It's time to give Widgets a second chance

Plus: A taskbar button just vanished!  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Windows Intelligence](#) [Windows Intelligence](#) Brought to you by: [HP Instant Ink Logo]()​ Hey! I'm excited about Widgets this week. PC users have loved widgets going back to Microsoft Gadgets in Windows Vista and Google Gadgets in Google Desktop. After flirting with live tiles, Microsoft returned to Widgets with Windows 11 — but they had some huge problems. Thankfully, Microsoft has finally relented. Windows 11's gadgets are much better now! Scroll down to this week's Things to Try section to learn all about it. But first, we interrupt your newsletter with these important messages: - Thank you to everyone who took our reader survey a few weeks ago! And congratulations to readers Pam and Tony, who won the gift card drawing. - If you submitted your name on our Intelligence Insider scholarship form, please be on the lookout for an email letting you know if your name was selected or not. And if you missed the announcement, don’t worry: We hope to have more scholarships to offer soon! And now, back to your regularly scheduled newsletter. [Chris Hoffman, AUthor] Chris Today's read: ⌚ 3 Things to Know: 2 minutes ⌚ 3 Things to Try: 1 minute 30 seconds ⌚ Top Thurrott Thoughts: 30 seconds ⌚ Just for Fun: 20 seconds ​ [] [3 Things to Know This Week] ​ 1. Windows 11 will probably still boot on your old PC ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: There's a story going around that Windows 11 will stop booting on very old PCs after the big 24H2 upgrade in fall 2024. But you probably don't need to worry. 🔎 KNOW MORE: Microsoft hasn't officially commented, but it's possible that PCs with very old CPUs — we're talking 15-year-old PCs — will no longer be able to run Windows 11. - The hardware in question is very old, and even if you've gone out of your way to upgrade an old and technically "unsupported" Windows 10 PC to Windows 11, your PC is almost certainly modern enough that it won't be affected. - Microsoft has previously said that, if you upgrade an unsupported PC to Windows 11, it may one day stop receiving updates. I haven't seen that happen to any PCs yet, but it may happen to the very oldest PCs later this year. - Even if you have a PC that old, Windows 10 will still run on it — and you may be able to keep using an older version of Windows 11 on it, too. 📌 READ MORE: Take a look at [the report in question](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. More future AI features are popping up in Windows ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: A smorgasbord of hidden "AI" features are popping up in the latest development version of Windows 11, giving us a better idea of what to expect. 🔎 KNOW MORE: Many of these features aren't even working in Windows 11's development builds yet. We should hear a lot more at Microsoft's Build conference in May. - Speak for Me will let you train your PC with your voice so it can say things in what appears to be your voice — like the "Personal Voice" feature Apple offers on Mac and iPhone. - Automatic Super Resolution seems like it's designed to provide AI upscaling of games — a feature NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel already offer — but in a standard Windows way. PCWorld tried it out and it doesn't seem to do much yet. - Copilot's taskbar icon is getting some upgrades. It will provide a menu of actions like "Send to chat," "Explain," and "Summarize" to help you after copying text. Meanwhile, Notepad is getting a built-in "Explain with Copilot" feature. 📌 READ MORE: Learn more about [Speak for Me](), [Automatic Super Resolution](, or the [upcoming Copilot changes](. Or, check out my latest take on [why you still don't need an "AI laptop" — yet](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Windows 11's context menu is getting a big improvement ➜ THE SHORT VERSION: Windows 11's context menu is getting a huge upgrade I've wanted for years. Anyone who provides tech support should be celebrating! 🔎 KNOW MORE: In the latest Insider builds of Windows 11, the confusing and unlabeled Cut, Copy, Rename, Share, and Delete buttons at the top of the context menu in File Explorer finally have labels. - With Windows 11, Microsoft removed the visible labels from these commonly used functions, confusing a lot of people. - You can still hover your mouse cursor over the buttons to see what they do, but that's much slower. - Every other option in the menu has a visible label, so it's long past time the most frequently used options are labeled, too! (The change will arrive for everyone sometime later this year.) 📌 READ MORE: Take a look at [the other new features in the latest Windows 11 Insider builds](=). [Button labels in Windows 11's File Explorer.] SPONSORED MESSAGE Say goodbye to empty ink cartridges 👋 [Father and daughters drawing and using a printer]()​ So long, last-minute ink cartridge sprints! With [HP Instant Ink](), you'll never be caught empty-handed again. Their smart printers automatically monitor ink levels and send new cartridges directly to your door before you run out. Plus, readers of The Intelligence newsletters can claim a $10 welcome credit, which translates into up to 6 months free. HP Instant Ink benefits include: 🚚 Reliable ink delivery — before you even know you need it ♻️ Convenient recycling of your used ink cartridges 💲 Won’t break the bank ➜ [Life is busy enough — simplify yours with the magic of automatic ink delivery!]