Members of the Clyde and Districts Lions Club (from left) Hilary Armstrong, Sue Burgess, Ngaire Adams, Sue Noble-Adams, and Chris Page. The Lions oversee the senior queen event at the Blossom Festival. PHOTO: SHANNON THOMSON/ ALEXANDRA BLOSSOM FESTIVAL Nominations for the 2025 Alexandra Blossom Festival senior queen are now open.
Clutha District Council members and Milton Area Promotions award winners (from left) Cr Bruce Vollweiler, Kay Partridge, Ross Pringle, Linda Cowie, Cr Gaynor Finch, Cameron Luckhurst, Donna Richards, Robyn Mathieson and Mayor Bryan Cadogan, at Clutha District War Memorial & Community Centre Te Pou ō Mata-Au, recently. PHOTO: SUPPLIED. This year’s Clutha District Council Heritage & Environment Community Service Award went to a team whose commitment to recreation spaces and local history has made a lasting impact on their town — Milton Area Promotions.
PHOTO: ODT FILES Good news has come in twos to bring relief to local farmers.
PHOTO: NICK BROOK The last Clutha Leader, Silver Fern Farms Local Legend of winter is nonagenarian Zoe Latta.
High schools around the country, including South Otago, are standing by for a new qualification system. PHOTO: NICK BROOK South Otago school principals are optimistic about the government’s plans to abolish the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), but are waiting to hear more details.
President attempted to sack the central bank governor as he intensified his attack on the institution
Staff ‘forced out’ and independence curtailed at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
A research team from Zhejiang University and Alibaba Group has introduced Memp, a framework that gives large language model (LLM) agents a form of procedural memory designed to make them more efficient at complex, multi-step tasks. Instead of relearning workflows from scratch, Memp enables agents to store, retrieve, and update past experiences in real time. For developers and architects, this means fewer wasted tokens, faster task completion, and the possibility of running smaller, cheaper models without sacrificing performance. This advance could influence how AI pipelines and agent architectures are built. “Large Language Models (LLMs) based agents excel at diverse tasks, yet they suffer from brittle procedural memory that is manually engineered or entangled in static parameters,” the researchers said in the paper . “We introduce Memp, a task-agnostic framework that elevates procedural memory to a core optimization target in LLM-based agents,” they added. “By systematically studying strategies for memory construction, retrieval, and updating, Memp enables agents to distill, reuse, and refine their own past experiences across diverse, long-horizon tasks.” The researchers said that tests on housework automation and information-seeking benchmarks showed procedural memory significantly improved both task success rates and efficiency. Beyond enhancing performance on individual tasks, Memp also enables continual learning and stronger generalization, moving AI agents closer to becoming self-improving and resilient, they wrote. What makes it different Memp is designed as a task-agnostic framework that treats procedural memory as a core optimization target. The researchers studied how different strategies for building, retrieving, and updating memory influence overall performance. In the construction phase, agents capture either full task trajectories or distilled guidelines from past experiences. For retrieval, techniques such as query-vector and keyword-based matching are used to identify the most relevant prior knowledge. Where Memp really differs is in its update mechanisms. “Unlike prior memory mechanisms or learning from experience, Memp introduces diverse procedural-memory update strategies: In the realm of agents, memory updating is crucial for agents to adapt to dynamic environments,” the researchers wrote. “By incorporating diverse strategies like ordinary addition, validation filtering, reflection, and dynamic discarding, agents can efficiently manage their knowledge base.” These update methods allow agents to absorb new information, discard outdated data, and keep their memory resources optimized. The researchers said this makes agents more efficient, improves decision-making, and enhances adaptability across tasks. Benefits to enterprises Analysts say procedural memory could make AI agents more practical to deploy at scale, even for mid-sized enterprises. By lowering compute demands and reducing the need for constant supervision, it promises to cut both costs and complexity. “Procedural memory excels in structured, multi-step business processes, such as customer service, finance, and logistics, amongst others,” said Prabhu Ram, VP of the industry research group at Cybermedia Research. “Its modular, incremental integration model lets organizations upgrade existing agents without disruptive system overhauls.” Significantly, the paper noted that procedural knowledge created by a larger model can be distilled into a memory bank and reused by a smaller one with minimal overhead, giving the weaker system a measurable boost in task performance. This transfer of memory allows knowledge gained by one model to be quickly applied to another, helping agents adapt to new tasks with greater efficiency and resilience. “Instead of every query consuming capacity on high-priced foundation models, enterprises can train once and deploy repeatedly on smaller engines priced at a fraction of the cost,” said Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst and CEO at Greyhound Research. “This ‘train with the best, run with the rest’ logic brings order-of-magnitude savings in high-volume workloads.” The economic implication is profound, Gogia added. AI agents can improve over time without increasing unit costs, delivering cumulative ROI rather than ballooning expenses. For CIOs and CFOs alike, this provides the predictability that has so far been absent from enterprise AI financial planning. Risks to consider However, others caution that the technology addresses only part of the memory capabilities required for enterprise AI. Agents can already record successful and failed actions, retain short-term context for current tasks, and build long-term memory across multiple tasks or domains. “Procedural memory addresses only a part of these characteristics,” said Anushree Verma, senior director analyst at Gartner. “While this can be useful for use cases where AI agents are responsible for a small part of the process, meaningful large-scale deployment will require investments in robust memory architectures.” Gogia added that risks also include drift, where agents rely on outdated routines, poisoning, where flawed or malicious inputs corrupt memory, and opacity, where decisions are based on hidden stored steps.
Poor Apple customers in the UK will suffer what they must as politically driven regulators make the same existential threats against Apple and Google as those made by the EU . Apple has warned that the rules proposed by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will cause numerous harms to the user experience its customers enjoy. Bad for one and bad for all “We’re concerned these EU-style rules the UK is advancing are bad for users and bad for developers,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement provided to Computerworld . “This approach undermines the privacy and security protections our users have come to expect, hampers our ability to innovate, and forces us to give away our technology for free to foreign competitors. We will continue to engage with the regulator to make sure they fully understand these risks.” The regulator argues that because Apple and Google between them hold almost 100% of the UK mobile OS market, they should face additional oversight. The CMA earlier this year laid out a host of different ways it thought it might be able to “improve” mobile platforms in the UK. That means regulators from the CMA will be able to make similar demands of Apple as those made in Europe , including support for third-party app stores, steering to third-party stores and payment services, and a free-for-all to use and exploit certain system features. (It is interesting to note that the last item is precisely what Meta wants for its own business.) There is no evidence these measures will work Apple points out that the proposals being put forward by the CMA lack supporting evidence and would effectively force it to give away its innovations for free. “The Roadmap — absent any evidence — also prioritises interoperability interventions. While the exact nature of the Roadmap’s proposal is unclear, the CMA is clearly considering whether to impose DMA-like obligations on Apple that require it to hand over its innovations and intellectual property — free of charge — to businesses that have in some cases made it their sole mission to copy Apple. “The European experiment of using regulation to gut the intellectual property rights of an American company is not one the CMA should mimic. Such an approach would not constitute proportionate or evidence-led regulation in action,” Apple said in a statement of opposition to the CMA’s plans. The company also argues that a regulatory “taking of Apple’s innovations and intellectual property (including the exclusionary rights they confer) without compensation would represent a significant infringement of Apple’s fundamental property rights.” 12 disciples of doom What’s annoying the company is not just the fact that it would effectively be forced to open up tech it has invented to others for no charge. Apple also sees significant threats to privacy and security as less salubrious firms abuse that access, warning that the proposals will inevitably nurture the evolution of fraud across its platforms. It also complains that the demands undermine Apple’s integrated approach — and is most furious that the actions the CMA has set out have been proposed with no evidence and no proportionality. In part, this is because the interventions were developed during a closed-door session with input from just 12 developers and one trade group . Given the tens of thousands of developers that exist, the decisions made in that closed meeting cannot be seen by any stretch of imagination as representative of anything more than the opinions of those who were invited to that room. Apple also argues that the way evidence has been assessed has led to perverse preliminary conclusions and proposed interventions. Many findings are derived from a CMA-commissioned survey with a response rate of only 7.6% that contains findings that directly contradict the conclusions it reaches. “Other findings are based on views expressed by a minority of third parties, with no evidence of widespread harm or dissatisfaction,” Apple said. “This is not consistent with evidence-led regulation.” On an island But perhaps when it comes to a lost island nation facing terminal decline, struggling to stay relevant by emulating its larger neighbors with damaging directives aimed at the leading tech firms of its closest ally, evidence doesn’t matter. Some might say the UK is engaged in magical thinking, assuming for itself an importance it no longer has on the world stage, imagining as it does that the US will not respond forcefully against any punitive measures it takes against the iPhone company. In doing so it is clearly making a mistake, given the explicit warnings against such actions that have emerged from the Trump administration . Those statements should have been understood to mean there will be reprisals if regulation is seen to have gone too far — and Apple says the regulation is most definitely going too far. Based entirely on visible results, it is doubtful that flailing UK leader Keir Starmer has any of the proven diplomatic skills possessed by Apple leader Tim Cook. In response, Apple warns that it may need to slow down the rate at which it introduces new features in the UK. It may also slow introduction of platform security patches in response to other half-baked UK regulation, even as it potentially continues to fight for the data privacy of its US and international customers in the surveillance-happy state . None of this is good, most of this is political, and there will be very little benefit, if any, for any Apple (or Google) customer, including the many businesses that make use of their devices. The UK regulator of course denies that people will be left vulnerable. “Driving greater competition on mobile platforms need not undermine privacy, security or intellectual property, and as we carefully consider UK-specific steps, we will ensure it does not,” it said. The road to nowhere What it doesn’t say is how that can be achieved. It’s almost as if the regulators, while claiming to be attempting to form a level playing field for tech, are in fact designing an environment in which to hobble some businesses in favor of nothing at all. That’s despite the chief regulator in the case, Sarah Cardell, herself warning that regulation must not “create protracted uncertainty that could chill investment and innovation.” Which is precisely what the UK regulations threaten to do. But while this reckless misuse of power takes place, one thing is for sure. It will be Apple’s UK customers who suffer what they must in exchange for wisp-like fantasies of potential market benefits, none of which truly reflect their needs or desires. You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky , LinkedIn , and Mastodon .
