Each week there’s a wide range of news from the worlds of Microsoft and Windows. While we cover the news as it trickles in, it’s nice to have a single space to catch up on the highlights. This week Windows 3.1 celebrated its 30th birthday, Microsoft held a Windows 11 event for hybrid work, and Edge passed Safari in desktop market share.
Windows 3.1 turns 30
Source: Microsoft
This week we said happy 30th birthday to Windows 3.1. The operating system launched back on April 6, 1992. Many features introduced in Windows 3.1 have become ubiquitous today, such as the CTRL+C and CTRL+V shortcuts for copy and paste. The OS also added TrueType fonts for better rendering and came with screensavers.
Perhaps most importantly, Windows 3.1 launched with two games, Minesweeper and Solitaire (the ad-free version).
Windows 3.1 sold over 3 million copies in its first three months and was generally considered a major success for Microsoft.
Microsoft takes its Journal app out of the garage
Source: Microsoft
After 14 months of incubation in the Microsoft Garage, Journal has a new name and is an officially supported Microsoft app. Now known as Microsoft Journal, the app has a refreshed look for Windows 11.
Microsoft Journal is an ink-centric app for taking notes and marking up documents. The app supports gestures that are powered by AI and connects to Microsoft 365.
We’ll take a closer look at the app in an upcoming review, so make sure to keep an eye out.
Microsoft Journal
Microsoft Journal is a notetaking application that focuses on the inking experience. It uses artificial intelligence and connects to Microsoft 365.
File Explorer tabs and more on way to Windows 11
Source: Windows Central
Microsoft held a Windows 11 event this week to show off what it has in store for the OS. The event focused on hybrid work, so there weren’t any massive announcements, but the company presented a few interesting features.
As expected based on leaks, Microsoft is bringing tabs to File Explorer. With the addition, Windows will finally catch up to other platforms that have had tabs in file managers for years.
Microsoft also announced plans to make Windows 11 smarter, such as predicting which contacts you may want to send an item to through the share dialog.
Several features were shown off that integrates the local Windows 11 desktop experience with the Cloud PC experience delivered by Windows 365. PCs will have the option to boot directly into a Cloud PC in the future and will support working in Windows 365 even when disconnected from the internet.
ARM-based mini PC launches at $230
Source: Apcsilmic
Apcsilmic announced an ARM-based mini PC that starts at just $229. The Dot 1 is primarily aimed at developers, but it can be purchased by anyone. The Dot 1 runs on a Snapdragon 7c processor, has optional 4G LTE connectivity, and has a vast range of ports.
The low price of the Dot 1 doesn’t quite cover everything. The PC comes with an unlicensed version of Windows 11, meaning you’ll have to dish out an additional $100 to have a licensed version of the OS.
Edge passes Safari for second place
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Microsoft Edge surpassed Safari to earn the second spot among desktop browsers. Edge sat at a 9.65% market share in March 2022, which was just enough to beat Safari (9.57%). Edge has steadily gained users since its relaunch as a Chromium-based browser back in 2020.
While Microsoft Edge managed to pass Safari in desktop market share, it still sits far below Google Chrome. Google’s browser remains dominant with a market share of 67.29%. In fact, Chrome actually gained a few percentage points in market share last month.
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Here’s why ‘saving’ Surface Neo by putting Android on it makes sense
Surface Neo was never officially canceled, but it’s also unofficially never coming. What should Microsoft do with the design? It’s too small for Windows 11, and there’s no Windows 10X. Would Android be a good fit? It seems to be working for Surface Duo, which is nothing more than a smaller version.
