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Microsoft is building a new feature for its AI assistant, Copilot, called Live Portraits, spotted by TestingCatalog. It’s still experimental and not available yet, but it looks like it will give users a dedicated interface to choose from different visual styles of male and female figures. But hold your horses; if you could click on one right now, it would just send you to a bare-bones placeholder for voice chats. The idea here seems to be Microsoft trying to make Copilot feel a bit more like a real, visual thing you are talking to, not just a disembodied voice, maybe even letting people cook up their own custom avatars down the line. TestingCatalog also uncovered internal references to "3D generations," though details on how it works remain scarce, with TestingCatalog claiming the company "might be building out real-time, visually expressive characters—akin to animated assistants powered by generative media." Now, this whole Live Portraits business makes you wonder what is going to happen with that "Copilot Characters" AI personas idea that was floated around before. As TestingCatalog notes, it is entirely possible Microsoft will just mash both concepts together, giving you a range from fixed, cartoony characters to these more customizable 3D portraits. The difference seems to be that while "Characters" were more for fun and casual use, Live Portraits appear to be aimed at adults who want a polished, professional-looking avatar for their AI assistant. Microsoft is apparently testing Live Portraits alongside some other significant upgrades, like better OneDrive uploads and updates to Copilot Pages and Memories. The new portrait-style system will probably be arriving on the web first, particularly in areas where Copilot handles voice interactions. The desktop version might follow later. Source and Images: TestingCatalog Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of May): 2,377 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Microsoft last week released new Dynamic updates for Windows 11 version 24H2 as well as Server 2025. This followed the updates released for Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2 (under KB5058502) and Windows 11 24H2 (under KB5058499). The new update, just like the previous one, actually mentions a release note for the Recoery update. Dynamic updates bring improvements to the Windows Recovery in the form of Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) updates, also called Safe OS updates, as well as to the Setup binaries in the form of Setup updates. These Dynamic Update packages are meant to be applied to existing Windows images prior to their deployment. These packages include fixes to Setup.exe binaries, SafeOS updates for Windows Recovery Environment, and more. Dynamic Updates also help preserve Language Pack (LP) and Features on Demand (FODs) content during the upgrade process. VBScript, for example, is currently an FOD on Windows 11 24H2. First up, we have the Setup update which still continues with the generic changelog. It says: "KB5060614: Setup Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025: May 28, 2025 Summary This update makes improvements to Windows setup binaries or any files that setup uses for feature updates in Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025." Up next, we have the WinRE update. It notes system stability improvements for Kerberos with bug fixes related to LSASS ( Local Security Authority Subsystem Service). This reminds of the recent KB5061768 out-of-band update for Windows 10 BitLocker bootloops that was also related to LSASS. For those wondering, the LSASS helps authenticate users for local and remote sign-ins and enforce local security policies to prevent code injection that could lead to the compromise of credentials. It is part of the Local Security Authority (LSA) process: "KB5059693: Safe OS Dynamic Update for Windows 11, version 24H2 and Server 2025: May 28, 2025 Summary This update makes improvements to the Windows recovery environment in Windows 11, version 24H2 and Windows Server 2025. This update addresses the following issue: [Kerberos] Fixed: An issue affecting the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) during Windows Recovery Environment operations. LSASS may crash when an application calls a specific function. This leads to system instability." Microsoft notes that the WinRE update will be downloaded and installed automatically via the Windows Update channel. However, the Setup update requires manual downloading. You can find them both here: KB5060614 / KB5059693. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of May): 2,377 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

It's a new month, and FreeBSD 14.3 Release Candidate 1 is now available for testing, bringing some useful updates you might find handy, especially if you're into containers. A very welcome development with this RC1 is that The FreeBSD Project has begun publishing official Open Container Initiative (OCI) images to both Docker Hub and GitHub repositories. This is a significant improvement because it massively simplifies spinning up FreeBSD instances within containerized environments, making FreeBSD much more accessible for these kinds of modern deployment scenarios. Aside from that, the default pkg.conf file has been updated to include the FreeBSD-kmods repository that helps manage the various kernel modules (or kmods). This might seem like a small tweak, but it simplifies the process of getting extra kernel modules installed directly via pkg. The sound subsystem also received a neat update that terminates audio streams when virtual channels are closed; this particular change is geared towards providing significant power savings. As a release candidate, 14.3 RC1 also bundles a collection of important bug fixes, continuing the stabilization work we saw several weeks ago when we reported on 14.3 Beta 3. While that beta brought a significant convenience for desktop users looking to easily set up a modern graphical environment, this RC1 shifts focus with several under-the-hood improvements, including a fix for a tricky Wi-Fi driver issue causing problems on arm64 systems and a kernel panic related to mac_do when INVARIANTS are enabled. Just as a reminder, FreeBSD 14.3 is mainly focused on polish and stability (it's a point release, after all), with the bigger changes expected in FreeBSD 15.0 later in 2025. As with most release candidates, users are encouraged to download the RC1 images, give them a good test, and share any bugs they find to help make the final version better. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of May): 2,377 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Samsung and Google have been long-standing partners. In addition to powering Samsung Galaxy devices with Android, Google's Gemini AI has been powering many of Samsung's other products, including the upcoming Galaxy XR smart glasses. A bunch of Galaxy A-series phones allow for faster Gemini AI access through the side button. But that doesn't mean Samsung isn't working on innovation on their end. The company was recently spotted with a new car-integration software, Samsung Auto, that could rival Google's Android Auto. Now, fresh news has popped up suggesting Samsung could be nearing a deal with another AI company to bring their advanced AI features to Galaxy devices. According to Bloomberg, Samsung is reportedly finalizing a deal with AI giant Perplexity AI to bring their advanced AI search and assistant to Galaxy devices. This move is considered a strategy to shift the balance of power in mobile search and digital assistants, where Google has an unprecedented edge. Sources close to the matter believe that once the deal goes through, Samsung will preload Perplexity AI search tools and an assistant on future Galaxy devices. Interestingly, there is a strong belief that this could happen as early as the Galaxy S26 lineup, due next year in January 2026. The report also suggests that both companies have also talked about integrating Perplexity AI's features into Samsung's Bixby assistant and Samsung Internet Browser. Samsung is also purportedly planning to be the leading investor in the AI startup with its upcoming $500 million funding at a $14 billion valuation. This would be Perplexity's second major smartphone partnership yet, after recently partnering with Motorola. While both Samsung and Perplexity haven't responded to this news, it could be a big upset for Google. This move allegedly means that Samsung wants to cut down its reliance on Google and pave the way to "work with a mix of AI developers," similar to Apple's way of dealing with AI-related services. Image via Depositphotos Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of May): 2,377 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend