Enlarge / The Outlook for Windows web app is included by default in the latest Dev channel Windows Insider build. (credit: Microsoft)

Windows 11's next major release continues to take shape in the company's Dev channel Insider Preview builds, and last month, Microsoft added the first preview of the AI-powered Windows Copilot feature. This week's build makes a few other noteworthy changes , replacing Windows' built-in Mail and Calendar apps with the work-in-progress Outlook for Windows app, changing how the operating system displays emoji, improving Windows' local file-sharing capabilities, and more.

Microsoft has been working on the Outlook for Windows progressive web app for a couple of years now. The version in the Windows 11 build is labeled as a preview, and it's still missing fairly significant features, including IMAP support for third-party mail services, iCloud Mail support, and an offline mode (though it does support multiple accounts now). It also left the Mail and Calendar apps installed on my test PC, though this may change by the time it's released to the public—Microsoft has said that it will continue offering Mail and Calendar in the Windows Store through the end of 2024 before discontinuing both of them.

For third-party services that Outlook for Windows does support, like Gmail, the Outlook app will sync a copy of your email, calendar, and contacts with Microsoft's servers rather than communicating directly with Google's servers and storing files locally as a traditional mail client would. This makes it so third-party mail accounts get all the same features and benefits as Microsoft accounts when used in Outlook for Windows, but it also means there's a second copy of all of your data out there, subject to both companies' privacy policies and security breaches.

Enlarge / The Outlook for Windows web app is included by default in the latest Dev channel Windows Insider build. (credit: Microsoft)

Windows 11's next major release continues to take shape in the company's Dev channel Insider Preview builds, and last month, Microsoft added the first preview of the AI-powered Windows Copilot feature. This week's build makes a few other noteworthy changes , replacing Windows' built-in Mail and Calendar apps with the work-in-progress Outlook for Windows app, changing how the operating system displays emoji, improving Windows' local file-sharing capabilities, and more.

Microsoft has been working on the Outlook for Windows progressive web app for a couple of years now. The version in the Windows 11 build is labeled as a preview, and it's still missing fairly significant features, including IMAP support for third-party mail services, iCloud Mail support, and an offline mode (though it does support multiple accounts now). It also left the Mail and Calendar apps installed on my test PC, though this may change by the time it's released to the public—Microsoft has said that it will continue offering Mail and Calendar in the Windows Store through the end of 2024 before discontinuing both of them.

For third-party services that Outlook for Windows does support, like Gmail, the Outlook app will sync a copy of your email, calendar, and contacts with Microsoft's servers rather than communicating directly with Google's servers and storing files locally as a traditional mail client would. This makes it so third-party mail accounts get all the same features and benefits as Microsoft accounts when used in Outlook for Windows, but it also means there's a second copy of all of your data out there, subject to both companies' privacy policies and security breaches.

Enlarge / The Outlook for Windows web app is included by default in the latest Dev channel Windows Insider build. (credit: Microsoft)

Windows 11's next major release continues to take shape in the company's Dev channel Insider Preview builds, and last month, Microsoft added the first preview of the AI-powered Windows Copilot feature. This week's build makes a few other noteworthy changes , replacing Windows' built-in Mail and Calendar apps with the work-in-progress Outlook for Windows app, changing how the operating system displays emoji, improving Windows' local file-sharing capabilities, and more.

Microsoft has been working on the Outlook for Windows progressive web app for a couple of years now. The version in the Windows 11 build is labeled as a preview, and it's still missing fairly significant features, including IMAP support for third-party mail services, iCloud Mail support, and an offline mode (though it does support multiple accounts now). It also left the Mail and Calendar apps installed on my test PC, though this may change by the time it's released to the public—Microsoft has said that it will continue offering Mail and Calendar in the Windows Store through the end of 2024 before discontinuing both of them.

For third-party services that Outlook for Windows does support, like Gmail, the Outlook app will sync a copy of your email, calendar, and contacts with Microsoft's servers rather than communicating directly with Google's servers and storing files locally as a traditional mail client would. This makes it so third-party mail accounts get all the same features and benefits as Microsoft accounts when used in Outlook for Windows, but it also means there's a second copy of all of your data out there, subject to both companies' privacy policies and security breaches.

Enlarge / Nine main engines propel a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket off its launch pad earlier this year. (credit: SpaceX )

The US Space Force, long content with using just one or two contractors to carry the military’s most vital satellites into orbit, has announced it will seek a third provider for national security launch services in its next multibillion-dollar round of rocket procurement.

This is good news for Blue Origin, which has long sought to join the ranks of United Launch Alliance and SpaceX as the military’s preferred launch contractors. The Space Force has spent the last few months refining how it will purchase launch services for military satellites and National Reconnaissance Office spy payloads in the late 2020s and early 2030s.

