Webtagr - Technology News Summarizer

Microsoft Edge Launches Copilot Mode: AI-Powered Browsing Reimagined

2025-07-29

Microsoft has released Copilot Mode for its Edge browser, an experimental feature leveraging AI to redefine web browsing. Copilot Mode integrates search, chat, and navigation into a single input box, understanding user intent for faster browsing. It analyzes context across open tabs, aiding in comparison, decision-making, and task completion. Copilot supports voice navigation and advanced actions (with user permission) accessing browser history and credentials for enhanced efficiency. Future improvements and features are planned, with the option to disable Copilot Mode in settings.

(blogs.windows.com)

Tech

Snipping Tool Update: GIF Export Now Available on Windows 11

2025-06-26

Windows 11's Snipping Tool just got a major upgrade! Version 11.2505.21.0 now lets you export screen recordings as GIFs, making sharing quick captures super easy. Record a video using Win + Shift + R or the app's screen recording mode. After recording, click the 'Export GIF' button, choose low or high quality, and save to your files or copy to your clipboard. Note: GIF export is limited to videos 30 seconds or shorter.

(blogs.windows.com)

Development Snipping Tool GIF Export

Windows 10's Sunset: The Call to Upgrade to Windows 11

2025-06-25

Microsoft announced that support for Windows 10 will end in October 2025, marking the end of an era for the nearly decade-old operating system. Users are encouraged to upgrade to the more secure and efficient Windows 11, with several transition options available: free Windows 11 upgrades, Extended Security Updates (ESU) for Windows 10, and the cloud-based Windows 365 service. Windows 11 boasts enhanced security features, faster performance, and AI-driven innovations like Copilot. This transition presents both challenges and opportunities for individuals and organizations managing their IT infrastructure.

(blogs.windows.com)

Tech

Microsoft's DMA Compliance: Major Windows Updates

2025-06-03

To comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), Microsoft announced significant changes to Windows 10 and 11, and several apps. Default browser settings will now include more file types and offer taskbar pinning. Windows Search will improve support for multiple web search providers with customizable ordering. The Microsoft Store will become uninstallable, but installed app updates will continue. These changes will roll out in June and July, with some already available in Windows Insider builds.

(blogs.windows.com)

Tech Windows update

Windows 11 App Update: Paint, Snipping Tool, and Notepad Get AI Boost

2025-05-22

Microsoft is rolling out updates to Paint, Snipping Tool, and Notepad for Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels on Windows 11. Paint now features an AI sticker generator, a smart object selection tool, and a new welcome experience; Snipping Tool adds perfect screenshot and color picker capabilities; and Notepad introduces an AI writing feature for quick text drafting. Most of these new features require a Copilot+ PC and Microsoft account login, with some requiring a Microsoft 365 subscription.

(blogs.windows.com)

Development App Update

WSL Goes Open Source!

2025-05-19

Microsoft has announced the open-source release of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)! After years of development, the code powering WSL is now available on GitHub. This allows the community to download the source code, build WSL, add new features and bug fixes, and actively participate in its development. WSL's architecture comprises command-line executables, the WSL service, Linux init and daemon processes, and file sharing components. This open-source release marks a significant step towards faster iteration and community-driven development, highlighting Microsoft's commitment to the open-source community.

(blogs.windows.com)

Development

Windows 11 & Copilot+ PCs: AI-Powered Productivity Boost

2025-05-06

Microsoft unveiled significant updates to Windows 11 and Copilot+ PCs, leveraging AI to enhance user experience. Copilot+ PCs will integrate improved search, Recall, and Click to Do, alongside a new settings agent allowing users to adjust settings via natural language. Click to Do expands with more actions, including list creation and Microsoft 365 Copilot content generation. Photos, Paint, and Snipping Tool gain AI-powered features like dynamic lighting control in Photos, a sticker generator in Paint, and object selection in Paint. Accessibility improvements include rich image descriptions in Narrator. These updates will roll out gradually to Windows Insiders.

(blogs.windows.com)

Tech

Phi Silica: A Highly Efficient SLM for Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs

2025-05-01

Microsoft's Applied Sciences team achieved a breakthrough in AI efficiency on Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs (powered by Snapdragon X-series processors) using a multi-disciplinary approach. Their small language model, Phi Silica, significantly improves power efficiency, inference speed, and memory efficiency. Phi Silica powers several Copilot+ PC features, including Click to Do, on-device rewrite and summarization in Word and Outlook, and provides a pre-optimized SLM for developers. Techniques like 4-bit weight quantization, memory-mapped embeddings, and QuaRot (a novel 4-bit quantization method) drastically reduce memory footprint and achieve high-accuracy 4-bit quantized inference. It boasts a time-to-first-token of 230ms for short prompts and a throughput of up to 20 tokens/second.

(blogs.windows.com)

AI Small Language Model

Microsoft Edge Blazes Past Competition: Up to 9% Faster!

2025-04-16

Microsoft proudly announces that Edge version 134 boasts a speed increase of up to 9% as measured by the Speedometer 3.0 benchmark. This improvement stems from continuous optimization of the Chromium rendering engine and a laser focus on speed. Beyond benchmark improvements, real-world usage shows 1.7% faster navigation, 2% faster startup times, and a 5-7% boost in web page responsiveness. While individual experiences may vary, Microsoft encourages users to try Edge and share their feedback.

(blogs.windows.com)

Tech Browser Performance Speed Improvement

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5516: Enhanced Semantic Search and More

2025-03-29

The latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5516 brings a host of improvements to the Dev Channel. The highlight is enhanced Windows Search for AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs. Using semantic indexing, users can now search using natural language – such as "bridge at sunset" – to find documents, photos, and settings, even offline. Also included are a new Narrator speech recap feature for reviewing and copying spoken content; an improved UI for unexpected restarts; Win+C hotkey and press-to-talk functionality for Copilot; Click to Do improvements; and enhanced Windows sharing capabilities. Several known issues are slated for fixes in future updates.

(blogs.windows.com)

Development Search Improvements Narrator

CSS Gap Decorations: A New Way to Style Separators

2025-03-20

Drawing separator lines is common in web design, but existing CSS methods (like borders and pseudo-elements) have limitations, especially with Flexbox and Grid layouts. This article introduces the CSS gap decorations proposal, offering more control over separator styles in grids and flexboxes, including length, color, and position, even across multiple rows and columns. The proposal is seeking developer feedback to refine its functionality.

(blogs.windows.com)

Development Grid Layout

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4950: Easier File Sharing and Enhanced Start Menu

2025-03-07

Windows 11 Beta Channel releases Insider Preview Build 22635.4950 (KB5052078), featuring significant improvements. A standout is the new drag-and-drop file sharing tray, making file sharing faster and easier. The Start menu's "All apps" page now offers grid and category views for improved app discovery. Fixes address issues in File Explorer, Taskbar, and Settings, with enhanced accessibility support in File Explorer. New features are gradually rolled out; some users may need to manually enable them.

(blogs.windows.com)

Development

DeepSeek R1 Brings AI to the Edge on Copilot+ PCs

2025-02-01

Microsoft is bringing the power of AI to the edge with DeepSeek R1, now optimized for Copilot+ PCs powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon and Intel Core Ultra processors. Leveraging the Neural Processing Unit (NPU), DeepSeek R1 runs efficiently on-device, enabling faster response times and lower power consumption. Developers can easily integrate the model using the AI Toolkit to build native AI applications. This initial release of DeepSeek R1-Distill-Qwen-1.5B, along with upcoming 7B and 14B variants, showcases the potential of edge AI for efficient inference and continuously running services.

(blogs.windows.com)

AI Edge AI