According to MakeUseOf, Microsoft has finally solved two Windows problems that have plagued users for years through recent updates. The company fixed the notorious “update and shut down” bug that actually restarted computers instead of shutting them down, potentially draining laptop batteries overnight. This fix came in an October 28 update that specifically addressed the underlying issue. Separately, a September 29 update introduced proper keyboard shortcuts for em dashes, eliminating the need for tedious ALT+0151 codes or workarounds. Users can now press Windows key + Shift + Minus for em dashes and Windows key + Minus for en dashes. These changes come as Microsoft appears focused on improving the Windows 11 experience following Windows 10’s recent end of support.
Sponsored content — provided for informational and promotional purposes.
The update that actually updates and shuts down
This “update and shut down” bug was one of those things that felt almost intentional after a while. You’d click the option, walk away thinking your laptop was safely powered down, only to return hours later to a warm machine with a dead battery. It became such a persistent issue that it spawned memes and genuine user frustration. The fact that it took Microsoft this long to fix something so fundamental is… well, let’s just say it’s typical Microsoft. But hey, at least it’s fixed now. The October 28 patch specifically calls out the improvement, which means they actually identified and addressed the root cause rather than just applying a band-aid.
A small change that makes a big difference
For writers and anyone who regularly types on Windows, the em dash situation has been ridiculous for decades. The ALT+0151 method was clunky at best, and completely unusable if you didn’t have a numeric keypad. People developed all sorts of workarounds—keeping em dashes in text files for copy-pasting, using third-party tools, or just avoiding them altogether. Now, with Windows key + Shift + Minus, it’s actually easier than on Mac (which uses Option+Shift+Minus). This might seem like a tiny quality-of-life improvement, but for anyone who writes professionally, it’s huge. It’s one less friction point in the creative process.
The unexpected AI connection
Here’s where it gets interesting. The em dash fix might actually help reclaim some writing territory from AI. As The New York Times recently explored, em dashes became something of a tell for AI-generated content because ChatGPT uses them frequently, having been trained on millions of news articles that employ them for rhythm and voice. Human writers who used em dashes risked being accused of using AI. Now that Windows has made them easily accessible, we might see more human-written content featuring proper em dash usage, which could help destigmatize them. It’s a small victory for human writing in the age of AI.
Is Microsoft actually listening?
These fixes, combined with other recent improvements like Start menu upgrades, suggest Microsoft might be taking user feedback more seriously. With Windows 10 support officially ending, they need to convince holdouts to upgrade to Windows 11. Fixing long-standing annoyances is a good way to do that. As Pocket-lint notes, Microsoft seems focused on making Windows 11 more appealing to both new users and power users who’ve been frustrated by Windows quirks. The question is: what other long-standing annoyances will they tackle next? The right-click context menu? File Explorer performance? We can only hope.
