News
- Windows 11's File Explorer is receiving major improvements via the latest preview update
- File Explorer should perform much faster, including mounting disk images
- The update is currently in the rollout process
Microsoft is still hard at work fixing pain points within Windows 11 for its users. While this case isn't focused on gaming improvements, it addresses an issue that should improve one of the operating system's fundamental aspects.
As reported by Windows Latest, Microsoft is rolling out File Explorer improvements with its latest preview update, KB5095093. The update includes much better speed and performance of the File Explorer and increased responsiveness when mounting disk images.
This is a long-awaited update for Windows 11 users, as File Explorer hasn't always been the most responsive or fastest, especially compared to macOS or SteamOS, both of which feature fairly responsive file managers.
It's also worth noting that PC hardware, specifically SSD speeds and storage space, can have an impact on loading times. Still, the onus has been on Microsoft to fix its Windows 11 File Explorer, which has been noticeably slow even with a high-speed SSD — so this update is very much necessary.
(Image credit: Surface/Unsplash)Perhaps the most important improvement being rolled out is better performance for mounting disk images, which was arguably the worst aspect of Windows 11's File Explorer. This would often result in a five-minute wait for the disk image to fully open, and that's frustrating, especially for users with high-speed hardware.
Windows Latest also highlights that the 'Properties' tab on a file will be seeing a visual overhaul, with a more modern look using WinUI 3, as opposed to the Windows 95-era UI.
It's great to see Microsoft address these issues, seemingly as a wider attempt to improve Windows 11's functionality and appearance due to consistent user complaints. For sure, there's still more to be desired in the game performance aspect, but Microsoft should get praise where it's due.
My only concern is a potential update that could undo all of the hard work, since Windows 11 updates are notorious for breaking functionality, whether that's via File Explorer or as far as GPU stability — which have previously impacted Nvidia GPU users.
At SAP Sapphire in Orlando, Christian Klein put it plainly: “For the mission-critical processes of our customers, almost right just isn’t good enough.”
It was the line that crystallized the Autonomous Enterprise vision, and it is also the line that should reframe how every operations leader thinks about AI for the next eighteen months.
Sapphire made one thing unambiguous. AI is becoming visible at the top of the stack.
Joule (or your chosen equivalent) is being positioned as the new front door to enterprise software, with more than two hundred agents and over fifty assistants spanning finance, supply chain, procurement, HCM, and customer experience. Users will increasingly describe an outcome and let agents orchestrate the work across SAP and non-SAP systems.
That is the visible layer. There is also an invisible one, and it is the one that determines whether any of this actually delivers.
Agents only behave as well as the operational substrate they run on. They need systems that are healthy, observable, and consistent enough to act on safely. They need clean process telemetry, automated remediation when things break, and governance that extends across the hybrid landscape most large enterprises actually run. Without that foundation, agentic AI does not reduce operational risk. It multiplies it.
This is what future-proofing now means. Less about adopting the latest model, more about building the operational layer underneath it so that agents become a source of measurable outcomes rather than a source of new incidents.
The opportunity is significant for organizations that get this right. Two groups are forming. Those who have built the operational readiness to let agents execute, and those who will spend the next two years discovering they have not.
Pragmatism in ERP transformationEnterprises are navigating significant transitions in their core systems, and the 2027 SAP ECC end-of-mainstream-maintenance deadline is the most visible forcing function. But the SAPinsider 2026 research surfaces a more interesting signal underneath it. AI readiness is now cited by 43% of organizations as the primary driver of their transformation investment, ranking above the deadline itself. The deadline creates urgency. AI readiness creates direction.
For many large enterprises, the preferred approach is not wholesale reinvention but incremental change. Brownfield migration has become a common starting point. It allows organizations to move existing systems to modern platforms while preserving established processes and minimizing disruption. In complex landscapes with extensive integrations and dependencies, that level of continuity is non-negotiable.
A brownfield approach also provides a structured path forward. It enables organizations to stabilize their core systems before introducing further innovation, including agentic AI. The transition to cloud ERP software plays a central role here. Managed, scalable environments establish the platform that supports both current operations and future capabilities, with continuous updates and easier integration of new services.
