Microsoft Launches New Font Called Cascadia Code

Microsoft has released a brand new font called Cascadia Code after previously announcing it at the Build developer conference in May.

Cascadia Code is mostly targeted at developers and is specifically optimized for command line applications and code editors. Microsoft says it developed the font for use the brand new Windows Terminal application, but simultaneously, it’s also recommended with other apps like Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code.

The brand new font will be contained in Windows Terminal automatically, and users will receive it once they install the next form of the app.

Targeted at command-line apps

As numerous other activities released by Microsoft lately, Cascadia Code is open source and is on GitHub.

“The name Cascadia Code originated in the Windows Terminal project. Prior to being released, the codename for Windows Terminal was Cascadia. Actually, a few of the source files within the Terminal still use this name! Being an homage to the Terminal, we liked the thought of naming the font after its codename,” Kayla Cinnamon, Program Manager, Windows Terminal, Console, & Command-Line, explains.

“We added Code towards the end of the font name to help indicate this font was meant for programming. Specifically, it helps identify that it offers programming ligatures.”

Users can install the brand new font in the GitHub page, and developers should bring about the project for more improvements within the coming months.

Microsoft says it’ll use the Windows versioning syntax for the font, so the current version is 1909.16 – the next form of Windows 10 due in the fall is codenamed Windows 10 19H2 and it is likely to land as version 1909.

Windows Terminal is also available for download as a preview, and it requires Windows 10 build 18392 and newer.

The Nightmare Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB4515384 Is becoming

Microsoft released Windows 10 cumulative update KB4515384 on September 10 included in this month’s Patch Tuesday cycle.

According to the official KB page, this update comprises just three major changes, namely the typical security updates rolling out on Patch Tuesday, further mitigations against speculative execution side-channel vulnerabilities, and a treatment for an insect causing high CPU usage from the SearchUI.exe process.

At first glance, this isn’t this type of heavy cumulative update, albeit because it is the case of each and every other such release, more improvements are generally made underneath the hood as well and Microsoft just decides it’s not worth sharing all of them with the remainder of users.

Microsoft originally said hello wasn’t conscious of any issues in the update, which was somehow surprising, especially given that a lot of people previously complained of various errors experienced when or after installing cumulative updates.

Unfortunately for Windows 10 version 1903 users, cumulative update KB4515384 has a continuously-increasing list of issues, by the looks of things, users continue to come across new problems on a daily basis.

Microsoft hasn’t acknowledged these, but the more we wait, the greater we discover out about things that not work correctly after installing this update.

As some users told us in comments to my article on KB4515384 issues here, this cumulative updates sometimes fails to install on their Windows 10 devices, albeit for now, this doesn’t appear to be a widespread issue.

On the other hand, Microsoft has confirmed three different errors that you could encounter after setting it up.

First of all, the Input Method Editor (IME) could become unresponsive and cause high CPU usage, while on some devices, the Start menu and also the Windows Desktop Search might neglect to launch. This latter problem is actually the one hitting the biggest quantity of devices, as I’m seeing increasingly more users complaining of the extremely same bug every single day.

Microsoft says it’s investigating the beginning menu problem, but a fix isn’t readily available for now.

Then, audio in games is quiet or diverse from expected, Microsoft says, and this is all because the cumulative update comes with a change requested by Microsoft partners. The software giant has reverted this change and says a full fix obtained care of.

Unfortunately, each one of these problems, together with others that are yet to be acknowledged by Microsoft, such as this PIN login error, reveal that installing cumulative updates on a Windows 10 devices continues to be a Russian roulette than can certainly go wrong at any moment.

From users’ perspective, however, there’s not much to complete other than delaying the installation of these botched cumulative updates. The only problem is the fact that Patch Tuesday releases are available with security improvements and not installing the updates means a tool remains unprotected.

So far as Microsoft is worried, there’s a lot room for improvements when it comes to the caliber of cumulative updates. And it all starts with the standard testing the company should run before striking the go-ahead button for production devices.

