Microsoft News.

A developer updated a Windows XP-themed portfolio with a working Game Boy and iPod simulator. The site recreates the nostalgic desktop experience as a way to showcase work. The author defends the unconventional approach as more engaging for both creator and visitor than a standard portfolio.

Microsoft CSO Eric Horvitz and EPFL researcher Robert West warned that AI systems now design and refine other AI systems independently, outpacing human understanding. AI's grasp of human behavior grows while human insight shrinks. They stressed maintaining enough oversight to catch risks before they become embedded.

Microsoft is ending support for Office 2021 on October 13, 2026. After that date, the suite will receive no security updates, bug fixes, or technical support. Microsoft recommends switching to Microsoft 365 or purchasing Office 2024 as alternatives.

Windows 11 26H2 continues Microsoft's move toward smaller, faster updates. This approach began with 24H2, released in October 2024, which was the last traditional feature update. Versions 25H2 and 26H2 now primarily extend support timelines rather than add new capabilities.

Playing Halo: Campaign Evolved on PS5 requires a PlayStation account, a Microsoft account, and an Xbox Gamertag. Local co-op also demands an online account. The convoluted setup frustrates players, with unclear blame between Microsoft and Sony over the requirements.

Microsoft attributed the Mastra AI supply chain attack to North Korean hacking group Sapphire Sleet. The attackers compromised the npm maintainer account "ehindero" and published malicious updates for over 140 packages. The malicious dependency "easy-day-js" deployed a malware dropper targeting credentials, API keys, and cryptocurrency wallets.

Windows Subsystem for Linux and upcoming native container support make Windows the easiest platform for running Linux containers. WSL 2 uses Hyper-V, a Level 1 hypervisor, for direct hardware access. The move weakens paid Docker Desktop while keeping developers on Windows with free WSL.

PS5 players must have a Microsoft account and Xbox Gamertag to play Halo: Campaign Evolved, enabling cross-platform play and progression. Split-screen co-op on PS5 additionally requires a PlayStation Plus subscription linked to a Microsoft account. The game launches July 28.

Typst is a free typesetting tool that works as an alternative to LaTeX and Microsoft Word. It uses simple formatting indicators like = for headers and asterisks for bold text. The author found the learning curve worthwhile after switching from Microsoft Word.

Windows 11 Pro is available for $9.97 (regularly $199) through June 28 during StackSocial's Deal Days. The one-time lifetime license includes a sleeker UI, enhanced security, Hyper-V, BitLocker encryption, Azure AD integration, and Microsoft Copilot for AI assistance.

The NTFS driver in Linux 7.2 receives hardening and fixes. It now supports Windows native symlinks. The update improves compatibility and security for the filesystem driver.

Time-Weighted Return since 2002 shows streaming service investment volatility based on three-year standard deviation of returns. The Motley Fool's Epic and Epic Plus services offer AI-powered stock rankings, monthly stock picks, and portfolio tools. Pricing at $199 and $499 per year for core and enhanced features respectively.

Microsoft faces a class action lawsuit from shareholders who claim the company concealed risks tied to its AI and cloud spending. The complaint alleges executives made misleading statements about Copilot's performance while downplaying cost and operational strain. The proposed class period runs from May 1, 2025, to January 28, 2026.

The European Commission will provisionally classify AWS and Microsoft Azure as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act, applying stricter competition rules to cloud infrastructure for the first time. The designation requires greater interoperability and data portability, with a final decision expected by the end of 2026.

Microsoft's KB5095051 update introduces a Recycle Bin bug that replaces deleted file names with cryptic internal filenames in the confirmation dialog. The update also affects OneDrive and overall system stability. Users who installed the patch may experience these issues.

Gears of War: E-Day creative director Matt Searcy confirmed the game is an Xbox exclusive and the studio never discussed a PS5 release. Two developers from Halo: Campaign Evolved and Fable expressed excitement about releasing games on multiple platforms, revealing a divide among Xbox studios.

Microsoft's Defender Security Research Team disclosed AutoJack, a vulnerability chain in AutoGen Studio that lets a malicious website achieve remote code execution on a device running an AI agent. The chain exploits localhost trust, skipped login checks, and arbitrary code execution. The issue existed only in early GitHub builds and was fixed before release.

SpaceX became the world's fifth-most-valuable company within three trading days of its June 12 IPO, surpassing Amazon and Taiwan Semiconductor. Its market cap reached $2.73 trillion, with shares up nearly 35%. The company now trails only Nvidia, Alphabet, Apple, and Microsoft.

Moon Studios CEO Thomas Mahler stated that Xbox Game Pass could have succeeded but failed because Microsoft never delivered the major hit games required to sustain the subscription service. The executive criticized Xbox for not providing the blockbuster titles necessary for the platform's long-term viability.

Sperm whales sleep by floating vertically near the surface, motionless and silent for 10 to 15 minutes. Marine biologists first documented this behavior in 2008 using acoustic tags. The whales become completely unresponsive, with both brain hemispheres offline, leaving them defenseless during these brief sleep bouts.

A Windows update introduced a cosmetic bug that shows internal file names like $Rxxxxx.ext in the deletion confirmation dialog instead of the original file name. The bug affects Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 through Windows 11 26H1 and Windows Server 2012 through 2025. Microsoft stated a fix is in progress for a future update.

Microsoft confirmed a bug where the Recycle Bin deletion dialog shows internal filenames like $Rxxxxx.ext instead of the original filename. The issue affects all supported Windows releases after installing June 2026 security updates. A workaround is available through Microsoft's Business Support team while engineers develop a fix.

Tilray Brands trades at a discounted 0.5, 0.6x price-to-sales ratio but remains unprofitable with negative free cash flow. Management's history of value-destructive acquisitions and frequent equity dilution justifies the steep discount. The author requires clear evidence of sustainable cash flow before considering a buy.

Activision confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 re-releases on PS4 and PS5 are ports, not remasters. Iron Galaxy is handling the ports, which arrive in July with campaign, Zombies, and multiplayer. Players should not expect native PS5 features like 120Hz support.

Google Cloud revenue growth and margins have sharply outperformed AWS and Azure. A $462 billion backlog and double sequential backlog growth signal continued acceleration into FY2026. Google Search revenue has accelerated for four consecutive quarters, driven by increasing AI monetization across advertising.

Fresh renders of the Samsung Galaxy A27 show Black, Blue, and Light Pink options. A Czech listing reveals a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset, up to 8GB RAM, 256GB storage, a 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED display, 50MP main camera, 12MP selfie camera, and a 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging.

A golden age for Windows laptops is undermined by inflated prices due to the AI boom starving the consumer market of affordable silicon. Models from Qualcomm, Intel, AMD, and Nvidia have improved performance, battery life, and displays, but budget and mid-range tiers now offer worse value.

Microsoft announced the Azure Functions serverless agents runtime in public preview at Build 2026. Agents are defined in.agent.md files using a markdown-first programming model. Any Azure Functions trigger can spawn an agent, which accesses MCP tool servers, sandboxed code, and browser execution via Azure Container Apps dynamic sessions.

Microsoft discovered a USB-spreading worm that steals cryptocurrency by hijacking clipboard data. The malware replaces copied wallet addresses with attacker-controlled ones, redirecting funds during transactions. It spreads through infected USB drives, posing a risk to crypto users who rely on copy-paste for transfers.

Microsoft introduced the Microsoft Execution Containers (MXC) SDK to secure autonomous AI agents on Windows. The policy-driven layer uses process and session isolation, with planned micro-VMs and Linux containers. IT teams manage policies via Entra ID and Intune, while Defender and Purview provide observability and audit trails.

Microsoft Threat Intelligence warned Windows users about a crypto clipper malware spreading via USB drives since February. The malware steals clipboard data for wallet credentials, hides legitimate files with lookalike shortcuts, and functions as a backdoor for remote code execution. It uses Tor to connect to attackers.

A community port of Windows NT for PowerPC runs on Nintendo GameCube through efforts by Rairii NTx86 and stonedDiscord. The port is available on GitHub and works on GameCube Wii and Wii-U vWii mode. Text input requires keyboard-equipped controllers or workaround methods due to lack of native keyboard support.

