The new App view in the Start menu - Windows 11 26200.5518

 In the last blog post I looked at how-to get your hands on the new Start menu layout in Windows 11 by utilising the Dev build from the Windows Insider Programme and then using the Vivetool to enable the feature.

Now lets take a look at the new view and what it has to offer.  The new view option allows you to view your entire app list on the same screen as your pinned apps.

The new menu now includes the category view, which if selected groups your apps automatically, these are:

• Productivity - Edge, Office etc
• Utilities & Tools - apps like phone link, and utilities like snipping tool, calculator
• Games - anything Xbox
• Creativity - camera and any creative apps like Clipchamp, photos and paint 
• Information & Reading - RSS readers, weather, news 
• Other - anything else it cant categorize!

To get the new view go to the highlighted view menu and choose Category.  These groups are categorised by AI, so at present you cannot change the names of the groups.

However this does give you an app view, like iOS somewhat, however if that is not your things you can change the view.

Here you can change the current view either by grid or the more traditional by list as you can see below:

Further customisations are available in the Settings app, giving you further granular control of the Windows 11 Start menu. Goto Settings  - Personalisation - Start to begin to customise the view.

These options allow you the user to get more control over the Start menu layout.  For me one option I have never used in the default Windows 11 menu is 'Recommended files', which is  normally located at the bottom half of the menu.   So as you can see I have turned it off and replaced it with the category view.

So as Windows 11 25H2 begins to take shape in the Windows Insider Programme, do you think a more customisable  Start menu is a good thing?   This new look is still in preview so expect things to change in future builds  as things evolve.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Training staff in busy times

 You know it was back in the days of Windows 3.11 and Office 95 that I first started training staff at our local council.  My how things have come along since then.  We used to photocopy screen shots on to acetate and use the traditional Overhead Project to project against the end wall in the training room!   

Over the years I have delivered more and more sessions and always thought about how much people retain once they have left the room.  I know teachers as soon as they get back to the classroom probably have forgot my name and the majority of the content!    To rectify this  we have developed a low cost training solution aimed a schools and business who are focused on the Microsoft toolset.

E-training is nothing new !

I have not reinvented the wheel in anyway however I think we can now effectively back up in person training for hard pressed staff members and also allow then to curate there own training at a super affordable price !  Lets take a quick spin and see:

Logging into the portal  either through the web or through our dedicated Microsoft Teams app, unlock some 190 + courses.

Every user gets access to the Microsoft 365 course ware library, plus extra additional training and well-being training to support people at work.    You can as customer easily add your own training here as well.

Training is bite sized video training, with the ability to include a quiz or exam at the end of the course to reinforce knowledge.   So if you are looking to get your staff trained on Microsoft Teams you can now easily leverage a hybrid approach with a mixture of onsite training followed on  by some refresher video training and even produce a course certificate at the end of the process.

Administrators get a dashboard to see progress on how staff are doing.

Administrators get a great dashboard overview of the business training deployment, and can also get scheduled training reports to monitor progress of staff.

Added to this you can also do the following:

• Add your own content 
• Use the inbuilt Policy Manager to send out and digitally acknowledge that staff have read them

To add your own content 

You can set users to become content creators for your organisation and therefore upload there own videos, and build them into a course which is then available for staff to use.   However we also offer a dedicated video creation team.

Working with the team from Mastercut Videos we can work with you to create your own curated content using the latest content delivery techniques utilising AI, that in turn makes content easier to update in the future.

How much does it cost?

To find out how much please drop me a line at kevin@s8it.co.uk, where we can let you have a free trial to investigate the great training content we provide.

Windows 11 Build 26200.5518 - unlock a fresh start menu

 There is some interesting stuff happening in the Windows Insider channel at the moment.  We have recently the Dev channel branch to Build 26200, and this brings the first look into Windows 25H2 or perhaps we would call Windows 12?

The Windows Start menu in  Windows 11 , appeared first in the extremely short lived Windows 10X as a simplified Start Menu allowing you to get you into your stuff quicker (not my words!). This features the area you could pin apps that you use regularly and a recommended section of the documents and things you were working on (your stuff), this moved away from the hybrid Start Menu with Live tiles which was a mix of Windows 7 and Windows 8 combined into Windows 10.

Microsoft has started looking at the Start Menu layout in the latest Dev build of Windows 11, and remember these channel builds are not guaranteed to make the final cut of Windows 11. So I though it would be a good moment to take a look at what is coming down the line!

To get the new Start Menu you need to be in the Dev Channel of Windows 11, though the Windows Insider option located in the Windows Update option in Settings.

You will need to join the Windows Insider Programme and then select the Dev channel to experience the new Start menu.   Once selected restart the device, and wait until Windows Update picks up the update, this will take you to build 26200.5518.

Once your machine has updated, login and you may or may not experience the new Start Menu, if you do you will something like :

The new look  Start Menu showing app-grouping.

