Another small servicing update for #WindowsInsiders in the Canary Channel – Build 25387.1200 is now available. This update does not include new content and is designed to test our servicing pipeline. ^JH

Have a great weekend!

Reminder: no blog post for the 25387 builds. pic.twitter.com/OHjFYUTRfx

— Windows Insider Program (@windowsinsider) June 9, 2023

If you’re into testing servicing pipelines, go ahead and download and install this latest Canary Channel build, 25387.1200.

The channel includes one new feature (for 22631.1835), the addition of new natural voices in Chinese and Spanish (Spain and Mexico), and a change adding a new toggle in Settings > Network & Internet > Cellular to control whether or not to use cellular when Wi-Fi is available but poor.

You can learn more about this build and the Beta Channel over at the Windows Insider blog post.

New WinUI powered File Explorer Home and Address Bar

With this latest Dev Channel build, Microsoft is furthering the modernization of File Explorer, this time by adding a carousel display for Recommended files if users are logged in to their Azure Active Directory accounts, with file thumbnail support coming soon. In addition, Quick Access folders, Favorites, and Recent are also getting an updated WinUI based experience.

We are also introducing a modernized address bar and search box to File Explorer. The new address bar intelligently recognizes local vs. cloud folders with built-in status. For OneDrive users, you’ll notice the address bar now contains your OneDrive sync status and quota flyout.

As is common with Windows Insider builds, not all Dev Channel Insiders will see these updates right away, as “we plan to monitor feedback and see how it lands before pushing it out to everyone.”

Dynamic Lighting

With this build, Microsoft is beginning to adopt the open HID LampArray standard for native control of lighting devices.

By adopting an open standard, and by working with our OEM and ODM partners,  Microsoft seeks to improve the RGB device and software ecosystem for users by increasing interoperability of devices and apps. Included are APIs for Windows apps to control devices from the background and foreground, as well as a page in Windows Settings for users to customize how their devices behave.

A number of device manufacturers are partnering with Microsoft on Dynamic Lighting, you can check out the blog post for a list.

Changes and improvements

Included with this build are a couble of changes/improvements, including the rollout of a feature that will detect if you’re not interacting with notification toasts and prompt you to to turn them off if you’re not, and the inclusion of Emoji 15 designs.

As usual, there are a number of fixes and known issues, be sure to check out the blog post for all the details.

The news about the updated Windows 11 22H2 ISOs was initially shared by PhantomOcean3 on Twitter almost a month ago. Although Microsoft has not made an official announcement regarding the release, it was recently confirmed by leading tech website Thurrott that the ISO is finally available for download.

To obtain the Windows 11 22H2 ISO, interested users can visit the Microsoft website’s Windows 11 download page and follow these steps:

1. On your browser, navigate to the Download Windows 11 page.
2. Scroll down to the “Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices” section and expand the drop-down menu below it.
3. Select Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO for x64 devices) and click Download Now button.
4. Now expand the drop-down menu and select the product language. Click Confirm.
5. Finally, click 64-bit Download to begin downloading the latest Windows 11 22H2 ISO file.

It is crucial to ensure that the downloaded file has the correct filename, such as “Win11_22H2_EnglishInternational_x64v2.iso” or “Win11_22H2_English_x64v2.iso,” depending on the chosen language. The “v2” at the end of the filename is essential to ensure that the latest build is being downloaded and not an older version.

The availability of Windows installation media directly from Microsoft eliminates the inconvenience of installing an older version of Windows 11 and then having to download a substantial update separately.

Build 25381 was released last Friday, and included a change to SMB signing for Enterprise editions of Windows 11 in the Canary Channel.

Cortana was at one time “the next big thing,” a personal assistant that could look up stuff, complete tasks, and answer questions similar to Amazon’s Alexa. It debuted in 2014 for Windows and Windows Phone, but by 2019, after attempts to increase engagement by connecting directly with Alexa didn’t help, Microsoft began shifting gears, relegating Cortana as an assistant for Office and Teams.

Now with the advent of Bing Chat, and voice access for Windows 11, Cortana’s functionality has largely been replaced.

Microsoft’s advice for those who still use the Cortana app in Windows 10 or 11 (and there can’t be that many of you), is basically to use something else:

We know that this change may affect some of the ways you work in Windows, so we want to help you transition smoothly to the new options. Instead of clicking the Cortana icon and launching the app to begin using voice, now you can use voice and satisfy your productivity needs through different tools.

Did you ever use Cortana in Windows or Windows Phone? Let us know in the comments below.