Godot 4.7 brings HDR output to Windows, macOS, iOS, visionOS, and Linux on Wayland for richer lighting. A new AreaLight3D node enables realistic rectangular lights for TVs, billboards, and windows. The release also includes a new Asset Store and other refinements for the open-source indie game engine.

Microsoft discovered Crypto Clipper, a self-propagating worm that spreads via USB drives to steal cryptocurrency credentials. The malware monitors clipboard contents for wallet addresses or seed phrases, takes five screenshots over 10 seconds, and exfiltrates data through a Tor-based SOCKS5 proxy to attacker-controlled servers.

Ubisoft launched a five-day free trial of Ubisoft+ Premium for Xbox and PC. The trial includes games like Assassin's Creed Shadows and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Signup requires visiting the Ubisoft website, not the Xbox console, and providing a credit card or PayPal. Cancel immediately to avoid charges.

Microsoft is reportedly closing or spinning off Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory. No closures have been officially confirmed, but employees have posted on social media that they are looking for work. Other unnamed studios are also said to be at risk.

Microsoft engineers collaborated with Adobe to improve Photoshop performance on Windows. The team focused on the MSVC compiler to extract additional performance from the native C++ desktop application. The improvements target specific Photoshop operations.

Two AI tools broke the same way in two weeks. Varonis disclosed SearchLeak (CVE-2026-42824) in Microsoft 365 Copilot Enterprise Search: a crafted URL lets Copilot search a victim's mailbox and exfiltrate data via Bing SSRF. Obsidian Security published a three-CVE chain against LiteLLM. Enterprise AI accepts external input with no trust boundary.

Xbox added a new "exclusive" label to the dashboard, spotted on an ad for Gears of War: E-Day. The label includes a symbol resembling an Xbox Series X console, indicating the game is a console exclusive, not exclusive to Series X over Series S. The label may appear on box art and other placements.

A USB worm spreads clipboard-stealing malware that replaces cryptocurrency wallet addresses with attacker-controlled ones. Active since February, it uses LNK files on USB drives, monitors for seed phrases and private keys, captures screenshots every ten seconds, and communicates over Tor. Microsoft detailed the infection chain.

The European Commission will issue preliminary findings next week that AWS and Azure meet gatekeeper requirements under the Digital Markets Act. A final decision is expected by the end of 2026. Designation would impose interoperability requirements, curb customer lock-in, and ban self-preferencing, with fines up to 10% of global turnover.

Free Play Days returns with more free Xbox games, including Two Point Museum. Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass Core subscribers can play the featured titles for a limited time without additional purchase. The promotion offers temporary access to a selection of games.

Xbox Game Pass adds two day-one releases in July 2026: The Planet Crafter on July 21 and Fogpiercer on July 17. The Planet Crafter is a space survival terraforming game with an Overwhelmingly Positive Steam rating from over 36,000 reviews. Fogpiercer is a sci-fi roguelike deckbuilder where players assemble a train through a bandit-infested world.

Microsoft disclosed a Windows clipper campaign active since February 2026 that uses USB LNK files and a Tor-based C2. The malware deploys a portable Tor client, routes traffic through a local SOCKS5 proxy, and performs clipboard theft, screenshot exfiltration, and wallet-address substitution.

Microsoft Copilot power users who complete hundreds of tasks weekly drive up costs significantly. Charles Lamanna, Microsoft's executive vice president for Copilot, told Axios on June 16 that high usage leads to very high costs, delivering bad news for heavy adopters.

ByteDance spends over $1 billion annually on Microsoft's AI and cloud services, primarily buying OpenAI models through Azure. Microsoft sells these models in China despite OpenAI and Anthropic refusing direct sales there. Azure's AI revenue in China roughly tripled in the fiscal year ending June 2025.

Microsoft Secure Boot certificates have expiration dates, causing potential boot issues for Linux users on Windows PCs. Existing systems will not suddenly refuse to boot, but the situation highlights how Linux has relied on Microsoft and OEMs for Secure Boot. Users should take control before 2026.

DragonForce ransomware actors deployed a Go-based RAT called Backdoor.Turn that hides command-and-control traffic inside Microsoft Teams relay infrastructure. The backdoor uses a legitimate Microsoft TURN relay and QUIC session to evade detection. The attackers remained on a major U.S. services firm's network for one to two months.

Outright Games and Casual Brothers announced The Grinch 2: Saving Christmas, launching September 18 on PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Switch, and PC via Steam. Players control the Grinch collecting ornaments and using gadgets like a Jetpack and Rocket Skates to decorate a Christmas tree for the Whos. The game supports solo and local cooperative play.

The European Union is set to unveil preliminary findings that AWS and Azure likely meet the criteria for regulation under the Digital Markets Act as early as next week. The designation would impose strict obligations on both cloud providers to ensure fair competition in the digital market.

Rockstar Games now offers free upgrades from GTA V on PS4 and Xbox One to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions, starting June 18. The offer applies to all PS4 owners but only digital Xbox One owners. PC players can upgrade from Legacy to Enhanced for free. Progress migration is supported.

SpaceX held its IPO on June 12, closing with a $2.11 trillion market capitalization, making it the seventh-most-valuable company globally. The company raised $75 billion by selling 555.6 million shares at $135 each. An accelerated lockup policy based on stock performance is in place.

A Microsoft engineer named James Chang created TimeCapsuleSMB, a modern Samba setup that lets the AirPort Time Capsule run as a Samba 4.24.3 server. This allows macOS 27 to see the device on networks via Bonjour for Time Machine backups. Apple disbanded its router division in 2016 and exited the wireless router business in 2018.

Microsoft used an internal tool called Basic Block Tool (BBT), nicknamed Microsoft Lego, to shuffle binary code for faster execution. Former engineer Dave Plummer explained that BBT defragmented related code so the loader touched fewer memory pages. This optimization was critical for Windows and Office on constrained hardware.

Xbox faces widespread layoffs and studio closures as Asha Sharma warns slim profit margins are unsustainable. Compulsion Games, Double Fine, Ninja Theory among teams at risk. Microsoft plans layoffs timed to June 30 financial year end with potential sales or spin-offs. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier cites Xbox One era struggles and stagnant Game Pass growth as key factors.

The 2026 HP OmniBook 3 offers strong value with a low price, outstanding battery life, and a sharp 2K OLED display. Muffled speakers and low screen brightness are drawbacks. The laptop is considered a serious Windows alternative to the MacBook Neo.

Windows 11 default apps cover basics but lack depth. The author lists 11 better alternatives worth switching to for improved functionality. Users can replace each default app with a more capable third-party option.

Microsoft executive VP Charles Lamanna leads Copilot Cowork, a research preview letting office workers delegate complex tasks to AI agents within Microsoft 365. Cowork handles competitive analyses from Excel and scheduling conflicts from Outlook. Lamanna predicts 2026 will move AI beyond chat, though token costs and workflow changes remain obstacles.

Microsoft resolved a known issue causing June 2026 security updates to fail on Windows Server 2016 systems. Affected devices received error 0x80070002 (FILE_NOT_FOUND) when installing KB5094122 without first applying KB5087537. The installation issue is now fixed, and affected devices should no longer experience failures.

Microsoft assigned CVE-2026-50656 to the RoguePlanet zero-day, an elevation-of-privilege flaw in Defender's Malware Protection Engine. The race condition vulnerability grants SYSTEM privileges on fully patched Windows 10 and 11 devices. Chaotic Eclipse disclosed it as the seventh exploit in their campaign against Microsoft.

Treyarch announced Iron Galaxy is porting the original Black Ops and Black Ops 2 to PS5 in July, with no mention of Xbox versions. Xbox fans are confused because the existing backward-compatible versions suffer from low resolution and hacking problems in online multiplayer.

A proposed class action filed May 31, 2026, alleges Microsoft and Valve agreed to price parity between the Microsoft Store and Steam, forming a horizontal price-fixing conspiracy. The suit claims the deal raised prices and reduced choice for US PC game buyers. It seeks damages under the Sherman and Clayton Acts.

Twindo built the world's first offline AI copilot for mobile technicians. The tool runs without cell signal, Wi-Fi, or satellite link. It lets a technician verify a bolt torque specification from thousands of pages of manuals while standing on an offshore wind platform in the North Sea.

