Best of Microsoft — September 2025

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    Article
    Avatar of vsVisual Studio Blog·37w

    Visual Studio 2026 Insiders is here!

    Microsoft announces Visual Studio 2026 Insiders, featuring deeply integrated AI capabilities, significant performance improvements for enterprise-scale development, and a modern UI redesign using Fluent UI. The release introduces the new Insiders Channel replacing the Preview Channel, includes GitHub Copilot Free integration, and promises faster solution loading, building, and debugging across both x64 and Arm64 architectures. The IDE now offers enhanced code understanding, automated testing suggestions, performance profiling with AI-powered fixes, and 11 new color themes.

  2. 2
    Article
    Avatar of devblogsDevBlogs·34w

    Announcing WinUI Gallery 2.7

    WinUI Gallery 2.7 introduces sample history and favorites functionality, new samples for TitleBar and ThemeShadow controls, upgraded StoragePicker APIs with Windows App SDK 1.8, fresh typography and button styles, and over 100 community-driven improvements including accessibility fixes and UI polish.

  3. 3
    Article
    Avatar of lobstersLobsters·35w

    Don't even consider starting with Microsoft

    A software developer compares Microsoft 365 to Google Workspace after switching companies, highlighting numerous UX issues and architectural problems. Key complaints include Outlook's email-based meeting system, the confusing SharePoint/OneDrive relationship, overlapping functionality across apps, and limitations with group management. The author argues Microsoft's products suffer from legacy baggage and poor integration between old and new systems, making them unnecessarily complex compared to Google's cloud-native approach.

  4. 4
    Article
    Avatar of devblogsDevBlogs·38w

    PowerToys 0.94 is here: Settings search, shortcut conflict detection and more!

    PowerToys 0.94 introduces quality-of-life improvements including a search function in Settings with fuzzy matching, shortcut conflict detection that highlights conflicting hotkeys in red, and a new gliding cursor mode for Mouse Pointer Crosshairs that enables single-button navigation. Additional updates include WiX5 installer upgrade, Maltese language support in Quick Accent, runtime registration for Win10 context menu modules, and various bug fixes across Command Palette and other utilities.

  5. 5
    Article
    Avatar of thevergeThe Verge·35w

    Windows 11 is getting a video wallpaper feature

    Microsoft is testing video wallpaper functionality in Windows 11, allowing users to set MP4 or MKV files as animated desktop backgrounds. This brings back the DreamScene feature from Windows Vista and could reduce reliance on third-party solutions like Wallpaper Engine, which remains popular among Windows users for desktop customization.

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    Article
    Avatar of theregisterThe Register·36w

    Nano11 cuts Windows 11 down to size and then some

    NTDEV has created Nano11, an extremely stripped-down version of Windows 11 that occupies just 2.8 GB of disk space after installation. This unofficial modification removes most Windows components including Copilot, Teams, Windows Update, system services, and Windows Defender. While not suitable for daily use due to its lack of serviceability and missing features, Nano11 demonstrates that Windows bloat is a deliberate choice by Microsoft and could be useful for testing or embedded VM environments.

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    Article
    Avatar of devblogsDevBlogs·34w

    TypeScript 7 native preview in Visual Studio 2026

    TypeScript 7 native preview is now available in Visual Studio 2026 Insiders, offering significant performance improvements including 10x faster compile times and 8x faster project loading for large codebases. The native port reduces memory usage and improves IDE responsiveness. To use it, replace the typescript package with @typescript/native-preview in package.json. The preview has known issues including package conflicts, limited editor integration, and HTML component file problems.

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    Article
    Avatar of sdtimesSD Times·36w

    Microsoft shares Insiders preview of Visual Studio 2026

    Microsoft launched the Insiders preview for Visual Studio 2026, featuring deeper AI integration that suggests tests and maintains code consistency, significant performance improvements across all IDE operations, a refreshed UI with better iconography and themes, and backward compatibility with Visual Studio 2022 extensions. The new Insiders Channel will receive monthly updates replacing the previous Preview Channel.

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    Video
    Avatar of techlinkedTechLinked·35w

    Microsoft is Deleting Itself

    Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expresses concerns about AI competition potentially making the company obsolete, despite aggressive AI integration efforts. AMD launches new handheld gaming chips and GPUs, while iPhone 17 Pro users report scratching issues with the anodized aluminum frame. TikTok deal progresses with US-based algorithm copy, Nvidia confirms ARM-based PC processor details, and various other tech industry updates including cybersecurity incidents and product launches.

  10. 10
    Article
    Avatar of theregisterThe Register·34w

    'Don't even consider' Microsoft? Gosh

    A millennial developer with 15 years of Google Workspace experience shares their frustrating encounter with Microsoft's enterprise stack, highlighting the complexity and inconsistencies in Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive, and various group management systems. The critique reveals how Microsoft's feature-rich but convoluted tools appear baffling to users accustomed to Google's simpler approach, suggesting that Gmail's "just barely good enough" philosophy has won over a generation while Microsoft's legacy complexity may be driving users away.

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    Article
    Avatar of bartwullemsThe Art of Simplicity·35w

    Discovering Visual Studio 2026–Installation

    Visual Studio 2026 preview (now called Insiders) is available for download. The new version introduces an improved installation experience that allows importing configuration settings and extensions from previous versions. Initial testing shows improved solution load times compared to earlier versions, suggesting performance enhancements throughout the IDE.

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    Article
    Avatar of infoworldInfoWorld·36w

    Visual Studio 2026 doubles down on AI-assisted coding

    Microsoft released the first preview of Visual Studio 2026 through its new Insiders channel, featuring deeper GitHub Copilot integration including a Profiler Agent that analyzes performance and suggests optimizations. The IDE includes a modernized Fluent UI design, adaptive paste functionality, improved debugging with inline return values, and enhanced code search capabilities. Visual Studio 2026 installs alongside earlier versions and includes code coverage in Community and Professional editions.

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