More and more companies create software using AI tools

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The rise of AI systems fueled several trends: from AI generated articles over media generation to coding. The latter has been at the forefront of interest by some companies.

The idea is simple: instead of paying engineers a lot of money to create or improve software, you use AI for the most part. This allows you to “let go” of employes that are no longer needed.

The result? More money in the pockets of the organization and less human workers to worry about.

But there is a problem. At least some of the creations are not well-liked or can even be considered AI slop.

Two examples to illustrate the point. Epic Games “vibe coded” its new store. Yes, the same Epic Games responsible for Unreal Engine, one of the most widely used development systems for digital games.

At least some users showed off some bugs on X, others recommended removing any payment methods as vibe coded software did not give them confidence in the quality of the code.

Epic Games confirmed that the new client is unfinished and is asking customers to report bugs that they encounter.

Then there is the remake of Total War: Shogun 2 by Creative Assembly and Sega. It appears that the developers used AI to upscale graphics, removed the classic version from Steam to charge more for the remake and give gamers no other option.

The game has over 80 percent negative comments on Steam at the time of writing, mostly because of the use of AI and not disclosing that AI was used.

It seems likely that the use of AI in software products and elsewhere is going to rise in the coming years. The best way to deal with it is to avoid products that do not offer the same quality as purely human-coded software.

Mozilla launches Firefox Enterprise and Thunderbird Enterprise

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

For years, Mozilla offered Firefox ESR to businesses and Enterprises. While the organization implemented features aimed specifically at managing Firefox on large fleets of devices, it never offered a specific Firefox version for Enterprises.

This changes today with the introduction of Firefox Enterprise (and Thunderbird Enterprise):

Firefox Enterprise is built for organizations with strict security, governance, and compliance requirements. It pairs the Firefox browser, built on Mozilla’s independent Gecko engine, with a management console organizations can run on their own infrastructure. From that console, IT teams can centrally manage browser policy and access, govern how data moves through the browser and set controls around AI use.

Mozilla says that Firefox Enterprise is giving organizations more control, not only over the browser but also over the infrastructure that is managing it. The highlight features are sovereignty, control and resilience according to the official website.

As far as features are concerned, here are the highlights:

  • Centralized policy control — manage browser behavior across endpoints
  • External connection controls — govern browser callouts and telemetry
  • Native DLP — warn or block sensitive data actions by domain
  • AI controls — allow, restrict or disable AI tools
  • SIEM integration — export browser events and audit activity
  • Lockdown Mode — harden high-risk or restricted browsing
  • Extension governance — allow or block add-ons organization-wide
  • Professional Support included — private triage and defined response times

Firefox Enterprise is rolling out in select European markets first, with France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the beginning.

Brave Debloater: Remove potentially unwanted features of Brave Browser

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Brave Debloater is an open-source PowerShell script designed to remove the extra, often unwanted features (bloatware) that come bundled with the Brave Browser, such as crypto wallets, AI chatbots, and sponsored content. It works across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

What Does Brave Debloater Do?

Instead of manually clicking through menus to turn off various features or using policies, Brave Debloater turns off the features in one swift operation instead.

Specifically, it can disable and hide:

  • Crypto & Paid Features: Brave Rewards, BAT prompts, Brave Wallet, and Brave VPN.
  • Add-on Services: Leo AI Chat (sidebar and address bar), Brave News, Brave Talk, Playlist, and Email Aliases.
  • Telemetry & Tracking: Brave’s P3A telemetry, stats ping, Web Discovery, Chromium metrics, and URL-keyed data collection.
  • Clutter (using the “Extreme” preset): Sponsored new tab backgrounds, new tab cards, shopping lists, QR generators, and the Google search side panel.

Is it Safe?

Many Windows debloat scripts aggressively delete system files, patch binaries, or mess with the hosts file, which can break your system or browser. Brave Debloater takes a much safer, standardized approach.

It uses official Enterprise Policies: Rather than modifying individual files of the browser, it tells your operating system to enforce official Chromium/Brave enterprise policies (e.g., writing native registry policies on Windows or JSON policies on Linux). This is the exact same method IT departments use to manage browsers on company computers.