Microsoft Windows 11 Pro is available for $12.97, down from $199, for a lifetime license. The deal includes BitLocker encryption, Hyper-V virtualization, Windows Sandbox, TPM 2.0 support, and Copilot AI integration. The offer lasts only through today.

Checkout.com will power digital payments for Microsoft products, including Xbox, across the EMEA region. The global payments provider was selected to handle transactions for key Microsoft offerings in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

A developer detailed a method for capturing continuous touchpad input on Windows 10. The approach involved handling low-level touchpad events to track gestures and movements. This technique enables more responsive applications by processing touchpad data directly, bypassing standard mouse event limitations.

Microsoft Edge will soon allow signing in with a Google account alongside a Microsoft account. The feature is listed on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap and will be available on Windows and macOS. Rollout is expected next month, with admins able to toggle it via the NonMicrosoftAccountSignInEnabled policy.

Windows 11 Search now better matches sloppy app typos to installed apps, reducing accidental web searches. An experimental build finds apps from mangled input that stable Windows otherwise web-searches. An upcoming toggle will force local-only search, stopping Store and web results.

Microsoft announced Scout, an always-on enterprise agent built on the open-source OpenClaw framework. Scout operates autonomously with its own identity, executing privileged tasks like file operations and shell scripts without user prompts. It integrates with Work IQ and supports MCP servers for developer extensibility.

ByteDance has been Microsoft's largest AI customer, spending over $1 billion annually on Azure services. The Chinese company primarily uses OpenAI models through Microsoft. This business continues despite escalating US-China tensions over artificial intelligence technology.

Microsoft stock declined today. The drop was calculated using a time-weighted return since 2002. Volatility profiles were based on trailing-three-year calculations of the standard deviation of service investment returns.

Treyarch will bring Call of Duty: Black Ops and Black Ops 2 to PlayStation 4 and 5 in July, with Iron Galaxy Studios handling the ports. Both games originally released for Xbox 360 and PC in 2010 and 2012 respectively. No updates for Xbox or PC versions have been announced.

Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Arm, Mastercard, and Siemens joined the Linux Foundation's new Appia Foundation. The project will create common specifications and assessment frameworks for AI safety, trust, and compliance. The framework allows conformity evidence reuse across the AI supply chain to reduce duplicate assessments and compliance costs.

GitHub Copilot for VS Code now uses prompt caching to reuse model state across turns and tool search to load tool definitions on demand. These harness improvements reduce repeated context, letting more of each session focus on the task. Auto model routing is also expanding across Copilot surfaces.

Microsoft researcher Adrian de Wynter built a working neural network inside Age of Empires II using goats as bits to critique AI research methods. Goats on grass represent 0, goats on bridges represent 1. The network learns the logical AND function. De Wynter argues that attributing human qualities to language models is flawed.

Kali365, a phishing-as-a-service platform also known as Octopi365 and Freedom365, targets Microsoft accounts. Detected by Huntress in May 2026, it uses AI and 33 built-in templates to steal session cookies and OAuth tokens, circumventing multi-factor authentication without directly compromising it.

Former Sony Interactive Entertainment America CEO Shawn Layden said Xbox's recent moves show a "basic misunderstanding" of the interactive entertainment industry. Layden commented on a LinkedIn post listing Xbox decisions including a CEO changeover, weak rebrand, new tech hires, and potential studio closures. He later called the situation a "Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly.

Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier reports that more Xbox studios beyond Ninja Theory, Double Fine, and Compulsion Games are in trouble. Negotiations include spinning off studios or finding buyers, but a "bloodbath" with significant layoffs is expected within two weeks. Microsoft's failure to grow Game Pass while acquiring Activision Blizzard for $69 billion created massive financial pressure.

Windows 11's Xbox mode reduces RAM usage compared to the standard desktop but does not improve gaming performance, according to testing by Linus Tech Tips. In games like Forza Horizon 5 and Cyberpunk 2077, frame rates were identical or negligibly different. Valve's SteamOS still delivers better game performance than Windows 11.

Rockstar announced a free upgrade to the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Grand Theft Auto V for owners of the PS4 or digital Xbox One edition, starting June 18. The upgrade includes 4K resolution, ray tracing, and 60 FPS. The announcement coincides with a new GTA Online heist launching in July.

A Linux system administrator switched from TeamViewer to Microsoft's built-in RDP after TeamViewer accused the free account of commercial use and locked it. RDP requires Windows Pro on the target machine but offers faster, more responsive remote sessions with a more integrated experience than third-party alternatives.

CrowdStrike expanded Project QuiltWorks in partnership with AWS to harden the cloud attack surface against frontier AI risk. The initiative focuses on securing cloud environments from emerging threats posed by advanced artificial intelligence systems.

Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier said massive layoffs are coming to Xbox at the end of Microsoft's fiscal year on June 30. Studios including Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory are in negotiations about their future. Schreier described the situation as a 'bloodbath' and 'pretty brutal.

Steve Ballmer in 2009 called Google Chrome a 'rounding error' when Internet Explorer dominated with 60% browser share. Google CEO Sundar Pichai recalled the jab during a Stanford commencement address, saying it could have been demoralizing but instead became fuel to keep going.

Microsoft unveiled new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop with Snapdragon X2 silicon. The 13-inch Pro starts at $1,499, and the Laptop at $1,599. Graphics performance is up 53 percent on the Pro and 58 percent on the Laptop. Prices are $600 higher than the previous Surface Laptop 7.

DragonForce ransomware operators targeted a major US services company in December 2025, deploying a custom backdoor called Backdoor.Turn. The malware abuses Microsoft Teams TURN relays to blend command-and-control traffic with legitimate Teams communications, marking the first in-the-wild use of the Ghost Calls technique.

The Mariana snailfish lives nearly 8,000 metres down in the Mariana Trench, where pressure is roughly 800 times sea level. Its bones are partly unossified, and its cells are packed with TMAO, a molecule that keeps proteins from collapsing under extreme pressure.

Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI are collaborating to create a missing trust layer for artificial intelligence. The joint effort aims to establish standards and mechanisms that verify AI-generated content and ensure reliability. This partnership addresses growing concerns about misinformation and accountability in AI systems.

Asus ROG Ally X20 features a native landscape OLED display for darker blacks and vivid colors. The console includes a rotatable d-pad and is bundled with ROG XReal R1 gaming glasses. It maintains performance parity with the previous model but faces higher costs due to rising component prices. The release marks Asus Republic of Gamers' 20th anniversary.

Microsoft engineers documented a 28.6 percent performance tax on iOS browsers due to Apple's requirement that all iOS browsers use the WebKit engine. Rival rendering engines could make pages load almost 30 percent faster on iPhones. The restriction limits competitive differentiation and browser engine diversity on iOS.

Microsoft is exploring a self-hosted, fine-tuned version of DeepSeek V4 or another open-source model to power Copilot Cowork at lower cost. The company expects to offer a lower-cost model within weeks and is moving Copilot Cowork to usage-based pricing. DeepSeek V4 is far cheaper to run but is Chinese, creating political risk.

Oracle called reports that a Microsoft cloud deal had collapsed "inaccurate," stating Microsoft remains an OCI customer and partner. Business Insider had reported the deal, potentially worth over $3 billion, faced security and compliance concerns. Oracle emphasized a collaborative partnership and ongoing discussions about expanding their work together.

Raymond Chen recalled a Windows team that built an x86-32 emulator using binary translation. A compiler unrolled a 64 KB memory initialization loop into 65,536 individual instructions, consuming 256 KB of code. The engineers added special translator code to detect and replace that bloated function with a tight loop.

Microsoft confirmed a known issue where third-party apps using OLE automation cannot launch Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Access after Windows updates from June 9, 2026. Affected apps include CCH Engagement, Zotero, and Dentrix. No fix exists yet; a future Windows update will resolve it.

Three Microsoft-signed Secure Boot certificates expire June 24, leaving Windows and Linux systems vulnerable to firmware-based bootkit infections. Bootkits load before the OS and anti-malware protections, survive reinstallation, and can reinfect disinfected systems. Users must update cryptographic keys to maintain protection against UEFI malware.

