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Sticking to just a major feature update for Windows 10 would have been a positive move for Microsoft and for us PC users. "Windows 10 is the last version of Windows," says Microsoft's Jerry Nixon just ahead of the launch of the then-new operating system. It was a bold statement and now, in the face of the faltering Windows 11 launch, I can't help but wish Microsoft had followed through on that promise instead of giving in to the powerful lure of marketing bull. It's a quote that was widely circulated at the time, continued to be shared around during...

Exclusive A massive trove of Microsoft's internal Windows operating system builds and chunks of its core source code have leaked online.The data – some 32TB of official and non-public installation images and software blueprints that compress down to 8TB – were uploaded to betaarchive.com, the latest load of files provided just earlier this week. It is believed the confidential data in this dump was exfiltrated from Microsoft's in-house systems around March this year.The leaked code is Microsoft's Shared Source Kit: according to people who have seen its contents, it includes the source to the base Windows 10 hardware drivers plus...

Apple is the new Microsoft, says Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes. He downgraded the stock from "overweight" to "equalweight" (which is like going from buy to hold). He sticks with his $570 price target. He believes the stock will be stuck in a tight trading range for the next year or so. "Frankly, we just couldn’t quite bring ourselves to use smart watches or TVs as reasons to raise numbers – nor were we fully convinced that these products could move the needle like new categories did in the old days," says Reitzes. "As a result, we believe it is time...