In doing so, it does not weaken security. Furthermore, you can use a preview mode feature. This lists the changes that the script does without applying them.

For recovery, it creates a backup that you can restore at any time. Lastly, any change that it makes is highlighted on brave://policy, a native page of the browser listing all changes enforced by policies on the device.

If you like Brave’s ad-blocking but dislike the crypto integrations, AI tools, and telemetry, Brave Debloater is a safe option to remove unwanted features. While you can make the changes manually as well, doing so would take much longer for most users, but it would mean that you would stay in full control during the entire activity.

Microsoft 365 changes: Family and Premium plan storage cuts and new Pro plan

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft announced a series of changes for its Microsoft 365 subscription service today. The changes affect family and premium subscribers only at this time and change storage quotas significantly.

For those unaware, a Microsoft 365 subscription includes access to Microsoft Office apps, online storage, Copilot AI access and some other features. The two main plans for many customers are Personal, which gives one person access on up to five devices, and Family, which gives up to 6 people access.

Up until now, Family included 1 TB of storage for each member. Starting October 8, 2026 for new customers, this is reduced to 2 TB shared storage. In other words, users of a Family plan no longer have private storage. When a member buys additional storage, it is added to the shared pool as well.

The same was true for the Premium plan, which supported up to 6 people as well. Instead of 1 TB for each user, Premium subscribers get 2 TB shared now.

Existing customer plans are affected as well, but not immediately. The change takes effect when the subscription is renewed after May 2027. Microsoft reveals that existing subscribers may get bonus storage added to their account when the subscription “renews after shared storage rolls out”. It does not mention if it is permanent or how much customers get though.

Last but not least, if storage is exceeded when the transition happens, access to files is not lost immediately. Microsoft says that customers get notifications that explain the available options. These range from deleting online files to buying more storage.

While Microsoft is cutting storage, it is not changing the price of a subscription. Family and Premium continue to cost $12.99 or $19.99 per month.

Microsoft explains on a FAQ page why this is a good thing:

Storage automatically goes where it’s needed.
Members are less likely to run into individual storage limits.
Unused storage can benefit the entire family.
Additional storage purchases can help everyone with the subscription.

What the company fails to mention is that these benefits would also apply if Microsoft would not have reduced the storage of the plans. In fact, it would have even be better for the cases mentioned.

The new Pro plan

Microsoft 365 Pro is a new plan that Microsoft introduced. Subscribers get 5 TB of shared storage and the highest limits when using Copilot AI. This new plan is anything but cheap though. It costs $99.99 per month and includes up to 6 users. However, AI features are limited to the subscription owner according to the description.

Microsoft Trials a Faster, Streamlined Windows Search for Insiders

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The days of using Windows Search mostly as an application launcher may be officially numbered. Starting this week, Microsoft is rolling out a fundamentally redesigned Windows Search experience to testers in the Windows Insider Experimental channel.

Built on a modernized WinUI 3 foundation, this new update transforms the familiar taskbar feature into a streamlined, clutter-free command center. The new Search allows users to perform some system tasks, such as toggling dark mode, right from the search results.

From finding to doing

The most significant shift in this update is the introduction of inline actions. Microsoft aims to reduce the friction of everyday tasks by allowing you to complete them directly within the search interface.

If that sounds familiar, it is something that Microsoft had planned for the initial Copilot AI for Windows. While the former never came to fruition, it appears that Microsoft has finally found a way to link user requests to direct actions.

Need to tweak your settings? You can now type phrases like “switch to dark mode,” “dim my screen,” or “turn on Bluetooth” to make immediate adjustments without digging through menus. The new search can even help you manage your workspace, responding to commands like “minimize all my windows” or “arrange windows on screen”.

In the near future, this functionality will expand to include Phone Link integrations, enabling actions like sending a text message from a connected device directly through the search bar.

What’s Ahead

Looking forward to next year, Microsoft plans to bring this new search experience to the Start menu, ensuring it adapts to various taskbar configurations. For now, searches originating from the Start menu will still use the existing interface while Microsoft gathers feedback from Insiders.