All right, my fellow productivity-minded Pixel possessor — it’s that time: Time to set aside all “ooh, shiny!” sensations, put on your practical thinking cap, and consider closely if Google’s latest and greatest Pixel gadgets are actually worth your while to buy. El Googaloo took the wraps off its new Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro (and the plus-sized XL versions of each of those models) just over a week ago. And now, the devices are officially out in the world and ready to tempt us all. I’ve had the privilege of living with the new Pixels for the past week, since the day of the Pixel 10 launch shindig, thanks to a series of loaner reviews unit from Google. Prior to that, I spent most of the past year using my own personal Pixel 9 Pro XL — with many months personally owning and/or using every previous Pixel model before that as well. With all of that perspective in mind, I’d tell you two things, to start: The new Pixel 10 phones truly are fantastic — undoubtedly Google’s best all-around efforts to date. They’re an absolute delight to use, and the combination of the exceptional real-world user experience they offer, all the thoughtful and genuinely practical touches they bring into the picture, and the unmatched commitment to timely and reliable ongoing software updates for a full seven years that they provide continues to put these products in a league of their own. This year, with these latest devices, that’s more true than ever. While the recommendation to buy one is easy for someone who doesn’t already own a Pixel — whether they’re a Samsung Galaxy fan looking for something different or (gasp!) an iPhone devotee ready to make the leap to a more modern and less locked-down lifestyle — the question of whether it’s worth shelling out hundreds of dollars to move up from a previous Pixel model is much more nuanced and complex. With that in mind, what follows is specific case-by-case guide to thinking about the Pixel 10 upgrade — whether you’re coming from last year’s Pixel 9 models, the previous year’s Pixel 8 devices, or any other older Pixels from there on back. In each instance, there won’t always be a single black-and-white, one-size-fits-all answer. But there will be some practical guidance I can give you based on my experiences with these latest Googley gizmos and my intimate knowledge of their assorted Pixel predecessors. Feel free to skip around and read only the sections relevant to you, if you’d like (though I’d strongly suggest starting with the first section, below, as it explores a lot about these latest models and many of their newest features) — and if you want only the high points without all the detail, look for the ➡️ symbol at the end of each section for the verdict. Oh — and whether you end up snagging the Pixel 10 or stickin’ with your current model, be sure to mosey your way over to my free Pixel Academy e-course next. It’ll teach you all sorts of useful new stuff your phone can do for you, no matter which Pixel you’re palming. Google Pixel 10 vs. Pixel 9 (or Pixel 9 Pro) The Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, at left, next to the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, right. JR Raphael, Foundry We’ll start with the most recent flagship Pixels and how they compare to the new Pixel 10 offerings, in both the regular and the Pro forms. (And note: Since both Pixel 10 models and their larger XL equivalents are essentially identical other than their size, I’m generally not gonna break things down between the XL and non-XL options — nor am I going to specifically separate the Pro and regular models, unless there’s a pressing reason to do so. For any of the possibilities we discuss from this point onward, if you prefer a larger device, go with the XL. If you like a smaller phone, go with the non-XL version. If you want the best possible cameras and all the whistles, go Pro; otherwise, go with the regular path. Capisce?) This one is an especially tricky decision, with several paths to choose from, but I’ll try to make it as simple as possible: Broadly speaking, the biggest reason to consider upgrading from the Pixel 9 series to the Pixel 10 is the added presence of Pixelsnap — Google’s name for the MagSafe-like native magnets built into the phone that allow for secure and effortless connections to all sorts of wireless chargers, stands, and other accessories. How much that actually matters , of course, is entirely up to you to decide. But it’s the most immediately noticeable improvement between these two generations, and if I had to pick one reason the upgrade might be worthwhile for folks coming from Pixel 9 devices, that’d be it. Google, unfortunately, wasn’t able to make its official Pixelsnap accessories available for my assessment in time for this analysis. But what’s especially cool about the Pixel 10’s setup in this area is that it follows the now-standard placement for this type of magnetic capability, so you can actually use the Pixel 10 with most any existing magnetic phone accessory — including the massive array of MagSafe-designed products, most of which should work fine with any Pixel 10 model. That’s a pretty big plus, particularly since everything you need is right there and built into the phone itself, without the need for any special cases or other external additions. And it opens up a sprawling universe of accessories you can choose from — from chargers and stands to battery packs and beyond — whether you pick up one of Google’s official options or not. If you’re currently using the regular, non-Pro Pixel 9, upgrading to the Pixel 10 also brings the advantage of giving you a telephoto lens for high-quality taken-from-afar image capturing — something that previously had been available only on the pricier Pro models. And with the Pixel 10 Pro models, you can now zoom in up to 100x — up from 30x on the Pixel 9 Pro phones (and 20x on the non-Pro Pixel 10 versions). This is all due to post-capture on-device processing, but it’s actually pretty phenomenal. To wit: Here is a lovely little lizard I saw in front of our house last night. A somewhat zoomed photo taken on the Pixel 10 Pro XL. JR Raphael, Foundry Here is me zooming in 100x to the lizard’s head — in the original, raw version of the photo, before the Pixel worked its magic on it. A 100x zoomed-in shot — before the Pixel’s processing. JR Raphael, Foundry And here is the final product — the ultimate version of the image that the Pixel saved for me. 100x zooming with full Pixel 10 Pro processing. JR Raphael, Foundry (The Pixel 10 keeps both copies, in case you want to compare or want the raw, unprocessed one for any reason, but the processed one is the primary version you see in your Photos library.) I’m not sure how often most of us really have the need for 100x zooming or if that’s a reason to upgrade in and of itself, but it’s a pretty cool capability to have at your fingertips for if/when the right occasion arises — and, as you can see above, it’s insanely impressive how well it works (though you really do have to fight to keep the shot stable and not moving around like crazy when you’re zoomed in that much). The new Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro pack plenty of other added hardware-oriented improvements, too — for instance: Brighter screens that look noticeably nicer when you’re seeing ’em side by side with their predecessors (but that, honestly, you probably wouldn’t notice or be aware of otherwise). Better speakers — a welcome improvement, though I suspect most folks will find the difference tough to appreciate; even when doing side-by-side comparisons and actively trying to listen for the contrast, it’s pretty subtle to my ears. A variety of under-the-hood improvements, like a new next-gen processor — again, cool and the kind of progression we certainly want to see with new devices, but not something you’re likely to be actively aware of in any day-to-day use. And then, of course, there’s all the added software intelligence, where tends to be where Pixels really shine. With the Pixel 10s, the big-ticket item is Magic Cue — a new system that, as Google puts it , “connects the dots across your apps, like Gmail, Calendar, Screenshots, Messages, and more to proactively surface relevant info and suggest helpful actions when you need them.” In short, Magic Cue is meant to pop up pertinent info when you need it — without your even having to ask for it — like, for instance, surfacing the address of an event from your calendar or maybe the details from an upcoming trip from your email when someone in a message asks about those subjects. Magic Cue feels like the headlining feature here and the element I was absolutely most excited to see in action. In reality, at least so far, it’s been a little limited in how and when it appears. I’ve mostly just seen it when I’ve deliberately tried to recreate scenarios from the specific examples Google’s given of when it’ll work. That being said, a feature like this seems like the kind of thing that’s tough to assess in such a limited, often contrived period of use. Especially if Google keeps expanding it (as the company tells me it very much intends to do), this could become an invaluable part of the Android experience and one of those things you don’t even think about but just appreciate and come to expect over time. The Pixel 10’s Magic Cue feature, as seen in notifications. JR Raphael, Foundry For now, it’s limited to (a) pulling info from Gmail, Calendar, Messages, Keep, Pixel Screenshots, and Contacts — and (b) surfacing relevant info from those sources in Messages, Phone, Weather, and a few other select places (like popping up a suggestion for a place you’ve previously searched at the top of Gboard when you open up Maps, for instance — something that actually happened to me the other night and really caught me by surprise!). More than anything, it seems like a promising start and a return to the concept that came up briefly but never had the chance to develop with Google Now on Tap a decade ago. Hopefully, what we’re seeing here is only the beginning. Speaking of Google Now, the Pixel 10’s new Daily Hub feature really brings the original Now concept to mind. It’s meant to be a “personalized digest” of everything you need to know at any given moment. But so far, at least, it strikes me as a watered-down version of what Google Now gave us way back in 2012. It’s a single new button at the top of the Google feed that takes you to a screen that generally seems to show a summary of the weather and any upcoming appointments and reminders. The Pixel 10’s new Daily Hub in action. JR Raphael, Foundry Not exactly awe-inspiring yet — but still, nice to see Google coming back around to what was always a fantastic concept. And, again, hopefully this is just the start. The on-demand Voice Translate trick is exceptionally cool and could be extremely useful, in the right sort of situation — if/when such a need ever arises for you. It works exactly like the demo , in my experience: Once you activate it, you can simply speak normally during a call to someone, and the system will translate whatever you’re saying on the fly into whatever language you select — in your own voice. It is wild and futuristic, and while it might not be something that comes up often for many of us, it’s easy to see how supremely useful and life-changing it could be in certain scenarios. And finally, a feature that I didn’t even fully understand initially but have really come to appreciate is Take a Message. This basically eliminates voicemail from your life, which is especially nice if you’re using a carrier that doesn’t provide a great visual voicemail experience. In short, anytime you miss or decline a call, Take a Message automatically takes the message for you — without ever involving traditional carrier voicemail. Whatever the caller says just shows up instantly in a notification and is then also available to read or hear right there in the Phone app, alongside the missed call. The Pixel 10’s Take a Message feature is like a modern replacement for voicemail. JR Raphael, IDG If your phone is ever off or out of service, your carrier voicemail still kicks in. But as long as the device is on and actively connected, your voicemail becomes a feature on the device , in the Phone app, instead of some awkwardly separate (and difficult to save or bring with you when changing phones or carriers) add-on service. And, if you’re wondering, Google isn’t saying yet if or when any of these features might make their way to older Pixels (or possibly even non-Pixel Android devices). But that’s certainly something that could happen down the line as well and often does happen with items like these. Notably, the same future-reach ambiguity is not present with the new natural language image editing option debuting in Google Photos on the Pixel 10 devices. That feature — which works impressively well some of the time and is a ton of fun to play around with — does seem like it’ll make its way to more places eventually, though the specific timing isn’t yet certain. And in the meantime, you can actually accomplish fairly similar feats directly within Gemini on any device, be it a phone, computer, or anything in between. ➡️ The verdict, in short: Lots of useful little touches that add up to create an even more pleasant and productive all-around Pixel experience — but nothing you truly need coming from last year’s models. If you’re itchin’ for something new and you’re the sort of person who geeks out over the finer points of mobile technology (hiya!) — or if any of the specific new features, like Voice Translate, really jump at you as elements you’d use often — you’ll be thrilled with the Pixel 10 upgrade coming from a Pixel 9. The phone is mostly a refined and improved version of last year’s Pixel, which makes it even more polished and enticing for a newcomer (especially at the same price as last year’s offering) but not exactly a need-to-upgrade situation for an average Pixel 9 owner. The most significant change for most people will be the presence of native support for those magnetic accessories and then the addition of telephoto zoom for the non-Pro models. Beyond that, you’ll see a bunch of little quality-of-life improvements that may not be overly attention-grabbing at the onset but that will actually help you and make a difference over time. All of that being said, the purely sensible advice in this scenario would be to hang onto your current phone for a while longer — though the various launch-time deals and trade-in values might give you some extra excuses, if you really just want to talk yourself into it. Google Pixel 10 vs. Pixel 9a The Pixel 10 Pro XL next to the Pixel 9a. JR Raphael, Foundry Got Google’s most recent midrange Pixel model? Moving to the Pixel 10 or Pixel 10 Pro would absolutely be an improvement for you, but that’s in large part because you’re moving from a more budget-minded proposition into premium flagship terrain. That means you’ll get a fancier-feeling phone body (for whatever that’s worth to you), along with lots of extra bells and whistles and niceties — including all sorts of upgraded camera capabilities. The Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro are also in a completely different league when it comes to processing power, which can make the phone feel a fair bit snappier. That being said, the Pixel 9a is certainly no slouch with performance for most average-animal needs, and you may or may not notice any obvious difference in your day-to-day use (especially if you aren’t doing a ton of multitasking and other high-resource-requiring work). The biggest question to ask yourself is why you went with the Pixel 9a in the first place. If it’s because of the price and value, then moving up to the Pixel 10 or Pixel 10 Pro probably isn’t an advisable move. Your 9a still has a solid six and a half years (!) of active software support under its belt, and nothing about the 9-to-10 upgrade is gonna dramatically revolutionize your core user experience or what your phone’s capable of doing — outside of photography, at least, but even there, we’re talking more niceties and added abilities as opposed to core competency. If past trends hold true, meanwhile, we’ll see the next midrange Pixel — the Pixel 10a — sometime next spring. So that’s also on the way as a possible