A/B testing in the Windows Insider Programme has been around for a while, means although you download the feature it may not be enabled.  Therefore after going though the process you may not see the finished result.  If you don't see it you can enable the feature using the 3rd party Vivetool from Github.

Download here 

There are now two versions of Vivetool, one for ARM64 and one for Intel/ AMD so be sure to download the right one !   at the time of writing the version number is 0.34

Once installed right click on the zip file and choose to extract it to a location.  My tip here is to extract to a place like c:\vivetool

Once extracted launch an elevated command prompt window, and the navigate to c:\vivetool , or wherever you decided to extract it to!

Remember to open an elevated command prompt 

Now change directory to the location you have downloaded Vivtool  in my case its c:\vivetool

Now enable the new start menu by the following commands

vivetool /enable /id:49221331,47205210 vivetool /enable /id:48433719 vivetool /enable /id:49402389 vivetool /enable /id:55495322

Once you have completed this, and then restarted your computer the new Windows Start Menu will be available to you.  Look out for the next post about the new Start menu functions, also if you have a Copilot+PC there is also some updates coming to Windows Recall.

What are your thoughts on a somewhat iOS / Android look to the apps list?  Please leave a comment in the section below.

Windows 10 End of Support is October 14th - What are your choices?

There is a very important date coming down the line in 2025, and that is the End of Support for Windows 10 on October 14th. After that date, Windows 10 will not receive critical updates and security updates, making your Windows 10 device a security loophole in your organisation if you don't take action now.

Windows 10 has launched on 29th July 2015, back in the heady days where we carried around a Windows Phone! It was an important OS that took us from the heady days of Windows 8 and 8.1 and developed into a mature OS that became the backbone of Windows 11. Again, Microsoft initially did not get everything right with Windows 10, including a bi-annual release, but there were some great features and a nice clean UX, which reflected the fact that we were not all using touch and tablets at the time (which is where Windows 8 had its focus).

But as of today, Windows 10 will be a non-supported OS in October, and I wanted to talk about the "cost of doing nothing" and, of course, the options available to you.

First, lets check out the market share from 2024

Operating System	Market Share (%)
Windows 10	34.5
Windows 11	37.4
Linux	3.7
Mac OS	15.0

If we assume around 2 billion desktops, then we can take a rough guess that there are 690 million Windows 10 devices still out there in 2024, which is a big amount.

The options 

Extended Security Updates 

If you are an individual, you can get on the Extended Security Updates program for about $30, but this will only last for a year. As an enterprise customer, this starts at $62 per device and doubles each year for a maximum of three years.

Does your device reach the Windows 11 standard already?

The main requirement for Windows 11 is the inclusion of a Trusted Platform Module 2.0 (TPM 2) to ensure that the device can boot into a trusted version of the OS without tampering in the initial bootloader process. This was an initial cause of frustration for some users who wanted to get there hands on Windows 11, but it is a fundamental requirement of zero-touch security for the modern world. 

TPM 2 was launched in 2014 and, within a few years, became standard on new business machines. So there is a big tranch of machines that can run Windows 11 but are currently running Windows 10 out of choice. These devices are available for the free upgrade to Windows 11 and then become a soft entry into the world of AI and Copilot services moving forward. 

The upgrade is available for applicable machines through Windows Update, SCCM, or Intune (Windows Update for Business). Now is the time to create a test ring to deploy Windows 11 to highlight any migration issues.

Some customers are hybrid.

Some customers are indeed hybrid, running both Windows 11 and Windows 10 devices. There is also a cost saving, bringing all the management into one OS and not supporting two, as well as the productivity bonus you get from Windows 11, getting you into your flow quicker!

What if your devices don't meet the Windows 11 specs?

Well, if they don't, you are running a device that is 10+ years old, and you definitely need to be developing your Windows 11 plan now. This will need to be looking at a device replacement and possibly mixing that with ESU if you cannot afford to replace all your devices in one hit.

However, saying that there has never been a better time to buy a new PC. 2024 has seen the launch of Qualcomm-based PC's running Windows on ARM, as well as new AI-ready devices and CoPilot + PC's from Intel. These devices take the user experience to a new level, brining all-day battery life and fanless devices at amazing price points.

What next?

Now is the call to action: If you have Windows 10 devices, you need to make sure you have a Windows 11 plan coming together, whether that is upgrading existing devices, ESU as a temporary plan, or investing in new future-proof state-of-the-art Copilot+PC's. Speak with your Microsoft Partner who can help with evaluation devices, especially around Intel and Qualcomm. 

Microsoft Partners are a powerful tool in this plan, bringing knowledge and expertise and can help bring your Windows 11 plan together for before October 14th.

Finally 

Remember the cost of doing nothing? In this security-focused world, if you are running endpoints that are not getting critical and security updates, you are leaving your school or organisation open to attack, and you cannot put a price on that.

Surface Pro 11 with Intel Core Ultra 2 lands

Microsoft announced yesterday a significant addition to the Copilot+PC range with the new Surface Pro 11th edition and Surface Laptop 7th edition supporting the Intel Core Ultra 2 chipset. This brings Intel into the Copilot+PC specification alongside Qualcomm.

A significant improvement?

Yes, the previous chipset used in the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 was Intel's Meteor Lake chipset, while having a Nueral Processing Unit built in it would only achieve 11 TOPS, meaning it fell short of being a Copilot+PC standard. Therefore, this meant these devices did not get the full functionality of Windows 24H2 when released.

Improvements in Core Ultra 2 (Lunar Lake) are a NPU up to 48 TOPS, improved power efficiency, and the highly talked-about Intel Arc graphics, and with 12 cores instead of 8 and a clock speed of 5.2 GHz, really lands Core Ultra 2 in the Copilot + PC standard.

The new Surface Pro 11th Edition now contains a choice for the user, either Intel or Snapdragon, and each will have its own merits. Remember, Surface Pro 11th Edition is a Surface for Business offering. As of 2025, consumer versions of the Surface were based around the Snapdragon device range.

Is a smaller Pro coming later this year?

The news widely reported by the likes of WindowsCentral and XDA—in fact, the majority of the computing press—is that Microsoft is working on smaller Pro and laptop versions featuring an 11-inch screen and power from the Snapdragon X 8 core at a lower price point than the current range. This has been rumoured for a consumer launch sometime in 2025. Hopefully this will follow with a corporate launch later in the year. 

This is a great opportunity to go head-to-head with the Apple iPad range by offering an 11-inch and 13-inch device with a range of Snapdragon chips in them.

What next from Intel?

Based on the Snapdragon range of X, X Plus and X Elite Intel's next offering, Panther Lake, could see a smaller, more efficient unit driving a lower-end devices. Built on the Intel 18a (1.8 nm class) process nore. This could be a direct competitor to the 8-core Snapdragon X.

Expect an announcement in the second half of 2025.

What next from Qualcomm?

Expect the Snapdragon X2 chipset to launch by the end of 2025, designed to compete with high-end offerings from AMD and Intel. Though deemed the X2, its actually the X2, as the Snapdragon X2 Elite is a mobile-only chipset that recently landed in the new Samsung S25 range.

Revisiting project Surface Go 1 with Windows X-Lite

Spoiler alert: this is an enthusiast post! 

Always keen to see how you can get the best from old tech?, I dug out my gen 1 Surface Go device.  This was an 8 GB model with the faster Intel Gold processor. It came orginally with Windows 10S; I upgraded that to 10 Pro, as most people did, and then finally to Windows 11.

First Stop Ubuntu

Now it did run Windows 11 but as expected not amazingly fast, good enough for some web browsing and using Office Online. So I looked for some alternatives:

Linux, of course, had to be a great choice to start with; I chose Ubuntu, as this is a mainstream distro. Once installed I updated the Surface Kernel through Github and even got my Surface pen to work!  I could install Microsoft Edge, sync to my M365 account and all was good.   

By using Microsoft Edge, I could create a Progressive Web App (PWA) of any web page and have it behave like an application.

Second stop: Windows 10X

Next I tried going back to Github and found the project for Windows 10x. If you don't remember Windows 10X, it was released to support dual-screen devices such as the Surface Neo (and potentially the Surface Duo, but that went Android). A refreshed OS UI (aka Windows 11), a partitioned OS installation, and some nice tweaks regarding security meant this was a new OS. Sadly, it lacked support for Win32 apps and was canned in 2021.

Windows 10X project on Github - look familiar?

However, several GitHub users revived it with a project, and I tried that. Now due to the nature of Windows 10x, there is an easy way and a hard way. I chose the easy way and installed it on the Surface Go. Nicely slick and quick was an understatement for the device; everything worked except the WiFi driver... so after a couple of hours, I moved to my third and final choice—Windows X-Lite

Third and final choice: Windows X-Lite

Windows X-Lite is described as 

An optimised build of Windows designed to optimise performance, stability, and efficiency; lower resource use; and improve responsiveness on any hardware.

To get started, go to https://windowsxlite.com to download the version in ISO format. You can select from Windows 10 Builds or Windows 11 Builds, which have all been optimised. To install simply create a boot media using Rufus, and point it to the ISO you have downloaded. Work your way through the OOBE, and you will be up and running in no time.

Once installed, you have a baseline OS running. You will need to install the fundamentals, like a web browser and the Microsoft Store. This is done by clicking on the Windows X-Lite folder and then the Options folder.

After installation, and installing my favourite apps, such as Microsoft Edge, Journal, and Teams for work, Windows X-Lite has taken up a whopping 15GB out of my 120GB.

What about updates?

Well, the secret sauce of Windows X-Lite is the fact that they suspend updates until at least the year 3000! Which is almost like the ultimate Long Term Servicing Branch of Windows (LTSB), which ensures the devices continue to work as expected.

So remember to tread gently with bringing life back to old tech and have fun, but do go and check out https://windowsxlite.com  I am looking to update to the Neon build next !