Ultimately, the goal is to create a search tool that understands natural language, provides richer in-context information, and integrates deeply with features like Copilot, closing the gap between finding information and taking action.

With testing just getting started, it is too early to tell if the reimagined search is going to be everything that Microsoft hopes it can be. The past has shown us that announcements and implementations do not always go hand in hand. If Microsoft manages to implement more than a few inline actions, it has the potential of becoming a useful feature used by many users of the system.

On the other hand, if there are just ten or so actions, it is probably something that won’t make a big impact.

About Chrome’s error “This site doesn’t support a secure connection”

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Last year, Google announced that it would change the behavior of its Chrome browser regarding HTTP websites. The company said that it would enable “always use secure connections” in Chrome 154.

The browser is out now, but the change has not come yet on my test devices. It is likely that Google is using rollouts for this to monitor feedback.

What it does: When Google Chrome encounters a public site that uses HTTP, it displays the warning “This site doesn’t support a secure connection” instead of connecting to the site as it did previously.

The prompt displays an option to go back or to continue to site. Going back cancels the navigation request, the continue option attempts to load the HTTP site.

It is noteworthy that the feature impacts redirects as well, even if the actual target website uses HTTPS. Something that webmasters may want to keep in mind as well and address.

Chrome remembers the choice to visit the site and won’t display the security prompt for the next 15 days. Any visit in that time refreshes the period, so that the browser won’t terrorize you with security prompts when you visit a HTTP website often.

Private sites are exempt by default. There is an option under chrome://settings/security to enable the warning for private sites, e.g. Intranet sites or a router’s administrative frontend, as well.

An option to disable the warning altogether exists right now, but it is unclear for how long it remains available to users.

Windows 11 is removing an option to bypass Microsoft account and internet during setup

Microsoft Confirms Windows 11 Update KB5124010 Causes Application and Game Crashes Across Versions 24H2, 25H2, and 26H2

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft has officially confirmed a known issue in its late-September Windows 11 update that causes certain games, media players, and productivity applications to close unexpectedly.

According to an advisory published on Microsoft’s Windows Release Health dashboard, the bug was introduced with the optional preview update KB5124010 (OS Build 26300.9550), released on September 22, 2026.

Because Windows 11 versions 24H2, 25H2, and the newly released 26H2 share a common servicing baseline, all three operating system versions are equally affected by the flaw.

Built-in Dolby Digital (AC-3) Decoder Identified as Root Cause

The stability issues stem from a bug in Windows 11’s built-in AC-3 (Dolby Digital) audio decoding component.

According to Microsoft’s technical documentation, the exact symptoms depend on how an application interacts with the system’s audio architecture. In some instances, affected programs fail to launch entirely or terminate without warning during startup.

In other cases, software operates normally until specific audio functions—such as background music playback, in-game sound effects, or volume adjustments—are triggered.

Microsoft notes that the bug predominantly impacts legacy software, including older PC games, standalone media players, and specialized productivity tools that rely directly on the operating system’s native AC-3 decoder.

Most modern applications and recent games remain unaffected, as they typically integrate their own proprietary or third-party audio decoding libraries rather than calling the legacy Windows component.

A Challenging Month for Windows 11 Updates

The AC-3 audio bug follows a series of update regressions throughout September 2026. The regular September Patch Tuesday release (KB5124008 on September 8), which addressed a record 974 security vulnerabilities alongside new user interface features, initially caused issues with Remote Desktop connections and folder sharing in Linux-based virtual machines.

Microsoft deployed an out-of-band emergency patch (KB5129195) on September 14 to resolve those flaws, but that update prevented the built-in Windows File History backup tool from recognizing external and network drives.

The AC-3 audio bug follows a series of update regressions throughout September 2026. The regular September Patch Tuesday release (KB5124008 on September 8), which addressed a record 974 security vulnerabilities alongside new user interface features, initially caused issues with Remote Desktop connections and folder sharing in Linux-based virtual machines. Microsoft subsequently deployed an out-of-band emergency patch (KB5129195) on September 14 to resolve those flaws, but that update inadvertently prevented the built-in Windows File History backup tool from recognizing external and network drives.

