Small desktops

Recently, I ordered a small computer for a desk that doesn’t have a lot of room. The HP Elite Mini 800 G9 Desktop PC is a small form factor model with two video outputs, several USB-A ports, one USB-C port — and no floppy or CD-ROM drive.

To give you a sense of size, the photo at left shows the unit next to an 8.5″ paper cutter. One always has to balance serviceability with size.  There is not going to be a lot of room in this unit, but at 32GB RAM with a 256GB SSD drive, this will service a worker just fine.

At a little over $1,000, I consider it well priced.

Is physical size an issue for you? If you are thinking about a desktop to run Windows 11, would you consider a small form factor like the many mini-PCs out there, or are you going for a more traditional desktop with a larger form factor?

MS-DEFCON 2: Do you need that update?

By Susan Bradley

Microsoft is blurring the lines between those updates that I consider mandatory and those that some administrators might need for their networks.

For many years, I’ve urged folks to immediately install Microsoft’s out-of-band updates to protect us from whatever was occurring in the attack. But now, Microsoft is not communicating well. It’s hard to know whether these updates are needed.

Therefore, I’m raising the MS-DEFCON level to 2. Put updates on pause, and don’t install the out-of-band updates from May. Mea culpa: I realize that we lowered the level just a week ago, but these updates arrived after that, giving me too little time to figure them out. As I say, poor communication from Microsoft.

Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (22.22.1, 2025-06-05).

Location, location, location

When I was growing up, my dad had to trust where I was and where I was going. We had no cell phones. Now with cell phones, not only can he track me, I can track him. Until, that is, Apple or the app updates and up pops a dialog box that can be confusing.

Most of the time, you only want apps to know about your location not at all or only while using the application. Except when it comes to location tracking apps that need your location always.

On a periodic basis Apple will prompt you to ask if you still want the “always” setting. If you say no, you suddenly can’t track dad.

Just a reminder that sometimes apps don’t know what’s best for you and you really do want “always.”

June 2025 Office non-Security Updates

Microsoft released NO non-security updates for Office on June 3, 2025

Office 2016 reached  End of Mainstream Support on October 13, 2020. EOS for Office 2016 is October 14, 2025.

Updates are for the .msi version (perpetual). Office 365 and C2R are not included.

Security updates for all supported versions of Microsoft Office are released on the second Tuesday of the month (Patch Tuesday).

Who knows what?

AI

By Will Fastie

A recent editing session for one of the newsletter articles turned up some interesting results, albeit confusing ones at first.

In our normal editing workflow, I review articles first, editing as necessary. Then our crack copy editor, Roberta Scholz, applies a second set of eyes.

An important step is checking links in the copy to make sure they work and will take the reader where expected. For Susan’s column last week, something was off.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.22.0, 2025-06-02).
This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

My top ten underappreciated features in Office

MICROSOFT 365

By Peter Deegan

Office software has been a cornerstone of productivity for decades.

Here are some underrated champions of Office, the ones that have quietly evolved to make our work better and easier.

Some are features that were a hassle at first but quietly became better over time, innovations that seem too complicated, or capabilities that have been in Office for so long that they’re overlooked. There’s also one that was supposed to be the “next big thing” and is now almost forgotten, despite Microsoft’s heavy heaping of hype.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.22.0, 2025-06-02).

WAU Manager — It’s your computer, you are in charge!

FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

By Deanna McElveen

Microsoft didn’t send you a card on your birthday with a thousand dollars in it to go toward a new computer. You worked hard for your computer, and you should be the one who says when it gets updated.

Oh sure, Microsoft is just trying to keep you safe — but that should be in the form of notifications, not forced updates. We’re not children.

Carifred, the French company that for years has been cranking out truly useful software — such as Clear Disk Info, Account Profile Fixer, Quick User Manager, and so many others — has brought us something new. WAU Manager is a free Windows Update manager that takes the updating out of Microsoft’s control and lays it squarely in your lap.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.22.0, 2025-06-02).

Misbehaving devices

TAME YOUR TECH

By Susan Bradley

When you deal with multiple computers, whether at home or in an office setting, sometimes odd issues occur.

Regardless of brand or type, regardless of operating system, many of these issues are easily explained away. But there are times when the behaviors make no sense whatsoever.

Here are some examples of issues I’ve recently experienced.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.22.0, 2025-06-02).

Office gets current release

Yesterday, Office got its near weekly update for Microsoft 365. For those of you on certain versions of Office, this is a reminder that Office updates in the background, silently — unlike Windows. On the current channel release, sometimes that updating triggers unusual behaviors.

I strongly recommend that you move to the semi-annual channel — if your version allows it — that does not get features as often and only gets security updates once a month. If you use Outlook (classic), I recommend taking the time to review which patching channel you are on now and whether you can move yourself to the semi-annual channel.

Outlook (classic) will behave much, much better.

Windows hosting exposes additional bugs

Lately, Microsoft has been releasing some out-of-band updates to fix specific deployments of Windows. Now that it is hosting desktops in its own cloud, you can tell additional issues are being identified.

KB5061977 is an out-of-band update for Windows 11 24H2: “[Hyper-V Platform] Fixed: An issue in the direct send path for a guest physical address (GPA) where confidential virtual machines running on Hyper-V with Windows Server 2025 might intermittently stop responding or restart unexpectedly, affecting service availability and requiring manual intervention. This issue primarily affects Azure confidential VMs.”

KB5061979 fixes the same issue for Windows 10 22H2. Also announced yesterday, the issue with Windows 11 23H2 and 22H2 where KB5058405 may fail to install.

All of these issues are more likely to be seen in cloud or hosted settings.  None will be seen in consumer settings.

May preview updates

Microsoft loves to release previews. These are updates released on the fourth week of the month that are advance looks at fixes that will be rolled up into the June updates.

Microsoft (so far) has released KB5058502 for Windows 11 23H2 and I expect a preview for Windows 10 22H2 as well as Windows 11 24H2.

The optional update includes stuff that annoys me — the dribbles, changes that won’t be seen on all machines but rather gradually. They include the ability to launch Copilot from WinC (uh, no thanks), search on taskbar that expands providers in the EEA (I actually disable external search on the taskbar – stay tuned for that tip next Monday), as well as a new Share tray when you drag an icon.

I’m surprised Microsoft is still making changes to 23H2. Aren’t we coming up to its end of life in October?

MS-DEFCON 4: As good as it gets

By Susan Bradley

There is never a time I consider perfect for updating your system.

Even if absolutely no issues were reported with updates, there might be side effects of the updating process itself.

But for now, for both consumers and businesses, it’s appropriate to lower the MS-DEFCON level to 4. I recommend installing updates.

Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (22.21.1, 2025-05-27).