Soource, a Bolzano-based startup, raised €3 million in Seed funding led by Vertis Venture 5 Scaleup to expand procurement intelligence across Europe. The round included Tenity, 360 Capital, and Club degli Investitori. Soource aims to move procurement from a copilot to an autopilot model.

A reported $3bn-plus deal for Microsoft to lease Oracle cloud capacity fell apart because Oracle's public cloud lacked FedRAMP, a US government security framework Oracle was unwilling to add. Oracle calls the report inaccurate. The collapse highlights compliance as a deal-breaker in the AI build-out.

Intruder analyzed 3,000 attack surfaces and found exposed databases top the list, with over a quarter of organizations exposing MySQL and Postgres. API documentation ranked third ahead of RDP. Time-to-exploit has dropped to a single day, making exposed services a critical risk.

Microsoft's June Windows update broke Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) automation, causing third-party apps like CCH Engagement, Dentrix, and Zotero to fail when launching Office documents. Microsoft directed users to open files directly instead and said affected vendors are independent of Microsoft. A fix requires contacting Microsoft support or waiting for a future update.

A Wall Street analyst projects SpaceX will surpass Amazon and Microsoft on its way to a $3 trillion valuation. The forecast is based on time-weighted return calculations since 2002 and trailing-three-year volatility profiles of service investment returns.

Shareholders filed a securities class action against Microsoft on June 12, alleging the company hid slowing Azure growth and rising AI infrastructure costs. The suit cites a 10% share drop on January 29 that erased $357 billion in market value after a quarterly earnings report.

Microsoft is considering using a modified, self-hosted version of the Chinese open-source model DeepSeek-V4 to power its Copilot Cowork agentic AI. The move aims to cut costs as Anthropic and OpenAI raise prices, moving Microsoft to usage-based pricing.

GitHub introduced the Copilot app, a desktop control center for agent-native development in technical preview for Copilot Pro, Pro+, Business, and Enterprise users. The app uses git worktrees to isolate each agent session, enabling parallel workflows without interference. A "My Work" view shows sessions, issues, pull requests, and background automations across connected repositories.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered no financial updates to Microsoft stock investors. The announcement included no metrics, stock targets, or investment guidance. Time-weighted returns or volatility data were not disclosed. Financial services like The Motley Fool's stock picks were not referenced.

Microsoft launched new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 chips. The Surface Pro starts at $1,499 with up to 15.5 hours of battery life. The Surface Laptop starts at $1,599 with up to 20 hours of battery life. Both feature 100% recycled aluminum shells and a haptic trackpad.

SpaceX briefly surpassed Amazon and Microsoft in market value, reaching over $3 trillion after an after-hours high of $229.85 per share. It now trails only NVIDIA's $5.14 trillion valuation. To become the world's most valuable company, SpaceX shares would need to reach between $753 and $1,323.

SpaceX closed up 4.8% on Tuesday with a $2.65 trillion market cap, just above Amazon's. Shares popped about 12% intraday and briefly overtook Microsoft's $2.93 trillion market cap. The surge followed a record-breaking IPO on Friday.

An XDA author replaced a Linux VM with WSL 2 and found Windows became a legitimate development environment. WSL eliminates the need for dual-booting or hypervisors. Users simply search for a distro and run a WSL command in Terminal to set up Linux.

Xbox confirms Gears of War: E-Day will remain exclusive to Xbox Series X/S. No reverse negotiations with PlayStation occurred. Microsoft chief strategist Matthew Ball stated exclusivity is part of a long-term strategy, not a temporary financial tactic. Exclusives will continue annually, with new ones announced in 2027 and beyond for Project H launch.

Lenovo's Snapdragon X2-powered Windows laptops, including the Yoga Slim 7x with a 4.70GHz Elite chip, 32GB RAM, and 1TB SSD, offer noticeably quicker performance than first-generation Snapdragon X machines. The author regrets buying a MacBook Air after testing these solid, reasonably priced laptops.

Microsoft introduced a new AI agent with pay-as-you-go pricing, billing customers per use. This marks the first change in Microsoft's software charging model in two decades. The shift moves away from traditional licensing toward consumption-based pricing for the AI agent.

Varonis discovered a three-stage vulnerability chain named SearchLeak that exploits Microsoft 365 Copilot Enterprise Search to exfiltrate emails, 2FA codes, and business documents. The attack uses Parameter-to-Prompt Injection, HTML injection, and CSP bypass via Bing SSRF to access indexed content including SharePoint and OneDrive files. Microsoft's safety guardrails fail when all three stages are combined.

Euro-Office, an open-source office suite, has been criticized for its biased code favoring big businesses and profits, contradicting its claims of fighting proprietary software. The suite's closed-source nature has raised concerns about its alignment with the open-source community. Euro-Office's actions have sparked debate about the true intentions of open-source software developers.

Microsoft is moving Copilot Cowork to usage-based pricing and considering a self-hosted, fine-tuned version of DeepSeek V4 as a cheaper model option. Copilot EVP Charles Lamanna said flat-rate pricing is unsustainable due to high usage costs. A final decision on DeepSeek is expected in weeks.

SpaceX has grown larger than Amazon by market valuation and is approaching Microsoft. The company's valuation, calculated by time-weighted return since 2002, reflects its massive scale. Investors are advised to buy 50 stocks and hold them for at least five years.

Microsoft made Copilot Cowork generally available, an agentic system that executes multi-step workflows instead of just answering questions. Over half the Fortune 500 already use it after a three-month preview. The system runs on Anthropic's Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 4.6 models, with an in-house Cowork 1 model arriving soon.

The final Console Open Beta for Once Human is now available on Xbox Series X|S. Players explore a Stardust-infected open world, capture Deviants to automate bases, and hunt anomalies for Mutagens. Reaching Level 20 during the beta earns exclusive rewards that carry into the official launch.

A new Windows variant of the SprySOCKS malware abuses kernel drivers to evade detection. The malware leverages legitimate driver vulnerabilities to bypass security software and maintain persistence on infected systems. This technique allows the malware to operate with elevated privileges and avoid traditional endpoint defenses.

A PC builder with an RTX 4070 Ti Super and Ryzen 5 7800X3D blamed Windows for micro-stuttering in The Last of Us Part II. After driver rollbacks and a clean OS reinstall failed, adding a second SSD just for games solved the problem. The root cause was Windows background processes competing on the same drive.

An analyst stated Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's next 100 days will focus on the job she was actually hired to do, with mass layoffs looming. The assessment highlights pressure on Sharma to deliver on core responsibilities amid workforce reduction expectations.

AnduinOS 2.0 beta is a desktop Linux distribution built from a ground-up architectural rewrite. AIURSOFT Limited engineered the OS using a sandboxed debootstrap and chroot pipeline, with 56 modular.deb packages. A strict hard-fail policy blocks unwanted Ubuntu packages, ensuring a pristine, privacy-respecting ISO.

Microsoft is bundling all Windows 11 updates, security patches, drivers, bug fixes, firmware, and.NET packages, into a single installation. This change eliminates the need for multiple reboots, completing the update process with just one restart.

Microsoft is investing heavily in PS5 Pro support for Halo: Campaign Evolved, the debut of Xbox's iconic property on PlayStation. The remake will feature PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, SSD optimization, faster loading, 3D audio, and DualSense-exclusive features. Game Informer reports even Xbox Series X will struggle to keep up with the PS5 Pro experience.

Pre-release Geekbench benchmarks for the Steam Machine (codenamed Valve Fremont) show a 6-core, 12-thread AMD Zen 4 CPU at 4.8GHz with 16GB RAM and a dedicated RDNA 3 GPU. Valve claims the device is 6x more powerful than the Steam Deck. Any Steam Deck Verified game will also be Steam Machine Verified.

Xbox Game Studios CEO Craig Duncan is stepping down after less than two years, alongside chief of staff Louise O'Connor. Their departures follow reports of mass job cuts at Xbox and closures of studios including Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, and Double Fine.

Microsoft is moving Copilot Cowork to usage-based pricing to expand enterprise AI access. The company is also considering a Microsoft-hosted version of DeepSeek as a cheaper model option for customers.