(via Windows Central)

Currently, SMB signing is off by default for all except connections to SYSVOL and NETLOGON shares, but this will change, as “part of a campaign to improve the security of Windows and Windows Server for the modern landscape.” Administrators will have to change 3rd party SMB servers to support SMB singing, although Microsoft apparently offers a workaround while at the same time discouraging it:

Do not disable SMB signing in Windows or use SMB1 to work around this behavior (SMB1 supports signing but does not enforce it). An SMB device that does not support signing allows interception and relay attacks from malicious parties.

SMB signing can reduce the performance of SMB copy operations. You can mitigate this with more physical CPU cores or virtual CPUs as well as newer, faster CPUs.

In addition, Canary Channel build 25381 includes a single item under “Changes and Improvements:”

• If a camera streaming issue is detected such as a camera failing to start or a closed camera shutter, a pop-up dialog will appear with the recommendation to launch the automated Get Help troubleshooter to resolve the issue.

You can learn a little more about SMB signing and the Windows Insider Canary Channel by checking out the Windows Insider blog post.

Dark Mode

Paint will already default to your system settings for Light or Dark Mode or theme settings, but you can now change this option just for Paint with a new settings page.

Zoom Controls

We are also rolling out improvements to the zoom controls as well to give you more flexibility and control over the view of your content on the canvas. The classic presets are still available, but you can now also zoom in and out with finer granularity increments on the zoom slider or set a custom zoom value for even greater precision. We are also introducing a new fit to screen option to quickly optimize zoom to match your window size.

Image Properties

Image Properties now more closely aligns with the Windows 11 design style, and now has “many accessibility and usability improvements to dialogs throughout the app,” and improved keyboard shortcut support.

Are you a Paint user? Check out the new Paint app update and tell us what you think.

Featured Image via Windows Insider Program

Dev Channel 23471

23471 comes with one big new feature, “Add Phone Photos in File Explorer Gallery”

In this build in the File Explorer Gallery command bar you should see a new entry, “Add Phone Photos.” Clicking on this button will lead you to a QR Code /URL to get started. The feature, using the OneDrive sync client, needs the latest OneDrive Insider Program version of the sync client to work, here’s how to access:

To join the OneDrive Insider Program, open OneDrive settings by bringing up the OneDrive flyout from the system tray; from there, navigate to the About page and turn on the toggle for the OneDrive Insider Program.

Also in this build is the inclusion of Narrator natural voices for Spanish (Spain and Mexico), an updated network flyout on the Lock Screen to be more Windows 11-like, and some more changes and improvements for the File Explorer:

• We are beginning to roll out the ability to tear out and merge tabs in File Explorer. This feature is beginning to roll out, so not all Insiders in the Dev Channel will see it right away.
• Gallery in File Explorer, which began rolling out with Build 23435, is now available for all Insiders in the Dev Channel.

There are a number of fixes and known issues as well, be sure to check out the Windows Insider blog post for all the latest.

Beta Channel 22621/22631.1830

Build 22631.1830 comes with one change:

• We added WPA3 support to the Phone Link instant hotspot feature for more secure connections to a phone’s hotspot. Also made fixes to respect metered connection settings, reduce duplicate profiles, and show the phone’s display name in the network list.

Be sure to check out the Blog post for more on the Beta Channel.

Per Statcounter’s report in May, Windows 10 remains at the top of the market share coming in at 71.9% followed by Windows 11 at 22.95%. The remaining percentage is split among users still running on Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows XP.

Keeping this in mind, Windows 10 is slated to hit its end-of-support date on October 14, 2025. Microsoft has already stopped selling both the Pro and Home editions of the OS. Additionally, Microsoft also announced that it will no longer push feature updates to Windows 10, though security updates will still be available. Amidst all this, Microsoft continues to urge users to transition to Windows 11, where it’s been busy at work shipping updates.

Not too long ago, Microsoft switched up its the way Windows’s release schedule works. The company further added that Windows versions will start being released every three years, and current Windows versions like Windows 11, will get updated more frequently. As is the case with the Moment feature drop updates for the OS.

This year, Microsoft has already dropped two of these updates, with the first one being released in February and the latest one (Moment 3) in May, though as an optional update. However, the update should be available for everyone to download during this month’s Patch Tuesday update.

And while all these efforts are geared towards enhancing Windows 11’s user experience and ultimately getting more people to transition, Windows 10 is still ranking at the top of the market share despite its short lifespan.

In another report by Lansweeper, as of October 2021 43% of Microsoft devices still can’t run Windows 11 based on 30 million Windows devices scanned at 60,000 enterprises. The report further detailed that the main reason why people were not transitioning to Windows 11 was because of its strict hardware requirements.

via Neowin