Most cumulative updates for that latest stable form of Windows 10 are tested with the help of users within the Windows Insider program. But recently, the Insider program itself has become rather confusing for a lot of, as users here are currently running three different versions of Windows 10, namely version 1903, 19H2, and 20H1.

Installing cumulative updates has been a risky thing to do from the first day, and by the looks of things, Microsoft continues to have a hard time providing them with right. While I always recommended people to update their devices as soon as patches emerge, all these errors appear to suggest this is no more the proper way to go.

What’s your experience with the most recent cumulative updates? Is updating on the first day something that continues to be worth doing? Tell me what you believe within the box following the jump.

Microsoft Confirms Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB4515384 Causes Audio Issues

Microsoft has confirmed that the company’s latest cumulative update for Windows 10 version 1903 causes audio issues in games.

Inside a support document, Microsoft says that after installing cumulative update KB4515384 on some devices running Windows 10 version 1903, or Windows 10 May 2019 Update, users might experience quieter or exactly what the company calls different audio than expected.

The bug was as the saying goes shortly after KB4515384 was launched towards the first devices included in the September 10 Patch Tuesday cycle.

Microsoft explains this cumulative update indeed brings changes requested by partners, which would be the culprit from the audio issues hitting Windows 10 version 1903 devices.

“At the request of a lot of our audio partners, we implemented a compatibility change that enabled certain games to query support and render multi-channel audio. Due to customer feedback, we are reverting this change as some games plus some products are not rendering multi-channel audio not surprisingly. This might result in games sounding diverse from customers are used to and may have missing channels,” Microsoft explains.

Fix coming later this month

The organization adds it has already started the job on the fix, also it ought to be finalized at the end of September. Probably, the bug would be resolved within the next non-security cumulative update rollout due later this month.

Meanwhile, users can look to a manual workaround that involves disabling multi-channel audio or Virtual Multichannel audio on their own devices.

“To mitigate the problem, open settings within the impacted game and disable multi-channel audio, if this choice is available. You can also search within the Windows Control Panel for Third party audio device control panels and disable Multi-channel audio or Virtual Multichannel audio, if these options are available,” Microsoft recommends.

Windows 10 version 1903 is the only version affected by this bug.

Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB4515384 Fixes High CPU Usage Bug

The latest cumulative update for Windows 10 version 1903 fixes an issue that causes high CPU usage for a service owned by digital assistant Cortana.

Windows 10 cumulative update KB4512941, that was published on August 30 for version 1903, or Windows 10 May 2019 Update, devices introduced an insect that caused the SearchUI.exe tactic to experience random spikes in CPU usage on certain computers.

Microsoft acknowledged the issue soon after users started reporting it online, explaining it’s only encountered on machines where the web search feature was once disabled.

“Microsoft gets reports that the small number of users may not receive results when utilizing Windows Desktop Search and may see high CPU usage from SearchUI.exe when searching after installing KB4512941. This problem is only encountered on devices in which searching the web from Windows Desktop Search has been disabled,” the software giant explained.

Fix available these days on Windows Update

The newest cumulative update for Windows 10 version 1903, however, resolves this issue, with Microsoft adding that just “a small number of users” were actually impacted. The update under consideration is KB4515384 and it is currently available from Windows Update as part of the monthly Patch Tuesday cycle.

Microsoft explains the next the state release notes:

“Addresses an issue that causes high CPU usage from SearchUI.exe for a few users. This problem only occurs on devices that have disabled searching the net using Windows Desktop Search.”

This new cumulative update comes without any known issues, so users should basically expect flawless performance after setting it up. Of course, history has shown that it’s sometimes better to wait, albeit in the case of KB4515384, it’s worth bearing in mind that security patches for known vulnerabilities will also be included and you are recommended to install it as being soon as possible.

How to Rename Virtual Desktops in Windows 10 20H1

While Windows 10 19H2 is simply nearby, Windows 10 20H1 may be the feature update that so many people are very wanting to get their hands on, especially because of the improvements that Microsoft is planning for this release.

