Zac Bowden is a Senior Editor at Windows Central and has been with the site since 2016. His expertise is in exclusive coverage about Windows, Surface, and hardware. He's also an avid collector of rare Microsoft prototype devices, and was fortunate enough to daily drive both the fabled Lumia McLaren and Microsoft Band 3, along the Surface Mini and even Surface Neo. Keep in touch with him on Twitter and Threads!
Latest articles by Zac Bowden

Windows lead Pavan Davuluri addresses negative response to agentic OS plans
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Pavan Davuluri has addressed recent negative feedback about the future of Windows becoming an agentic OS, and says the team is listening and wants the platform to be great for developers and power users too.

Did Microsoft's Copilot ad just prove the AI isn't ready for your Windows 11 settings yet?
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft's obsession with AI in Windows 11 is becoming so toxic that its latest ad campaign shows Copilot failing to help a user in their quest to change a setting, while pretending it worked as intended.

Android PCs are coming, but Lenovo says stick to Windows for gaming
By Zac Bowden published
Android We now know more about Google's upcoming Android PC platform, thanks to a Q&A posted by Lenovo that reveals what Android for PC will be good at, and what it won't be good at.

Valve sets up an Arm-based gaming future with its new VR headset
By Zac Bowden published
PC Gaming The new Steam Frame is coming next year and is Valve's first all-in-one headset running SteamOS, powered by a Snapdragon chip.

Users push back against Windows president over agentic OS plans
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft's current Windows lead Pavan Davuluri has tweeted that the future of Windows will be one that evolves into an agentic OS, but has received significant pushback online.

Windows 11's latest November Patch Tuesday update is out
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 November's Patch Tuesday for Windows 11 is out with lots of new features and fixes. Download KB5068861 now.

Microsoft hits the brakes on Windows 11 File Explorer 'recommended files' feature
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft has paused the rollout of an upcoming new feature for the File Explorer on Windows 11 that promoted "recommended" files in large thumbnails at the top of the File Explorer Home tab.

Windows 11 may soon vibrate when you snap app windows
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 A new setting has been discovered in the latest Windows 11 preview builds that reveals Microsoft is working on bringing haptic feedback responses to the OS.

Microsoft promises a cleaner, faster context menu experience in Windows 11
By Zac Bowden last updated
Windows 11 Microsoft has confirmed that it's adding support for split view menus, which will let developers nest multiple actions into submenus in the right-click menu.

Microsoft confirms Windows 11 version 26H1
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 The next version of Windows 11 is version 26H1, but Microsoft says it won't be released as an update to version 25H2.

Phone Link is dropping support for viewing photos
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 The Phone Link app is losing support for viewing photos from your phone. Microsoft says to use the File Explorer app instead.

Windows 11 version 26H1 is coming: Here's what we know
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft looks to be preparing a new version of Windows 11 for release in the first half of 2026, based on a newer version of the Windows platform codenamed Bromine. Here's what we know.

Apple’s rumored $599 MacBook might be the Windows killer no one expected
By Zac Bowden published
Laptops With Windows 11 adoption lagging and AI PCs still niche, Apple’s rumored $599 MacBook could undercut Microsoft’s entire strategy.

Microsoft launches multi-app install package support on the Microsoft Store
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 The online Microsoft Store now supports creating a single install package for multiple apps at once, similar to Ninite, but powered by the Microsoft Store.

Samsung finally brings popular Internet browser to Windows PCs
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Samsung's default browser on Android has always been somewhat of a hidden gem. Now, it's coming to Windows PCs, complete with cross device sync and AI features.

Microsoft Edge is gaining the ability to sync passkeys to the cloud, finally
By Zac Bowden published
Browsers You'll soon be able to sync passkeys to the cloud using Edge and your Microsoft Account, meaning you'll be able to share them across devices going forward.

Windows 10 ESU bug claims users are still out of support
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 10 A Windows Update bug is causing Windows 10 users to see an error when they check for updates, even when enrolled into Microsoft's extended support program.

Microsoft to address negative feedback about Windows 11 update naming scheme
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 The company says it is actively working on improving its new update naming scheme for Windows 11 after pushback from users.

Hands-on with Windows 11's new Copilot-powered Taskbar search box
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft has started testing a new Copilot-powered search box on the Taskbar on Windows 11. It's better in some ways, but worse in others. Let's take a look.

Microsoft issues new naming scheme for Windows 11 updates
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Going forward, updates that appear in Windows Update will utilize a simplified naming scheme designed to make it clearer to end users what is actually being downloaded.

Windows 11 version 23H2 will reach end of life on November 11
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Users still running the now two-year old release of Windows 11 will be left unsupported as of November 11, so be sure to upgrade to version 24H2 or 25H2 soon!

Windows 11's new Start menu finally begins rolling out
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 The new Start menu that Microsoft unveiled for Windows 11 earlier this year is now beginning to roll out for users who install the latest optional non-security update.

Microsoft confirms Satya Nadella is skipping this year's Ignite conference
By Zac Bowden published
Microsoft Microsoft has confirmed that Satya Nadella will be skipping Ignite 2025, with newly appointed CEO of commercial Judson Althoff leading the main keynote instead.

Windows 11’s search box is getting an upgrade — and no, it’s not just another Bing ad
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft has announced a new "Copy & Search" feature for Windows 11 that streamlines searching the web for text copied to your clipboard using the search box on the Taskbar.
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