A better Start menu search alternative

Plus your PC's built-in video editor  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Thanks for reading this special early preview edition of Windows Intelligence, brought to you in partnership with [Thurrott.com](=). This design is merely a placeholder for what's to come. Stay tuned! ​ Happy Friday! Next week's newsletter will land in your inbox the morning after Microsoft's big event. Expect a lot of AI chatter from Microsoft. Meanwhile, Apple just had a big event this week, and while this is a Windows newsletter, I just have to mention how great it is that the company is finally ditching the Lightning port for USB-C. Soon, there will be no more special Apple-only charging cables for people to juggle. But on to the show: This week, I've got a great alternative to searching the Windows Start menu. This Microsoft tool even respects your default browser and search engine choice, so you won't be forced into using Bing and Edge (unless you want to.) Scroll down to this week's Things to Try section to see it in action. Chris Today's read: ⌚ 3 Things to Know: 2 minutes ⌚ 3 Things to Try: 2 minutes ⌚ Top Thurrott Thoughts: 30 seconds ⌚ Just for Fun: 30 seconds [] ❱❱ 3 Things to Know This Week 1. Microsoft wants to kill traditional printer drivers ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Microsoft is pushing a universal standard for print drivers that should make printers work better in the future. Say goodbye to clunky printer drivers from your printer's manufacturer and hello to a new universal standard that should "just work." 🔎 KNOW MORE: Printer manufacturers traditionally created their own drivers for each printer they released. This caused a lot of problems, including printers no longer working when you upgrade to a new Windows version, printers not functioning on Windows on ARM PCs, and security problems (and other bugs) in those unwieldy printer-specific drivers. - Microsoft will soon stop letting printer manufacturers add these "legacy" printer drivers to Windows Update. In the future, Windows will no longer automatically download and install them when you plug in a printer. Printers will have to be compatible with universal printer drivers instead. - Printer manufacturers can still make custom printer utilities that change options and perform functions on their printers — they'll just have to do it in a different, more standardized way. - Manufacturers can still create traditional "third-party" printer drivers, and you can still install them, too. Microsoft just won't automatically distribute them through Windows Update, so you'll have to download and install them yourself. 📌 READ MORE: Read [this solid explanation]( of what's going on, or check out [the technical details straight from Microsoft](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. It's time to update (nearly) everything on your PC ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: A critical security vulnerability affects nearly every web browser, almost any program using web technologies, and really any application that can open an image in the WebP format. It feels like every application is getting an update. 🔎 KNOW MORE: This bug in the WebP image format created by Google is already being actively exploited on the web, and a ton of applications on your PC are going to need updates to secure themselves. - The bug affects every big web browser (including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, and the Tor Browser), any application using the Electron framework, cross-platform apps built with Google's Flutter framework, and any program that uses the libwebp library to open WebP images. - Any vulnerable application will need an update from its developers. The big web browser makers have already released updates, but the problem extends far beyond browsers. Be sure to install any available updates for your programs. - This bug highlights one issue with how applications are developed for a modern PC. Your browser has its own browser rendering engine. Then, many of the applications you install have their own built-in browser engines (thanks to Electron and similar technologies.) When a bug like this one is discovered, every single program needs to update its built-in software separately. 📌 READ MORE: Check out [this quick warning](), or dive into [this informative explanation of the problem](). --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Windows apps are the hot new thing — even on macOS ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Apple's macOS Sonoma is coming later this month, and one of its new features is better support for one type of Windows software. Yes, seriously: It's just the latest non-Windows platform that wants to run Windows desktop applications. 🔎 KNOW MORE: Every platform wants to run Windows desktop software. It's a big change from the Windows 8 days when it seemed like even Microsoft themselves didn't want to run classic Windows desktop applications on Windows anymore. - Microsoft is running Windows desktop apps in the cloud and streaming them to PCs with Windows 365, and Google is doing something similar with ChromeOS Virtual App Delivery. - Apple is getting in on the action with a Game Porting Toolkit that helps developers port games written for the Windows desktop to Macs — it has a lot in common with what Valve's doing on SteamOS. - Microsoft's new Windows on ARM platform also runs traditional Windows desktop apps through a compatibility layer, unlike the old ARM-based Windows RT that abandoned them back in the Windows 8 days. 