Pardon the jargon

In February, the Space Force unveiled a “dual-lane” acquisition strategy that will include two tiers of space missions.

Enlarge / Nine main engines propel a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket off its launch pad earlier this year. (credit: SpaceX )

The US Space Force, long content with using just one or two contractors to carry the military’s most vital satellites into orbit, has announced it will seek a third provider for national security launch services in its next multibillion-dollar round of rocket procurement.

This is good news for Blue Origin, which has long sought to join the ranks of United Launch Alliance and SpaceX as the military’s preferred launch contractors. The Space Force has spent the last few months refining how it will purchase launch services for military satellites and National Reconnaissance Office spy payloads in the late 2020s and early 2030s.

Pardon the jargon

In February, the Space Force unveiled a “dual-lane” acquisition strategy that will include two tiers of space missions.

Enlarge / Nine main engines propel a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket off its launch pad earlier this year. (credit: SpaceX )

The US Space Force, long content with using just one or two contractors to carry the military’s most vital satellites into orbit, has announced it will seek a third provider for national security launch services in its next multibillion-dollar round of rocket procurement.

This is good news for Blue Origin, which has long sought to join the ranks of United Launch Alliance and SpaceX as the military’s preferred launch contractors. The Space Force has spent the last few months refining how it will purchase launch services for military satellites and National Reconnaissance Office spy payloads in the late 2020s and early 2030s.

Pardon the jargon

In February, the Space Force unveiled a “dual-lane” acquisition strategy that will include two tiers of space missions.

Enlarge / Signage outside the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. facility under construction in Phoenix, Arizona. (credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg )

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) was supposed to have its first Arizona chip factory operational by late 2024 but now has confirmed significant delays. Primarily due to a shortage of technical workers with critical expertise in the US, TSMC projects to finish construction instead by 2025.

This is an "ominous delay," Bloomberg reported , and it comes right when investment in AI is booming. TSMC is a leading supplier of AI chips, and the Biden administration is scrambling to quickly expand the US domestic chip industry. But the delay wasn't necessarily unexpected, ASML Holding NV CEO Peter Wennink told Bloomberg. Wennink's company is one of the world's leading producers of chipmaking equipment, and he said that getting access to skilled workers is a common cause of setbacks when building semiconductor fabrication plants, also known as fabs.

“People don’t seem to realize that when we start building those fabs across the globe now and are everywhere, that skill has been refined over the last couple of decades in only a few places on the planet—predominantly in Taiwan and in Korea and a bit in China,” said Wennink. “Getting access to the requisite skills and skilled workers to keep the construction plan on time is a challenge.”

Enlarge / Signage outside the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. facility under construction in Phoenix, Arizona. (credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg )

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) was supposed to have its first Arizona chip factory operational by late 2024 but now has confirmed significant delays. Primarily due to a shortage of technical workers with critical expertise in the US, TSMC projects to finish construction instead by 2025.

This is an "ominous delay," Bloomberg reported , and it comes right when investment in AI is booming. TSMC is a leading supplier of AI chips, and the Biden administration is scrambling to quickly expand the US domestic chip industry. But the delay wasn't necessarily unexpected, ASML Holding NV CEO Peter Wennink told Bloomberg. Wennink's company is one of the world's leading producers of chipmaking equipment, and he said that getting access to skilled workers is a common cause of setbacks when building semiconductor fabrication plants, also known as fabs.

“People don’t seem to realize that when we start building those fabs across the globe now and are everywhere, that skill has been refined over the last couple of decades in only a few places on the planet—predominantly in Taiwan and in Korea and a bit in China,” said Wennink. “Getting access to the requisite skills and skilled workers to keep the construction plan on time is a challenge.”

Enlarge / Signage outside the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. facility under construction in Phoenix, Arizona. (credit: Bloomberg / Contributor | Bloomberg )

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) was supposed to have its first Arizona chip factory operational by late 2024 but now has confirmed significant delays. Primarily due to a shortage of technical workers with critical expertise in the US, TSMC projects to finish construction instead by 2025.

This is an "ominous delay," Bloomberg reported , and it comes right when investment in AI is booming. TSMC is a leading supplier of AI chips, and the Biden administration is scrambling to quickly expand the US domestic chip industry. But the delay wasn't necessarily unexpected, ASML Holding NV CEO Peter Wennink told Bloomberg. Wennink's company is one of the world's leading producers of chipmaking equipment, and he said that getting access to skilled workers is a common cause of setbacks when building semiconductor fabrication plants, also known as fabs.

“People don’t seem to realize that when we start building those fabs across the globe now and are everywhere, that skill has been refined over the last couple of decades in only a few places on the planet—predominantly in Taiwan and in Korea and a bit in China,” said Wennink. “Getting access to the requisite skills and skilled workers to keep the construction plan on time is a challenge.”