Through the looks of products, Windows 10 19H2 find yourself being just a modest update, using the focus not necessarily on additional features, but on under-the-hood refinements that will improve such things as the Windows Update service with a brand new model.

This will make the next-next feature update, that is currently codenamed Windows 10 20H1, a much more exciting release for consumers, and builds released as part of the Windows Insider program confirm there’s a lot we’ll get in this version.

In addition to other major improvements visiting users next year, Windows 10 20H1 will also range from the capability to rename virtual desktops.

Among the most requested Windows 10 features, renaming the virtual desktops makes working with this particular OS-integrated tool an infinitely more effective process, technically allowing users to manage their desktops in a manner that better adapts to their work.

For example, while in the current stable versions of Windows 10 the virtual desktops, or multiple desktops as numerous make reference to them, are known as Desktop 1, Desktop 2, Desktop 3, and so forth, starting with Windows 10 20H1 you’ll finally have the ability to use custom nicknames like Work, Games, Personal, and things like that.

Support for renaming the virtual desktops was implemented in Windows 10 build 18975, that was released to Windows Insiders within the Fast ring last week.

This means Microsoft is still experimenting with this transformation, so further refinements continue to be possible. A potential release in Windows 10 19H2 isn’t out of the table either considering that this feature update hasn’t yet been finalized.

Renaming virtual desktops is a straightforward thing. All you need is launch the virtual desktop screen by clicking the job View icon within the taskbar. As an alternative, you should use the Windows key + Tab hotkey that does the same thing.

If you’re already using multiple desktops, you can easily click the desktop name, and the field should become editable to help you to input another name. If the doesn’t work, right-click the desktop thumbnail, as Microsoft has additionally added a brand-new context menu which includes an option to rename each desktop.

Once you’re ready, you are able to click away from name field or press enter, and your changes should be saved.

To summarize, here’s a simplified version of all of the above:

Task View / Windows key + Tab > Click desktop name / Right-click desktop thumbnail > Rename > Press Enter > Done

You should use different names as many desktops you would like, and what’s more, Windows 10 even enables you to use custom text within the names. For instance, you can include emoji in the name of any desktop while using built-in emoji picker that is available in Windows 10.

I’ve already tried out this new feature on my testing system running Windows 10 20H1 preview builds and that i didn’t look for a single bug, so through the looks of products, the experience with the virtual desktop renaming option is already very polished. Obviously, because of the 20H1 is still a piece in progress, there’s an opportunity Microsoft will add more refinements in the coming builds, but for now, everything seems to be working just like expected.

All insiders in the Fast ring can try it out right now by updating to Windows 10 build 18975.

Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB4512941 Stops working looking Feature

The most recent optional cumulative update that Microsoft shipped for devices running Windows 10 version 1903, also referred to as Windows 10 May 2019 Update, not only that generates high CPU usage, but also stops working search for some.

Cumulative update KB4512941 was published on August 30 for devices running the newest stable version of Windows 10. However, according to a number of user reports, installing KB4512941 results in CPU usage spikes for a resource called SearchUI and owned by digital assistant Cortana.

Furthermore, WL originates across user reports, like this one, that the very same cumulative update also breaks down looking feature, instead displaying nothing more than a big black box.

“I updated to Windows 10 1903 version just now and all of a sudden my search function has eliminate. After i now type something in the search bar nothing will show up and its [sic] now only a black screen,” reddit user Boz1ful explains within the linked discussion.

This behavior is caused by the most recent Windows 10 version 1903 cumulative update, and removing it brings looking feature to fully condition.

Fix coming later this month

Microsoft has confirmed in a post around the Windows update dashboard that it’s considering reports of issues caused by this cumulative update.

“Microsoft gets reports that the small number of users might not receive results when utilizing Windows Desktop Search and could see high CPU usage from SearchUI.exe when searching after installing KB4512941. This issue is just encountered on devices by which searching the net from Windows Desktop Search continues to be disabled,” the firm says.

