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Microsoft tests redesigned Windows 11 Run menu with dark mode and more

2026-05-01T18:09:19-04:00

Microsoft is testing its much-needed refresh for the Windows 11 Run menu, offering a modern interface that the company says is faster and comes with support for dark mode. The redesign is rolling out now to Windows 11 Insiders in the new Experimental Channel.

In a blog post explaining the changes, Microsoft says it decided to drop the Run menu's "Browse" button - a shortcut to user files - after finding "very low usage." Instead, Microsoft added support for a new "~\" command, which leads to your user directory.

Microsoft experimented with a few different designs before settling on the current one it's testing. | Image: Microsoft" data-portal-copyright="Image: Microsoft">

Microsoft says it built the new Run menu using code from Command Palette, a utility available through PowerToys that allows you t …

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Pentagon strikes classified AI deals with OpenAI, Google, and Nvidia — but not Anthropic

2026-05-01T10:22:45-04:00

The Pentagon has struck deals with OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Elon Musk's xAI, and the startup Reflection, allowing the agency to use their AI tools in classified settings, according to an announcement on Friday. At the same time, the Defense Department has left out Anthropic - which it previously used for classified information - after declaring it a supply-chain risk.

This builds upon deals with OpenAI and xAI, which have already reached agreements with the Pentagon for the "lawful" use of their AI systems. A report from The Information suggests Google has struck a similar agreement. As noted by The Wall Street Journal, Mi …

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Microsoft wants lawyers to trust its new AI agent in Word documents

2026-05-01T07:18:54-04:00

Microsoft is launching a new AI agent inside Word that's specifically designed for legal teams. Legal Agent handles document edits, negotiation history, and complex documents to help legal teams handle tasks like reviewing contracts.

"Instead of relying on general AI models to interpret commands, the agent follows structured workflows shaped by real legal practice, managing clearly defined, repeatable tasks like reviewing contracts clause by clause against a playbook," explains Sumit Chauhan, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Office Product Group.

The Legal Agent can work with existing documents that have tracked changes, and analyz …

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Microsoft’s Xbox mode is now available for all Windows 11 PCs

2026-04-30T15:14:23-04:00

Microsoft is now rolling out its Xbox mode to all Windows 11 PCs. The new Xbox mode adds a full-screen interface to the Xbox PC app, much like Steam's Big Picture Mode, and originally debuted as the Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) with Asus' Xbox Ally devices.

"Some players in select markets will be able to download the Xbox mode experience today, with availability expanding to more players in those markets over the next several weeks," says the Xbox team. You'll be able to get the Xbox mode by installing the latest Windows update for Windows 11.

Xbox mode aims to try and bridge the gap between Xbox consoles and Windows, but its original …

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Xbox owners can now disable Quick Resume for specific games

2026-04-30T13:56:38-04:00

Microsoft has released a new Xbox update that adds a bunch of new features, including the ability to disable Quick Resume for individual games.

Quick Resume, which lets you swap between your games with minimal wait time, is one of the best features on the Xbox Series X / S consoles. But it can also run into unexpected issues with multiplayer games or titles that require a constant internet connection. "We've heard your feedback around performance after long periods of inactivity or with games that rely heavily on online connections," Microsoft says.

With Thursday's update, Microsoft also lets you make up to ten groups on their Home scree …

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Microsoft’s DLSS competitor is now available on the Xbox Ally X handheld

2026-04-30T12:06:45-04:00

Microsoft is starting to test its Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR) feature with the Xbox Ally X. Auto SR first debuted on some Copilot Plus PCs nearly two years ago, improving visual quality and frame rates in select games. Now, Microsoft is testing it for docked play on the Xbox Ally X, allowing the 7-inch handheld to improve resolution and graphical settings for bigger TV screens.

"Docked play means larger screens and higher resolutions, where drops in image quality are more noticeable or where some games struggle to maintain smooth FPS," says Microsoft in a detailed blog post on Auto SR. "That's exactly the problem Auto SR was design …

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Here’s how the new Microsoft and OpenAI deal breaks down

2026-04-30T12:01:58-04:00

Microsoft's relationship with OpenAI has always been complicated, so I expected the close partnership-turned-situationship to end in tears. After all, executive disagreements, rearranged contracts, and frustrations over AI infrastructure have all regularly been part of the partnership, creating plenty of tension along the way. But against all odds, Microsoft and OpenAI divorced this week in a way that looks strangely amicable.

Microsoft announced the updates to its long-standing OpenAI deal on Monday, with the most important change allowing OpenAI to make its products and services available across all cloud providers. A day later, OpenAI an …

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Microsoft reports sinking Xbox revenue as its cloud business climbs

2026-04-30T07:34:15-04:00

Microsoft's Xbox hardware revenue continues to tumble, with the company revealing a 33 percent decline as part of its earnings report released on Wednesday. Even though the rest of Microsoft's consumer-focused division took a dip, the company's cloud and productivity businesses continue to soar, driving the company toward $82.9 billion in revenue.

Along with declining Xbox hardware revenue, Microsoft reported a 5 percent drop in Xbox content and services as well. Microsoft has seen a significant amount of executive turnover over the past few months, with the retirement of Xbox chief CEO Phil Spencer and the departure of former Xbox presiden …

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Microsoft is giving its Xbox employees an Xbox email address

2026-04-29T11:46:20-04:00

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma wants everyone to know: "We are Xbox." Just last week, she scrapped Microsoft Gaming as the name of Microsoft's gaming division in favor of simply Xbox. Now, to reinforce that message, sources at Xbox tell me that all Xbox employees are getting an @xbox.com email address next month.

The new Xbox email address will replace an existing @microsoft.com address as the default way to send new emails, and employees will be able to opt-out and keep their Microsoft email address as the default send-from address instead. Mojang employees will also be given an @mojang.com email address, and both Xbox and Mojang employees will stil …

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GitHub rushed to fix a critical vulnerability in less than six hours

2026-04-29T06:15:23-04:00

GitHub employees fixed a critical remote code execution vulnerability in less than six hours last month. Wiz Research used AI models to uncover a vulnerability in GitHub's internal git infrastructure that could have allowed attackers to access millions of public and private code repositories.

"Our security team immediately began validating the bug bounty report. Within 40 minutes, we had reproduced the vulnerability internally and confirmed the severity," explains Alexis Wales, GitHub chief information security officer. "This was a critical issue that required immediate action."

GitHub's engineering team developed a fix and deployed it jus …

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