Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Okay, so you’ve heard of PowerToys. But did you know that there’s a configuration component of Windows 11’s settings called Advanced Windows Settings that, like PowerToys, is independently developed & updated via the Microsoft Store (or GitHub)?

Advanced Windows Settings requires Windows 11 21H2 (build 22000) or later & provides additional functionality to the Advanced page inside Windows settings. The Advanced settings page in Windows (formerly known as For Developers) brings together settings that help developers and power users be more productive. Open it directly via System > Advanced in Windows Settings.

(It includes one of my favorite hidden features of Windows, “End Task”. which enables “end task” menu item from the taskbar by rick clicking on it.)

• DOWNLOAD: Install the Advanced Windows Settings directly from the Microsoft Store:
  https://aka.ms/WindowsAdvancedSettings
• DOCUMENTATION: Review the documentation for Windows Advanced Settings here:
  https://aka.ms/WindowsAdvancedSettingsDocs
• CONTRIBUTE: This is an open source project and we welcome community participation. To participate, please visit https://github.com/microsoft/windowsAdvancedSettings

This month, we’re launching the “AI at Work Webinar: Copilot, Apps, and Agents“.
(Part of the “Microsoft 365 Copilot Roadmap: What’s New & Available” webinar series)

If there’s one thing we hear a lot, it’s that it feels like there’s a new feature, agent, or announcement every month, and finding the time to stay on top of it all isn’t easy.

That’s where this new webinar comes in. Each month, we’ll bring together updates from across Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Dynamics 365, and other AI-powered experiences into one place, making it easier to stay on top of what’s new, what’s coming next, and why it matters.

What you can expect each month:

• Updates across Copilot, Copilot Studio, Dynamics 365, and agents
• What’s coming next and why it matters
• Demos of the latest features available
• Live Q&A with experts to answer your questions

Hope to see you there!

• 📅 Aug. 25 | 9:00AM – 10:00AM PT
• 🔗 Register: http://aka.ms/copilotroadmap/webinar
  (https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=3651815289)

When evaluating Microsoft cloud services for alignment with US government regulatory compliance, it’s useful to have an online reference to understand how Microsoft categorizes the services it audits & what the opportunity for compliance is that Microsoft offers on a per-regulatory & per-service category level.

For example, for State & Local Government, Microsoft 365 GCC offers the opportunity for compliance with regulations such as:

• FBI CJIS – Law Enforcement, Justice
• IRS Tax 1075 – Finance, Tax
• FedRAMP Mod/High- Public Utilities (Power, Water)
• NERC/CIP – Public Utilities (Power)

Richard Wakeman, US Public Sector Specialist (Federal & Defense Industry Base) maintains online documentation year after year on Microsoft’s aggregate cloud services alignment with State & Local Government compliance requirements:

This article is the second of a series in the Microsoft Tech Community Public Sector Blog and touches on several key principles for compliance, including data residency versus data sovereignty.  For the first article in the series, please refer to History of Microsoft Cloud Service Offerings leading to the US Sovereign Cloud for Government.  To keep this article concise, I will refrain from repeating content from the first. I recommend that you review the first article if you are unfamiliar with the architectural relationships between Azure, Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365.In this article, we will focus on each of the US-based cloud offerings from Microsoft and compare the differences in compliance, including the compendium of common factors customers may use to decide which of our offerings align with current and future requirements in demonstrating compliance with US Government regulations and underlying cybersecurity frameworks.

Read the article in its entirety at:

• Understanding Compliance Between Commercial, Government, DoD & Secret Offerings
  https://aka.ms/MSGovCompliance

Earlier this year, our Director of Solutions Engineering for State & Local Government, Mike Smucny, documented the process for setting up a CJI-auditable Azure Commercial environment to allow law enforcement & justice agencies to deliver a CJI-ready, secure “Azure Commercial” cloud instance – mitigating the need for using “Azure Government”.

This blog focuses on the technical controls required to use Azure Commercial for CJIS workloads. With the release of CJIS Security Policy 6.0 in late 2024, agencies now have a clear pathway to leverage Azure Commercial through Customer Managed Keys (CMK) and other advanced security measures, rather than relying solely on vendor personnel screening. However, it’s critical to understand: Microsoft provides the tools; your agency and your state CJIS Systems Agency (CSA) determine compliance. 3/19/2026 Update Step 3.b-Confidential Computing Clarification: Azure Commercial and Customer Managed Key (CMK) encryption satisfy the requirements of the CJIS Security Policy but customers can choose to add an additional control through a Confidential Computing enclave.

We have documented a “Step-by-Step Walkthrough for CJIS 6.0 in Azure Commercial” that breaks down the process of establishing a CJI-auditable configuration in multiple phases:

• Phase 1: Foundation & Residency
• Phase 2: The “Technical Control” (Encryption)
• Phase 3: Identity & Access (CJIS 6.0 Focus)
• Phase 4: Continuous Monitoring
• Phase 5: Endpoint & Mobile
• Phase 6: Personnel & Documentation

To review the complete walkthrough, visit:

• Azure Government or Azure Commercial for CJIS 6.0: Choosing Your Compliance Path | Microsoft Community Hub
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/publicsectorblog/azure-government-or-azure-commercial-for-cjis-6-0-choosing-your-compliance-path/4494085?previewMessage=true

If you require guidance to implement the above walkthrough, work through your Unified Services to request a Cloud Solutions Architect. Additionally, there are Microsoft Partners that can assist with this as well.