Only Windows 10 version 1903 running cumulative update KB4512941 (OS build 18362.329) is affected, Microsoft says.

A fix is already in the works, and if everything goes according to the plan, it ought to be released to users later this month, possibly around the September 10 Patch Tuesday.

Microsoft Creates New File Explorer Icon for Windows 10 Using Fluent Design

Users happen to be requesting a redesigned File Explorer in Windows for many years already, but until now, Microsoft doesn’t seem prepared to overhaul its file manager with major new features along with a redesigned UI.

What it does, however, is add more subtle tweaks in some places, and after rolling out a dark theme to bring it in line with the rest of the operating-system, Microsoft has become getting ready for another minor touch.

File Explorer will quickly get a new icon in line with the Fluent Design language, and a tweet published by Aggiornamenti Lumia provides us with an earlier take a look at its design.

There’s very little to go over concerning the icon, however, albeit it’s worth mentioning that it is available in line with the other redesigned icons that were released by Microsoft for Windows 10 and the Office productivity suite.

New icon not yet available publicly

For the time being, however, the icon is yet to visit live for everyone, so presumably Microsoft is simply awaiting the look to become complete before rolling it out in Windows 10. This could happen in the upcoming 19H2 feature update because of be finalized this month after which released to production devices in October.

In terms of a revamped form of File Explorer, Microsoft continues to be tight-lipped on this one, so requests like tab support continue to be uncertain for the time being. Microsoft originally planned to include tabs in File Explorer using a feature called Sets and bringing tabs at OS level, but the project has since been abandoned and a replacement is yet to be confirmed.

In other words, File Explorer is unlikely to change an excessive amount of in the short term, albeit there’s hope that the major update due early in the year of 2020 would introduce larger refinements for the file manager as well.

Why Microsoft Not Killing Off Windows 10’s Tablet Mode Is a Good Thing

Many people think Windows 10 is a desktop operating-system, and also at some level, this is correct.

Windows itself was created as a platform to power the traditional computer, but because laptop computer itself evolved, so did the operating-system, eventually becoming the primary engine for brand new input methods like touch.

In 2012, Microsoft designed a controversial change the company had to refine on several occasions: it introduced touch support in Windows 8, removed the beginning button, and started pushing for Store apps, a method that often backfired, but which the company has been insisting for each and every update.

Touch is already a key part of the Windows 10 experience, and given Microsoft’s efforts to push the operating system beyond the PC world, the platform also has a so-called tablet mode that’s designed to make this input method the core from the entire interaction between human and computer.

It’s not a secret, however, that the tablet mode is lagging behind the standard mouse and keyboard approach, and Microsoft itself hasn’t been very interested in improving it. Actually, the tablet mode is far from flawless, and the way it works leaves a lot to be desired.

When enabled, the tablet mode removes the desktop and the taskbar, bringing forward instead a navigation bar and touch-optimized controls. The Start menu is substituted for the very same Start screen which was so controversial a long time ago of Windows 8.

Microsoft knows this isn’t the best approach, so the clients are now planning to further refine this experience of the Windows 10 20H1 feature update due in the spring from the next year.

While the tablet mode itself will remain there, taking out the keyboard of a 2-in-1 device will give you users with a tuned interface that’s ready for touch input, but which doesn’t push away the desktop. The early version released by Microsoft, for example, enables a touch version of File Explorer, replaces looking box within the taskbar having a search icon, and also the icons themselves convey more space together to be easier to tap with a finger.

Many think that Microsoft should actually kill off the tablet mode and concentrate using the pc part, even though this new batch of improvements is living proof that Microsoft thinks otherwise.

And Microsoft’s strategy makes a lot of sense.

First and foremost, touch is really a more natural way of interaction, and because of the direction that Microsoft has embraced, it has to undoubtedly be part of the Windows 10 experience. Along with Windows Ink, the touch support makes Windows 10 a more straightforward operating-system for those categories of users.

