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

Why Microsoft is cracking down on Windows 11 account bypasses — and what it means for you
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft is once again blocking the ability to bypass a Microsoft Account when setting up a Windows 11 PC for the first time.

When you click “shut down,” Windows 11 will finally listen
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 The latest Windows 11 preview build includes a fix for the infamous "update and shutdown" bug where your PC wouldn't actually shut down after installing an update.

DEAL: Surface Pro 12-inch with Keyboard for just $749 while stocks last!
By Zac Bowden published
Deal In honor of Amazon's Prime Day sales, Best Buy is doing some sales of its own, and right now you can grab a Surface Pro 12-inch with keyboard for less than the price of the tablet on its own.

Windows 11 gains highly requested Taskbar feature in latest update
By Zac Bowden published
Multiple-monitor users will finally be able to open the notification center on displays that aren't their primary monitor with the latest Windows 11 update.

Podcast: Is Windows about to get interesting again?
By Zac Bowden published
Podcast Dan & Zac discuss Microsoft's new "Windows 2030 Vision" series, the first of which hints at a potential future "Agentic OS" from Microsoft. What might that look like?

Beelink SER9 Pro review: Great performance in a small package
By Zac Bowden published
Review The new Beelink SER9 Pro is an affordable premium mini PC with great performance for productivity or creative workflows. It can also do a bit of gaming, and is an all round pleasure to use.

OneDrive is getting a dedicated Windows 11 app
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 OneDrive is getting its own dedicated app experience on Windows 11, complete with a new gallery view and modern interface.

Microsoft's Windows XP crocs are here
By Zac Bowden published
Microsoft 50 Microsoft has launched its Windows XP Crocs via a sweepstakes that you can enter via Instagram. Here's everything you need to know.

Microsoft announces new Microsoft 365 Premium that combines Office and Copilot Pro
By Zac Bowden published
Microsoft 365 Microsoft has announced a new productivity subscription that combines Microsoft 365 Family and Copilot Pro under one $20 a month subscription dubbed Microsoft 365 Premium.

Windows 7 marketshare skyrocketed to almost 10% last month
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 7 StatCounter reports that Windows 7 has gained almost 10% market share in the last month, just as Windows 10 support is coming to an end. But it's probably just an anomaly.

Microsoft confirms Windows 11 version 25H2 issues and offers potential workarounds
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 With the next version of Windows 11 now generally available, Microsoft has confirmed that there are a couple of known issues to be aware of if you're upgrading right away.

Windows 11 version 25H2: Everything you need to know
By Zac Bowden last updated
Windows 11 The next version of the Windows 11 operating system is now available, with rollout now under way. Here's everything you need to know about version 25H2, including availability, new features, and more.

Download official Windows 11 version 25H2 RTM ISOs here
By Zac Bowden last updated
Windows 11 The next version of Windows 11 is now generally available, and you can download the official offline ISO media for installation onto your computer directly from Microsoft's servers. All the links can be found here!

Windows 11 version 25H2 is now generally available to install
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 The next version of Windows 11 is now generally available, and while it doesn't include any new features or changes, it does come with up to 36 months of additional support over version 24H2.

Opera launches $20 a month AI-powered web browser dubbed Neon
By Zac Bowden published
Browsers Opera Neon is yet another AI-powered web browser designed to make browsing the web easier with agentic AI experiences and capabilities, but it'll cost $20 a month.

Microsoft is bringing the Windows teams back together
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Since 2018, the core of Windows and the client experiences have been handled by separate organizations at Microsoft. That's finally changing this week.

Microsoft announces new "Copilot Portraits" feature for some reason
By Zac Bowden published
Copilot The new "Copilot Portraits" feature is designed to make talking with Copilot feel more human, according to Microsoft.

Windows 11’s taskbar search might finally use Google and Chrome if that’s what you want
By Zac Bowden published
New flags spotted in the latest version of Edge Canary suggest Microsoft wants to hand-off Windows 11's search box onto your default browser of choice.

First look at Microsoft's new auto light/dark mode switch for Windows 11
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft has given us a first look at its upcoming Light Switch feature for PowerToys, which will let user automatically switch between light and dark mode on Windows 11 based on a set schedule.

Windows 11's Photos app gains AI-powered categorization feature
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft is testing a new feature in the Photos app on Windows 11 that lets the app automatically identify and categorize photos using AI, all handled locally on-device.

Microsoft outlines free Windows 10 ESU requirements in Europe
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 10 Windows 10's extended support updates (ESU) program is now totally free in the European Economic Area, and Microsoft has revised the requirements for access to continued security updates throughout 2026.

Microsoft moves to block Israeli military from using some Azure cloud and AI services
By Zac Bowden published
Microsoft After months of protests and reporting, Microsoft will now block the Israeli military from using some of its services.

Qualcomm promises major PC gaming improvements on the way
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Qualcomm has promised that major improvements are on the way for gamers on Snapdragon-powered Windows 11 PCs. Windows on Arm is levelling up when it comes to PC game performance and compatibility.

Windows 10's ESU program becomes free for users in the EEA
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 10 In a major move, Microsoft is making access to Windows 10's extended support updates free for regions in the European Economic Area. No cloud backup required.

Qualcomm finally reveals next-gen Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme chips
By Zac Bowden published
Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme are Qualcomm's new SoCs for the Windows PC market, with a focus on high performance workloads and great efficiency that rivals the latest from Apple, AMD, and Intel. But not until 2026.
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