Are you invested in Microsoft 365 Copilot? Have you deployed Copilot Analytics? Are you sufficiently monitoring your Copilot usage, adoption, impact & value?

Copilot Analytics Labs is a hands-on hub to build with, learn from, and preview what’s next in Copilot Analytics. The site includes:

• Build with ready-to-use assets: Templates, code, and prompts to plug into your own data.
  • Step-by-step templates to build dashboards across adoption, usage, impact, and business value, using data sources beyond Viva.
  • Runnable scripts, prompt libraries, and analytical methods in Python, R, and Power BI, adapt them to your org’s data.
• Proof from real deployments: Playbooks, research, and demos from real customer rollouts.
  • Adoption playbooks, methodology guides, and research from real enterprise rollouts, so you don’t start from scratch.
  • Proven approaches and tactical guides drawn from real enterprise Copilot deployments.
• See what’s new and next: A preview of latest drops and upcoming capabilities.
  • Comprehensive analytics for AI agents — dashboards, metrics, lifecycle management, and augmented capacity insights.
  • Quantify and communicate the business value and return on investment of AI across your organization.
  • AI-powered agent that surfaces proactive insights and recommendations from your analytics data.
  • Foundational capabilities for security, governance, access control, and trust across the analytics platform.

There’s a lot of content available for IT professionals that are responsible for understanding Copilot usage so visit the Copilot Analytics Labs today!

• https://microsoft.github.io/CopilotAnalyticsLabs/

(Note: Copilot Analytics Labs content is provided as-is, without warranty of any kind, including merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Microsoft will not provide any support for these materials. Copilot Analytics Feedback is available here.)

Did you know that you can subscribe/unsubscribe to over 30 newsletters & email communications channels through your Microsoft account?

You may enroll through your consumer Microsoft Account (hotmail.com, outlook.com, live.com, msn.com, etc.) or your business Microsoft Entra/Microsoft 365 account from work. To do so, do the following:

1. Go to https://account.microsoft.com/profile/communications.
   This will ask for your email address and send your a verification link. This must be done each time you wish to change your communications preferences.
2. Check your email for a verification message from microsoft-noreply@microsoft.com.
   A unique account-specific link within the mail called “Manage communication permissions” will be there.
3. Click the “Manage communication permissions” link in the email.
   This will take you to the Account Profile Communications web page.
4. Select the newsletters or communications you’d like to receive.

Some of the newsletters I recommend as of 8/6/26 include:

• Microsoft Azure Promotional Content
• Microsoft Online Services – Promotional Offers
• Microsoft Dev News (US, XX)
• Microsoft Office Promotional Content
• Azure Product Updates and Announcements
• Microsoft Azure Newsletter
• Microsoft.Source Newsletter
• Microsoft Power BI Promotional Content
• Microsoft 365 Developer Newsletter
• Microsoft 365 Champion Program
• Microsoft Power BI Newsletter
• Visual Studio Customer Development
• Visual Studio Subscriptions Program Emails
• AI for government
• AI Digital Advisor
• Microsoft Reactor

I previously mentioned that Endjin produces 2 free newsletters, “Azure Weekly” and “Power BI Weekly” that are super useful in staying up to date with everything going on weekly with Azure & Power BI.

Now, they’ve recently begun publishing the “Fabric Weekly” newsletter.

Microsoft Fabric Weekly is a summary of the week’s top news to help you build on the Microsoft Fabric Platform. From AI to OneLake Shortcuts, it aims to keep you on top of the latest Fabric developments.

Subscribe to “Fabric Weekly” for free at:

• https://fabricweekly.info

(Note: Fabric Weekly is an independent newsletter not affiliated with Microsoft. Both newsletters are the creation of Endjin, a London-based Microsoft Solutions Partner that curates posts & content largely from the official Microsoft Azure blog & other sources but is not limited to Microsoft sources alone.)

A fun little Easter Egg: When you see “Mico”, the avatar from the consumer version of Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence app “Copilot” (https://copilot.microsoft.com) while:

• logged into a Microsoft account (hotmail.com, outlook.com, live.com, msn.com, etc.)
• voice mode is active

…you can tap on Mico’s image rapidly about 12 times & it’ll turn into Clippy. 🤪

ALSO WORKS ON MOBILE
This also works on the consumer “Copilot Mobile app” as well if you turn on “voice mode”. Note that even if you have “voice mode” on, Mico needs to be displayed for this to work. If you don’t see Mico on the screen, click the “gear” icon to open the Setting for Copilot and turn on “Show Mico”. #clippysrevenge

NOT AVAILABLE FOR BUSINESS
This is exclusive to the consumer version of Copilot & does not work for “Microsoft 365 Copilot”, the business version of Copilot.