() [CLAIM YOUR $10 CREDIT ➜]() ​ [] [3 Things to Try This Week] 1. Give Widgets a second chance on Windows 11 Widgets are great! And they're not just for phones: Windows 11 has a built-in Widgets system. I've previously called Widgets one of [the most annoying features on Windows 11](=), but it's time to bury the hatchet. ➜ A recent change finally lets you axe that obnoxious "feed" of viral web stories, letting you focus on what's really important: Weather, Traffic, Sports, News, Phone Link notifications, To Do items, your Photos, and whatever else you want to see. ⌚ Tweaking Widgets will take you 30 seconds or so. 💻 Widgets are just for Windows 11, although Windows 10 has a similar-but-less-powerful feature. 📌 Read my latest guide for the details on [how to turn Widgets into something worth using](=). --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Get your Show Desktop button back If you're using Windows 11, you'll notice a recent update teleported Copilot to the right side of the taskbar. But Microsoft also just hid the "Show Desktop" button that's been included on the Windows taskbar in one way or another since Windows XP. ➜ You can get that Show Desktop button back at the right edge of your taskbar in just a few clicks. ⌚ Turning the button back on will take you 5 seconds. 💻 This is only for Windows 11. The button is always enabled on Windows 10! To get the Show Desktop button back, right-click an empty spot on Windows 11's taskbar and select "Taskbar Settings." Expand the Taskbar behaviors section and activate the "Select the far corner of the taskbar to show the desktop" option. The subtle Show Desktop button will appear at the far right corner of the taskbar once again. ⌨️ You can also press Windows+D to hide all windows and show your desktop. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Change your mouse cursor color Microsoft is working on a new feature that makes the mouse pointer easier to see. But you can already make your mouse pointer stand out by changing its color. ➜ The mouse pointer is white by default, but you can make it black, green, or any other color in the rainbow. Personally, I've enjoyed using a black cursor lately — it stands out nicely against all those bright-white backgrounds on my PC's screen. ⌚ It will take you about 5 seconds to choose a new pointer. 💻 This works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. To change your mouse pointer color, open the Settings app from your Start menu. Then: - On Windows 11, click "Accessibility," and then select "Mouse pointer and touch." - On Windows 10, click "Ease of Access," and then select "Mouse pointer." You can choose whatever you like here: White, Black, Inverted (white on black backgrounds and black on white backgrounds), and Custom. If you choose Custom, you can select any color you want. [Mouse pointer style settings on Windows 11.] ​ [] [Top Thurrott Thoughts] Some standout links and expert analysis from our friends at Thurrott, who have been covering Windows since 1994: - ​[Microsoft Kills Publisher](=) - It's dead effective October 2026. - ​[Windows 11 Insider Build 26058 is Out With Widgets Board Improvements](=) - More Widgets improvements are on the way! - ​[Improving My Winget Bulk App Installer Script (Premium)](​ - Quickly install the apps you use on any new PC. - ​[Mozilla Scales Back Dramatically, Will Focus on Trustworthy AI in Firefox](=) - Job cuts at Mozilla. - ​[iMessage, Microsoft Bing, and Edge Will Avoid EU’s DMA Regulation](=) - Changes are still coming to Windows in March. - ​[DuckDuckGo Browser Adds Private Bookmark and Password Sync](=) - It's still a very minimal browser. ​ [And Just for Funsies...] Remember WordArt? My friend [Justin Pot](=) just discovered how to get that classic, old-school WordArt on modern versions of Microsoft Word. After all, while modern versions of Word contain something called "WordArt," that modern WordArt isn't the good stuff: These are a soulless simulacrum of the WordArt of yore. The true WordArt remains, however, embedded deep in the code of Microsoft Word itself. But some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for twenty years WordArt passed out of all knowledge. ​ But it can be found again. Check out [this guide to discovering the long-lost WordArt of decades past](=) if graphics design is your passion, too. [WordArt in Microsoft Word.] Until next time... That's it for this week. I'll be back in your inbox next week! [WordArt reading "Have a good weekend!"] 🤚 Wait! Before you go: What'd you think of this issue? [Thumbs Up](=) [Thumbs Down]( Hit the thumbs-up or thumbs-down to cast your vote and let me know. Want less email? 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