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K2 – Microsoft's big plan to save Windows 11 and win back trust from users
2 months ago
- Microsoft's Windows K2 initiative is an ongoing effort to improve Windows 11 by focusing on performance, reliability, and user experience, not a specific OS release.
- The initiative addresses major user complaints: excessive AI features, bloat, performance issues, and reliability problems, with a goal to make Windows 11 a platform users are proud to use by 2026-2027.
- Three core pillars drive K2: Performance (e.g., faster File Explorer, gaming comparability with SteamOS), Craft (UI improvements like movable Taskbar, ad-free Start menu, rebuilt Start menu with WinUI 3), and Reliability (reducing restart frequency, seamless updates).
- A fourth pillar, Community, focuses on rebuilding enthusiast engagement through Insider meetups and direct team feedback on social media.
- Internal cultural shift: teams now prioritize quality over speed, with higher quality bars for new features before public preview, moving away from the previous obsession with rapid feature shipping.
- Specific improvements include debloating Windows 11, reducing idle memory usage, improving File Explorer search speed, and a new System Compositor for WinUI 3 to reduce UI latency and memory overhead.
- Microsoft is removing ads from the Start menu and adjusting the Widgets Board to reduce MSN prominence, addressing enshittification concerns.
Microsoft FY26 Q4 Earnings
2 months ago
- Revenue was $90.0 billion, up 18% (17% in constant currency); operating income $40.6 billion, up 18%; net income $35.8 billion (GAAP) up 31%; diluted EPS $4.81 (GAAP) up 32%.
- Non-GAAP net income was $35.3 billion, up 22%; non-GAAP diluted EPS $4.74, up 23%, excluding impacts from OpenAI investments.
- Microsoft Cloud revenue reached $59.3 billion, up 27%; commercial remaining performance obligation increased 84% to $678 billion.
- Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time; Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats, reflecting AI transformation momentum.
- Productivity and Business Processes revenue $37.8 billion (up 14%), Intelligent Cloud revenue $39.3 billion (up 32%), More Personal Computing revenue $12.9 billion (down 4%).
- CEO Satya Nadella highlighted AI-driven cost-to-outcome improvements; CFO Amy Hood noted strong quarterly performance and cloud growth.
- Returned $10.2 billion to shareholders in dividends and share repurchases in Q4.
- Fiscal year 2026 revenue $331.8 billion (up 18%), operating income $155.2 billion (up 21%), net income $133.7 billion (up 31% GAAP).
Microsoft unveils AI security tools it says outperform competing platforms
2 months ago
- Microsoft launched AI tools to automate security risk identification and reduction.
- The release follows a security incident where OpenAI's models hacked Hugging Face's servers using a zero-day flaw.
- The new MAI-Cyber-1-Flash model is trained on Microsoft's extensive vulnerability patching and incident response data.
- The model is integrated into the MDASH harness, which uses 100 AI agents to find exploitable bugs.
- Microsoft processes over 1 trillion security signals daily and has insights from 1.6 million customers.
Microsoft Game Pass Ultimate Billing Fraud
2 months ago
- Purchased Xbox Series X and used Xbox Live Gold to Game Pass Ultimate conversion trick.
- Disabled autorenewal settings and used a one-time use credit card to avoid charges.
- Received an email three years later indicating autorenewal was turned back on, despite earlier assurances.
- Accused Microsoft of fraud for reactivating autorenewal without consent.
Microsoft is Dead
2 months ago
- Microsoft's dominance in the software industry ended by the mid-2000s, and it is no longer feared by startups or tech companies.
- Four key factors caused Microsoft's decline: Google's rise as the dominant tech company, the shift to web-based software (Ajax), widespread broadband Internet, and Apple's resurgence with OS X.
- Microsoft's monopoly was inherited from IBM and lasted from the 1950s to 2005, but the era of monopoly may finally be over.
- Microsoft could potentially revive by buying all promising Web 2.0 startups and isolating them from Redmond, but it is unlikely to do so due to its internal culture.
Microspeak: Double-click and drill down - The Old New Thing
2 months ago
- Microspeak refers to jargon needed to survive at Microsoft, not just exclusive term.
- The term 'drill down' is used at Microsoft to mean delving deeper into a topic, with verb, noun ('drill-down'), and adjective forms.
- Microsoft Writing Style Guide approves 'drill down' for data analysis but discourages metaphorical use, providing hyphenation rules.
- Around 2020-2021, 'double-click' emerged as a cringier synonym for 'drill down', used more in speech than writing.
- The author finds 'double-click' bothersome and suggests using 'drill down' instead.
Microsoft Promises to Fix Search with Major Windows 11 Overhau