This foundation matters particularly for AI. As intelligent features become embedded within enterprise applications, cloud platforms provide the IT infrastructure needed to support them at scale. From advanced analytics to autonomous execution, AI capabilities are increasingly delivered as part of the platform rather than as separate tools.
During these transitions, most organizations operate in hybrid environments that combine on-premises and cloud systems. This state can persist for years, introducing complexity in governance, monitoring, and integration. Managing hybrid operations effectively requires clear definitions of roles and responsibilities, and an operational substrate that is observable, automatable, and consistent across the entire landscape.
As legacy solutions reach the end of life, organizations are reassessing how they support operations in this mixed environment, and the bar is rising.
AI as invisible infrastructure, AI as visible interactionThe Sapphire announcements make clear that AI is now operating at two layers, and both have to work.
At the interaction layer, AI is becoming the front door. Joule Work, the Autonomous Suite, and the broader agentic stack are designed to let users interact with enterprise systems through conversation and outcomes rather than screens and clicks. This is the visible AI, and it is what most of the industry will spend the next year talking about.
At the execution layer, AI is also becoming part of the underlying infrastructure. It will show up in observability, in automated remediation, in capacity and performance management, in the operational disciplines that have always determined whether mission-critical systems actually behave. This is the invisible AI, and it is what determines whether the visible layer delivers.
Lacking context is the number one reason enterprise AI projects fail to deliver value. Operational data, process telemetry, and the live state of the landscape are a critical part of that context. Agents that act on stale, incomplete, or unobservable systems will produce confident answers that quietly create new failure modes. Agents that act on a well-instrumented, well-automated estate will deliver the outcomes Sapphire promised.
This is why operational readiness is emerging as the real differentiator. Two groups are forming. Those who have built the foundation that lets agents execute reliably, and those who have never closed the gap between AI ambition and operational reality. The divide is not driven by access to technology. AI capabilities are increasingly available across major platforms. The divide is driven by whether the operational layer is ready to absorb them.
Positioning for long-term resilienceFor enterprise and technology leaders, the convergence of cloud transformation and agentic AI presents a clearer opportunity than at any previous point in the SAP cycle. The path forward is not defined by rapid disruption but by deliberate, sustained evolution.
Future-proofing now means building the foundation that lets continuous improvement happen safely. It involves modernising core systems, embracing incremental change, and ensuring that emerging capabilities, especially agentic ones, can be integrated into operations without expanding the risk surface.
As AI becomes embedded across both the interaction layer and the execution layer, success will depend on how well organisations have prepared for both. The goal is intelligent operations that deliver tangible business outcomes, with AI serving as the enabler at every level of the stack. Resilience, adaptability, and operational discipline are the disciplines that will define long-term competitiveness in the autonomous enterprise era.
We list the best business cloud storage services.
This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.
The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit
- Mullvad VPN's co-founder Daniel Berntsson donated 5M SEK to the Örebro Party
- Mullvad confirms the donation "is not part of Mullvad's values or mission"
- Örebro party's leader, Markus Allard, is known for controversial views
Daniel Berntsson, co-founder and co-owner of Mullvad VPN, has donated 5 million Swedish kronor (around $514,000) of his personal funds to the controversial populist Örebro Party.
First reported by local news outlet Flamman, the 2025 donation accounted for 72% of the party's total income last year.
"This is a donation from me personally," Berntsson told reporters, saying that he supports the party's anti-corruption stance. In a post on social media, Mullvad confirmed that it was a "private donation," which "is not part of Mullvad's values or mission."
The disclosure has sparked backlash online, with some users threatening to switch VPN providers. The Örebro Party and its leader, Markus Allard, are known for controversial populist stances, particularly regarding "remigration" policies.
Mullvad's responseSpeaking to TechRadar, Mullvad co-CEO Fredrik Strömberg confirmed that neither Mullvad VPN AB, its parent company Amagicom AB, nor its sister company Tillitis AB played any role in supporting the political party.
"Speaking for myself, I don’t like that he made this donation, and I know this view is shared by many of my colleagues. Speaking as the co-CEO of Mullvad, we will continue to protect the universal right to privacy," Strömberg said.
The firm also addressed the controversy publicly. In a statement posted to X, the team reiterated that Mullvad operates as a "political company" dedicated to fighting for freedom of speech, freedom of information, and the universal right to privacy.