upgrade within your current “a”-series path, should you wish to move to something new but stay within the same mid-level price range. (And odds are, it’ll get at least some of the new software-oriented features from the Pixel 10, too.) ➡️ The verdict, in short: A lofty leap — but largely just because of the change in range. If you’re jonesing for a more premium Pixel experience, you’ll be positively thrilled by the move to a Pixel 10 or Pixel 10 Pro — but that’s mostly because you’re hopping from one product tier to another. For most people who bought the 9a in the first place, sticking with that phone for a while longer will make more sense. Google Pixel 10 vs. Pixel 8 (or Pixel 8 Pro) The Pixel 10 Pro XL next to the Pixel 8 Pro XL. JR Raphael, Foundry If you’re coming from a Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro phone, be sure to read the “Pixel 10 vs. Pixel 9” comparison above — as many of those same impressions will apply to you, too. The added difference is mostly that your device is another year and generation behind, so the contrasts will all be slightly more noticeable coming from your current phone compared to the one-year-old Pixel 9 models. And that makes the question of whether to upgrade for you a little more murky — still in a gray zone, without any easy universal answer, but with a little more leaning toward the “maybe” side of the equation. All brand new elements aside, the Pixel 9 (last year’s flagship) was the first phone model to introduce two software features that I have actually found to be quite useful over the past year — both of which are still very much present on the Pixel 10 but aren’t present on your Pixel 8 device: Pixel Screenshots, an app that saves and makes it easier to search your screenshots and most significantly introduces a simple system-wide shortcut for creating an on-the-fly reminder around any screenshot you save — quite possibly the most indispensable Pixel addition in recent years, in my eyes (and one that you can emulate in a couple creative ways but that’s never quite the same as the system-level original) And Call Notes, a smart addition to the Pixel Phone app that can automatically take notes and then provide summaries of any or all of your voice calls (and once more, something you can recreate on any Android device with a little creative thinking but without completely matching the smooth and seamless nature of the native implementation) Those features alone might be worth making the leap from the Pixel 8 to the Pixel 10, if you ask me (because remember, the Pixel 10 is basically a refined and improved version of the Pixel 9, still at the same price). And that’s to say nothing of the other noteworthy 9-series-introduced improvements that also carry over to this current generation — including backup satellite connectivity for contacting emergency services and sending messages when you don’t have regular cellular service. Honestly, most of that may mean more than much of the brand new 10-level stuff for a lot of Pixel 8-series owners. All in all, this isn’t what I’d call a no-brainer, pull-the-trigger-this-instant upgrade. We aren’t at that point quite yet. But it’s a reasonably compelling argument to consider — if you’re not entirely ecstatic about your current phone situation and/or you’re ready for something new and improved. ➡️ The verdict, in short: Incredibly easy to justify if you want it but by no means needed . The Pixel 10 or 10 Pro would mark a noticeable and quite significant upgrade coming from any of the Pixel 8 models — in all the same ways we went over for the Pixel 9 section, above, and all the improvements from the 8-to-9 generation that also carry over now. But the 8-generation phones still have plenty of life left in ’em, and there’s nothing with the new 10 devices that’d dramatically change your life — mostly just some nifty new conveniences and assorted added niceties. Especially with all the promos and trade-in values, you wouldn’t regret making the move to a Pixel 10-level phone. And I have no doubt you’d be very happy with it. But you’d also be fine to stick with your Pixel 8 for another year — or more — and from a purely sensible perspective, that’d be the way to go. Google Pixel 10 vs. Pixel 8a The story with the Pixel 8a is honestly pretty similar to what we said with the 9a a moment ago — only with an extra year of use and improvements added into the mix. The Pixel 10 or Pixel 10 Pro would be a significant upgrade from the 8a in every possible measure, and you’d absolutely notice the difference. But your current phone is still fine, and the 8a is set to be supported with Android software updates all the way through May 2031 . Just like with the Pixel 9a, the real question here is how badly you want to move to a more premium, high-end phone experience and how much you’re willing to spend to get there. ➡️ The verdict, in short: Another big jump between classes, if you’re looking for that kind of change. For most 8a owners, there’s no pressing reason to upgrade — though going from that phone to the Pixel 10 or Pixel 10 Pro would absolutely be a massive and immediately noticeable improvement, if you simply wanted to give yourself the added niceties of the more premium Pixel path. Google Pixel 10 vs. Pixel 7 (or Pixel 7 Pro) Now we’re starting to trek into terrain where the upgrade to a Pixel 10 gets more substantial. The Pixel 7 series phones came out in the fall of 2022, and we’ve seen a fair amount of improvements — now cumulatively present in the newest Pixel 10 devices — in all the time since. The Pixel 7 series was also the last Pixel to launch before Google moved from a three-year software support guarantee to its current seven-year promise — though the company did go back and add another couple years onto the Pixel 7 at some point along the way. That means the 7 series is set to receive operating system updates for another two years yet, through October 2027, so you certainly could wait another year (or even two) before it becomes pressing to think about a new device. That being said, you’d see a host of very noticeable and meaningful improvements by making the leap now. That includes everything we’ve talked about in the previous sections, plus the massively significant ability to use your phone’s Face Unlock system everywhere — as a secure way to sign into banking apps or anywhere else authentication is required — which is something that’s possible only with the Pixel 8 and upward. For context: That improvement alone convinced me to pull the trigger on a Pixel 8 in 2023, when that capability first came into the equation. Small of a detail as it may seem compared to the more attention-grabbing Pixel tricks, it’s a real game-changer and something that has a meaningful, ongoing impact on your day-to-day life — likely multiple times every single day. And getting a Pixel 10 now is hands-down the best way to get it. The Pixel 7 to 10 upgrade will also give you the unusual advantage of an on-device thermometer, which seemed silly when it first debuted on the Pixel 8 series but has since grown into a valuable addition — now that it supports actual human temperature-taking (which it weirdly didn’t out of the gate). We can never find regular thermometers in my house, and even when we do, they’re frustratingly inconsistent and inaccurate in their readings. The Pixel 10’s thermometer (on the Pro models only) is always there and ready, and it’s been incredibly consistent with its measurements in my experience. Still, unless your Pixel 7 series device is starting to show its age in a not-so-great way, this one mostly comes down to a matter of added niceties and conveniences — once more, still, of want over need . If you want it, it’s well worthwhile, and you’ll certainly see enough of a difference to justify the change coming from the 7 series. But you definitely don’t need it, and if you aren’t feeling the urge to get something new just yet, there’s no reason not to stick with what you’ve got for another year or so. ➡️ The verdict, in short: A very significant step up that you’ll absolutely notice and appreciate — but still not a critical upgrade. The Pixel 10 or Pixel 10 Pro would be a welcome upgrade for you and one that’s easy to justify and filled with significant, meaningful changes. But, it’s by no means a completely necessary purchase. Ask yourself how much you truly want one of the devices and how much you can stomach the cost — taking into account any trade-in variables — for what’d be an enjoyable and efficiency-enhancing, though not necessarily quite essential, change. Google Pixel 10 vs. Pixel 7a Once more, the situation with the Pixel 7a is not all that different from what we went over with the one-generation-later “a”-model a moment ago — with the added consideration that the 7a is now down to just shy of three years of remaining software updates and is also now over two years old, so it may be starting to slow down and introduce annoying work challenges. If you feel like you need to stick it out longer or you’re just satisfied enough with what you’ve got now — and your 7a is still working reasonably well for you — there’s no super-pressing reason to push yourself into Pixel 10 territory this minute. But if you want an incredible all-around productivity and day-to-day experience upgrade and are up for the cost, you would be blown away by the difference you’d see moving from that phone to a Pixel 10 model — on so many different levels. Again, the bigger question is if that’s the change you want or if you’d rather stick with the more affordable “a” path for your next upgrade, whenever that time arrives. ➡️ The verdict, in short: Well worth it — if you want to spend that kind of money. Think closely about how happy or frustrated you are with your current phone, at its current age. If it’s still doing the job well for you and you aren’t especially excited about anything new, you’ve got every reason to stick with what you’ve got. But if you’re ready for an improvement and you want to leave the midrange “a” arena for a top-of-the-line experience, the Pixel 10 would be a tremendous leap forward for you in every measure imaginable — and there’s no better phone you could buy. Google Pixel 10 vs. Pixel 6 (or Pixel 6 Pro) Pixel 6 pals, you’re next! And if you’ve been reading everything up through this point, you’ve probably got a pretty good guess of where we’re going with this. With each subsequent generation of Pixel, the argument for making the upgrade gets more compelling — and that’s absolutely true in the case of the Pixel 6. The Pixel 6 is set to receive current OS updates only through next October — 2026 — thanks to Google’s extension from that device’s original three-year support promise. That means you’ve got a few Android updates left yet, including this fall’s Android 16 release and then the (likely) two updates that’ll land ahead of the Pixel 6’s support cutoff next fall. So if you really want to stick it out a while longer, you could certainly do it. And you’d be in fine shape, as far as security and privacy and all the most critical factors are concerned. But we’re reaching a point now where the quality-of-life upgrades would be significant enough that it’s easy to recommend this as a sensible step forward for most people — particularly professionals concerned about having a fast, efficient, and effective device with lots of legitimately productivity-boosting advantages (along with quite a few just plain nice improvements). ➡️ The verdict, in short: A smart and substantial upgrade that you’ll very much appreciate (but that you can still get away with waiting on a little longer, if you really want to stretch this one out as long as possible). You could hold off one more year, if you’d rather, but upgrading to the Pixel 10 now would be a heck of an upgrade for you — on so many levels! — and the clock is ticking for when such a move will become highly advisable (and ill-advised to avoid). If you’re ready now, you’ll be delighted with all the changes the Pixel 10 will bring you. If not, though, you could put the purchase off one more year and go with the Pixel 11 in 2026 instead. Google Pixel 10 vs. Pixel 6a Guess what? Once again, the Pixel 6a situation is pretty similar to what we’ve described with other Pixel “a” models — though here, we’re looking at a three -year-old device down to its final two years of active OS update support. Practically speaking, the 6a’s OS update support end-date of July 2027 means that you could easily keep using it without any real worries. But at the same time, my goodness, the leap to a Pixel 10 would be absolutely massive for you — and especially if you’re relying on your device for work, it’d make an immediately noticeable, extremely significant difference in your ability to get stuff done. But, again, your current phone is still reasonably okay to stick with, if you’re so inclined — if a little long in the tooth. And, like with our previous “a”-model comparisons, you could also consider going with the more affordable Pixel 9a as a still-quite-nice (just not as dramatically delightful) boost into the present. ➡️ The verdict, in short: The time is nigh — but you can hold off a teensy but longer (or consider a more comparable “a”-level upgrade), if you’d rather. The argument for upgrading from a Pixel 6a is a strong one, given how much things have moved forward in the time since that phone’s release — but this isn’t quite yet a must -upgrade scenario. And, just like with the Pixel 8a, the real question is if you even want to move to the higher-end Pixel path whenever you do upgrade or if you’d rather stick with the less expensive midrange “a” phones. That’s a decision only you can make. Google Pixel 10 vs. Pixel 5 or any earlier Pixel model This last Pixel 10 upgrade decision is the easiest: If you’re using the Pixel 5 or any Pixel model earlier than that, you should strongly consider stepping up to a Pixel 10 or Pixel 10 Pro device now. No question. These older Pixels are no longer actively being supported with current OS updates or even security patches, and all current features and added conveniences aside, that means they’re no longer advisable to use when it comes to the ever-important areas of optimal privacy, security, and performance for your phone. That aside, the difference in practically every practical measure — from performance to photo quality and all the features that have arrived in the Pixel arena over the past five-plus years — is, well, immeasurable. This is the time. This is the device. Putting it off any further is doing a disservice to your productivity, your privacy and security, and your all-around Android experience. This one, at last, is easy! ➡️ The verdict, in short: Do it. Do it now. It’s time for a new device, plain and simple, and the Pixel 10 models will be a tremendous, night-and-day leap forward for you in every possible measure. If you’re on an older Pixel “a” model, you could consider going with the Pixel 8a instead, should you wish to spend a little less dough. But with any older Pixel, the Pixel 10 or Pixel 10 Pro will be the best upgrade you could make right now, and you would be positively thrilled with the change (in addition to being maximally protected, in terms of being on the most current software possible and avoiding any privacy-, security-, or performance-related liabilities). Wait — what about the Pixel Fold? Using the Pixel 9 Pro Fold — or maybe its first-gen equivalent ? The advice above doesn’t really apply to you. Folding phones are their own beast, and it’s a bit of an apples-to-oranges comparison to try to stack them up next to a standard slab-style device at this point. If you simply aren’t happy with your Fold experience and think you’d rather go back to a more standard sort of phone form, you’d be quite pleased with a move to a Pixel 10 model. Otherwise, stay tuned for more on the third -gen Pixel Fold — a.k.a. the Pixel 10 Pro Fold — soon. It isn’t slated to ship until sometime in October, and Google consequently hasn’t made review units of it available for assessment quite yet. Decisions, decisions, eh? Hey, at least these are relatively fun ones to make. Don’t let yourself miss an ounce of Pixel magic. Come start my free Pixel Academy e-course to discover tons of fresh hidden features and time-saving tricks for whatever Pixel phone you’re using.