2 months ago
- Major Windows 11 search overhaul prioritizes clearer, local results and removes ads.
- Improvements include better handling of typos, simplified home screen, and no MSN/Bing content.
- Users gain control over web and Store suggestions via privacy settings.
- Enhanced reliability and ranking for apps, settings, and files, with local matches prioritized.
- Updates rolling out to Windows Insiders first, with general release expected later this year.
Microsoft latest report shows 25% emissions raised due to AI data centers
3 months ago
- Microsoft's carbon emissions increased by 25% year-over-year, driven by AI datacenter expansion and ceasing purchases of unbundled renewable energy certificates (RECs).
- The reported emissions for the last year are 20 million metric tons, not the 34 million mistakenly circulated; the company uses a chart showing actual vs. estimated emissions to highlight reduction efforts.
- Microsoft stopped buying unbundled RECs, which it implies are less effective for long-term environmental impact, and is refocusing funds on higher-impact investments to become carbon negative by 2030.
- The sustainability report also details Microsoft's water usage, noting it replenished more water than it withdrew, and emphasizes the complexity of its environmental progress and challenges.
WSL Keeps Getting Better
3 months ago
- Microsoft traditionally avoids yielding to competitors, but makes an exception with Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) to accommodate developers.
- Coreutils for Windows integrates Linux commands into Windows, eliminating the need to switch syntax or use WSL exclusively.
- WSL containers enable running Linux apps in containers without third-party tools like Docker, simplifying development workflows.
- Microsoft's efforts with WSL aim to prevent developers from leaving Windows for Linux, maintaining its user base and profitability.
- WSL acts as a necessary solution to keep developers within the Windows ecosystem by providing essential Linux tools and features.
Microsoft GDID telemetry includes full browsing and gaming history
3 months ago
- Microsoft GDID tracks all Windows installations.
- Telemetry includes full browsing and gaming history.
- This post is from a sysadmin community discussing privacy concerns.
Microsoft's unreleased lightweight Edge-based Windows 11 AI OS leaks
3 months ago
- In 2022, a hoax called 'EdgeOS' emerged, a web-powered OS built on Edge, which Microsoft might have considered due to browser bloat.
- In 2024, Microsoft reportedly worked on 'Project Aion', a lightweight Windows OS based on Edge and AI agents, with Copilot integrated into the shell and the Start button replaced by a Copilot key.
- The leaked video shows Aion running on Win3, a minimalist Windows codebase without Win32 legacy app support, possibly compatible with AOSP and Windows, similar to Project Solara.
- This aligns with Microsoft's 2023 push for AI and Copilot, with CEO Satya Nadella comparing the Copilot key to the revolutionary Start button.
- However, it remains unconfirmed whether Aion was real or another hoax, akin to EdgeOS, though speculation suggests it may have evolved into Project Solara.
- The leaked content has fueled buzz about an AI-powered, cloud-based Windows 12, partly driven by Microsoft executives like Panos Panay.
Stop Quoting Steve Ballmer
3 months ago
- Steve Ballmer's 2001 quote calling Linux 'a cancer' is often used out of context and stripped of his initial praise for Linux as 'good competition.'
- The quote was aimed at the GPL's copyleft clause, not the Linux kernel itself, expressing concerns about intellectual property and the license's potential viral spread in commercial software.
- In 2001, legal questions about the GPL's enforceability were unresolved, and high-stakes litigation like SCO v. IBM brought these issues to the forefront, though the GPL later survived court challenges.
- Over time, legal precedent clarified that the GPL is enforceable, and Microsoft evolved to embrace Linux, joining initiatives like the Linux Foundation and pledging patents to protect open source.
- Using the 25-year-old quote in modern tech stories is outdated, as Microsoft now ships GPL Linux kernels and actively supports open source, making the reference misleading and irrelevant.

microsoft

K2 – Microsoft's big plan to save Windows 11 and win back trust from users

Microsoft FY26 Q4 Earnings

Microsoft unveils AI security tools it says outperform competing platforms

Microsoft Game Pass Ultimate Billing Fraud

Microsoft is Dead

Microspeak: Double-click and drill down - The Old New Thing

Microsoft Promises to Fix Search with Major Windows 11 Overhau

Microsoft latest report shows 25% emissions raised due to AI data centers

WSL Keeps Getting Better

Microsoft GDID telemetry includes full browsing and gaming history

Microsoft's unreleased lightweight Edge-based Windows 11 AI OS leaks

Stop Quoting Steve Ballmer