Microsoft is trying to cut carbon emissions via Windows Update, of all things

Microsoft is trying to cut carbon emissions via Windows Update, of all things

Divya

Tech
Windows Update will try to do its job when the local power network is running with green power sources.
Zoom / Windows Update will try to do its job when the local power network is running with green power sources.

Microsoft

A future Windows 11 update may make your PC more environmentally conscious. at Latest Windows Insider Preview build Launched for the Dev Channel, Microsoft is testing a new feature it says could help reduce carbon emissions. Using Regional Carbon Intensity Data from electricity And the WhattimeWindows will keep tabs about the types of energy your electric grid is currently using and will attempt to install updates “when more clean energy sources (such as wind, solar, and hydro”) become available.

Before that, Windows Update’s dynamic scheduling would essentially try to install updates at times when you weren’t likely to be using your PC. The feature won’t work if carbon-intensive data sources aren’t available in your area, and it only applies to connected computers, not battery-powered ones. Users can still choose to install updates manually whenever they want to.

Elsewhere, the new developer continues the rapid rate of changes we’ve seen since Microsoft The big Windows 11 update rolled out to the public last month. Changed the Open With dialog that sometimes pops up after installing new apps from the Windows 8 and 10 square-cornered design to a new design Mica filled The look of Windows 11. More settings for your Microsoft account can be controlled from within the Settings app. The animations accompanying some touch gestures have been improved. Finding things in the Settings app should be more accurate, and the Settings app has been tweaked to “have a consistent look and feel across the app.”

The
Zoom / The Open With dialog gets a facelift for Windows 11.

Microsoft

The release also introduces a new, unexplained app security feature called Smart App Control, which will only be enabled on clean installs of this new Insider build. Smart App Control offers “improved protection from untrusted apps,” but it will first evaluate your system for an undisclosed amount of time “to see if it can help protect you without holding you back too much.” If it isn’t “getting in the way too much,” it will still be. If that happens, it will shut itself down. A security feature that shuts itself down if it does its job too well seems odd, but we’ll need to wait for Microsoft to share more about what it does and how it works.

Microsoft says that not all features documented in the post will be rolled out to all Windows Insiders yet, in keeping with a promise to do so. More A/B beta testing in this year’s Windows Insider build. Some of the features that were introduced only to select Insiders in previous versions — redesigned task management, more commands available for voice typing accessibility, and others — should be available to all Insiders starting with this release.

Picture list by Microsoft