Microsoft 365 (and Office 365) subscribers get more frequent software updates than those who have purchased Office without a subscription, which means subscribers have access to the latest features, security patches, and bug fixes. But it can be hard to keep track of the changes in each update and know when they’re available. We’re doing this for you, so you don’t have to. Following are summaries of the updates to Microsoft 365/Office 365 for Windows over the past year, with the latest releases shown first. We’ll add info about new updates as they’re rolled out. Note: This story covers updates released to the Current Channel for Microsoft 365/Office 365 subscriptions. If you’re a member of Microsoft’s Office Insider preview program or want to get a sneak peek at upcoming features, see the Microsoft 365 Insider blog . Version 2508 (Build 19127.20154) Release date: August 26, 2025 This build fixes a bug that caused Outlook to terminate unexpectedly when sending a meeting invite with an encryption label. It also adds support for pixelated rendering of embedded images in SVG assets for the entire Office suite. Get more info about Version 2508 (Build 19127.20154) . Version 2507 (Build 19029.20208) Release date: August 19, 2025 This build fixes a variety of bugs. Get more info about Version 2507 (Build 19029.20208) . Version 2507 (Build 19029.20184) Release date: August 12, 2025 This build fixes a bug which required users to restart Outlook to open a .msg file after initially accessing it once. The build also includes a variety of security updates ( see details ). What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2507 (Build 19029.20184) . Version 2507 (Build 19029.20156) Release date: August 5, 2025 This build fixes a single bug, in which users had to restart Outlook to open a .msg file after initially accessing it once. Get more info about Version 2507 (Build 19029.20156) . Version 2507 (Build 19029.20136) Release date: July 30, 2025 This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including in which Outlook closed unexpectedly shortly after launch, and another in Word in which the word count sometimes displayed incorrectly. Get more info about Version 2507 (Build 19029.20136) . Version 2506 (Build 18925.20184) Release date: July 22, 2025 This build fixes two bugs, one that caused the Copilot Command Center to continue to be visible after disabling the Copilot user interface, and another in which when creating handouts in PowerPoint, certain characters (full-width numbers) couldn’t be properly transferred to the handout. Get more info about Version 2506 (Build 18925.20184) . Version 2506 (Build 18925.20168) Release date: July 15, 2025 This build fixes two bugs, one that caused Visio 32-bit to close unexpectedly when using the Drawing control, particularly in setups involving COM components or .NET integrations, and another in Word in which copying and pasting content between documents sometimes changed the applied style unexpectedly. Get more info about Version 2506 (Build 18925.20168) . Version 2506 (Build 18925.20158) Release date: July 8, 2025 This Patch Tuesday build fixes several bugs in Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, and the whole Office suite, including one that caused the Copilot icon to unexpectedly display in Outlook when Copilot had been disabled by the admin in government cloud. The release also includes a variety of security updates ( see details ). What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2506 (Build 18925.20158) . Version 2506 (Build 18827.20176) Release date: July 1, 2025 This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Word in which print preview sometimes stopped working when printing long emails. Get more info about Version 2506 (Build 18827.20176) . Version 2505 (Build 18827.20176) Release date: June 26, 2025 This build introduces several new features, including one in Excel in which the PivotTables dialog box interface has been replaced by a redesigned panel, making it easier to view all of your options and simpler to change your data selection before inserting a recommended PivotTable. Get more info about Version 2505 (Build 18827.20176) . Version 2505 (Build 18827.20164) Release date: June 17, 2025 This build fixes a bug that caused the “Try the new Outlook” toggle to be enabled when working in Classic Outlook side by side with the new Outlook. Get more info about Version 2505 (Build 18827.20164) . Version 2505 (Build 18827.20150) Release date: June 10, 2025 This build fixes several bugs, including one for the entire Office suite in which a Save As attempt on an existing file didn’t complete successfully, and subsequent attempts continued to encounter issues when trying to save to a file that no longer existed. This Patch Tuesday release also includes a variety of security updates: see details . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2505 (Build 18827.20150) . Version 2505 (Build 18827.20140) Release date: June 3, 2025 This build offers a variety of bug and performance fixes. Read about Version 2505 (Build 18827.20140) . Version 2504 (Build 18730.20186) Release date: May 20, 2025 This build introduces a new PowerPoint feature: Notification emails for mentions, tasks, comments, and replies will now contain context previews even when the source document is encrypted, and the email will inherit the document’s security policies. Get more info about Version 2504 (Build 18730.20186) . Version 2504 (Build 18730.20168) Release date: May 13, 2025 This build fixes a bug in which users were seeing high CPU usage when typing in Outlook. It also includes a variety of security updates: see details . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2504 (Build 18730.20168) . Version 2504 (Build 18730.20142) Release date: May 6, 2025 This build includes various bug and performance fixes. Get more info about Version 2504 (Build 18730.20142) . Version 2504 (Build 18730.20122) Release date: April 29, 2025 This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which PowerPoint was unable to open a file from a network mapped drive from File Explore, another in which Word closed unexpectedly when opening .doc files, and another for the entire Office suite in which large 3D files couldn’t be inserted. Get more info about Version 2504 (Build 18730.20122) . Version 2503 (Build 18623.20208) Release date: April 17, 2025 This build fixes a bug that could cause Excel to stop responding. Get more info about Version 2503 (Build 18623.20208) . Version 2503 (Build 18623.20178) Release date: April 8, 2025 This build fixes a single bug in Word in which users may have encountered an issue with saving, seeing the message “saving…” in the title bar. It also includes a variety of security updates. Go here for details . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2503 (Build 18623.20178) . Version 2503 (Build 18623.20156) Release date: April 2, 2025 This build lets you use Dark Mode in Excel, which darkens your entire sheet, including cells, and may reduce eye strain. It also fixes several bugs, including one in Word in which opening specific files that contain many tracked changes and comments resulted in poor performance, and one in PowerPoint in which the app was not displaying the icon for an inserted PDF object. Get more info about Version 2503 (Build 18623.20156) . Version 2502 (Build 18526.20168) Release date: March 11, 2025 This build fixes several bugs, including one in which some Word files with numerous tracked changes and comments were slow. It also includes a variety of security updates: see details . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2502 (Build 18526.20168) . Version 2502 (Build 18526.20144) Release date: March 5, 2025 This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Word in which the default font size may not be 12pt as expected, and another in which PowerPoint automatically closed when the system went into hibernate or sleep mode. Get more info about Version 2502 (Build 18526.20144) . Version 2501 (Build 18429.20158) Release date: February 11, 2025 This build removes the option to display Track Changes balloons in left margin in Word. It also includes a variety of security updates. See “ Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates ” for details. What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2501 (Build 18429.20158) . Version 2501 (Build 18429.20132) Release date: January 30, 2025 In this build, the advanced Track Changes option to set the margin for balloons in Word has been removed. A wide variety of bugs have also been fixed, including one in which ActiveX controls used an excessive amount of GDI handles in PowerPoint, and another for the entire Office suite in which images couldn’t be pasted from SharePoint. Get more info about Version 2501 (Build 18429.20132) . Version 2412 (Build 18324.20194) Release date: January 16, 2025 This build fixes one bug, in which apps would exit unexpectedly when running on Windows Server 2016. Get more info about Version 2412 (Build 18324.20194) . Version 2412 (Build 18324.20190) Release date: January 14, 2025 This build fixes a bug in Word in which the layout of tables were changed unexpectedly. It also includes a variety of security updates. See Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates for details. What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2412 (Build 18324.20190) . Version 2412 (Build 18324.20168) Release date: January 7, 2025 This build makes tables in Outlook more accessible for screen readers. It also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Word in which a document saved to a network shared folder and set to “Always Open Read-Only” would open in “Editing” mode, and another for the entire Office suite in which application didn’t render the grid properly after switching from page break preview to normal view. Get more info about Version 2412 (Build 18324.20168) . Version 2411 (Build 18227.20162) Release date: December 10, 2024 This build fixes a bug in Word and Outlook where characters didn’t render correctly when using Save Selection to Text Box Gallery . It also includes a variety of security updates. See Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates for details. What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2411 (Build 18227.20162) . Version 2411 (Build 18227.20152) Release date: December 5, 2024 This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which some cells might not be rendered properly upon scrolling in a worksheet using freeze panes, one in Word which prevented emails with linked SVG content from saving or sending, and one in which some PowerPoint presentations created by third-party tools didn’t open correctly and some content was removed. Get more info about Version 2411 (Build 18227.20152) . Version 2410 (Build 18129.20158) Release date: November 12, 2024 This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Word in which all characters didn’t appear correctly when creating an Outlook task from OneNote, and one in PowerPoint in which embedded BMP images in the PowerPoint slide were not opening. This build also includes a variety of security updates. See Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates for details. What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2410 (Build 18129.20158) . Version 2410 (Build 18129.20116) Release date: October 28, 2024 This build enables filtering capabilities for the comment pane in Excel and fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Word in which the title bar no longer showed a “Saved” status for locally saved files, and one in PowerPoint in which a graphics-related issue caused the app to close unexpectedly at times. Get more info about Version 2410 (Build 18129.20116) . Version 2409 (Build 18025.20160) Release date: October 15, 2024 This build fixes a single bug in Word, in which emails with linked SVG content couldn’t be saved or sent. Get more info about Version 2409 (Build 18025.20160) . Version 2409 (Build 18025.20140) Release date: October 8, 2024 This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Word in which text wasn’t clearly visible in High Contrast Mode when using “Draft with Copilot” and referencing a meeting under “Reference your content.” This build also includes multiple security updates. See Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates for details. What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2409 (Build 18025.20140) . Version 2409 (Build 18025.20104) Release date: September 25, 2024 This build fixes a single bug, in which when you saved a file in Word, the save status was missing from the Title bar. Get more info about Version 2409 (Build 18025.20104) . Version 2409 (Build 18025.20096) Release date: September 23, 2024 This build improves the user experience for selecting which users should have which permissions when a sensitivity label configured for user-defined permissions is applied to a file or when configuring standalone Information Rights Management through the Restrict Access feature. This change affects Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Word in which Document Mode would switch from “editing” to “viewing” if user enabled “Track Changes” and set “For Everyone.” Get more info about Version 2409 (Build 18025.20096) . Version 2408 (Build 17928.20156) Release date: September 10, 2024 This update will remove Flip video support when the service goes offline on October 1, 2024. The build also includes a variety of security updates. Go here for details . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2408 (Build 17928.20156) . Version 2408 (Build 17928.20114) Release date: August 26, 2024 This build allows you to disable connected experiences for privacy concerns without impacting data security policies, such as sensitivity labels. Services associated with Microsoft Purview (e.g., sensitivity labels and rights management) are no longer controlled by policy settings to manage privacy controls for Microsoft 365 Apps. Instead, these services will rely on their existing security admin controls in Purview portals. The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in Outlook that caused default SMIME labels to fail to apply when a user replied to or forwarded an unlabeled message, and one for the entire suite in which people couldn’t install Microsoft 365 apps on an enrolled device. Get more info about Version 2408 (Build 17928.20114) . Version 2407 (Build 17830.20166) Release date: August 13, 2024 This build includes a variety of security updates for Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Project, Visio, and the entire Office suite. See Microsoft’s Release notes for Office security updates for details. What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2407 (Build 17830.20166) . Version 2407 (Build 17830.20138) Release date: August 1, 2024 This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which coauthoring on text boxes in Excel sometimes gave unexpected results, another in PowerPoint in which line widths were not preserved when exporting arrow shapes to PDF, and another in Word in which revisions were sometimes skipped when reviewing using VBA. Get more info about Version 2407 (Build 17830.20138) . Version 2406 (Build 17726.20160) Release date: July 9, 2024 This build fixes several bugs, including one in Word and Excel in which characters don’t appear correctly in Text Box Gallery. It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2406 (Build 17726.20160) . Version 2406 (Build 17726.20126) Release date: June 26, 2024 This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which Excel documents might be unexpectedly edited when a mandatory sensitivity label has not been applied, one that caused Outlook to exit unexpectedly shortly after launch for some users, and one in which pasting data from Word or Excel to an Outlook template as a link would cause an error message to appear. Get more info about Version 2406 (Build 17726.20126) . Version 2405 (Build 17628.20164) Release date: June 19, 2024 This build includes a variety of unspecified bug and performance fixes. Get more info about Version 2405 (Build 17628.20164) . Version 2405 (Build 17628.20144) Release date: June 11, 2024 This build fixes one bug, which prevented users from sending mail for a few hours after updating add-ins with on-send events. It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2405 (Build 17628.20144) . Version 2405 (Build 17628.20110) Release date: May 30, 2024 This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which an embedded workbook in .xls format might not have closed properly, one that that caused Outlook to close when using Copilot Summarize, one in Word in which content controls may have been removed when coauthoring, and one for the entire Office suite in which the Organization Chart Add-In for Microsoft programs was not loading properly. Get more info about Version 2405 (Build 17628.20110) . Version 2404 (Build 17531.20152) Release date: May 14, 2024 This build fixes a number of bugs, including one in Word where content controls might be removed when coauthoring, and one that caused Sovereign users to be unable to create ToDo tasks from Outlook. It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2404 (Build 17531.20152) . Version 2404 (Build 17531.20140) Release date: May 7, 2024 This build fixes two bugs in Outlook, one in which it closed unexpectedly using the Scheduling Assistant when creating a new meeting or viewing an existing meeting, and another that caused add-in developers to hit timeouts when retrieving notifications from an Outlook client context. Get more info about Version 2404 (Build 17531.20140) . Version 2404 (Build 17531.20120) Release date: April 29, 2024 This build reduces workbook size bloat from unnecessary cell formatting with a new “Check Performance” task pane. In addition, it fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which the default font could not be set; one in Outlook in which custom forms from MAPI form servers stopped responding; one in PowerPoint in which online videos did not play in some cases; one in which when opening certain Word documents would cause the error, “Word experienced an error trying to open the file”; and one in which the Office update installer appeared to be unresponsive. Get more info about Version 2404 (Build 17531.20120) . Version 2403 (Build 17425.20176) Release date: April 9, 2024 This build fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2403 (Build 17425.20176) . Version 2402 (Build 17328.20184) Release date: March 12, 2024 This build fixes three bugs: one in which Access closed unexpectedly, one in which Excel closed unexpectedly when opening files with pivot tables and table design in macro-enabled files, and one in which Word closed unexpectedly when the undo function was used. This build also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2402 (Build 17328.20184) . Version 2402 (Build 17328.20162) Release date: March 4, 2024 This build fixes several bugs, including one that crashed Outlook when a link was clicked on, and another for the entire Office suite in which opened Office apps didn’t automatically start when a laptop was reopened, and an error message appeared after manual relaunch. Get more info about Version 2402 (Build 17328.20162) . Version 2402 (Build 17328.20142) Release date: February 28, 2024 This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one that caused Outlook to exit unexpectedly when expanding a conversation in the search results from a search of “All Mailboxes,” and another in which users were not able to create a bullet list with hyphens in PowerPoint. Get more info about Version 2402 (Build 17328.20142) . Version 2401 (Build 17231.20236) Release date: February 13, 2024 This build fixes several bugs, including one in which macros were being corrupted when saving Excel files and another that affected the entire Office suite in which add-ins would not load after Click trust for content add-in was selected. This build also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2401 (Build 17231.20236) . Version 2401 (Build 17231.20194) Release date: February 1, 2024 This build fixes a single bug in which expanded groups in the message list collapsed when users changed which column they were arranged by. Get more info about Version 2401 (Build 17231.20194) . Version 2401 (Build 17231.20182) Release date: January 30, 2024 This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which Excel would stop responding when saving changes, one in PowerPoint in which Notes and Slide layout would open with incorrect proportions when a file was opened from a protected view, and one in Word in which comment cards appeared too wide and cut off text when changing or switching the screen in use. Get more info about Version 2401 (Build 17231.20182) . Version 2312 (Build 17126.20132) Release date: January 9, 2024 This build fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2312 (Build 17126.20132) . Version 2312 (Build 17126.20126) Release date: January 4, 2023 This build introduces a new sensitivity toolbar in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that helps users understand the security policies that apply to their documents. It’s available when users are creating copies of their documents in File / Save As. In addition, Office now had a new default theme, which Microsoft says is “more modern and accessible.” It also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which Custom Menu text was truncated when right-clicking in a cell, one in PowerPoint in which restoring a previous version of a presentation was not working as expected when using Version History, and one in Word in which the content control end tag was marked at the end of the document automatically if the document was edited in Word Online and then opened in Word desktop. Get more info about Version 2312 (Build 17126.20126) . Version 2311 (Build 17029.20108) Release date: December 12, 2023 This build fixes one bug in Outlook, in which the message list was blank when switching between the “Focused” and “Other” views. It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2311 (Build 17029.20108) . Version 2311 (Build 17029.20068) Release date: November 29, 2023 This build automatically inserts image captioning for Excel’s images. When you insert an image into a spreadsheet, accessibility image captioning is automatically generated for you. It also fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Excel in which list box controls would not respond to mouse clicks after scrolling using the mouse wheel, and one in Word in which the language of a presentation was not retained when saving or exporting the presentation to a PDF file. Get more info about Version 2311 (Build 17029.20068) . Version 2310 (Build 16924.20150) Release date: November 14, 2023 This build fixes several bugs, including one in which Outlook failed to comply with the default browser settings for some users, and another in which new lines were added to an Outlook signature when pressing Enter in the body of the email. It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2310 (Build 16924.20150) . Version 2310 (Build 16924.20124) Release date: Oct. 31, 2023 This build fixes a bug that caused Outlook to exit unexpectedly when clicking the More link in the Search results list. Get more info about Version 2310 (Build 16924.20124) . Version 2310 (Build 16924.20106) Release date: Oct. 25, 2023 In this build, the Teams Meeting App works in Outlook, too. With it, you’ll be able to configure a meeting app while scheduling an invite in Outlook. The meeting app will be ready to use when you chat or join the meeting on Teams. A wide variety of bugs have also been fixed, including one in Excel where certain Pivot Tables would load slowly; one in which OneNote would close unexpectedly when rapidly navigating from one .PDF file to another .PDF file between different sections, or when performing an undo operation on a .PDF printout insertion; and one in the entire Office suite that caused unexpected black borders to appear around screen captures added with the Insert Screenshot functionality. Get more info about Version 2310 (Build 16924.20106) . Version 2309 (Build 16827.20166) Release date: October 10, 2023 This build fixes two bugs, one in which users were missing their Outlook add-ins, and another in Word in which subheading numbering with a custom Style would disappear if the file was saved and reopened. It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2309 (Build 16827.20166) . Version 2309 (Build 16827.20130) Release date: September 28, 2023 This build introduces two new features, including the ability to disable specific types of automatic data conversions in Excel and support for the “Present in Teams” button to present local files in PowerPoint Live in Microsoft Teams. Several bugs have also been fixed, including one in which the setting to control how Outlook opens previous items at start-up was missing from the Options window, and another in Word in which the Add-ins tab was not visible when using custom toolbar information. Get more info about Version 2309 (Build 16827.20130) . Version 2308 (Build 16731.20234) Release date: September 12, 2023 This build fixes several bugs, including one that caused Outlook to close unexpectedly when viewing an email, and another in PowerPoint in which the presenter view slide section zoomed in and out when zooming in the notes section. It also fixes a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. Get more info about Version 2308 (Build 16731.20234) .
Photo: file A recidivist shoplifter who previously claimed she’d been “framed” for offences she hadn’t committed has returned to her old ways of walking out of retail outlets without paying for anything.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi. Photo: Getty Images Iran has launched a speedy clean-up operation at a nuclear-related site in northern Tehran hit by Israeli airstrikes that will likely remove evidence of any nuclear weapons development work, a research group said yesterday.
Canterbury and Wellington are being hit harder than Auckland by continued insurance price hikes that the industry says is partly outside its control. Latest figures from Stats NZ show insurance premiums have increased 6% in the past year, compared to an overall inflation rate of 2.7%. House insurance prices are up 9.1%, while contents insurance prices up 10.3%. Insurance comparison website Quashed has seen average house insurance quotes rise 12% and average contents insurance quotes rise 3%. The Insurance Council said insurance prices aren’t rising as fast as they were after the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle and insurers are doing what they can to keep costs down. “The impact of repair costs continues to run ahead of general inflation and taxes and levies, which are out of the control of insurers and account for around 40% of a premium,” a spokesperson said. “Insurers are also moving toward greater risk-based pricing as more is known about natural hazards such as earthquake and flooding risks, which is also affecting premium levels.” While Wellington has seen stark rises in insurance premiums in recent years, Canterbury is now seeing steeper hikes too. Quashed’s data shows average house insurance quotes rising 18% in Canterbury, 13% in Wellington and 7% in Auckland. “We’ve seen increases in Canterbury which outpace Auckland and even Wellington,” chief executive Justin Lim said. Consumer NZ is calling for the Financial Markets Authority to investigate whether risk-based pricing is being applied fairly to all households. It’s also calling for the Commerce Commission to carry out a market study into competition in the sector similar to previous studies into personal banking, residential building supplies, supermarkets and fuel. “Our research shows people are dropping cover or being priced out entirely, and this will only get worse without serious intervention,” investigative team leader Rebecca Styles said. Tower Insurance is the latest insurer to make an announcement about risk-based pricing, confirming changes that will see most customers pay less for insurance each year. The Insurance Council said some properties will cost more to protect than others, with premiums being based on a range of risk factors. “Properties on flood plains or near major rivers are more prone to flooding during heavy rainfalls, while those in regions with higher seismic activity are more susceptible to earthquake damage,” it said. Michael Sergel is a senior reporter and radio news director for Newstalk ZB, usually based in Auckland. Michael has been covering business, politics, local government and consumer affairs for more than a decade. He joined NZME in 2013.
