Apr 25, 2021 07:40 EDT with 0 comments
Among the things that happened this week, there was the arrival of Linux GUI app support in WSL, a performance mode in Edge, and even the dropping of the Gold barrier of entry for free-to-play multiplayer games on Xbox. You can find info about that, as well as much more below, in your Microsoft digest for the week of April 18 - 24.
Actual F2P multiplayer
While it’s true that some other interesting news surfaced this week, perhaps one of the most noteworthy tidbits concerned Xbox Live Gold.
After a long tradition of requiring an Xbox Live Gold subscription even for free-to-play games, Microsoft has decided to adjust its strategy. As a result, you will no longer need to have a Gold sub to play free-to-play multiplayer games on console, with party chat also no longer being locked behind the paywall.
Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB5001391 Causing Fatal Crashes on Some PCs Apr 22, 2021 06:39 GMT
The new taskbar widget in Windows 10
The most recent Windows 10 cumulative update shipped by Microsoft to users enrolled in the Beta and Release Preview channels of the Windows Insider program is now causing fatal crashes on some devices.
KB5001391 is therefore pushing systems into a Green Screen of Death (GSOD) loop after installation, and as it turns out, the only workaround right now is to just remove the update completely.
The update was released by Microsoft to bring the News and Interests feature to more devices in the Windows Insider program, therefore preparing it for a wider rollout possibly in Windows 10 version 21H1.
Windows 10 Will Run Linux Graphical User Interfaces pcmag.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pcmag.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
KB5001391 Cumulative Update in Windows 10 Release Preview resulting in bugchecks
Apr 21, 2021 07:44 EDT with 3 comments
Earlier this week, Microsoft rolled out a new cumulative update, labeled as KB5001391, to Windows Insiders in both Beta and Release Preview channels. This brought the News and Interests feature, previously exclusive to the Dev channel, to those users.
However, it seems that the update might be causing some major issues for some users, as they re experience bugchecks resulting in green screens of death (GSOD) - the equivalent of BSOD for Insiders - specifically mentioning a BAD POOL CALLER error. The bugcheck apparently happens soon after starting the computer, making PCs essentially unusable. Users have also reported that uninstalling the cumulative update solves the problem.
Microsoft is bringing News and Interests to Windows 10 versions 21H1, 20H2, and 2004
Apr 19, 2021 19:56 EDT with 7 comments
Microsoft is bringing the News and Interests feature that s been in testing in the Dev channel of the Insider program to older versions of Windows 10, including 21H1, 20H2, and 2004 (via Windows Central). The company released new cumulative updates to users in the Beta and Release Preview channels of the Insider program, bringing the feature to versions 21H1 and 20H2 today.
News and Interests has been a big highlight for Microsoft with the Dev channel since December, but it was believed to be part of a future feature update for Windows 10, so it s interesting to see Microsoft bring it to older versions. The fact that it s already rolling out to the Beta and Release preview channels also suggests we could see it being officially available significantly sooner than initially thought.