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Xbox is now XBOX

2026-05-15T19:57:44-04:00

Xbox just allcapsmaxxed: Meet XBOX. This isn't a joke; Microsoft appears to be actually rebranding Xbox to XBOX. Asha Sharma, Xbox CEO, ran a poll on X earlier this week, asking fans whether Microsoft should use Xbox or XBOX. The results were in favor of XBOX, and the company has now renamed its X account.

Curiously, the Threads and Bluesky accounts for Xbox haven't been renamed yet, but if Microsoft is going ahead with a rebranding then I expect those will change soon. I asked Microsoft to comment on this potential Xbox rebranding and the company simply referred me to Sharma's post.

The use of all caps for Xbox is a return to original for …

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Windows 11 tests an adjustable taskbar and resizable Start menu

2026-05-15T17:14:45-04:00

Microsoft's latest Windows 11 test will allow you to reposition the taskbar and change the size of the Start menu. The update, which is rolling out to Windows 11 Insiders in the Experimental channel, lets you place the taskbar on the bottom, top, left, or right side of the screen.

Microsoft first teased its movable taskbar in March as part of efforts to rebuild trust among users. You can adjust the alignment of the icons inside the taskbar, as well as open the Start menu drawer from wherever you placed it. Windows 11 Insiders can access a shorter taskbar, too, which could come in handy for devices with smaller displays. There's also an opti …

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Leaked images reveal Xbox Elite 3 controller with mysterious new buttons

2026-05-14T17:00:31-04:00

Hours after a smaller Xbox Cloud Gaming controller appeared online, Brazil's Anatel regulator has also accidentally published images of what appears to be Microsoft's upcoming Xbox Elite 3 controller. Tecnoblog has posted images that show the successor to the Elite 2 controller, with an interchangeable D-Pad, paddles, and two new mysterious buttons.

The Elite 3 controller design appears to be more refined this time, with the addition of two new scroll wheels at the bottom that could be related to controller adjustments or a new input method for games like Microsoft Flight Simulator.

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The Elite 3 will also have a new pair button that …

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Microsoft starts canceling Claude Code licenses

2026-05-14T20:57:40-04:00

Microsoft first started opening up access to Claude Code in December, inviting thousands of its own developers to use Anthropic's AI coding tool daily. It was part of an effort to get project managers, designers, and other employees to experiment with coding for the first time, and sources tell me that Claude Code has proved very popular inside Microsoft over the past six months. Perhaps a little too popular, as Microsoft is now preparing to walk back its Claude Code push.

I understand that Microsoft is planning to remove most of its Claude Code licenses and push many of its developers to use Copilot CLI instead. While Claude Code has been …

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Leaked images show Microsoft’s new Xbox Cloud Gaming controller

2026-05-14T13:28:40-04:00

I revealed earlier this year that Microsoft was working on a new Xbox controller that includes Wi-Fi to connect direct to Xbox Cloud Gaming servers. It now looks like that controller has leaked, thanks to some new images from Brazil's Anatel regulator.

Tecnoblog published the images today, showing a new, smaller Xbox controller that looks similar to third-party options from 8BitDo and HyperX. The controller is made by Microsoft and includes 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth 5.3, and a USB-C port. There's also what appears to be some kind of pairing button at the top of the controller, as well as a D-Pad, bumpers, and triggers.

…

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I’m obsessed with Forza Horizon 6, and I’ve barely even raced

2026-05-14T17:29:26-04:00

For the last week, I've spent every evening unwinding by speeding through the Japanese countryside, blaring Babymetal as I take in the sights. Forza Horizon 6 is ostensibly a racing game, one in which you play an up-and-coming driver intent on making a name for themselves. But, like the rest of the series, it's also an open world, one in which you can spend as much - or, in my case, substantially more - time exploring as you do racing. And it's that element that's substantially improved in Horizon 6. It's a combination of structure and setting: The fictional take on Japan isn't just the largest map in a Horizon game, but it's also incredibly …

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Windows Update will soon automatically roll back faulty drivers

2026-05-14T05:40:19-04:00

Microsoft is on a mission to fix Windows 11, and part of that involves improving the often-frustrating Windows Update experience. While you'll soon be able to pause updates indefinitely, Microsoft is also adding a new feature that automatically rolls back problematic drivers that have been installed through Windows Update.

Microsoft has created a new "Cloud-Initiated Driver Recovery" feature that can replace a faulty driver installed on a PC with a previously working driver through Windows Update. Right now, Windows 11 users have to manually roll back a driver or hardware vendors have to publish a new one to work around any problems, but th …

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Microsoft’s Edge Copilot update uses AI to pull information from across your tabs

2026-05-13T18:04:28-04:00

Microsoft Edge is adding a new feature that will allow its Copilot AI chatbot to gather information from all of your open tabs. When you start a conversation with Copilot, you can ask the chatbot questions about what's in your tabs, compare the products you're looking at, summarize your open articles, and more.

In its announcement, Microsoft says you can "select which experiences you want or leave off the ones you don't." The company is retiring Copilot Mode as well, which could similarly draw information from your tabs but offered some agentic features, like the ability to book a reservation on your behalf. Microsoft has since folded these …

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Microsoft doesn’t want any of this

2026-05-13T12:29:27-04:00

Maybe I'm just punch-drunk in my third week attending Musk v. Altman, but I have become very, very fond of Microsoft during the course of this trial. They don't want to be here any more than I do.

Their opening statement was honestly one of the most Microsoft things I've ever seen. More than anything else, it was an ad for Microsoft that listed their products in some detail. The general implication, from that statement, was that this trial was absurd, their involvement was absurd, but you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, might still enjoy an Xbox game.

There's been a great deal of high drama on the stand, from Musk, his associates, and O …

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Microsoft’s Xbox PC app hints at China expansion for Game Pass

2026-05-13T07:53:48-04:00

Microsoft appears to be working on expanding its Xbox Game Pass subscription to China. References to "Project Saluki" have been discovered in a recent update to the Xbox PC app this week, with Microsoft describing the codename as "China market expansion for Game Pass, Rewards, and subscription tiers."

While Microsoft offers a variety of games in China through Activision Blizzard, it does not currently make Xbox Game Pass available in the country. Microsoft does sell Xbox consoles in China, and first launched the Xbox One in China in 2014, becoming the first video game console to do so after a 14-year government ban on game consoles.

The Project Saluki mention in Xbox PC app code. | Image: Microsoft" data-portal-copyright="Image: Microsoft">

The Ch …

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