Microsoft preps this year's Windows 11 feature tweaks: 26H2 hits Release Preview

Microsoft has dropped Windows 11 26H2 into the Windows Insider Release Preview Channel and released August's preview update. Windows 11 26H2 shares the same servicing branch as Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, and many of the tweaks and updates that users are looking forward to have already appeared in the monthly Windows updates. The …

[Paul Herber]

I've just signed an Executive Order (Space Corps Directive 29713) renaming Microsoft Windows to be henceforth known as "OS America".

[Jou (Mxyzptlk)]

Not Windows AI?

[Steve Davies 3]

Not woke enough

How about Windows 11 - Trump Exclusive Edition

[ducks to avoid incoming]

[Paul Herber]

Re: Not woke enough

I'm quite sure he'd want a version that went up to 11.

P.S. can he play drums?

[Jou (Mxyzptlk)]

"not currently aware of any issues"

This "not currently aware of any issues" is problematic in Microsoft context, 'cause we have experienced that "not currently aware of any issues" means ignoring five or sometimes six-digit feedback deliberately. Until heise.de / the Register / c't / gilem.de / CHIP / etc make it more public.

[Strahd Ivarius]

Re: "not currently aware of any issues"

Of course they are not aware of any issue, nobody at MS is using that update, lusers need to test first!

[BassX]

Re: "not currently aware of any issues"

In the same way they're not aware of user feedback. If you ignore it, it doesn't exist.

[Mickey Porkpies]

Re: "not currently aware of any issues"

difficult to see anything with your head in the sand

[xyz123]

This YEARS features tells you all you need to know about how Microsoft doesn't care about windows anymore, and only AI

[elsergiovolador]

It is written by AI, so it cares about AI.

Likely each Microsoft employee's first thing is typing into Coidiot: "What should I do today?"

[Anonymous Coward]

26H2

Does it mean 26 halved, so 13?

I may decide to pass it, just to stay on the safe side...

[Paul Herber]

Re: 26H2

Sounds more like this year's variant of avian flu!

[ComicalEngineer]

Hiding features

The update will turn up via an enablement package – a relatively small piece of code that switches on functionality already downloaded, but currently dormant. "Think of it as a switch rather than a full operating system replacement," Microsoft wrote.

Marvellous. So you downloaded a load of stuff that we can't use because it was hidden and you decided that we couldn't use it.

How utterly useless.

The only thing I can actually *celebrate* is the ability to move the taskbar to where I want it without mucking about with the registry. How difficult that must have been. Not.

[blu3b3rry]

Re: Hiding features

Given the "quality" or perhaps kwalitee coming out of Microsoft now I wouldn't be surprised if the function to move the taskbar was nicked straight off ExplorerPatcher's GitHub...

I can't think of another OS where I've had to run so many addons just to get the UI into a usable state and that includes stock GNOME.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: I've had to run so many addons just to get the UI into a usable state

That is a great post and encompasses in a nutshell why I eventually said FSCK YOU to Windows. A new build would take at least a day to install and configure everything to get the system usable for developing software.

OTOH, with a set of scripts, I can have a Linux system installed from bare iron to a working system in under an hour. Most of the time, the setup runs unattended.

[anotherblowhard]

Imagine if the on/off 'enablement' code was in Chinese software...

Sorry, I forgot, it's American, so it is totally trustworthy, it is the most trustworthy of any software anywhere, it is the mostest trustworthyness that has ever exisited.

[Anonymous Cowerd]

TPM

Update it to allow bypassing of the TPM check and I might upgrade (why not allow an "at your own risk" option?), but I'm not replacing my perfectly good i7-7700 CPU just because Microsoft says so.

I'd rather switch to Linux.

[rasputinjones]

Re: TPM

If you want to stick with W11, creating a bootable on Rufus allows you to disable a lot of the security bullshit, including the TPM check and Microsoft login.