Varonis discovered SearchLeak, chaining three flaws in Microsoft 365 Copilot for one-click data theft from inbox, OneDrive, and SharePoint. The attack uses prompt injection, an HTML race condition, and a Bing SSRF. Microsoft patched the vulnerability, rated 10/10 critical, earlier this month.

Microsoft is moving Copilot Cowork to usage-based pricing and considering a Microsoft-hosted version of DeepSeek as a cheaper model option. Agentic tools like Copilot Cowork can boost productivity but also create large AI bills. Adding a model from a Chinese AI company could draw criticism.

Leishen Energy's subsidiary ZJY Technologies won the No. 1 bid for Skid-mounted Rooms for Wellhead Surface Control Integrated Devices from a Sinopec oilfield branch. The equipment includes built-in air conditioning and electric heating systems. The win reinforces Leishen Energy's position in China's onshore oil and gas sector.

SpaceX shares surged up to 17 percent, pushing its market value to nearly $3 trillion, surpassing Amazon and Microsoft to become the fourth largest publicly traded company. Retail traders bought as much SpaceX stock in two days as across the entire U.S. stock market last week. SpaceX also agreed to acquire AI coding startup Cursor for $60 billion.

Currys is selling the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Aura Edition and the Asus Vivobook S16 OLED, both at £599. The Lenovo offers a slim 14-inch build with a 512GB SSD and 17.5-hour battery. The Asus provides a 16-inch screen, 1TB storage, and up to 20 hours of battery life.

Microsoft's Surface Pro 12 features Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 chips, up to 53% faster graphics, and 15.5-hour battery life. The base model starts at $1,499 with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage, a $500 increase over the 11th Edition. An OLED panel adds another $300.

Microsoft shares declined about 25% in Q1 2026, the steepest quarterly loss since Q4 2008. The Columbia Global Technology Growth Fund attributed the drop to heavy AI capital expenditure and softer Azure growth. The stock closed at $399.76 on June 15, 2026, with a market cap of $2.97 trillion.

Microsoft's new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro ship with haptic trackpads that vibrate during window snapping, image alignment, and video scrubbing. The devices run exclusively on Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 platform with no Intel option. Prices start at $1,600 for the Laptop and $1,500 for the Pro.

A long-time Chrome user switched to Microsoft Edge permanently because of the Drop feature, a cross-device file-sharing tool built into the browser. Drop allows quick transfer of files and notes between devices without third-party apps. The feature became indispensable for productivity, making the switch final.

SpaceX stock briefly surpassed Microsoft, making the company the fourth-largest in the United States by market value. The milestone marked a significant shift in the rankings of the country's most valuable publicly traded companies.

An analyst stated that upcoming Xbox exclusives are being sent out to die. Xbox has pushed back against this claim. The analyst's comment and Xbox's response highlight ongoing tensions around the platform's exclusive game strategy.

A class action lawsuit alleges Microsoft made misleading statements about Copilot adoption and AI model performance. The company also faces AI-related scalability problems at GitHub, reportedly turning to other cloud vendors for help. Microsoft called the claims meritless and plans to defend itself.

Aembit announced support for Copilot Studio, extending identity and access management to Microsoft's enterprise AI agent platform. The integration, unveiled at Identiverse 2026, lets security teams manage agent access with ephemeral credentials and full audit logs. Aembit also released an enterprise AI readiness checklist.

Microsoft made Copilot Cowork generally available to all Microsoft 365 Copilot users. The platform combines Microsoft's Copilot with Anthropic's Claude Cowork AI tools. More than half of the Fortune 500 used it during preview. New features include model choice, plugin extensibility, and cost management controls.

Leaked Geekbench 6 scores for Valve's Steam Machine custom AMD 1772 processor show it performing worse than current gaming handhelds. The chip fell in the middle of the pack when compared to AMD Ryzen Z1/Z2 Extreme and Intel Core Ultra 7 258V devices. Linux scores were lower than Windows scores.

EA Sports FC 26 joins Xbox Game Pass on June 18 for Ultimate and PC tiers. RV There Yet?, a co-op adventure that sold 4.5 million copies on PC, arrives June 30. Call of Duty: Vanguard lands June 17. The additions follow reports of studio closures and leadership changes at Xbox.

Attackers used a custom Go-based backdoor called Backdoor.Turn to disguise command-and-control traffic as legitimate Microsoft Teams activity. The malware requested anonymous visitor tokens from Microsoft services and used TURN relay servers before establishing a direct QUIC connection to a malicious server. Symantec called this the first known case of this technique.

Microsoft confirms Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution will stay exclusive. No conversations to reverse exclusivity. Xbox CSO Matthew Ball denies rumors of abandoning exclusive content. Microsoft reaffirms annual delivery of signature exclusives. The trust delta between platforms remains unresolved due to hardware supply constraints.

Ent, founded by RiskIQ veterans who built Microsoft Security Copilot, raised a $100M seed round led by Decibel. The startup runs small AI models locally on endpoints to make prevention decisions in under a second, betting against the industry's current detection-first approach.

Microsoft launched the Surface Laptop 8 with Snapdragon X2 chips, claiming up to 20 hours of battery life on the 13.8-inch model and 58% more graphics performance. The 15-inch model has a 262 PPI display. Pricing starts at $1,599 for the baseline configuration.

GitHub is using Amazon Web Services to supplement cloud capacity as AI-driven demand surges. The company expects total commits to reach 14 billion in 2026, up from 1 billion in 2025. Microsoft confirmed a multi-cloud strategy for GitHub while maintaining its commitment to Azure.

Attackers can create recursive NTFS junctions that point back to a parent directory, generating infinite file paths. This technique, called GhostTree, causes scanning tools including EDR products to follow the loop indefinitely. Malicious files in the same folder remain unexamined because the scanner never finishes.

Windows users can now run ls, cat, grep, and awk in terminals, a capability that was historically absent. The core challenge in porting Unix tools to Windows is fork(), which Windows lacks. Windows uses CreateProcess() instead of Unix's process cloning model.

Xbox Game Pass loses another eight games in June 2026, according to TrueAchievements. The removals reduce the subscription service's available library. Subscribers lose access to these titles at the end of the month.

Mark Gordon, studio head of Xbox-owned Call of Duty developer Treyarch, is retiring after 22 years to focus on his next chapter. Gordon helped shape the Black Ops series and became studio head in 2016. Veterans Kevin Hendrickson and Yale Miller will replace him as co-studio heads.

Microsoft announced the next batch of Xbox Game Pass games for June and early July, including RV There Yet and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4. A selection of games will leave the service starting June 30.

Shield extended its communications surveillance platform to cover Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions and image-based content. The move brings two fast-growing compliance blind spots under active monitoring for financial services firms. Shield's platform now captures AI-generated text and visual data alongside traditional communications.

Microsoft launched new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro models with Snapdragon X2 chips, starting at $1,499. The Surface Pro offers up to 15.5 hours of battery life and a 53% graphics improvement. The Surface Laptop starts at $1,599, features a haptic trackpad, and comes in a new Jade color.

Microsoft is rolling out a "quiet by default" overhaul to Windows 11 Widgets in Beta Preview Build 26220.8680. The update disables Open on Hover and Taskbar badging, restricts daily taskbar alerts, and shows only the weather widget on the lock screen. Badges now match the accent color instead of always appearing red.

Xbox is reportedly preparing to close several smaller studios, including Ninja Theory and Compulsion Games, despite their critical successes. The studios are in negotiations to avoid closure or seek independence. The cuts mark a shift from Xbox's earlier public commitment to supporting smaller studios and diverse game portfolios.

Microsoft upgraded the Surface Pro and Surface Laptop with Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 chips. The Surface Pro starts at $1,499 and the Laptop at $1,599, each $100 more than the previous generation.

The June update KB5094126 for Windows 11 is causing boot failures, blue screens, and BitLocker recovery loops on some devices. The update patches around 200 security vulnerabilities but may fail on systems with small EFI partitions. HP and Dell business devices are among those affected.

EA Sports FC 26 arrives on Xbox Game Pass June 18 for Ultimate and PC subscribers, including a Supercharge Pack with FUT Draft Tokens and 10% off EA purchases. Junkster launches June 16, Call of Duty: Vanguard on June 17, and Abyssus on June 25.