The launch of a major Windows 10 update isn’t the end of a process — it’s really just the beginning. As soon as one of Microsoft’s feature updates (such as Windows 10 version 22H2) is released, the company quickly gets to work on improving it by fixing bugs, releasing security patches, and occasionally adding new features. In this story we summarize what you need to know about each update released to the public for the most recent versions of Windows 10 — versions 22H2 and 21H2. (Microsoft releases updates for those two versions together.) For each build, we’ve included the date of its initial release and a link to Microsoft’s announcement about it. The most recent updates appear first. For details about how to install and manage Windows updates, see “ How to handle Windows 10 and 11 updates .” If you’re looking for information about Insider Program previews for upcoming feature releases of Windows 10, see “ Windows 10 Insider Previews: A guide to the builds .” Updates to Windows 10 versions 21H2 and 22H2 KB5063842 (OS Build 19045.6282) Preview Release date: August 26, 2025 In this build, Windows Backup for Organizations is now generally available. It lets your organization back up Windows 10 settings and restore them on a Microsoft Entra joined device. You can also enable backup of the list of installed Microsoft Store apps, with the ability to restore them to the user’s Start menu as well. A variety of bugs have also been fixed, including one in which mf.dll failed to enumerate redirected web camera devices on Remote Desktop Services (RDS) environments. (Get more info about KB5063842 Preview .) KB5066188 (OS Builds 19044.6218 and 19045.6218) Out-of-band Release date: August 19, 2025 This build fixes a bug introduced by the August 2025 security update (KB5063709) in which attempts to reset and recover the device fail. This issue happens when users perform one or more of the following processes: System > Recovery > Reset my PC System > Recovery > Fix problems using Windows Update RemoteWipe CSP For more information on the issue, see Windows release health . Microsoft recommends you install this optional update if you have encountered this issue. The company also says that if your system isn’t affected or you don’t plan using the methods described above, you can choose not to install it. (Get more info about KB5066188 Out-of-band .) KB5063709 (OS Builds 19044.6216 and 19045.6216) Release date: August 12, 2025 The update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and August 2025 Security Updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. (Get more info about KB5063709 .) KB5062649 (OS Build 19045.6159) Preview Release date: July 22, 2025 This build adds the ability to deploy SKUSiPolicy VBS Anti-rollback protections through the Secure Boot AvailableUpdates registry key. It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one that affected the Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) enrollment wizard . Some users experienced a problem where clicking “Enroll now” caused the wizard window to open, begin loading, and then close unexpectedly. (Get more info about KB5062649 Preview . KB5062554 (OS Builds 19044.6093 and 19045.6093) Release date: July 8, 2025 The update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and July 2025 Security Updates . Note: In this build there are reports of blurry or unclear CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) text when displayed at 96 DPI (100% scaling) in Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. The issue is due to limited pixel density at 96 DPI, which can reduce the clarity and alignment of CJK characters. Increasing the display scaling improves clarity by enhancing text rendering. What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. (Get more info about KB5062554 .) KB5061087 (OS Build 19045.6036) Preview Release date: June 24, 2025 This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one that caused jump lists to disappear from the Start menu. There is one known issue in this build, in which blurry or unclear CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) text appears when displayed at 96 DPI (100% scaling) in Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. (Get more info about KB5061087 Preview .) KB5060533 (OS Builds 19044.5965 and 19045.5065) Release date: June 10, 2025 The update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and June 2025 Security Updates . Note: In this build there are reports of blurry or unclear CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) text when displayed at 96 DPI (100% scaling) in Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. The issue is due to limited pixel density at 96 DPI, which can reduce the clarity and alignment of CJK characters. Increasing the display scaling improves clarity by enhancing text rendering. What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. (Get more info about KB5060533 .) KB5058481 (OS Build 19045.5917) Preview Release date: May 28, 2025 This build offers several new features, including one that brings back the clock view that displays seconds on the calendar. It also fixes several bugs, including one in which in GDI/GDI+, some GB18030-2022 characters in plane 2 were not rendered. There is one known issue in this build, in which blurry or unclear CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) text appears when displayed at 96 DPI (100% scaling) in Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. (Get more info about KB5058481 Preview .) KB5061979 (OS Builds 19044.5859 and 19045.5859) Release date: May 27, 2025 This out-of-band update fixes a bug in the direct send path for a guest physical address (GPA). This issue caused confidential virtual machines running on Hyper-V with Windows Server 2022 to intermittently stop responding or restart unexpectedly. As a result, service availability was affected, and manual intervention was required. This problem primarily impacted Azure confidential VMs . There is one known issue in this build, in which blurry or unclear CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) text appears when displayed at 96 DPI (100% scaling) in Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. (Get more info about KB5061979 .) KB5061768 (OS Builds 19044.5856 and 19045.5856) Release date: May 19, 2025 This out-of-band build fixes a bug in the recent May 13 Patch Tuesday build (KB5058379) that caused the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) process to terminate unexpectedly, triggering an Automatic Repair prompting for the BitLocker recovery key. There is one known issue in this build, in which blurry or unclear CJK (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) text appears when displayed at 96 DPI (100% scaling) in Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. (Get more info about KB5061768 .) KB5058379 (OS Builds 19044.5854 and 19045.5854) Release date: May 13, 2025 The update improves Secure Boot Advanced Targeting (SBAT) and Linux Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) for the detection of Linux systems. It also has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and May 2025 Security Updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. (Get more info about KB5058379 .) KB5055612 (OS Build 19045.5796) Preview Release date: April 22, 2025 This build fixes two bugs, including one in which the check for GPU paravirtualization was case-sensitive in Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2). This issue might have potentially caused GPU paravirtualization support to fail. There are two known issues in this build, including one in which certain Citrix components installed might be unable to complete installation of the January 2025 Windows security update. This issue was observed on devices with Citrix Session Recording Agent (SRA) version 2411. (Get more info about KB5055612 Preview .) KB5055518 (OS Builds 19044.5737 and 19045.5737) Release date: April 8, 2025 The update has a broad variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and April 2025 Security Updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. There are two known issues in this build including one in which devices that have certain Citrix components installed might be unable to complete installation of the January 2025 Windows security update. (Get more info about KB5055518 .) KB5053643 (OS Build 19045.5679) Preview Release date: March 25, 2025 This build fixes several bugs, including one in which USB-connected dual-mode printers that support both US Print and IPP Over USB protocols unexpectedly output incorrect or unwanted text, and another in which thumbnails in File Explorer crashed, resulting in white pages appearing instead of the actual thumbnails. There are two known issues in this build, including one in which certain Citrix components installed might be unable to complete installation of the January 2025 Windows security update. This issue was observed on devices with Citrix Session Recording Agent (SRA) version 2411. (Get more info about KB5053643 Preview .) KB5053606 (OS Builds 19044.5608 and 19045.5608) Release date: March 11, 2025 The update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and March 2025 Security Updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues , and if all seems well, apply the update. There are two known issues in this build, including one in which devices that have certain Citrix components installed might be unable to complete installation of the January 2025 Windows security update. (Get more info about KB5053606 .) KB5052077 (OS Build 19045.5555) Preview Release date: February 25, 2025 This build fixes several bugs, including one in which the OpenSSH (Open Secure Shell) service failed to start, preventing SSH connections. There are two known issues in this build, including one in which certain Citrix components installed might be unable to complete installation of the January 2025 Windows security update. This issue was observed on devices with Citrix Session Recording Agent (SRA) version 2411. (Get more info about KB5052077 Preview .) KB5051974 (OS Builds 19044.5487 and 19045.5487) Release date: February 11, 2025 The update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and February 2025 Security Updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. There are three known issues in this build, including one in which devices that have certain Citrix components installed might be unable to complete installation of the January 2025 Windows security update. (Get more info about KB5051974 .) KB5050081 (OS Build 19045.5440) Preview Release date: January 28, 2025 This build includes the new version of the Outlook app. IT admins can learn how to manage the new version at the Microsoft Learn page “ Control the installation and use of new Outlook .” The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which the Capture Service and Snipping Tool stopped responding when you pressed Windows logo key + Shift + S several times while Narrator was on. There are two known issues in this build, including one in which the OpenSSH (Open Secure Shell) service fails to start, preventing SSH connections. In the other one, PCs that have certain Citrix components installed might be unable to complete installation of the January 2025 Windows security update. (Get more info about KB5050081 Preview .) KB5049981 (OS Builds 19044.5371 and 19045.5371) Release date: January 14, 2025 The update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and January 2025 Security Updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. There are two known issues in this build, including one in which devices that have certain Citrix components installed might be unable to complete installation of the January 2025 Windows security update. (Get more info about KB5049981 .) KB5048652 (OS Builds 19044.5247 and 19045.5247) Release date: December 10, 2024 The update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and December 2024 Security Updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. (Get more info about KB5048652 .) KB5046714 (OS Build 19045.5198) Preview Release date: November 21, 2024 This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which Win32 shortcuts did not back up to the cloud. (Get more info about KB5046714 Preview .) KB5046613 (OS Builds 19044.5131 and 19045.5131) Release date: November 12, 2024 This update fixes a bug in which some games did not start or stopped responding after you installed KB5044384. This occurred because some games use a third-party DRM component that are not compatible with that update. This update makes changes to support those games while the game developers address the DRM issue. The update also has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and November 2024 Security Updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. (Get more info about KB5046613 .) KB5045594 (OS Build 19045.5073) Preview Release date: October 22, 2024 This build starts the rollout of the new account manager on the Start menu that makes it easy to view your account and access account settings. To change to a different user, select the ellipsis (…) next to “Sign out.” Not everyone will see this change yet, because it’s rolling out gradually. The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which a vmswitch triggers a stop error. This occurs when you use Load Balancing and Failover (LBFO) teaming with two virtual switches on a virtual machine (VM). In this case, one virtual switch uses single root Input/Output virtualization (SR-IOV). (Get more info about KB5045594 Preview .) KB5044273 (OS Builds 19044.5011 and 19045.5011) Release date: October 8, 2024 This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and October 2024 Security Updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. (Get more info about KB5044273 .) KB5043131 (OS Build 19045.4957) Preview Release date: September 24, 2024 This build fixes several bugs, including one in which playback of some media might have stopped when you use certain surround sound technology, and another in which Windows server stopped responding when you used apps like File Explorer and the taskbar. There is one known issue in this update, in which you might be unable to change your user account profile picture. (Get more info about Windows 10 22H2 KB5043131 Preview ). KB5043064 (OS Builds 19044.4894 and 19045.4894) Release date: September 10, 2024 This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and September 2024 Security Updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. (Get more info about KB5043064 .) KB5041582 (OS Build 19045.4842) Preview Release date: August 29, 2024 This build fixes several bugs, including one in which when a combo box had input focus, a memory leak could occur when you closed that window. There is one known issue in this update, in which you might be unable to change your user account profile picture. (Get more info about KB5041582 Preview .) KB5041580 (OS Builds 19044.4780 and 19045.4780) Release date: August 13, 2024 This release has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and August 2024 Security Updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. (Get more info about KB5041580 .) KB5040525 (OS Build 19045.4717) Preview Release