Coming soon: Microsoft 365 pricing and Packaging Updates

Microsoft is introducing price changes for commercial and non-profit Microsoft 365 suites, with and without Teams, from 1st July 2026.

On December 4, Microsoft announced a global price and packaging update for select Microsoft 365 commercial suites and standalone components, including Enterprise, Business, Frontline, and Government commercial equivalents. Standalone Microsoft Teams and Copilot SKUs are not included in this update. See timing details below.

Pricing updates take effect July 1, 2026.

Packaging updates begin rolling out in June 2026.

Existing customers remain on current pricing until renewal.

Customers will receive at least 30 days notice in Message Center before packaging changes become available in their tenant.

Answers to common questions about Microsoft 365 commercial pricing and packaging updates can be found here.

Commercial Pricing Update: Details of the new pricing (as of July 1, 2026, in USD) for commercial customers are provided in the tables below. Please note: This pricelist pricing is subject to change and may vary by country and currency. To learn more about these changes, please refer to the official announcement.

www.microsoft.com

New for 2026 - series 6 of free online motorcycle training!

If you’ve ever wondered how to set the correct speed for every corner, or why group rides often seem slightly dicey, MCN has just launched a new series of videos that can help take your riding to the next level.

Made in conjunction with Bikertek and Rapid Training, the videos are a perfect way to kick off your riding season, with each episode containing dozens of tips for experienced and novice riders alike.

“The basics of great riding - superb vision, planning and machine control - are the same no matter how years in the saddle you’ve had,” says Giles Lamb from Rapid Training, an ex-traffic cop who presents the videos. “These videos let experienced riders brush up on skills that might have waned over winter, and give newer riders tips that could transform their riding.” 

EPISODE 1: Assessing Risk

Clearly this is a crucial skill for motorcyclists, but one that a lot of us regularly get wrong - perhaps being surprised by cars pulling out, or corners tightening up.

The video shows the techniques you can apply to both increase your safety margin and - crucially - enjoy your rides more.

EPISODE 2: Left-hand Bends

Mucking up a left hand bends is one of motorcycling’s most terrifying experiences because running wide puts you on a collision course with oncoming traffic. That’s why MCN and Bikertek devoted their latest better riding video entirely to left-handers.

“Choosing the correct line is crucial,” says Rapid Training’s Giles Lamb, the ex-traffic cop who presents the series. “Turn in too early and you could run wide. But staying out wide for maximum vision can mean you ride dangerously close to oncoming traffic. It’s a tricky balance, and this video explains how to get it right, every time.”

EPISODE 3: Perfect your corner speed

Judging how fast to take corners is a skill most motorcyclists learn by trial and error over the years, and yet a lot of us still mess up – either going in too slowly or, far worse, entering too fast. But it needn’t be like that.

There are proven techniques you can use to get it right each time and in the third video of MCN and Bikertek’s better riding series, Rapid Training coach Giles Lamb explains them all. “The crucial technique is to enter a corner at a speed and on a line that can maximise your exit,” he says. “That way you’re not only far safer, but quicker too.”

EPISODE 4: Get right handers right

Right hand corners trip up a lot of experienced motorcyclists, and in MCN and Bikertek’s latest video we’ll explain how to get them right. “One of the key issues is that if you take the best line for vision - ie, staying out left - you’ve probably got trees or walls right beside you,” says Rapid Training coach Giles Lamb. “Our natural instinct is to turn into the corner to get away from all that. But if you turn in too early you come head to head with oncoming traffic in the middle of the corner, or run wide on the way out. In the video I’ll explain the techniques you need to stay on the perfect line.”

EPISODE 5: Stay safe in groups

Riding in groups can be brilliant - the camaraderie, japes and banter afterwards is a life-affirming joy. But there can be huge risks, and in MCN and Bikertek’s latest video, we’ll explain what they are and how to reduce them. “A lot of it is common sense,” says Rapid Training’s Giles Lamb, who presents the videos. “But as a police motorcyclist, I learned some pursuit riding techniques that transfer directly across to group riding that I think even experienced motorcyclists could benefit from.”

EPISODE 6: High speed safety

Statistically, motorways and dual-carriageways are our safest roads, but they present special risks for motorcyclists. In the latest video from MCN and Bikertek, we demonstrate the techniques you need to avoid problems, and reveal how to filter safety and effectively.