Then, it’s Microsoft’s hardware push the one that requires a tablet mode. The Surface lineup is built positioned on touch interaction, and the moment you take away the keyboard, a Surface model becomes a tablet that needs this dedicated mode. Moving forward, Microsoft has no other option that to keep named mode alive so long as it keeps purchasing the present form factor from the Surface.

With this tablet mode lacking in terms of functionality and adoption, it’s definitely the best thing the software giant has started improving it. While it’s hard to believe the tablet mode would ever be considered a fully-featured alternative to the desktop, fine-tuning it could also convince other device manufacturers release Windows tablets, which in turns helps Microsoft boost adoption of Windows too.

Overall, named mode should be here to stay, by not killing it off, Microsoft is just playing its card in the actual long-term. More refinements could be implemented before the updated tablet mode makes its way to production devices in spring of 2020.

Leaked Windows 10 Product Keys Sold for Just $2

The Korean subsidiary of Microsoft has a hard time dealing with the growing quantity of leaked Windows 10 product keys that go on sale on online shopping platforms in the united states.

As per a report from the Korea Times, Microsoft not just that can’t stop the illegal sales of these license keys, but at the same time, the organization can’t determine where the product keys originate from to begin with.

“It is nearly impossible to understand where products keys are leaked from as Windows is really a widely used operating-system there are too many leakage cases,” a Microsoft Korea official is quoted as saying through the cited source.

“Product keys distributed through online shopping platforms are mainly unfit for general consumers and therefore are vulnerable to security issues.”

A Windows 10 key costs just $2 in Korea

A Windows 10 product key is being sold in the Microsoft Store in Korea for 200,000 won, that is about $165 at today’s rate of exchange. However, a leaked product secret is available for only 2,500 won, which means it is some $2 when purchased from third-party online sellers.

Most listings were published on Coupang and TMON, two largest shopping online platforms in the united states, and Microsoft says it’s reached out to in to block the sale of the illegal product keys.

“We have sent official letters to shopping online platforms and asked them to take appropriate steps to ban illegal sales,” a Microsoft Korea official told the origin.

Needless to say, Microsoft warns customers that purchasing product keys from any other place than the official store or an authorized reseller exposes these to a number of risks, including compromised security and restricted access to Microsoft services in the future, when the key winds up getting banned.

More Devices Blocked from Obtaining the Latest Windows 10 Versions

Microsoft handles the rollout of Windows 10 feature update with special care following the October 2018 Update fiasco, so each time the organization comes across major glitches that could affect the knowledge about the device, it sets new upgrade blocks to avoid the new release from installing.

This is what it’s happening at this time around the Zebra XSLATE B10 tablets, a rugged Windows 10 tablet model that should otherwise be in a position to install the latest feature updates all right.

According to a Microsoft advisory, these tablets are no longer permitted to install Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809) and Windows 10 May 2019 Update (version 1903) as a result of compatibility glitch.

“If you are attempting to update towards the Windows 10 May 2019 Feature Update (Windows 10, version 1903) or even the Windows 10 October 2018 Feature Update (Windows 10, version 1809), you might encounter an update compatibility hold and get the message, ??XSlate: Your computer isn’t supported yet on this version of Windows 10. No action is required. Windows Update will offer this version of Windows 10 automatically once the issue continues to be resolved,'” Microsoft explains in the linked advisory.

Losing touch support

Installing any of these two feature updates with an affected device could lead to lost touch support, the organization warns.

“Zebra and Microsoft have found incompatibility issues with Windows 10, version 1903 or Windows 10, version 1809 and the Zebra XSLATE B10 tablets. In some circumstances, touch may stop working on the devices after restarting the device,” it says.

Zebra has also confirmed the bug inside a tech support document and says more details could be offered as the investigation continues.

Meanwhile, users are recommended to avoid upgrading their devices using other methods, such as the Media Creation Tool, as installing the October or the May updates could cause limited functionality from the tablet.