Microsoft announced Snapdragon X2 versions of the Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12 with consumer pricing. The Surface Laptop 8 starts at $1,599 and the Surface Pro 12 at $1,499, making them $600 and $500 more expensive than the 2024 models. Microsoft offers free accessories and trade-in savings up to $900 through June 30.

Two new Geekbench listings suggest Steam Machine reviews may be underway. The listings show hardware details for the upcoming gaming platform. Notebookcheck reports the benchmark results indicate active testing of the devices.

Microsoft is negotiating with Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory, and Double Fine to avoid studio closures. The talks come amid Xbox restructuring under new CEO Asha Sharma, who plans major layoffs. Ninja Theory recently announced a new Hellblade game but canceled its horror project Mara.

Microsoft is monetizing AI at scale with a $37 billion AI revenue run-rate and accelerating enterprise demand. High capex is justified by capacity-constrained AI infrastructure and robust forward visibility. Copilot seat growth and Azure integration position Microsoft as a durable AI software tax collector.

Elias Manousos and Brandon Dixon launched Ent with $100 million in seed funding to build an AI threat detection platform. Ent monitors activity across apps, browsers, data transfers, and local AI systems, checking intent against company policy before actions occur. The global EDR market is projected to reach $45.95 billion by 2034.

SpaceX stock is up 9% in premarket trading, indicating an open above $200 and a market cap over $2.9 trillion. That would put SpaceX roughly in line with Microsoft's $2.95 trillion market cap. The combined market cap of SpaceX and Tesla would approach Apple's $4.3 trillion.

Magnes Rare Earths reported assay results from 253 drill holes at the Minas Americas project in Brazil. Hole MAV_AD_0200 returned 10 meters from surface averaging 0.97% TREO, including a peak one-meter sample of 11,016 ppm TREO. The results strengthen the shallow, repeated rare earth mineralization model.

An update to Forza Horizon 6 cuts the time required for a multiplayer Xbox achievement previously demanding roughly 1,000 hours of play. The change lowers the grind for players pursuing the full achievement list. TrueAchievements reported the adjustment to the game's progression requirements.

Microsoft patched a max-critical vulnerability in M365 Copilot that allowed attackers to retrieve 2FA codes and sensitive data from emails. Researchers demonstrated a proof-of-concept exploit using markup language and HTML tags to bypass guardrails. The root cause is AI bots' inability to distinguish user instructions from instructions hidden in third-party content.

Intel Firefly is a new project to make Windows laptops cheaper, thinner, and more standardized, similar to Apple's M-series approach. It goes beyond a typical processor by focusing on tighter integration and higher efficiency. The goal is to make affordable Windows laptops feel less cheap, not just another chip.

Playground Games released the Series 2 update for Forza Horizon 6, improving AI difficulty balancing and Driveatar behavior at race starts. The update reduces time to reach Level 100 in Horizon Play and adds a Roads Driven percentage to the map. All players receive a free 2021 McLaren Sabre due to a glitch exploit.

DragonForce ransomware deployed Backdoor.Turn, a Go-based backdoor that hides command-and-control traffic inside Microsoft Teams TURN relay infrastructure. The malware obtains an anonymous Teams visitor token and uses legitimate TURN relays during connection setup. Symantec researchers identified this as the first known in-the-wild malware to abuse Teams TURN relays for C2 communications.

Microsoft's SQL Server is losing priority as Azure, Postgres, and AI dominate focus. Long-time champion Rohan Kumar left in June; Azure Data president Arun Ulag now holds the remit. Analysts warn the 2022 release was a marketing release, and the 2025 vector search feature lagged behind PostgreSQL and MongoDB.

Brad Smith, Microsoft's vice chair and president, slammed tech moguls for hypocritical warnings that alienate Americans during a workforce opportunity. Smith wrote a new paper arguing dire predictions about AI threatening entry-level white-collar jobs are souring young Americans on the technology. "Nobody knows for sure, but let's not panic," Smith said.

ESET discovered two Windows variants of the Linux-only SprySOCKS backdoor, named WIN_DRV and WIN_PLUS. WIN_DRV uses kernel drivers to hide network connections, processes, files, and registry keys. The backdoor supports over 30 commands and is linked to China-nexus threat actor Earth Lusca.

ESET discovered Windows variants of SprySOCKS Linux malware used between 2023 and 2024 against government organizations in Taiwan, Thailand, Pakistan, and Honduras. The variants, WIN_DRV and WIN_PLUS, add kernel-level stealth capabilities. ESET attributes the activity with high confidence to the Earth Lusca threat actor.

ESET researchers discovered two Windows variants of SprySOCKS, a backdoor previously Linux-only, used by the FishMonger group. The WIN_DRV variant uses a kernel driver to hide network connections, processes, and files. Victims include government organizations in Honduras, Taiwan, Thailand, and Pakistan, with activity between 2023 and 2024.

France's Ministry of Education has set up over 400,000 Nextcloud accounts since 2024, aiming for 1.2 million users. However, the project excludes desktop applications, leaving users on Microsoft Office. This highlights the difficulty of escaping reliance on American tech tools despite government pledges.

North Korean group ScarCruft (APT37) uses spear-phishing emails impersonating Microsoft Account security alerts to deliver NarwhalRAT malware. The email warns of OTP abuse and urges password changes. The malicious LNK file triggers a multi-stage infection chain. The Python-based malware logs keystrokes, captures screenshots, records audio, and exfiltrates data.

Adyen handles payments for Uber, Spotify, eBay, and Microsoft from an Amsterdam canal house. The engineering team eats lunch at a single long table. At its 2018 IPO worth €7 billion, Adyen had roughly 1,000 employees worldwide, fewer staff than a midsize hotel.

Xbox is reportedly closing Ninja Theory, the studio behind Hellblade, days after it announced a new Senua game. Staff were informed Monday. Double Fine and Compulsion Games are also in talks to spin off. Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan left the same day.

Microsoft is reportedly planning to add buy now, pay later support to the Xbox storefront. Code on the Xbox website points to integrations with Klarna and PayPal, allowing users to split purchases into interest-free bi-weekly payments or spread costs over months. Microsoft has not announced a launch date.

Microsoft is adding AWS capacity to GitHub after AI-driven growth strained infrastructure and triggered a series of reliability issues. The move aims to address performance problems caused by surging demand for AI-powered features on the platform.

Microsoft will release Excel Copilot text summarization in July 2026 for web Windows and macOS. The feature analyzes open-ended survey text to detect themes and auto-generates categories and tags. Users can ask follow-up questions after the data is categorized. The update targets enterprise users handling large volumes of unstructured survey responses.

Microsoft is using AWS infrastructure to handle a capacity crunch for GitHub's AI features. The move highlights the extreme demand for AI compute resources. GitHub's Copilot and other AI tools require significant cloud capacity that Microsoft's own data centers cannot currently fully supply.

SpaceX would need a stock price of $1,000 per share to surpass Amazon's market cap and $1,500 per share to exceed Microsoft's. The analysis uses a time-weighted return calculation since 2002 and trailing-three-year volatility profiles. The Motley Fool recommends buying 50 stocks and holding them for at least five years.

Only 8.54% of Nvidia RTX owners still use an RTX 20 series card, mirroring Windows 7's decline to 0.07% of Steam users. The RTX 20 series introduced ray tracing and DLSS, technologies that evolved into modern PC gaming standards, even as the hardware fades from desktops.

Microsoft shareholders filed a lawsuit alleging the company defrauded them by concealing slower Azure growth and massive AI infrastructure costs. The suit follows a 10% share drop on January 29 after Azure revenue growth slowed to 39% and capital spending rose nearly 66% year over year.

Xbox is closing Ninja Theory, the studio behind the Hellblade series. Staffers were told on a call Monday and hope the studio finds a buyer. Compulsion Games and Double Fine are in active negotiations about spinning off. The moves follow Xbox CEO Asha Sharma warning of a reset.

Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan and chief of staff Louise O'Connor have left the company. Compulsion Games, developer of South of Midnight, is being shut down. Studio leadership is reportedly in negotiations with Microsoft over the team's fate. More layoffs are widely expected.