Mullvad is a political company. We fight for freedom of speech, freedom of information and the right to privacy. These are firmly held values of the founders of Mullvad.Mullvad protects the right for people to express things we don't agree with. We protect the right of everyone…June 27, 2026
"We also live these values by being tolerant in our daily work," the post continues. "No matter what their other opinions are and no matter whether the founders or anyone else in Mullvad dislike them. The founders themselves fundamentally disagree on several important issues."
Mullvad said it would "gladly refund" any customers who choose to cancel their subscriptions or switch to another provider due to philosophical disagreements.
The news has attracted criticism, in fact.
One Reddit user said they "deeply regret recommending Mullvad to people over Proton," adding that they will personally switch to Windscribe.
Asked about users thinking of dropping their Mullvad subscription, Strömberg told TechRadar that people should feel safe using Mullvad regardless of their political affiliation.
Why is the donation so controversial?Defining itself outside the traditional left-right spectrum, the Örebro Party began as a local party in Örebro before launching its parliamentary election campaign this year.
Berntsson's donation appears to have been vital in elevating the party's campaign capabilities ahead of the upcoming election.
According to data collected by DonationWatch, 2025 was the most lucrative year in the party’s history, netting a total of 5.58 million SEK. For comparison, the party received just 202,000 SEK in total donations throughout 2024.
While tech founders are entirely free to hold personal political affiliations, this incident raises broader questions regarding the growing influence of tech wealth in political campaigns. It also forces a conversation about whether privacy-focused firms should be entangled with political groups—regardless of where they sit on the ideological spectrum.
Ultimately, the number of users who choose to cancel their Mullvad subscriptions in protest will serve as a strong indicator of how deeply the privacy-conscious community values neutrality.
- Android's earthquake warnings reached 11.4m Venezuelans last week
- The feature is now installed on 2.5 billion Android phones
- If you live in a country covered by the feature, it should be enabled by default
Since 2021, Android phones have come with a built-in earthquake detection feature — and according to Google's figures, it was able to give 11.4 million people advance warning of the devastating double earthquakes that hit Venezuela on June 24.
That number comes from the New York Times, with the early alert arriving up to two minutes before the earth started trembling. The first alerts were dispatched just nine seconds after the earthquake started underground, according to Google.
The system works by using the accelerometers built into Android phones to detect faster, milder seismic waves known as p-waves. This data is automatically anonymized and reported in the background to Google, and once there are enough matching reports, an alert gets pinged out to all Android users who might be affected.
Phones have to be stationary to qualify as earthquake detectors — measurements from phones on the move aren't counted — and the earthquake has to be a magnitude 4.5 or greater to trigger a warning. For more densely populated areas, with more Android phones in them, the alerts get pushed out more quickly.
In three specific US states — California, Washington, and Oregon — the Android warnings rely on actual seismic monitoring data from a network of 1,675 sensors that make up the ShakeAlert system, run by the US Geological Survey.
How to enable earthquake warningsSafety information is also included (Image credit: Google / Future)The Android Earthquake Alerts System is enabled by default on modern Android phones: to check from Settings, tap Safety and emergency then Earthquake alerts. You do need to be in one of the 98 supported countries though, listed by Google here, which include Australia and the United States.
How close you are to the epicenter affects the alerts you see in the event of an earthquake. The most serious warnings will break through any Do Not Disturb settings you've got in place, take up the full screen, and play a loud sound. If less serious shaking is expected, you might just get a normal pop-up notification.
As of last year, Google says the Android Earthquake Alerts System has detected more than 18,000 earthquakes worldwide, and sent out over 2,000 alerts. The feature means that at least 2.5 billion people worldwide have access to an earthquake early warning system, even if nothing is in place at the government level.
This isn't something you can currently get on iPhones however, not even with a Google app. What iOS can do is pass on official warnings from authorities, including for earthquakes: From Settings, tap Notifications, and you'll see toggle switches for Extreme Alerts and Severe Alerts.
It's not clear how many deaths or injuries may have been prevented by the Android warning system in the case of the Venezuela quake, but it seems millions got alerts at least a few seconds in advance that something was about to happen.