Mitigation and Next Steps

Microsoft has not published a specific list of affected software titles, nor has it provided an estimated release date for a permanent patch. The company stated that its engineering team is working on a resolution to be included in a future Windows update. In the meantime, users experiencing sudden crashes in older games or applications can bypass the issue by disabling audio output within the affected software or by uninstalling the optional update KB5124010 via the Windows Update history settings.

Gemini Pro is getting more expensive

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Up until now, if you wanted access to Gemini Pro, a version of Google’s AI that is more powerful than the Flash version, you’d have to subscribe to the AI Plus plan at the very least or get a special deal by buying Google hardware.

For about $5 per month, you would gain access to the Flash and Pro modell. Free users, those with just a Google account, gained access to Flash-Lite only.

This is no longer the case. Google changed rather significantly over the weekend. If you have an AI Plus plan, you no longer get access to Gemini Pro. Access is limited to Flash-Lite and Flash only.

Access to Gemini Pro is limited to the Gemini AI Pro plan. That is a huge step up, considering that Gemini Pro costs about $20 per month.

Free users are also limited to Flash-lite. Previously, they had limited access to Pro, but this is removed as well.

Google says that the changes will take place on October 9, 2026. Affected users, those with an AI Plus subscription, will be informed about the change in an email, according to the company.

Here is the overview:

  • Free: Gemini Flash-lite only
  • Plus ($5): Gemini Flash-lite and Flash only.
  • Pro ($20): Gemini Flash-lite, Flash, and Pro.

This is an attempt to push the pricier computations of the Pro model into the plans that pay more. Whether that is an effort to cut costs, which are likely enormous, or an attempt to get more customers to sign-up for plans that are pricier is unclear.

Don’t buy Amazon’s latest Fire TV Stick

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Amazon announced the availability of the latest Fire TV stick yesterday. The Fire TV Stick 4K comes with a new remote that Amazon says is optimized and VegaOS instead of Fire OS.

The latter is what tweakers will find problematic. With Fire TV sticks using Fire OS, which is based on Android, sideloading was possible. You could install Android apps such as Smart Tube on the stick to gain access to features that apps in the official Amazon Store don’t offer.

With VegaOS, that bridge is burned. No more sideloading, which means that you are stuck with the apps that Amazon hosts officially on its store.

You find the usual assortment of official streaming apps and other apps there, but the store lacks apps like Smart Tube that you might want to install on your devices, for example to watch YouTube without ads and unpleasantries.

Anyway, if it has to be Amazon, stick with the previous Fire-OS-based sticks like the 4K Max, which is currently discounted in many regions as well.

Windows 11, version 26H2 is here (how to get, why you may want to wait)

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft announced the release of Windows 11, version 26H2 yesterday. The feature update of the year brings only little changes, which is one reason why you should not feel any hurry to install it on your devices, if you run Windows 11.

The good news is that version 26H2 is another light release. It is activated via an enablement package, just like version 25H2 was last year. This means that it installs in a matter of minutes and does not require extended reboots to complete the installation process.

Bad news is that it does not really introduce much of its own that is new and exciting, as Microsoft switched to pushing out most features when they are ready.

So, you can install Windows 11, version 26H2 on devices running Windows 11, version 24H2 or higher by going to Settings > Windows Update, enabling “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available”, and hitting the “check for updates” button, if the update is not displayed right away.

This installs the enablement package and upgrades the version to 26H2. Home users get two years of support with this one, as usual, while Enterprise and Education customers get another year on top of that for that version.

You can also download the enablement packages directly from Microsoft servers to install the update manually. Should work as fine and may be an option for devices where Windows Update refuses to display the update.

Now to the question as to whether it is a good idea to install the update right now. I would say no, it is not in most cases. It does not bring anything revolutionary to the table that can’t wait another month or two.

While Microsoft does not mention any known issues yet, past updates have shown that issues may come to light days or weeks after release. To avoid any issues and prolonged troubleshooting sessions, postpone the installation on most devices, other than for testing.

If you are hellbent on installing it, create a system backup first before you do. This gives you a Microsoft-independent option to restore the system should things go wrong with the installation or during use.