Blue Ridge Technology

Heads up: You need to update Windows 11 by this deadline If your business is running on Windows 11, there’s a critically important deadline coming up in just a few weeks. Here’s what you need to know and the steps you need to take. PSA: Update All Workstations Running Windows 11 by October 8 By October 8, 2024, every PC in your organization running Windows 11 must be updated to the latest major version (called 23H2). Why? Because that’s the last day Microsoft will support their previous two releases (21H2 and 22H2). To be clear, your out-of-date Windows will continue to run. It’s not like Microsoft is flipping a switch and rendering those older versions nonfunctional. The problem is that Microsoft won’t be supporting them anymore post-10/8. If you stick with those older versions, you could be opening yourself up to countless security vulnerabilities in the months and years to come. What Is Windows 11 23H2? Windows 11 23H2 is the mainstream update to Windows 11 that released in the seco...

Are you ready for Windows 11 to get even better? Have you ever felt like being a PC user meant certain…compromises? You see ads for seemingly magical features from the likes of Apple or Google — things like pulling text straight out of images, or searching for objects in pictures — and feel left out in the cold? We’ve got good news: Microsoft keeps improving Windows 11, and the company’s latest updates to the operating system are worth catching up on. Admittedly, most of these new features are already available on flagship smartphones. But gaining access to them on work PCs and personal laptops is a pretty big deal. Snipping Tool Gets a Whole Lot Smarter First up is the Snipping Tool. With this tool, which has been a part of the last few generations of Windows, you can easily take a screenshot of your entire screen, or just select a smaller portion of the screen and “snip” it into a static image. Microsoft has implemented some AI-powered and machine learning tech to make those static i...

The final curtain call for Windows 10: What you need to know Right now, Windows users are living in a time of transition. For the time being, both Windows 10 and Windows 11 are available, and Microsoft is still supporting the older version even as it invests in the newer one. However, Windows 10’s days are numbered, and Microsoft recently made a significant announcement: the tech giant will not be releasing any more major or feature updates for Windows 10 . This is big news, but it isn’t reason to panic. In this week’s post, we’ll tell you: What this announcement means What it doesn’t mean in terms of device security What the right move for your organization looks like Let’s dive into what exactly “no more feature updates” means. Microsoft’s Windows 10 Announcement Explained Microsoft’s recent announcement means that 2H22 (the major update that came out in the second half of 2022) would be the last major release for the Windows 10 operating system. What that means for you and your team...

Microsoft hints at some exciting Windows 12 developments It may seem like it’s only been a few months since Windows 11 hit the scene. But believe it or not, we’ve already had access to Microsoft’s latest operating system since the fall of 2021. In OS years, that means we’re already far enough into Windows 11’s life cycle that people are starting to talk about Windows 12. If the rumor mill is correct, the next iteration of Windows could be coming sooner than you think. Here’s everything we know so far. When Will Windows 12 Be Released? We don’t know for sure when Windows 12 will be released — or even if it will be called Windows 12. But there are rumblings (though thinly sourced ) that it could arrive as soon as 2024. That’s really fast: Windows 10 had a six-year run, and Windows 11 could be replaced in just over three. New Features to Expect in Windows 12 Based on what Microsoft is doing in other products and a handful of preview announcements, we have some educated guesses about what ...