Microsoft has made good on a promise to make Windows Search less of a chore to use, making tweaks to remove "promotional content" from web results and options to focus on local results. The changes are currently limited to Windows Insiders in the Experimental channel. March Rogers, partner director for product design for Windows at Microsoft, stated that they were on their way when Microsoft announced the Windows 11 26H2 update, and the scope of the changes will delight Windows Search users who are tired of the service's occasional unreliability and inaccuracy, and the clutter of its interface. While Microsoft said it has reduced the likelihood of the service crashing, it also said there was "more work underway." Still, even going by what is in the Experimental channel (which could easily change between now and release), it looks like the updates are a considerable improvement on what users have had to endure until now. For starters, the results are clearer, it is easier to see where a hit came from, and promotional content has been removed from web results ("Web results show the most relevant answer, instead of first showing related products and promotions"). Plus, there are now settings to choose whether web and Microsoft Store results are shown alongside local results – you'll find them in the Search area of the Privacy & Security page in the Settings app. Local results are prioritized when they are a better match, typos are better tolerated (Microsoft gave the example of "utlook" finding Outlook), and there's support for two-character file searches. The Windows Insiders update is free of the word "Copilot." Microsoft tinkered with Windows Search improvements in 2025, but a Copilot+ PC was required to use them. The service itself has long been the punchline to many a Windows joke: there was the high-CPU usage incident of 2019 and the empty results page of 2020, for example. This time around, Microsoft has taken the surprising step of deprioritizing "promotional content" while also improving the user experience. It would have been better not to have had "promotional content" in the first place, but this is a positive step. We took a look on a PC with the Experimental channel and, after setting a Feature flag to access the updates, we were impressed. Perhaps we had low expectations based on what had gone before, but, freed of cruft, the results were clearer, and the whole experience snappier. Microsoft did not say when the updates would reach general availability. However, Windows 11 26H2 or perhaps before would be a safe bet. ®

Another month, another ambitious idea from Yuri Zaporozhets: a proposal for a standard PC-style BIOS for RISC-V computers. The Harmonic Firmware Initiative, or HFI for short, is simple and appealing in principle, but will be considerably harder to implement. From the project's own description, it aims to provide a BIOS-like experience, familiar from x86 PCs, for RISC-V hardware. When the machine starts, the firmware would identify the system and its hardware, list what peripherals are connected, offer the option to enter a setup program – and then hand over to U-Boot to load an OS. If the name seems familiar, this may be because last month we looked at several of Zaporozhets's previous projects, including his GateMate PC, the System/359 micro-mainframe, his 64-bit RISC-V version of QNX 6 QRV, and most recently, his QSOE RISC-V RTOS, which offers a choice of seL4 or its own in-house kernels. One part of the GateMate RISC-V PC project is a PC-style modular BIOS. This includes a video BIOS for the GateMate PC's bespoke video adapter. The HFI proposal is somewhat different. It's intended to work with an existing, standard RISC-V bootloader, the RISC-V version of the FOSS cross-platform bootloader Das U-Boot. It does include a video BIOS, though, one designed to initialize arbitrary video hardware in a standard way and bring it up to a VGA-like text mode. For now, Zaporozhets is developing HFI on his SiFive HiFive Unmatched. In that motherboard's PCIe slot, he has an old Nvidia GK208 graphics card, and his firmware can initialize that and show a text-based boot-up display, without using any old x86 BIOS code. As well as the homepage, there's also a six-page white paper [PDF] laying out the idea in detail. In this, he does mention what could be seen as a rival – another RISC-V firmware offering, the EDK2 implementation of UEFI. UEFI is large and complex, and the white paper says that most current boards use U-Boot instead. As the last section of the page says, this is an just an invitation with aspirations: "HFI is offered as an initiative, not a product to license. Its reference software is open by construction – HFI BIOS links U-Boot and carries U-Boot's license – and QSOE Systems stewards the whole: the interface specification, a high-quality reference implementation, and the porting to new controllers." It seems like an excellent idea to us. The absence of standard firmware has been a handicap for all Arm-based computers ever since the chips caught on outside Acorn Computers. This is why Arm OSes are hard to transfer from one hardware platform to another, why every phone needs its own ROM images, and it's why the move to Apple Silicon meant the end of the Hackintosh world. It would be very good news for RISC-V if it avoided the same fate. ®

De rivier de Vesder kabbelt rustig voort in de Ardennen. Maar de kolkende massa van vijf jaar geleden, die ver buiten haar oevers trad, laat vele littekens na. Het preventiewerk is begonnen, al is het volgens ingewijden wachten op de volgende overstroming. „Wellicht dat nóg meer schade een mentaliteitsverandering teweegbrengt.”

Al langere tijd bestaat de kritiek dat te weinig ziekenhuizen abortus aanbieden in week 22 of 23 van de zwangerschap als er geen medische noodzaak voor is. Zulke late abortussen zijn emotioneel zwaar, ook voor zorgverleners. Enkele ziekenhuizen hebben zich nu gemeld voor een proef die hier verandering in brengt.

Het terrein voor het aanmeldcentrum in Ter Apel is onveilig voor wachtende asielzoekers. Jongemannen met weinig te verliezen zorgen voor voor onrust en zelfs geweld. „Je zou ervoor moeten zorgen dat zij als een speer door de procedure gaan.”

From Tuesday, members of the regional government will need the governor's personal approval to travel outside the regional capital, Governor Vladimir Vladimirov said.

The rebound marks a reversal from 2025, when bilateral trade fell for the first time in five years.

