After years of frustration, Windows has quickly addressed two significant issues that have long annoyed users. One problem seemed to be a bug. The other was maddeningly tedious.
However, within a month, Microsoft introduced two key updates to its Windows operating system that finally address two significant problems for users worldwide. The improvements are just two of many that have occurred recently; Microsoft has also upgraded the Start menu.
Windows fixes the “update and shut down” bug
Say goodbye to a drained laptop battery
Windows seems to have fixed a bug where the “Update and shut down” feature didn’t actually shut down one’s computer. Instead, it restarted the device, which might lead to a drained battery when the user returned, thinking they had turned off their laptop.
The “Update and shut down” bug was so flawed and lasted so long that it became the subject of memes like the one above.
The madness came to an end late last month in the form of an October 28 update from Microsoft that spells out the fix plainly:
Improved: Addressed underlying issue which can cause “Update and shutdown” to not actually shut down your PC after updating.
Windows also makes it easy to add em dashes
Writers, rejoice
The other fix might pertain to writers fond of the em dash (“—”) in their writing. In the past, an em dash required the tedious ALT + 0151 keyboard shortcut. If you regularly switch between a MacBook and a Windows machine like me, you know this annoyance well. If you didn’t have a numeric keypad, it was even more difficult. MakeUseOf even published a how-to article for writing em dashes.
As a workaround, many Windows users I know just had the em dash in a text file on their desktop, copying and pasting it from that file into whatever they were writing. You could also use plugins to get around it, but they were imperfect solutions. That all changed via a September 29 update, which noted that the em dash keyboard shortcut change would be part of a gradual rollout to users.
Here’s how to make en and em dashes on Windows now, via Microsoft:
Insert dashes with new keyboard shortcuts. You can quickly insert an en dash (–) or em dash (—) while typing. Press Windows logo key+Minus (-) to insert an en dash, and Windows logo key+Shift+Minus (-) to insert an em dash. If Magnifier is running, Windows logo key+hyphen (-) will zoom out Magnifier instead of inserting an en dash.
Justice for the em dash?
This change could save its reputation
As ChatGPT use has exploded in the last few years, certain telltale signs have emerged that someone might be using the chatbot to write while attempting to pass the AI-generated content off as their own work. One of those tells was the use of an em dash.
It was a smear that writers abhorred, because a phrase set off by em dashes — like this one right here — was a way to add rhythm and voice to a news article.
Since ChatGPT is trained on millions of news articles, and em dashes are frequently used in journalism, it was only natural that em dashes began to appear in ChatGPT-generated text. This gave the em dash something of a bad reputation in that if it was in your copy, it was a signal — however unfair an accusation — that you were a cheater.
With this long-overdue change by Microsoft, em dashes might show up more often in human-written copy, and as we know, the more frequent something becomes the less stigma it has around it. This change could result in justice for the em dash.
Are more Windows fixes on the way?
With Windows 10 support from Microsoft officially ending last month, Windows users who have been holding out on making the switch to Windows 11 might see these udpates — and more to come in the future — as a signal that Microsoft wants to make its OS more user friendly, not just for the new converts but also for power users who have been frustrated for years by the quirkts of Windows.
