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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 20h

Despite Microsoft's plans on removing the BypassNRO file since March 2025.

"oobe\bypassnro" still lives on in the official Windows 11 Version 25H2 (aka Windows 11 2025 Update) ISO release from Microsoft.

Just remember to disconnect from the internet first before running it. 😉

Screenshot of 7-Zip file manager showing the contents inside the install.esd file of the Windows 11 Version 25H2 ISO, inside the oobe folder, there's still a BypassNRO.cmd file in the directory.

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 2d

start ms-cxh:localonly has been recently removed in the recent Windows 11 Beta Update, BypassNRO still works! 🎉

⚠️ DISCONNECT from the internet first! ⚠️

Shift + F10
reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
shutdown /r /t 0

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 3d

Quite an interesting wallpaper from Windows spotlight. 🔥

The Windows spotlight wallpaper option selected, sets a black wallpaper.

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 6d

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Solarium</key>
<dict>
<key>Enabled</key>
<false/>
</dict>
</dict>
</plist>

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 6d

Create the directory /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain

Then save the following below to SwiftUI.plist

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 6d

It's possible to entirely disable Liquid Glass in macOS 26 Tahoe, there's some visual issues such as the Control Center and the text hover in the dock, but it's mostly usable with the Liquid Glass disabled surprisingly!

If you want to try this yourself... 🧵

Screenshot of macOS 26 Tahoe with the Liquid Glass disabled, it looks a bit similar to macOS Big Sur to Sequoia except for the icons and visual issues with the dock.

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 9d

If you wanna try macOS Big Sur Betas without $99 Apple Developer Account, here's the mirrors
Beta 1: web.archive.org/web/20200702...
Beta 2: archive.org/download/ins...
Beta 3: archive.org/download/ins...
Beta 4: archive.org/download/ins...

Thanks to @fulptube.org for discovering the feature flags!

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 9d

Follow up update:
- It's possible to get the old notification center and disable new widgets until macOS Big Sur Developer Beta 3.
- Disabling the new Big Sur UI works in Developer Beta 4, but the Finder is very unstable.
- Since Developer Beta 5, the UI feature flag has been removed.

Four screenshots showing the effects of the feature flags enabled in the macOS Big Sur Developer Betas from 2 to 4 in clockwise.
mac OS Big Sur Developer Beta 2 with the new UI disabled and Notification Center restored looks like macOS Catalina.
macOS Big Sur Developer Beta 3 with the new UI disabled works but there's some issues such as placeholder icons in the System Preferences app and it's no longer possible to disable the new Widgets and enable the Notification Center.
macOS Developer Beta 4 still allows to have the new UI disabled, but there's big issues with the Finder app always crashing, making it unusable and there's more placeholder icons in the System Preferences app.

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 10d

Yes!

Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 10d

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>AppKit</key>
<dict>
<key>Glade</key>
<dict>
<key>Enabled</key>
<false/>
</dict>
</dict>
</dict>
</plist>

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 10d

To do this, you'll need the first developer beta release of macOS Big Sur (build 20A4299v) installed then open a terminal and copy and save the contents below to /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Global.plist

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 10d

The first developer beta build release of macOS Big Sur (Build 20A4299v) has a hidden feature flag, when disabled, it'll revert most of the user interface back to macOS Catalina!

Screenshot of macOS Big Sur build 20A4299v with the Glade feature flag disabled, it looks mostly similar to macOS Catalina for the user interface with some differences such as the wallpaper and finder icon in the dock.

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 13d

I've just updated Windows, this new update is amazing! 😍

Screenshot showing the Windows 11 update complete page in the Supermium Chromium based web browser in Windows XP.

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 15d

Whoever at Discord designed this popup, forgot to hide the vertical and horizontal scroll bars. 🫠

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 21d

As of right now, yes.
Steam hasn’t said anything about dropping 32 bit client for Linux yet.

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 21d

Steam will end support for the 32-bit version of Windows 10 starting January 1st, 2026.
Even though the Steam client may still function beyond that date, it will no longer receive new updates.
help.steampowered.com/faqs/view/49...

Screenshot of the Steam client showing a end of support red banner at the top saying Steam will no longer be supported on Windows 10 32-bit. And in the webpage opened is opened in the Steam client regarding the support of 32-bit Windows 10 saying As of January 1 2026, Steam will stop supporting systems running 32-bit versions of Windows. Windows 10 32-bit is the only 32-bit version that is currently supported by Steam and is only in use on 0.01% of systems reported through the Steam Hardware Survey. Windows 10 64-bit will still be supported and 32-bit games will still run. Existing Steam Client installations will continue to function for the near term on Windows 10 32-bit but will no longer receive updates of any kind including security updates. Steam Support will be unable to offer users technical support for issues related to the old operating systems, and Steam will be unable to guarantee continued functionality of Steam on the unsupported operating system versions.

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 23d

For the RDP server side (Windows 11 Build 27943), had to install RDP Wrapper because it would fail to connect, simply disabling NLA in the Remote settings doesn't really work.
github.com/sebaxakerhtc...

If you're wondering about the RDP experience on a 386... it's pretty terrible.

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 23d

Windows 95 on a 386 processor running a Remote Desktop Connection (taken from Windows Whistler Build 2250) to Windows 11 Build 27943.

It wasn't that simple, trying to use the Remote Desktop client from Windows XP crashes due to requiring a 486 CPU and the Windows 2000 RDP client refuses to connect.

Screenshot of Windows 95 on a 386 processor running a Remote Desktop Connection to Windows 11 Build 27943.

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 24d

It took a few minutes to boot, installing on the other hand... took couple hours!

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 25d

Some additional information if you want to know

You'll need RDPWrapper installed (Disabling NLA does NOT work!)
You can grab it from here: github.com/sebaxakerhtc...

Windows XP does not officially support i486 CPUs (requires OG Intel Pentium)
Patched ISO: archive.org/details/wind...

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 25d

Windows XP on an Intel 486 platform running Remote Desktop Connection to another PC running Windows 11 Build 27943

Screenshot of Windows XP on Intel i486 platform, running Remote Desktop Connection to another PC running Windows 11 Build 27943. And a CPU-Z window to prove it's an Intel i486.

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 26d

The struggles with Bluetooth in Windows. 🥲

In the Settings app, when removing a Bluetooth controller device in Windows, it says Removed failed

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 27d

Minimum supported versions of mainstream web browsers (and user agent) required to access the Google website:
- Internet Explorer 10 (2012)
- Mozilla Firefox 22 (2013)
- Safari 5 (2010)
- Opera 12 (2012)
- Google Chrome 16 (2011)

Screenshot showing five web browsers used to visit the Google website, from Top left corner clockwise, Mozilla Firefox 22, Opera 12, Safari 5, Internet Explorer 10. And located in the middle is Google Chrome 16.

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 28d

When clicking on "Learn more", it refuses to load the webpage due to enforced HTTPS and it uses a newer TLS version. 🙃

Internet Explorer says The page cannot be displayed

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Bob Pony @bobpony.com · 28d

Google has recently dropped support for old web browsers. 😔

Visiting google.com in Internet Explorer 5 shows a page saying Update your browser. Your browser isn't supported anymore. To continue your search, upgrade to a recent version.

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