Microsoft introduces Screen Tint in Windows 11 26H1 Beta to reduce eye strain with system-wide color overlays. The feature differs from Night Light by adjusting daytime display tone and saturation. Low Latency Profile and updated Widgets, Magnifier, and File Explorer also roll out. Builds 28020.2298, 26300.8687, and 28120.2302 include these changes.

Xbox is reportedly considering closing Compulsion Games, the developer of South of Midnight, with Double Fine and Ninja Theory also allegedly at risk. Staff at Ninja Theory were told the studio may close and that Microsoft hopes to find a buyer. Revenue has dropped by around $500 million per year.

GitHub Copilot CLI slash commands let users switch models, check token usage, and resume past sessions from the terminal. Typing / shows all supported commands. /model lists available models with details. /context displays remaining tokens. /compact summarizes the conversation to free space.

Studios within Microsoft's Xbox division are preparing for potential closures. The situation was reported by Bloomberg. The exact studios affected and the timeline for any closures have not been specified.

Studios within Microsoft's Xbox division are preparing for potential closures. The situation was reported by Bloomberg. The exact studios affected and the timeline for any closures remain unspecified.

Microsoft's full-screen Xbox dashboard on handhelds like the ROG Ally X is a cosmetic skin over Windows 11, not a custom OS. SteamOS dominates because it is a purpose-built operating system stack. The desktop Windows manager still runs underneath, causing stutters and resolution scaling issues.

Copilot's SearchLeak vulnerability enables 1-click data theft via hidden URLs in AI prompts. The attack uses three-stage prompt injection to extract user data without authentication. Patch released to fix the flaw in Copilot's search feature.

The FBI issued a public warning about Kali365, a Phishing-as-a-Service toolkit targeting Microsoft 365 users by bypassing multi-factor authentication. First detected in April 2026, the platform is distributed through Telegram and lets low-skilled attackers conduct automated phishing campaigns using device code authentication to capture OAuth tokens.

Meta launched new AI features including an AI Mode for search. The feature uses Meta AI to surface answers pulled from public posts across the platform. The update aims to make information discovery more direct within the social network.

For 2026, 16GB of RAM is the minimum for most users, while 32GB suits gamers and power users. The author recommends 64GB only for heavy workloads like video editing or virtual machines. RAM prices remain high, making the choice more critical.

Compulsion Games, the developer behind South of Midnight, is reportedly at risk of closure by Xbox. Bloomberg reports that Compulsion, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory are in active negotiations to spin off as independent studios to avoid being shut down. Kotaku sources confirm Compulsion leadership is negotiating with Microsoft.

Microsoft is considering spinning off or restructuring its Xbox gaming unit. Hardware sales dropped 33% year over year, and the division's annual revenue declined nearly half a billion dollars over five years despite $20 billion in investments. The CEO and content chief warned this cannot continue.

Nvidia's RTX Spark laptop platform is a significant development for AI developers and power users running large models on Windows. Its broader impact on the PC market will take longer to materialize, as the platform is not designed for every user.

Xbox plans to shut down Montreal-based Compulsion Games, the studio behind the award-winning South of Midnight. Over 90 employees are expected to be impacted. The closure follows the studio winning seven Canadian Game Awards, including Game of the Year, just three weeks ago.

Xbox plans to shut down Compulsion Games, the studio behind South of Midnight, following a memo from Xbox boss Asha Sharma warning of a "reset." Head of Xbox Game Studios Craig Duncan and chief of staff Louise O'Connor are also leaving. The moves come amid reassessing investment priorities.

Shareholders filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, alleging the company misled them about expenses related to its cloud business and artificial intelligence initiatives. The suit claims Microsoft failed to disclose rising costs and performance issues in its Azure cloud division. The legal action targets the company's financial disclosures and executive statements.

Files, an open-source Windows File Explorer replacement, now includes on-demand folder size calculation to avoid unnecessary background scans. The update also preserves file selections when changing layouts. The app already supports tabbed browsing, dual-pane layouts, file tagging, cloud integration, and deep customization.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned against giving too much power to a small number of AI firms. Nadella stated that ceding value to a few models could hollow out entire industries and cause widespread economic issues. He compared the AI shift to globalization, which boosted some economies but destroyed others.

Microsoft released downloadable 3D models for Xbox controller thumbstick toppers, offering gamers more accessibility options. The toppers come in different styles, including a thumb cradle and a perforated X-shaped design for custom molding. Users must select the correct controller model for proper fit.

Craig Duncan is stepping down as head of Xbox Game Studios, with teams reporting directly to Matt Booty until a replacement is found. The departure follows a memo from Xbox leadership warning of a "reset" amid declining revenue and reports of another round of mass layoffs expected after June 30.

A single click on a trusted Microsoft link could let attackers steal emails, files, and MFA codes from Microsoft 365 Copilot Enterprise Search. Researchers at Varonis Threat Labs chained three bugs into a one-click exfiltration path called SearchLeak. Microsoft assigned CVE-2026-42824 and mitigated the flaw on its backend.

Craig Duncan, head of Xbox Game Studios, left after 18 months. Chief of Staff Louise O'Connor also departed less than a year in. Studios now report to Chief Content Officer Matt Booty. The exits follow reports of potential job cuts as Xbox revenue declined nearly $500 million despite $20 billion in spending.

Insider Jez Corden speculated that Microsoft's next Xbox, Project Helix, could ship without a controller to reduce costs. Many players already own multiple Xbox controllers, making an included one unnecessary. Microsoft has not confirmed this plan, and the idea remains speculation.

Craig Duncan has stepped down as head of Xbox Game Studios after less than two years in the role. His studios will report to chief content officer Matt Booty until a replacement is found. Chief of staff Louise O'Connor is also leaving the company.

Microsoft's giant valuation reset presents a real dilemma for investors. The shift in valuation dynamics forces a reassessment of the company's growth prospects and market position. Investors must weigh the implications of this reset against long-term strategic considerations.

Developer Sunjaycy released GoldenEye Recomp v1.0 on GitHub, a native PC port of the canceled Xbox 360 version of GoldenEye 007. It runs at 60 FPS with widescreen, modern controller support, online multiplayer, and improved textures. Users must supply the original Xbox 360 game files themselves.

Playground Games delayed Fable to February 2027, shifting from a planned 2026 release. General Manager Ralph Fulton told GamesRadar the team felt disappointment but now sees the new window as less contested, allowing the game to stand out. Gears of War: E-Day and GTA 6 are cited as competing titles.

Microsoft released WSL 3 as a beta preview at Build 2026. The update shifts to a paravirtualized VM approach that gives Linux processes direct access to GPU and NPU hardware without performance overhead. This eliminates slowdowns from previous VM-based translation, making AI workloads viable on Windows 11.

Microsoft elevated the PowerToys Command Palette from an experiment to a core feature in the 0.100 update on June 9. The free launcher opens apps, performs quick math, accesses Settings, and shows clipboard items using Win + Alt + Space. Users can keep hands on the keyboard and reduce reliance on the Start menu.

A vulnerability chain called SearchLeak in Microsoft 365 Copilot Enterprise Search let attackers steal emails, calendar entries, and files via a single crafted microsoft.com link. Microsoft assigned CVE-2026-42824 with a critical rating and mitigated the flaw on its backend, requiring no customer action.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned that a few AI providers could capture most economic value while industries lose ownership of their knowledge. Nadella stated the priority must be building a frontier ecosystem, not just a frontier model, so value flows broadly across every company, industry, and country.

The Relic: First Guardian launches July 31 for PS5 and PC via Steam. It follows Xbox Series and Switch 2 releases later this summer. Players restore the broken great relic to end the void in Arsiltus. Perp Games and Project Cloud Games developed and published the game.

Mistfall Hunter, a PvPvE extraction ARPG releasing July 29th, has an open beta on Xbox Series X, S, and PC. Players can sample most of the full game and earn exclusive cosmetics for the final release. Progress will be wiped after the beta ends.

Microsoft is testing a unified update experience in Windows 11 build 26300.8687 that bundles driver,.NET, and firmware updates with the monthly quality update. The change aims to reduce the number of required restarts to a single monthly reboot. The Experimental channel preview also includes tweaks to Calculator, Camera, and Clock apps.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella argued the AI investment story is about to change, warning that investors following the old model could back the wrong companies. He stated the industry may build toward an outcome "the political economy will simply not tolerate.

