intended to address a long-standing issue where the operating system could overwrite newer manually installed GPU drivers with older OEM-certified releases.

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Microsoft admits Windows 11 is still built on 90s-era Win32, and no one saw it coming

The Hot Take: So legacy is always a ball and chain keeping you from moving forward faster. We'll see how they drop some of the legacy architecture to modernize the OS.

When you right-click a file in Windows 11 or launch a traditional desktop application, you are interacting with code that predates the commercial internet. The Win32 API, introduced all the way back in the Windows 95 era, is still a significant part of the world’s most popular desktop operating system. But according to Microsoft’s own leadership, this was never the plan. First spotted by Windows Latest, in a recent video posted by the official Microsoft Dev Docs account on X, Mark Russinovich, Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer of Azure…

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Microsoft quietly deletes Windows 11 doc pushing 32GB RAM for gaming after outrage

The Hot Take: Well look at that! Probably was because of the memory crunch so they wanted to head off flak but they got it anyway.

Microsoft has quietly retracted its own documentation that suggested 32GB RAM is the “no worries” upgrade for gaming, and 16GB RAM is the baseline. This support document was likely written using a large language model, and Windows Latest first spotted it before it was taken down. Microsoft also nuked a document that recommended Copilot+ PCs for gaming. Microsoft has a “Learning Center” where it publishes guides and marketing articles to promote various Windows features, and these rank well in search results. It’s mostly used by Microsoft to…

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Tested: Windows 11 setup screen now finally lets you skip forced updates, and go directly to the desktop

The Hot Take: Nice, quicker to desktop.

Microsoft told Windows Latest that it’s rolling out a new feature that allows you to skip forced Windows 11 updates during device setup (out-of-box experience). Right now, when you clean install or reinstall Windows 11, or buy a new device, you have to go through a long out-of-box experience, also called OOBE. During the OOBE setup, Windows nags you to set up a Microsoft account, buy Microsoft 365, try Xbox Game Pass, and more. While it’s unclear when the calmer OOBE without upsells will begin rolling out, Microsoft is already curbing one…

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