Azure Kinect
The latest Azure Kinect coverage — news, analysis, and updates from the WindowsNews.AI desk.
Intel Xeon 6 Unlocks 8,000 MT/s DDR5 Memory: What Windows Admins Need to Know
Intel has confirmed that select Xeon 6 server processors will support standard DDR5 RDIMMs at 8,000 MT/s—a 25 percent speed increase over current 6,400 MT/s modules—with production availability this August or September. The boost promises up to 20% more bandwidth and 3-6% workload gains, but only on systems running one DIMM per channel. For Windows Server professionals, the announcement opens a new performance tier for Hyper-V, SQL Server, and AI inference, but careful capacity planning and vendor-specific qualification are essential.
OneNote for Windows 10 Is Now Read-Only—Here’s How to Move Your Notebooks to OneDrive
Microsoft’s OneNote for Windows 10 is now read-only after its October 2025 retirement, and Windows users must move to the desktop OneNote app with notebooks stored in OneDrive. This article explains what changed, how the shift affects home users, power users, and IT admins, and provides a six-step migration checklist to avoid losing data. It also covers the parallel retirements of Microsoft Lens and email-to-OneNote, and looks ahead at Copilot and mobile scanning improvements.
Microsoft to Retire Azure Service Bus SBMP Protocol—What It Means for Your Windows Workloads
Microsoft will permanently disable the SBMP protocol for Azure Service Bus on September 30, 2026, alongside retiring three older client libraries. While apps still using SBMP will face a hard outage, those already on AMQP with legacy libraries can survive the deadline but lose support. The path forward involves auditing all production workloads to determine their actual transport, switching SBMP clients to AMQP as an immediate fix, and then planning a migration to the modern Azure.Messaging.ServiceBus SDK.
Azure GPv1 ZRS Storage Accounts Must Be Upgraded by October 2026—Or Services Will Break
Microsoft has announced that Azure General Purpose v1 storage accounts using Zone-Redundant Storage (ZRS) must be upgraded to GPv2 before October 13, 2026, or they will face service disruption. Unlike other legacy account types that Microsoft will auto-migrate, ZRS accounts require customer-initiated upgrades, with new creations blocked after September 2026. The article outlines the timeline, risks for admins, developers, and FinOps, and provides a phased action plan to avoid last-minute outages.
Azure Functions 1.x and Legacy Log API Sunset in 2026: Here's Your Migration Roadmap
Microsoft will end support for Azure Functions 1.x and the legacy HTTP Data Collector API on September 14, 2026. Teams must upgrade function apps to version 4.x and migrate custom log pipelines to the Logs Ingestion API with Data Collection Rules, ensuring both runtime and telemetry dependencies are addressed before the hard cutoff.
Microsoft 365 Apps Update Revolution: Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel Converges with Monthly in July 2026 — Here’s Your Playbook
Microsoft is merging its Semi-Annual and Monthly Enterprise update channels for Microsoft 365 Apps in July 2026 with Version 2606. All SAEC devices will begin receiving monthly feature and security updates, impacting reporting, Cloud Update automation, and Copilot eligibility. IT admins must inventory their devices, decide whether to hold some on Version 2508, and update management tools to avoid compliance surprises.
Microsoft Shifts Power Apps Analytics to Fabric with New ‘Link Data' Hub, Retires Azure Synapse Name
Microsoft has rebranded Azure Synapse Link for Dataverse to 'Link data' in the Power Apps maker portal, consolidating all data export paths and making Microsoft Fabric the default analytics destination. The rollout, starting July 20, 2026, introduces a simplified setup wizard and promotes workspace identity for authentication. Existing links remain unchanged, but admins should update internal documentation and enable workspace identity where applicable.
Azure API for FHIR Retirement Countdown: A Practical Migration Blueprint for Windows Healthcare IT
Microsoft is retiring Azure API for FHIR on September 30, 2026, with no new deployments after April 1, 2025. Windows healthcare administrators must inventory every system that calls the FHIR endpoint—IIS apps, services, scripts, SMART clients—and execute a staged migration to Azure Health Data Services. This article provides a practical, step-by-step playbook covering caller discovery, baseline testing, identity rehearsal, export validation, and operational acceptance.
Your Azure Computer Vision v1.0–v3.1 Apps Will Break on September 13, 2026 — Here’s How to Fix Them
Microsoft’s Azure Computer Vision API versions 1.0 through 3.1 will stop working entirely after September 13, 2026, breaking any application that still calls them. This service-journalism piece outlines the concrete steps developers, administrators, and low‑code owners must take now, compares the two migration paths (v3.2 for compatibility vs. Image Analysis 4.0 for deliberate redesign), and warns of common pitfalls.
Azure Migrate Classic's September 30 Retirement Means Every VMware and Physical-Server Migration Now Has a Fixed Expiration Date
Azure Migrate Classic will be fully retired on September 30, 2026, and since replication stopped on May 31, all remaining VMware and physical-server migrations now rely on a single, aging recovery point. IT teams must immediately decide whether to cut over using that stale snapshot—after validating and getting owner sign-off—or begin fresh replication with the new simplified experience.
Johannesburg Gets Africa's First Dual-Site Azure ExpressRoute, Boosting Cloud Resilience
Microsoft adds a second peering location in Johannesburg, creating Africa’s first Azure ExpressRoute Metro configuration. This dual-site setup lets enterprises build physically resilient private connections to Azure, reducing downtime risks. Liquid C2 will offer a managed service called Secure CloudConnect to simplify adoption.
Johannesburg Becomes Africa’s First Azure ExpressRoute Metro Hub, Slashing Cloud Downtime Risks
Johannesburg becomes the first city in Africa to offer Azure ExpressRoute Metro, allowing businesses to split a single circuit across two peering locations for site resilience. This report details what it means for IT teams and how to adopt it.
SIX’s Teams Voice Migration Shows How Regulated Firms Can Ditch PBX and Keep 10-Year Records
SIX, the Swiss financial infrastructure firm, completed a 12-month migration of 1,700 voice seats to Microsoft Teams, replacing legacy PBX and NICE recording with Luware Nimbus and Luware Recording. The project enables 10-year call retention under Swiss regulations, centralizes SIP trunks, and gives service owners self-service reporting. For IT admins in regulated industries, the case study offers a step-by-step blueprint for moving to Teams voice without sacrificing compliance.