Microsoft AI revenue reaches $37 billion annually, up 123% year over year. Azure cloud revenue grows 40% year over year. The company's market cap stands at $2.9 trillion. Microsoft stock drops 15% month-to-date amid AI stock volatility. Microsoft's AI business drives growth in cloud and enterprise services.

Microsoft's June 2026 update KB5094126 introduces the Low Latency Profile for Windows 11, Shared Audio, and new Secure Boot certificates. The update rolls out gradually, bringing build numbers 26200.8655 (25H2) or 26100.8655 (24H2) to make PCs feel faster.

Linux 7.2 will better communicate file-system casefolding to help Windows NFS and other use cases. The kernel update enhances how case-insensitive file systems interact with network protocols. This change aims to reduce compatibility issues for cross-platform environments.

Microsoft's June 2026 Patch Tuesday update KB5094126 for Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 is causing system freezes within minutes of booting, forcing BitLocker recovery loops even on devices where encryption was disabled, and breaking OneDrive Explorer integration and LAN access. Some users must reinstall the OS after recovery mode itself corrupts system settings.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned against a future where a small number of AI systems capture all economic returns. Nadella argued companies must build proprietary learning loops and token capital, not just pick the best model. He stated that firms can offload tasks but never offload learning.

Halo: Campaign Evolved pre-orders are climbing PlayStation charts after the game was announced for PS5. The standard edition is the best-selling pre-order on the UK PlayStation Store, with the premium edition in the top five. In France, the premium edition tops digital charts, while Germany favors the standard edition.

Microsoft is considering spinning off Xbox as a separate entity or restructuring it as a wholly owned subsidiary, according to reports. CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood approved a plan by Xbox boss Asha Sharma to increase spending on blockbuster franchises. Revenue has dropped by around $500 million per year.

Wells Fargo analyst Michael Turrin maintained a Buy rating on Microsoft stock with a $650 price target. Nscale and Microsoft invested $812 million in AI infrastructure in Portugal, installing over 12,600 Nvidia Blackwell Ultra AI chips. Microsoft is expanding physical infrastructure alongside its OpenAI investment.

Clicking a Windows 11 notification for a new email in the new Outlook takes 10 seconds to open the message, while Outlook Classic does it instantly. The new Outlook is a WebView2 browser wrapper around Outlook.com. Microsoft delayed the forced enterprise migration deadline to March 2027.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella argued that a learning loop, which captures every interaction and correction to improve over time, is more powerful than picking a large language model. Human-in-the-loop approval is a checkpoint, not learning. The real competitive advantage comes from an organization that learns from what it builds.

Photos app version 2026.11060.2004.0 adds visible Copilot watermarks to AI-generated or edited images. Users select Never, Always, or Ask Every Time in Settings with confirmation on save. Watermarking is off by default. Calculator version 11.2605.9.0 fixes rare square-root calculation errors.

The author switched from NotebookLM and Claude Projects to Microsoft Copilot Notebooks for research. Copilot Notebooks allows use of local LLMs instead of being locked into Google's models. It functions as a complete productivity hub rather than just an organized chatbot.

Microsoft Azure cloud services revenue grew 40% year over year in Q3 2026, outpacing Amazon AWS's growth. Microsoft total cloud revenue reached $54.5 billion, up 29%, with AI business hitting $37 billion annual run rate. Commercial remaining performance obligations rose 99% to $627 billion. Azure's operating margin was 46.3% in the quarter, up from 45.7% the prior year.

ASUS bundled ROG XREAL R1 Edition 20 Gaming AR Glasses with the ROG Xbox Ally X20, projecting a 171-inch virtual screen. The handheld itself upgrades to a 7.4-inch OLED Nebula HDR display with 120Hz, FreeSync Premium Pro, Dolby Vision, and 1,400 nits peak brightness. TMR joysticks, a Transforming D-pad, and rubberized grips improve the feel.

Microsoft hides secret Windows 11 performance boost settings available on every PC. The settings can improve system performance without additional hardware. Users can access these hidden options through standard Windows configuration menus.

Protesters set a Tesla on fire and smashed windows at a UN office in Geneva during an anti-G7 march. The violence occurred as demonstrators protested the G7 summit. Authorities are investigating the incident.

The AMD R600 Gallium3D driver received 59 commits to Mesa 26.2, with code restructuring and cleaning assisted by GitHub Copilot. Developer Gert Wollny used the AI tool to improve the driver covering Radeon HD 2000 through HD 6000 series cards, long after AMD stopped upstream work.

Microsoft pushed the Secure Boot 2023 certificate update to a wider set of Windows 11 and Windows 10 devices via the June 2026 Patch Tuesday update (KB5094126). The 2011-era certificates expire starting June 24, 2026. Most home users need no manual action, as the update arrives automatically through Windows Update.

Pure Xbox staff correctly predicted 3 of 8 predictions for the Xbox Games Showcase 2026. Gears of War: E-Day opened the show with an October 6, 2026 release date as an Xbox console exclusive. Halo: Campaign Evolved launched July 28, 2026 with Premium Edition early access. A limited edition Xbox Series X25 console was also announced.

PowerA teased the Project X-Ray Flight Deck Wireless Controller for Xbox. The controller features a unique flight deck-inspired design. It connects wirelessly to Xbox consoles and Windows PCs.

Multiple games have received 2027 release dates for Xbox Game Pass, including Fable, Clockwork Revolution, Persona 4 Revival, Spyro: A Realm Beyond, Senua, and State of Decay 3. These titles join others confirmed earlier in the year. More Xbox Game Pass confirmations for 2027 are expected in coming months.

Microsoft removed the ability to create a local account during Windows 11 setup. Users report the change limits control over personal devices and access to features like BitLocker. A Reddit thread highlights demand for a return to the pre- setup option where local accounts were available. The change is tied to mandatory Microsoft account requirements for core security functions.

Microsoft announced Coreutils for Windows at Build 2026, delivering over 75 native Unix-style command-line tools like ls, cp, mv, grep, and find. The tools run natively on Windows without requiring WSL or a virtual machine and install via a single WinGet command, reducing context switching for developers.

Microsoft is testing Copilot+ AI features on discrete GPUs instead of NPUs via an experimental Windows App SDK on GitHub. The SDK supports Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series cards with at least 6GB VRAM but requires a Windows Insider Experimental Channel and Developer Mode. This could bring local AI inferencing to devices without NPUs.

Wedbush revealed Project Helix's development timeline, confirming a release for Xbox Series X|S. The update includes new AI-driven game optimization features. Gamers will see improved performance and load times in supported titles. No new hardware or console announcements.

Speedrunner SHiFT revealed that smudged Xbox optical discs enabled a 'lag clip' trick in SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom. Rapidly pausing and unpausing the game caused the laser to skip, opening a level-skipping glitch. The community confirmed the greasy disc strategy as a winning tactic without breaking guidelines.

Satya Nadella stated Xbox must become a sustainable business after 25 years of investment. He noted more monetization of Xbox games happens on YouTube than at Microsoft. The company plans to reset business models over the next 100 days while continuing to build games and hardware economically.

NHS England is deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot to over 505,000 clinicians and support staff after a 30,000-person pilot found average savings of 43 minutes per day per worker. The £120 million contract includes Copilot Studio and agent-governance tooling. The rollout targets 200,000 users within six months and full deployment within a year.

A pistol shrimp's claw snap generates a bubble reaching 4,700°C through cavitation. The bubble forms when water pressure drops, vaporizing liquid despite no heat input. The collapse emits a flash too dim and brief for the shrimp to see. Engineers replicate the effect to clean semiconductor wafers. The snapping action requires adult shrimp and specific joint mechanics.

Microsoft is considering restructuring Xbox into a wholly-owned subsidiary or joint venture. The company has not ruled out the move if it makes Xbox more successful. Xbox also plans to accelerate development of first-party games from franchises like Halo, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls.

Microsoft released Windows 11 setup and recovery updates KB5094149, KB5095971, and KB5094156. The updates target system setup and recovery components. Users can obtain the updates through Windows Update or the Microsoft Update Catalog.