date: July 23, 2024 This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) send code caused systems to stop responding during routine tasks, such as file transfers. This issue led to an extended send loop. There is one known issue in this update, in which you might be unable to change your user account profile picture. (Get more info about KB5040525 Preview .) KB5040427 (OS Builds 19044.4651 and 19045.4651) Release date: July 9, 2024 This update has a wide variety of security updates. For details, see Microsoft’s Security Update Guide and July 2024 Security Updates . What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update. There are two known issues in this build, including one in which you might be unable to change your user account profile picture . (Get more info about KB5040427 .) Windows 10 2022 Update (version 22H2) Release date: October 18, 2022 The Windows 10 2022 Update is, in Microsoft’s words, “a scoped release focused on quality improvements to the overall Windows experience in existing feature areas such as quality, productivity and security.” In other words, there’s not much new here, although Computerworld blogger Susan Bradley did uncover a handful of new group policies in the release. Home and Pro editions of the 2022 Update will receive 18 months of servicing, and Enterprise and Education editions will have 30 months of servicing. To install the update, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and select Check for updates . If the update appears, select Download to install it. (Get more info about the Windows 10 2022 Update .) Windows 10 November 2021 Update (version 21H2) Release date: November 16, 2021 Version 21H2, called the Windows 10 November 2021 Update, is the second feature update to Windows 10 released in 2021. Here’s a quick summary of what’s new: Wi-Fi security has been enhanced with WPA3 H2E standards support. GPU compute support has been added in the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows (EFLOW) deployments for machine learning and other compute-intensive workflows. There are also a number of features designed for IT and business: Windows Hello for Business has a new deployment method called cloud trust that simplifies passwordless deployments. For increased security, there have been changes to the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) VPN APIs, which includes the ability to implement common web-based authentication schemes and to reuse existing protocols. Apps can now be provisioned from Azure Virtual Desktop. This allows those apps to run just like local apps, including the ability to copy and paste between remote and local apps. The release closes the gap between Group Policy and mobile device management (MDM) settings. The device configuration settings catalog has been updated to list more than 1,400 settings previously not available for configuration via MDM. The new MDM policies include administrative template (ADMX) policies, such as App Compat, Event Forwarding, Servicing, and Task Scheduler. An upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise includes Universal Print, which now supports print jobs of up to 1GB or a series of print jobs from an individual user that add up to 1GB within any 15-minute period. Universal Print integrates with OneDrive for web and Excel for web. This allows users of any browser or device connected to the internet to print documents hosted in OneDrive for web to a printer in their organization without installing printer drivers on their devices. Microsoft has also announced that starting with this release, Windows 10 will get feature updates only once a year. Windows 10 May 2021 Update (version 21H1) Release date: May 18, 2021 Version 21H1, called the Windows 10 May 2021 Update , is the most recent update to Windows 10. This is a relatively minor update, but it does have a few new features. Here’s a quick summary of what’s new in 21H1: Windows Hello multicamera support : If you have an external Windows Hello camera for your PC, you can set the external camera as your default camera. (Windows Hello is used for signing into PCs.) Why should this change matter to you? If you have an external camera, you probably bought it because it’s superior to the built-in, internal one on your computer. So with this change, you’ll be able to use the more accurate camera for logging into your PC. Improved Windows Defender Application Guard performance: Windows Defender Application Guard lets administrators configure applications to run in an isolated, virtualized container for improved security. With this change, documents will open more quickly. It can currently take up to a minute to open an Office document in it. Better Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Group Policy Service support : Microsoft has made it easier for administrators to change settings to support remote work. Windows 10 October 2020 Update (version 20H2) Release date: October 20, 2020 Version 20H2, called the Windows 10 October 2020 Update, is the most recent update to Windows 10. This is a relatively minor update but does have a few new features. Here’s a quick summary of what’s new in 20H2: The new Chromium-based version of the Microsoft Edge browser is now built directly into Windows 10. The System page of Control Panel has been removed. Those settings have been moved to the Settings app. The Start menu’s tiled background will match your choice of Windows themes. So the tiled background will be light if you’re using the Windows 10 light theme and dark if you’re using the Windows 10 dark theme. When you use Alt-Tab, Edge will now display each tab in your browser in a different Alt-Tab window. Previously, when you used Alt-Tab, Edge would get only a single window. You can change this new behavior by going to Settings > System > Multitasking . When you pin a site to the taskbar in Edge, you can click or mouse over its icon to see all your browser tabs that are open for that website. When you detach a keyboard on a 2-in-1 device , the device will automatically switch to the tablet-based interface. Previously, you were asked whether you wanted to switch. You can change that setting by going to Settings > System > Tablet . The Your Phone app gets a variety of new features for some Samsung devices. When using one of the devices, you can interact with the Android apps on your phone from the Your Phone app on Windows 10. What IT needs to know: Windows 10 version 20H2 also has a variety of small changes of note for sysadmins and those in IT. IT professionals who administer multiple mobile devices get a new Modern Device Management (MDM) “Local Users and Groups” settings policy that mirrors options available for devices that are managed through Group Policy. Windows Autopilot, used to set up and configure devices in enterprises, has gained a variety of small enhancement, including better deployment of HoloLens devices, the addition of co-management policies, enhancements to Autopilot deployment reporting, and the ability to reuse Configuration Manager task sequences to configure devices. Microsoft Defender Application Guard now supports Office. This allows untrusted Office documents from outside an enterprise to launch in an isolated container to stop potentially malicious content from compromising computers or exploiting personal information found on them. Latest Cumulative Updates (LCUs) and Servicing Stack Updates (SSUs) have been combined into a single cumulative monthly update, available via Microsoft Catalog or Windows Server Update Services. Biometric sign-on has been made more secure. Windows Hello now has support for virtualization-based security for certain fingerprint and face sensors, which protects, isolates, and secures a user’s biometric authentication data. For more details, see Microsoft’s “ What’s new for IT pros in Windows 10, version 20H2 .” Windows 10 May 2020 Update (version 2004) Release date: May 27, 2020 Version 2004, called the Windows 10 May 2020 Update, is the most recent update to Windows 10. This is a relatively minor update but does have a variety of new features for both users and system administrators. For more details, see: “ Review: Windows 10 May 2020 Update delivers little tweaks that add up to… well, not a lot .” Here’s a quick summary of what’s new in 2004: Cortana now runs as a standalone app in a resizable window. It also loses a variety of capabilities, such as playing music, controlling home devices, and working on the lock screen. Task Manager now displays new information, including the temperature of your GPU and your disk type. Settings gets many small tweaks, including adding a header with account information, and a redone network status page that combines information that used to be found on multiple pages, such as your IP address, current connection properties and data usage. The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) gets more features. It now uses a real Linux kernel, and is faster than previously. IT can now take advantage of Windows Hello biometrics logins rather than passwords, by setting that up as the default on enterprise devices. Installing and setting up Windows for others has been made easier thanks to new controls added to Dynamic Update, which can lead to less downtime during installation for users. A variety of new commands have been given to PowerShell for Delivery Optimization, a Windows networking service that reduces bandwidth consumption by sharing the work of downloading update and upgrade packages among multiple devices in business deployments. The security of the Chromium version of Edge has been improved, thanks to porting Application Guard to it. Windows 10 November 2019 Update (version 1909) Release date: Nov. 12, 2019 Version 1909, called the Windows 10 November 2019 Update, is the most recent update to Windows 10. There are very few new features in this update, making it more like a service pack of old than a feature update. At this point it’s not clear whether in the future there will be one full-featured update and one service-pack-like update per year or whether Microsoft will go back to its two-feature-updates-a-year schedule. For more details, see “ What we know so far about the unusual Windows 10 1909 ” and “ 5 unanswered questions about Windows 10 1909 .” Here’s a quick summary of what’s new for users in 1909. It lets you create calendar events straight from the taskbar. To do it, click the time on the taskbar and you’ll open the Calendar view. Now click a date and time, then type the event’s name into the text box. You’ll also be able to choose the date, time and location. When you type a search into the search box, it will now search through files in your OneDrive account as well as on your PC. Also, as you type, a drop-down menu with suggested files appears. Click a file to open it. Voice assistants in addition to Cortana, including Amazon’s Alexa, will be able to run on Windows 10’s lock screen. Under-the-hood improvements should speed up the performance of some PCs, as well as increase the battery life in some laptops. The Start Menu has gotten minor tweaks. When you hover over items in the navigation pane on the left side of the menu, the items clearly show what you’re about to click. What IT needs to know: The following features in 1909 are of note for IT staff . Windows containers no longer need to have their host and container versions match. That requirement restricted Windows from supporting mixed-version container pod scenarios. Previously, containers from older versions of Windows 10 couldn’t be run on newer versions of Windows 10. In this update, it’s possible, so that a container made using 1903, for example, can be run on 1909. Windows Defender Credential Guard, which protects enterprise users’ logins and credentials against theft, is now available for ARM64 devices. Some Windows 10 convertible PCs use ARM64. Enterprises can now use Microsoft’s Intune enterprise mobility management (EMM) service to allow devices running Windows 10 in S mode to install and run Win32 (desktop) apps. Before this, S Mode only allowed devices to run apps from the Microsoft Store. Microsoft Store apps don’t run on the desktop. The security of BitLocker encryption has been improved. Whenever BitLocker is used to encrypt a device, a recovery key is created, but before this security improvement, it was possible for an unauthorized user to get access to the recovery key and decrypt the device. Now, PCs have additional security if a key is exposed. Here’s how Microsoft explains the change: “Key-rolling or Key-rotation feature enables secure rolling of Recovery passwords on MDM managed AAD devices upon on demand request from Microsoft Intune/MDM tools or upon every time recovery password is used to unlock the BitLocker protected drive.” There are two known issues in this update: one in which some users cannot set Win32 program defaults for certain app and file type combinations using the Open with… command or Settings > Apps > Default apps, and another in which Microsoft Notepad and other Win32 programs cannot be set as default applications. (Get more info about KB4464455 .) Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809) Release date: October 2, 2018; paused October 5; re-released November 13, 2018 Version 1809, called the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, is the feature update that preceded the May 2019 Update. Here’s a quick summary of what’s new for users in it. (For more details, see our full review .) A new, powered-up Windows Clipboard can hold multiple clips, store clips permanently, let you preview clips and choose which one you’d like to paste into a document, and share clips across Windows 10 devices. A new screenshot and annotation tool called Snip & Sketch lets you capture and annotate the entire screen, a rectangular portion of the screen or a freehand-drawn portion of it. After you take a screen capture, you can annotate it and then save it to a file, copy it to the Clipboard, open it in another program or share it via email, social media and other methods. Storage Sense, which helps save storage space, now works with OneDrive Files On-Demand to clean out files you’ve downloaded from OneDrive cloud storage to your PC but that you don’t use any longer. You can choose how long you would like the cloud files to stay on your PC unused before you want them deleted, from never to 60 days. The Microsoft Edge browser lets you set autoplay permissions for sound and video on websites on a site-by-site basis. It also lets you look up word definitions in its built-in eReader for books and PDFs, and mark up PDFs and books using a highlighter and by adding notes. The new Your Phone app links Windows 10 devices to iOS and Android phones. It allows you to start web browsing on an iOS or Android device and then continue where you left off on your PC. It also lets you view photos on your Android phone from your Windows 10 PC. Search Previews have been powered up slightly. You no longer need to click to display the preview panel; it opens automatically. It also now shows files found on your PC. Smaller changes include a new dark theme for File Explorer; the addition of the SwiftKey swipe keyboard, which lets you enter text by swiping a finger across an onscreen keyboard; updates that are less intrusive; and faster sign-ins on shared PCs. What IT needs to know: There are few significant changes that affect IT in the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, other than New Microsoft Edge Group Policies that let admins enable and disable full-screen mode, printing, the favorites bar, and browser history saves. IT can also allow or ban Edge extensions (not that there are many available) and configure the Home button and new tab page and startup options. Windows 10 April 2018 Update (version 1803) Release date: April 30, 2018 Version 1803, called the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, is the major update to Windows 10 that preceded the October 2018 Update. Here’s a quick summary of what’s new for users in it. (For more details, see our full review .) The most important new feature is Timeline, which lets you review and resume activities and open files you’ve started on your PC, or any other Windows PCs you have. It also tracks what you’ve done on iOS and Android devices if you install Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana on them and are logged in. It shows a list of activities day by day for up to 30 days. Each activity shows up as a large tile, with the file name and document title or URL and website name across it, and the name of the application or app that created it across the top. Click any activity to reopen it. (Note that at present, Timeline only tracks activities in certain Microsoft programs such as the Edge browser and Office applications.) The new Diagnostic Data Viewer is supported, which Microsoft is designed to let you see the “diagnostic data collected from your Windows devices, how it is used, and to provide you with increased control over that data.” However, the information is presented in such a complex, technical way that even programmers will likely have a difficult time understanding it. The viewer isn’t built directly into the Windows 10 April 2018 Update. Instead, you have to download it from the Microsoft Store. The My People feature now lets you pin up to 10 contacts on the Windows taskbar. Previously, you could only pin up to three. Microsoft Edge gets several minor tweaks, including a revamped Hub, the ability to mute auto-playing audio in tabs, and a forms-filler for web-based forms. The Notebook feature of Cortana gets a new, cleaner interface for its Notebook. It now has two tabs, Organizer and Manage Skills. The Organizer makes it easier to create lists and set reminders. The Manage Skills tab lets you add “skills” to Cortana, such as controlling your home and its appliances, connecting Cortana to music services such as Spotify, tracking your fitness and more. You get more control over app permissions, such as whether they can access your camera, location and contacts. What IT needs to know: IT staff should be aware of these features that are new in the Windows 10 April 2018 Update: Windows 10 Professional now gets the Windows Defender Application Guard, which protects Microsoft Edge. There’s also a new feature in the application guard that lets users download files inside Edge instead of directly to the operating system, as a way to increase security. There are new policies for Group Policy and Mobile Device Management (MDM) that can better control how Delivery Optimization is used for Windows Update and Windows Store app updates. You can also now monitor Delivery Optimization using Windows Analytics. Windows AutoPilot also gets a tweak that lets IT make sure policies, settings and apps are provisioned on devices before users begin using them. Windows gets the Linux curl and tar utilities for downloading files and extracting .tar archives built directly into Windows. Windows also now natively supports Unix sockets (AF_UNIX) with a new afunix.sys kernel driver. That will make it easier to port software to Windows from Linux as well as from other Unix-like operating systems. There are a host of improvements to the Windows Subsystem for Linux, which lets you run a variety of Linux distributions on Windows 10. Linux applications can run in the background, some launch settings for Linux distributions can be customized, and Linux applications have been given access to serial devices. The new Unix sockets report is available for the Windows Subsystem for Linux as well as Windows itself. The Windows 10 Pro for Workstations version of Windows 10 gets a new power scheme called Ultimate Performance it’s only for desktop PCs, not those that can be powered by batteries. In addition, Windows 10 Pro for Workstations no longer ships with games like Candy Crush or other similar consumer-focused apps. Instead, it features enterprise- and business-related apps. Administrators have been given the power to configure an enterprise’s PCs to run custom scripts during feature updates, which will make configuration and deployment easier. For more details, see the Microsoft blog post “ Making IT simpler with a modern workplace .” Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (version 1709) Release date: October 17, 2017 Version 1709 , called the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, is the major update to Windows 10 that preceded the April 2018 Update. Here’s a quick summary of what’s new for users in it. (For more details, see our full review .) OneDrive gets a new feature called Files On-Demand that gives you access to all of your OneDrive files on every device, without having to download them first. You’ll be able to see all the files you have in OneDrive, even if they’re only in the cloud and not on your PC. Icons tell you which are local and which are in the cloud. Just open the file, and if it’s not on your PC, it gets downloaded. The new My People feature lets you pin three contacts to the Windows taskbar and then communicate with them instantly without having to open a separate app such as Skype or Mail. You can also click to see a list of all communications between them and you at a glance. You can now send web links from your iOS or Android device to your PC and have them open in Microsoft Edge. Cortana gets several new features, including displaying results in a scrollable flyout panel, so you don’t have to launch a web browser. Microsoft Edge gets some minor improvements, including better Favorites handling and the ability to mark up PDFs and e-books. Security has been beefed up, including the addition of Windows Defender Exploit Guard, which includes intrusion rules and policies to protect against a variety of threats, notably zero-day exploits. A new anti-ransomware feature called Controlled Folder Access has also been added; it lets only approved apps have access to Windows system files and folders. New privacy features include the ability to review the kinds of devices and services apps from the Microsoft Store want access to before you download them. The update incorporates Microsoft’s new design system and guidelines, called Fluent Design. Overall, transitions are smoother, and there are subtle changes to the transparency effect. What IT needs to know: IT staff should be aware of these features that are new in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update: The notoriously insecure SMBv1 networking protocol, exploited in recent ransomware attacks including WannaCry and Petya, won’t be included on clean installs of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, but SMBv1 components will remain if you do in-place upgrades on PCs that already have the component installed. Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), a suite of tools introduced in Windows 10 that helps enterprise customers protect their users and networks against threats and respond to attacks, is being beefed up. Among other things, it will run on the Windows Server OS. ATP is also part of Windows Defender Application Guard for Microsoft Edge, available only for Windows 10 Enterprise Edition. It protects against malware attacks by confining visits to unknown or untrusted websites to a virtual machine, so that attacks can’t spread to a PC or the network. Windows AutoPilot, which improves self-service deployments of Windows 10 PCs, gets a variety of tweaks, including better mobile device management (MDM) services. Windows Analytics’ new Device Health tool gathers information on how PCs perform in an enterprise, and based on that, identifies potential issues and outlines steps to resolve them. Enterprises get more control over what kind of information Windows Analytics gathers for the IT staff. In order to improve users’ privacy, IT staff can limit the information collected by Windows Analytics to only diagnostic data. For more details about new features for IT, see “ What’s new in Windows 10, version 1709 IT Pro content ,” “ Announcing end-to-end security features in Windows 10 ” and “ Delivering the Modern IT promise with Windows 10 ” from Microsoft. Windows 10 Creators Update (version 1703) Release date: April 5, 2017 Version 1703 , dubbed the Creators Update, is the major update to Windows 10 that preceded the Fall Creators Update. Here’s a quick summary of what’s new for users in the Creators Update. (For more details, see our full review .) It helps you better organize the Start menu by letting you put multiple tiles for apps into a single folder — for example, you can group all social media apps into one folder. Users are given a bit more control over the update process: They can delay an update for three days and keep delaying it in three-day increments, or choose specific times for updates to install. The Edge browser has gotten some improvements, including having Flash disabled by default for security reasons and supporting the ePub and PDF formats for reading books and other content. Microsoft added some 3D and virtual reality features, including running HoloLens virtual reality and mixed reality apps for the first time, and introducing a Paint 3D app for creating 3D objects. System settings that previously were in multiple locations have been consolidated into the Settings app. There’s a new all-in-one security dashboard called Windows Defender Security Center that consolidates many security and computer health settings and information. New gaming features include streaming gaming sessions over the internet; a Game Mode to improve gaming performance; and a Game bar to let you record your gameplay, take screenshots and perform games-related tasks. The Cortana personal assistant gets a few modest additions, including scheduling monthly reminders and helping you set up devices. What IT needs to know: IT staff should be aware of these features that are new in the Windows 10 Creators Update: Security has been improved in a number of ways, including adding new features and insights into Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) to better investigate and respond to network threats. Among the new features are sensors in memory, better intelligence and improved remediation capabilities. Several new configuration service providers (CSPs) available in the Creators Update let administrators manage Windows 10 devices through Mobile Device Management (MDM) or provisioning packages. The DynamicManagement CSP, for instance, can enable or disable certain device features depending on location, network presence or time. New mobile application management capabilities can protect data on personal mobile devices without requiring each device to be part of the corporate MDM. The Windows Configuration Designer (previously called Windows Imaging and Configuration Designer) includes new wizards to make it easier to create provisioning packages, including for desktop devices, Windows mobile devices, Surface Hub devices, HoloLens devices and kiosk devices. Enterprise security administrators get a more comprehensive documentation library for Windows Defender Antivirus. If an enterprise-wide update policy hasn’t been configured, users with Windows Pro, Windows Enterprise or Windows Education editions have much more control over how Windows updates. With the Creators Update, users can now automatically delay cumulative monthly updates for up to 30 days, and can delay feature updates by up to 365 days. For more details about new features for IT, see the Microsoft blog posts “ Windows 10 Creators Update advances security and best-in-class modern IT tools ” and “ What’s new in Windows 10, version 1703 IT pro content .”
A recidivist shoplifter who previously claimed she’d been “framed” for offences she hadn’t committed has returned to her old ways of walking out of retail outlets without paying for anything. This time, Silvia Koasha Tipene admitted her ill-gotten deeds but justified it by telling police that she did it to supplement her benefit, “as she didn’t feel that it was enough”. Tipene, 39, told police she’d even kept some of the stolen property for personal use and on-sold other products to supplement her weekly benefit. NZME wrote about Tipene in August 2023 after she was nabbed for stealing more than $10,000 worth of goods and arguing that she had been “framed”. “I am being framed and arrested for crimes another person committed,” the Hamilton mum told police at the time. She was jailed for 11 months for thefts at numerous stores, including Sportsworld, Briscoes, Rebel Sport, Bed Bath and Beyond, Farmers and New World Te Rapa. She was back in the Hamilton District Court on Wednesday for sentence on six more shoplifting charges, along with one of burglary and two of wilful trespass between March 23 and May 10. This time, she targeted Mitre 10 Mega Te Rapa, Woolworths Claudelands, The Warehouse Te Rapa, Noel Leeming Hamilton Central, and Briscoes The Base. Her modus operandi has remained unchanged; she simply puts items in her backpack or trolley and walks out without any attempt to pay. On one occasion at Woolworths, staff asked her to give back the meat she had in her bag, but she simply refused and left. Tipene stole an array of items, including two firepits, laundry powder, two airfryers, a Breville coffee machine - worth $1150, upholstery cleaner, and meat. In some instances, she operated alone; in others, she’d have one or two accomplices. ‘Offend, jail, release, reoffend’ Judge Arthur Tompkins noted Tipene had 55 previous convictions for shoplifting alone. Her defence counsel pushed for an end term of community detention with supervision, given the positive aspects of her time while on bail. While the judge accepted there was “some merit” to counsel’s submissions, it wasn’t an option given how quickly she had reoffended since being jailed in July last year. “The sheer volume of the offending here together with Ms Tipene’s previous history and the speed at which she has reoffended after being sentenced to imprisonment on July 2 last year for essentially identical offending means that whilst rehabilitation and reintegration may be enhanced by community detention, the community is entitled to protection from Ms Tipene’s shoplifting, which home detention will allow.” He also remitted all of Tipene’s outstanding fines so that she could instead start paying off previous reparation orders. Tipene was sentenced to six months’ home detention and ordered to pay her share of reparation totalling $683. Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 21.
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