Navicat
The latest Navicat coverage — news, analysis, and updates from the WindowsNews.AI desk.
Microsoft’s August Updates Break Recovery, SSDs, and NDI—Emergency OOB Fixes Issued
Microsoft’s August 2025 security updates have caused three critical issues: broken recovery/reset functions, disappearing SSDs during large file writes, and severe NDI streaming stutter. An emergency out-of-band update (KB5066187) fixes the recovery bug, but SSD and NDI problems remain under investigation. Users are advised to pause heavy I/O, avoid resets, and apply the NDI workaround until definitive patches arrive.
Windows 95's $30M Debut: How the Start Button Redefined Computing
Windows 95 generated $30 million in first-day sales on August 24, 1995, igniting a retail frenzy that signaled the shift of PCs into mainstream appliances. This retrospective examines the operating system's revolutionary interface, architectural compromises, marketing blitz, and enduring legacy, revealing how it reshaped computing culture and set standards still felt in modern Windows.
30 Years of Start: How Windows 95’s Flawed Genius Remade Personal Computing
Thirty years after its midnight launch, Windows 95’s hybrid architecture, iconic Start menu, and Hollywood-style marketing created the blueprint for modern operating system rollouts. Its blend of DOS compatibility and 32-bit promises fueled mass adoption but also sowed technical debt and antitrust scrutiny that reshaped the PC industry.
Phison Probes SSD Failures After Windows 11 KB5063878 Update Triggers Data Loss Reports
Microsoft's August 2025 cumulative update KB5063878 for Windows 11 24H2 is causing SSDs to disappear during sustained heavy writes, prompting Phison to investigate its controllers. Affected users should immediately back up data, avoid large sequential file transfers, and await firmware fixes from drive vendors; Microsoft is also probing the issue but has not yet released a fix.
Microsoft's Win+Space Shortcut Won't Die—Here's How to Disable It with PowerToys
Windows 11 provides no built-in way to disable the Win+Space language‑switching shortcut, but Microsoft's own PowerToys utility can intercept and silence it. This article details the legacy shortcuts you can change in Settings, the step‑by‑step PowerToys remapping, and the key trade‑offs every user should know.
48 Windows 11 Keyboard Shortcuts to Supercharge Your Productivity: A Real-World Guide from ZDNET
ZDNET’s guide to 48 Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts offers a practical, phased approach to boosting productivity. By prioritizing high-impact commands, enabling system features like Clipboard history and Snap Layouts, and following a four-week practice plan, users can save hours on repetitive tasks—though keyboard mastery alone isn’t a substitute for sound time management.
Windows 11 Gets Its First True Handoff: Resume Android Spotify Sessions on PC
Microsoft has begun rolling out a new Cross-Device Resume feature to Windows Insiders that lets users continue Android app activities—starting with Spotify—directly on their Windows 11 PC. The feature surfaces a taskbar notification when a linked Android phone is playing music and opens the desktop app at the same playback position, or installs it from the Store if missing. This marks a strategic shift from the deprecated Windows Subsystem for Android to a lightweight activity-transfer model using the existing Phone Link connection.
SSD Vanishing Act: Windows 11 KB5063878 Sparks Data Corruption Fears
The August 2025 Windows 11 update KB5063878 causes certain SSDs to disappear during heavy write operations, corrupting files in progress. Community testing and vendor confirmations point to a controller–firmware interaction triggered by sustained sequential writes. Users and IT administrators are urged to back up data, avoid large file transfers, and stage deployments until fixes are released.
KDE Plasma 6.4.3 Adopts Windows-Like Smart Scaling, Nixes Blurry Fractional Defaults
KDE Plasma 6.4.3 refines Wayland display scaling by rounding borderline default scale factors down to 100%, mirroring Windows' conservative approach. The update also delivers key fixes for KWin, accessibility, and remote desktop, enhancing stability and usability for all users.
VirtualBox 7.1.12 Unlocks AVX/AVX2 for Windows Guests Under Hyper-V, Cures Kernel Panic on Linux Bridges
Oracle’s VirtualBox 7.1.12, released July 15, 2025, addresses key pain points for Windows admins: it enables AVX/AVX2 instruction passthrough in Hyper‑V mode, adds full Linux 6.16 kernel compatibility, fixes a kernel panic on Linux ixgbe bridged networks, and resolves recording and nested virtualization bugs. The update requires no VM format changes and can be installed over 7.1.10.
GIMP 3.1.2 Lands With Overwrite Paint Mode, Full Photoshop Pattern Import, and PSB Export
GIMP 3.1.2, the first development snapshot toward GIMP 3.2, delivers Overwrite paint mode for pixel art, imports Photoshop patterns and curves presets, exports PSB large documents, and adds non-destructive filters on channels. Windows integration gets a boost with auto-generated file associations, native ARM64 packages, and system theme syncing. This build signals serious interoperability improvements for mixed-tool studios and sets the stage for upcoming linked and vector layers.
The Hidden PDF Inside Every AI File: How to Edit Illustrator Art on Windows Without Adobe
An article about Windows technology and digital innovation.
Audacity 3.7.4 Crushes Real-Time Effect Crashes, Unlocks Effect Previews on Muted Tracks
Audacity 3.7.4 delivers crucial stability fixes for real-time effects and large project shutdowns, adds the ability to preview effects on muted tracks, and expands AI-powered OpenVINO plugins to macOS. This maintenance release also improves waveform rendering accuracy and organizes effects into clearer menus, making the open-source audio editor more dependable for everyday use.