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 11 may finally fix File Explorer’s biggest annoyance — here’s how
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft is testing a change to File Explorer on Windows 11 that will automatically run it in the background to make launching the app faster.

Xbox full screen experience arrives in preview for PCs
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 You can now try out the new Xbox full screen experience mode on a Windows 11-powered gaming PC, as Microsoft expands support beyond handhelds.

Linux PC maker scraps plans to build Snapdragon X Elite-powered laptop
By Zac Bowden published
Linux Linux PC maker TUXEDO has scrapped plans to launch a Snapdragon X Elite-powered notebook, citing issues with development and support with Qualcomm's chip.

The Surface Laptop 13‑inch was a tough sell — until one change made it irresistible
By Zac Bowden published
Surface After almost half a year on the market, I can finally recommend the Surface Laptop 13-inch to most people thanks to this incredible Black Friday deal that brings it down to just $549.

Score big on Surface: The ultimate Black Friday guide to Microsoft deals is here
By Zac Bowden last updated
Deals Looking to get your hands on a new Surface PC or some Surface accessories? Black Friday is a great time to save, and the deals have already begun.

Windows is 40 years old today — but will it be here in another 40 years?
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 With Windows turning 40, we take a look at how it got here, the current state of the platform, and whether or not it will even be here in another 40 years.

Microsoft AI CEO responds to critics: "the fact that people are unimpressed is mindblowing to me"
By Zac Bowden published
AI Mustafa Suleyman says people that are unimpressed with AI's capabilities are mind blowing to him, after recent backlash around Copilot and Windows as an agentic OS.

Windows 11 is catching up: Here's the new agenda view for the Taskbar
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 You'll soon be able to see your upcoming events and meetings directly in the calendar flyout on the Taskbar on Windows 11. Finally!

Windows 11 is gaining agentic AI Taskbar features
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft has announced a new capability coming soon to the Taskbar that will let AI agents appear as app icons offering glanceable information about automated tasks.

Microsoft announces hardware accelerated BitLocker encryption for new Windows 11 PCs in 2026
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Windows 11 is gaining anew, hardware accelerated BitLocker encryption capability on new devices starting next year.

Windows 11 gains point-in-time recovery feature
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft has unveiled new recovery methods for Windows 11 PCs in the event where a PC is no longer able to boot, or data has become corrupted.

Drivers on Windows 11 may be about to get a lot more stable
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Windows 11 is raising the security and resiliency bar when it comes to driver signing, and is trying to move peripheral drivers out of the kernel.

Windows 11 gains powerful new AI features to enhance productivity
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft is adding the ability to generate text in ant text box, dictate and transcribe speech using natural language, and summarize emails using AI to Windows 11.

X / Twitter knocked offline after major Cloudflare outage
By Zac Bowden published
Cloudflare A major Cloudflare outage has caused hundreds of websites to go offline, including X. Here's what that means.

Microsoft explains why the Windows 11 agentic OS is off by default
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 Microsoft is pushing ahead with its plan to add agentic capabilities to Windows 11, but has issued an important security warning for anyone who is interested in trying it out.

Microsoft's latest tweet is angering developers
By Zac Bowden published
Microsoft The company's latest post on X hasn't gone down well with the developer community, as responses beg for it to focus on fixing Windows instead.

Microsoft finally explains how Windows 11 is evolving into an agentic OS
By Zac Bowden published
Windows 11 A new agentic workspace feature will contain AI agents in their own secure session, which users can share data with or shut down at a moment's notice.

Microsoft is adding an 'experimental agentic features' toggle to Windows 11 as it gears up for AI OS future
By Zac Bowden published
The latest Windows 11 preview builds now include a new toggle dubbed 'experimental agentic features' which Microsoft says is designed to allow AI agents to take control of your PC

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.
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