📌 READ MORE: Learn about the bright backwards-compatible future for Windows desktop apps in [my latest Computerworld column](). ​ [] ❱❱ 3 Things to Try This Week 1. Use PowerToys Run instead of Start menu search Microsoft's PowerToys package is the gift that keeps on giving. PowerToys Run is one of its most convenient power-user tools. The PowerToys developers are making this tool [even better (and shinier)](), but it's already a great alternative to using the Start menu's search feature on Windows today ⌚ This feature will take you 10 seconds to play with if you already have PowerToys installed, or 40 seconds if you need to install PowerToys. 💻 This tool runs on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. ➜ First, [install Microsoft PowerToys]() on your PC if it isn't already installed. You can now press Alt+Space to open the PowerToys Run launcher. Type something, use the arrow keys to select your desired action, and press Enter to launch it. Here are some things you can do with it: - Launch programs: Like with the Start menu, you can type the name of a program to search for and launch it. - Search the web: Type a search, use the arrow keys to select "Search the web," and press Enter. Unlike with the Start menu's search tool, PowerToys Run will actually use your default browser and search engine — so, if you prefer Chrome and Google, it will search Google in the Chrome browser rather than searching Bing in the Edge browser. - Perform calculations: Type calculations like "1+1" into the PowerToys Run box to get an answer. PowerToys Run can also search the files on your computer, perform unit conversion, and search the window titles of any open program windows. [Searching with PowerToys Run on Windows 11.] 📌 Check out [Microsoft's PowerToys Run documentation](=) to learn more about what it can do — and see how to use all its search shortcuts. --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Open a File Explorer window instantly While File Explorer has changed a lot over the last few years — and it's about to change even more with Windows 11's fall update — one thing that hasn't changed is this convenient keyboard shortcut for opening a File Explorer window from anywhere. ⌚ This will take you 1 second. 💻 This shortcut works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. ➜ To open a File Explorer window anywhere in Windows, just press Windows+E. It will pop right up. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Edit videos with Clipchamp, Microsoft's video editor Have you tried Clipchamp yet? This is Microsoft's new video editor, which is preinstalled on Windows 11 — and is now coming to Windows 10. It's an easy-to-use video editor with support for trimming videos, combining multiple videos, adding effects, adjusting colors, inserting text, and performing all sorts of other common video editing features. ⌚ This app will take you a few minutes to use, depending on the complexity of the video editing you want to do. 💻 Clipchamp runs on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. ➜ You can search for "Clipchamp" in the Start menu to launch it if it's already installed, or [get Clipchamp from the Store]( if it isn't installed yet. [Microsoft ClipChamp on Windows 11.] 📌 Microsoft has detailed guides that will walk you through [getting started with Clipchamp](. ​ [] ❱❱ Top Thurrott Thoughts Some standout links and expert analysis from our friends at Thurrott, who have been covering Windows since 1994: - ​[Microsoft Drops Support for the Original Surface Duo]() - Microsoft's first dual-screen Android device is no longer getting security updates. - ​[New Beta Channel Build of Windows 11 Arrives with a Few Minor New Features]() - Microsoft is fixing a lot of bugs in that new File Explorer. - ​[Intel Announces Next-Gen Thunderbolt 5 Protocol Coming in 2024](​ - The standard promises enough bandwidth to support multiple 8K displays. - ​[Unity Announces Controversial Runtime Fee for Game Developers Based on Game Installs]( - A lot of game developers are very unhappy about this. - ​[Apple Unveils its New iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro]() - Apple announced the next iPhones this week. They have USB-C! - ​[Hardware + Services (Premium)](=) - Paul Thurrott analyzes Apple's strategy. ​ [] ❱❱ And Just for Fun... Valve's Steam had its 20th anniversary this week. The PC gaming storefront was transformative for the industry. But everyone's talking about that. Let's talk about some other games instead: Did you know your web browser has a hidden game? Google Chrome has a classic dino game, but Microsoft Edge one-ups it with a surfing game that harkens back to the classic SkiFree game released by Microsoft in 1991. To access Chrome's dinosaur game, plug the following text into Chrome's address bar: chrome://dino To access Edge's surfing game, plug this into Edge's address bar: edge://surf [The Surfing game in Microsoft Edge.] Firefox also has a hidden little pong-style game where you play as a unicorn, but it's a little more annoying to access. [This comprehensive article](=) shows them all off. ​ Until next week Enjoy your weekend! I'll be back at you with what I imagine will be a lot of AI-in-Windows and AI-in-Office news next week. But will Microsoft drop a teaser about Windows 12, too? We'll see! Thanks for reading Windows Intelligence and being a part of our early preview phase! We'd love to hear what you think so far. ​[Submit your feedback here]() — or just reply to this email. We'll read every single comment, and your thoughts will absolutely help shape and guide what this newsletter becomes. You received this email because your address was signed up for the Windows Intelligence early preview. If you didn't mean to sign up or no longer wish to be subscribed, you can [unsubscribe or update your preferences here](=).