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de schuursponsvervaardigingswereld?

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de schoonmakers bij Domino Day-wereld?

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de cadeaupapierwereld?

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de servetjesstrijkerswereld?

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de CliniClownwereld?

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de ballenbakwereld?

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de uitvaartbegeleiderswereld?

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de junior adviseur groene leefomgeving in Heerhugowaardwereld?

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de toiletjuffrouwenwereld?

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Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de bibliothecariswereld?

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de prik in frisdrankjes-testerswereld?

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt tin de Dolf Jansen Anti-Aging Face Repair Dagcrèmewereld?

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de Defensiewereld zo tussen 11 jul 1995 – 22 jul 1995 in Bosnië?

Heb jij (n)ooit (n)iets vervelends gemaakt in de wereld?

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de Tim Hofman fanclubwereld?

Heb jij ooit iets vervelends meegemaakt in de comedywereld?

Dan komt Tim Hofman heel graag met je in contact. Mail Tim Hofman. Dat mag van Tim Hofman ook anoniem. Dank alvast (Tim Hofman). 

Groetjes, Tim Hofman

DE COMEDYWERELD HAHA LACHEN

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Quatorze Juliette en France.
C'est un fête en France. Et nous partager et essayer de parler français avec nos voisins

Nothing Doing is an ongoing webcomic by Horse C about roommates, anxiety and having a relatable level of passion for your work. Comics don't need a novel premise if their fundamentals are solid enough.

If you enjoy it, don't neglect the gallery, which contains doodle comics as well as the expected illustrations and sketches.

Government says possum bridges successful, but sceptics question data. The Western Australian government has released night-vision images showing scores of native wildlife are using rope bridges and underpasses along a highway in the South West region, but not everyone is convinced. WA's Main Roads has told the ABC that night-vision cameras have recorded thousands of critters using the mix of 19 rope bridges, 24 underpasses and two land bridges built along the Wilman Wadandi Highway, about 170 kilometres south of Perth. (Australia)

The Strange Worlds Among Us—of Turing, Trans People, and the Road to Laniakea by Ryka Aoki, author of the IMO excellent Light From Uncommon Stars.

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

Hindley Street, Adelaide CBD
The Plaza Hotel was formerly the Grand Coffee Palace and was owned and occupied by Michael C Billett. It was opened by Mr JSP Stutley on 7 March 1891. In 1907 it was almost
‘wholly rebuilt’ with exterior alterations and additions carried out to the value of £3,300.
Council approved these plans on 11 March 1907.
Subsequent alterations and additions were carried out in the 1930s and 1940s by architect Hubert H Cowell. These involved internal alterations and installation of services as well as
shop front alterations to cater for the change in the building use: from Coffee Palace to, in 1938, a hotel when it was known as the Grand Hotel. In 1941, part of the hotel was used as
a furniture shop. From 1957–59 further internal alterations were undertaken as more shops were opened and it was at this time, 1959, that the hotel became known as the Plaza Hotel.
In 1992, the building was used at the ground floor level as a series of shops. The hotel has continued to be remodelled in accordance with social changes that have been reflected in
licensing regulations.
Hubert Cowell was the son of architect Henry J Cowell. Hubert was articled to his father and in 1903–1906 practised architecture in South Africa. On his return he was appointed Town Clerk and Surveyor for the Corporation of Thebarton before joining his father and brother in the partnership of Cowell & Cowell. In 1917 he became a Fellow of the South Australian Institute of Architects serving as Councillor, Honorary Secretary and between 1929–1931 as
President. In 1937 he won the South Australian Housing Trust’s architectural competition for designing its first Trust homes. Between 1937 and 1945, Cowell was responsible for the
design and supervision of more than 2000 homes for the South Australian Housing Trust. He retired in 1966 as Michael Page describes as ‘one of the last survivors from the colonial and Federation eras of architecture.’

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

Young Street, Parkside, South Australia

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

Young Street, Parkside, South Australia

If you listen to the 404 Media podcast by now you probably realized that Joe and I are a little obsessed with a game called Marathon. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve played it for almost 300 hours since it was released in March.

But as much as we’re enjoying it, and there are thousands of players who feel the same, Marathon so far has failed to find the audience we’d expect from the developer that made Halo, Destiny, and which a few years ago acquired by PlayStation for more than $3 billion. It’s bad news for Marathon fans and a good sign for how much the video game business has changed over the years.  

I wanted to have Remap Radio host Robert Zacny on the podcast because much like me and Joe, he’s been obsessed with Marathon as well. One of Rob’s greatest skills is dissecting how and why games get their hooks into us, and what a game’s popularity, or lack thereof in Marathon’s case, might reveal about the state of the industry and culture more broadly. 

404 Media is a journalist-founded company and needs your support. To subscribe, go to 404media.co. As well as bonus content every single week, subscribers get access to additional episodes where we respond to their best comments. Subscribers also get early access to our interview series. Gain access to that content at 404media.co.

Listen to the weekly podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. 

Become a paid subscriber for early access to these interview episodes and to power our journalism. If you become a paid subscriber, check your inbox for an email from our podcast host Transistor for a link to the subscribers-only version! You can also add that subscribers feed to your podcast app of choice and never miss an episode that way. The email should also contain the subscribers-only unlisted YouTube link for the extended video version too. It will also be in the show notes in your podcast player.

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

The LGBTQ+ Legislation Tracking Project, tracing & visualizing 10,350 LGBTQ+ bills introduced in the US since 2003. Anti-trans bills have dominated since ~2014.