“The biggest multi-lane risk isn’t what you might imagine,” says Giles Lamb from Rapid Training, who presents the videos. “It’s not cars swerving into you - though this does happen and we’ll show how to mitigate it - it’s actually crashing into the roundabout at the end of stretches of dual carriageways. Modern bikes hide speed so well that it’s easy to get things very wrong.”

www.bikertek.co.uk

The era of cheap AI is ending – what comes next?

Organisations are becoming increasingly concerned about the rising cost of AI. With many projects yet to demonstrate a positive return on investment and expenses continuing to climb, IT leaders are looking for ways to optimise their spend.

In recent Computing research among 107 UK IT leaders, 60% said they were either concerned (30%) or very concerned (30%) about rising AI subscription costs, compared with just 8% who said they were not concerned.

Cost increases were also by far respondents’ biggest beef with AI vendors - cited by 43% - with compliance and data handling issues a distant second at 25%.

As you sow - so shall you reap. Go for the cheap option: sack / de-skill your workforce. Then realise the cheap option - is no longer cheap! What are you going to do then?...

www.computing.co.uk

The 10 Commandments: words of wisdom leading to life

This collection walks you through the 10 Commandments as God’s wisdom for true life and flourishing, one commandment at a time. 

We invite you to meditate on each command by watching the video, reflecting on the questions, and listening to the expanded conversation in each podcast episode. You’ll also find group study resources for going deeper in community.

1st Commandment: No Other Gods

2nd Commandment: No Idols

3rd Commandment: Do Not Carry the Name in Vain

4th Commandment: Remember the Sabbath

5th Commandment: Honor Your Father and Mother

6th Commandment: Do Not Kill

7th Commandment: Do Not Commit Adultery

8th Commandment: Do Not Steal

9th Commandment: Do Not Bear False Witness

10th Commandment: Do Not Desire Your Neighbor’s Possessions

www.bibleproject.com

Great news: Microsoft adds another year to Windows 10 extended update program!

Microsoft ended official support for Windows 10 in 2025, but the company may have a harder time than expected putting the operating system out to pasture. After promising a year of optional extended update support, Microsoft has changed its policy, tacking on another year to its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program. If you are still clinging to Windows 10, you don’t have to do anything but enjoy that extra year.

The last regular updates rolled out to Windows 10 in October of last year, but the Internet can be a dangerous place for unpatched Windows machines. That was a problem for Microsoft, as Windows 11 usage had only barely surpassed Windows 10 when support ended. Microsoft’s solution was to give everyone on the old OS a free year of extended updates.

That program was set to end on October 12, 2026, but Microsoft has updated its policy with hardly a whisper, pushing back the end of extended updates to October 12, 2027. The ESU support page was updated with that date, and Microsoft’s blog post on the program has a new editor’s note confirming the change.

www.arstechnica.com

Apple Just Increased Prices on MacBooks, iPads, and More

 

After temporarily taking it down earlier today, Apple's online store is back up with a series of product price increases.

The average price increase is $246.67. The iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods, Studio Display, and accessories such as the Apple Pencil are seemingly the only unaffected product lines.

It is also of note that the 256GB Mac mini is now available again, but for $799. This is a $200 increase over when it was available before temporarily disappearing from the lineup earlier this year.

Last week, Apple announced that it was preparing to raise prices across its product lineup, with CEO Tim Cook confirming that that the move was inevitable. Cook made the announcement in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, citing the soaring cost of memory and storage chips. "Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable," he said. "We're doing our best to mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we've been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable." Cook described the scale of the memory shortage as a "hundred-year flood," adding, "I've never seen anything like it in any area in over 40 years."

www.macrumors.com

Windows 11 turns five, leaving some important lessons for Microsoft

On June 24, 2021, Microsoft announced Windows 11, unveiling a new and controversial operating system. Five years on, how has that worked out for you, Redmond?

Windows 11 has always been a problem child for Microsoft. It was announced in June 2021 and became generally available on October 5 that year, while much of its customer base was still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, The Register called it pointless rather than a point release of Microsoft's flagship operating system.

Why? Because Windows 10 was more than adequate. Microsoft's apology for the Windows 8.x era was… fine. It mostly worked without difficulty. It lacked the user-experience missteps of its predecessors and was an architectural step up from Windows 7. And, most importantly, the operating system didn't trip up a user's workflow.

There is an old adage: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," but Microsoft set to work fixing Windows 10 regardless, and the result was Windows 11. The user experience has irked users ever since. Did you like being able to move the taskbar around in Windows 10? Tough – in Windows 11, you'll have to learn to love where Microsoft stuck it. How about the Start Menu? Again, Microsoft knew best and redesigned it. READ MORE...

www.theregister.com