Newsletter Archives

• Microsoft’s new Copilot+ PCs don’t play nice with games

  Posted on September 16, 2024 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Microsoft is wreaking havoc in the virtual worlds of billion-dollar online gaming companies, with incompatibilities in its new Copilot+ machines.

  These much-hyped PCs feature a new processor based on power-efficient Arm chips from Qualcomm. Redmond’s shift to non-Intel silicon gives the new Windows 11 PCs a modicum of built-in artificial intelligence and other features. No access to a central AI server is needed. (See Microsoft’s introduction of the new devices.)

  But almost half of the more than 1,300 video games tested by an independent third party are running slowly, subjecting users to stuttering game play, or refusing to run at all. The worst incompatibilities affect the biggest names in multiplayer environments.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.38.0, 2024-09-16).

  Public Defender AI, Compatibility, Copilot+ PCs, Games, Neural Processing Units, Newsletters, NPUs, Qualcomm, Snapdragon X Elite

• MS-DEFCON 4: Major April issue, but not from updates

  Posted on April 25, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.17.1 • 2023-04-25

  

  By Susan Bradley

  I’m ready to approve the April updates.

  Accordingly, I’ve lowered the MS-DEFCON level to 4. This is not to say there are not a few oddities out there, but they will not affect many users.

  Most of the unusual behavior in updates this month is due to slow changes that will lead to future enforcement changes.

  Microsoft has also pushed off the implementation of the mandatory, number-based, multifactor authentication for Microsoft 365 applications.

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (20.17.1, 2023-04-25).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON Active Directory, Alerts, Domain Controllers, Games, Gaming, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 4, Patch Lady Posts

• The worst software in the world

  Posted on July 25, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  COMMENTARY

  

  By Will Fastie

  If I were grading the various apps in Microsoft’s Casual Games collection, they’d be lucky to get a D.

  It’s not because the games themselves are bad. It’s because they are all based on the same underlying game engine, one designed with multiple capabilities. The emphasis on the engine has diverted attention away from the games themselves, which have been in general disrepair for some time.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.30.0, 2022-07-25).

  Commentary Games, Microsoft, Newsletters, Software Quality

• Freeware Spotlight — Logyx Pack

  Posted on July 26, 2021 at 02:41 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  BEST UTILITIES

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

  Did you know that Microsoft first introduced Solitaire in Windows 3.0 1990 to teach everyone how to drag and drop with that fancy new mouse? Enjoy a good game of Minesweeper? In 1992, it came along in Windows 3.1 to teach us how to be speedier with our mice (mouses?) and to become more comfortable with left- and right-clicking. Also, that year we got our beloved Hearts game. Hearts originally had network play to help us get used to interconnected workstations. You could even communicate with the person you were playing against on the network! Common now, but it was pretty awesome back then.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.28.0 (2021-07-26).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Freeware AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Games, legacy apps

• Microsoft Casual: It ain’t all fun ’n’ games

  Posted on May 3, 2021 at 01:04 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  New shoot-’em-up and twitch videogames get all the attention, but lots of people still like good ol’ strategy games, such as Solitaire and Minesweeper.

  Microsoft removed its games from Windows 8, but they’re just lightly hidden in Windows 10. In addition, the whole Microsoft Casual Games package is downloadable — and boy, are people having problems.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.16.0 (2021-05-03).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Games, Microsoft, Public Defender