Yesterday, Microsoft's insider program debuted Windows 11 Builds 26100.7918 and 26200.7918 (KB5077241). Enjoyers of the Release Preview Channel can play around with some nifty new features and improvements, within the 24H2 (Build 26100) and 25H2 (Build 26200) releases. The North American megacorp's Windows Insider blog outlines two separate rollouts: "gradual" and "normal." Within the former, a brand-new "Taskbar & System Tray" tool has attracted the most media attention over the past day. The official company description details this nice-to-have feature: "(a) built‑in network speed test is now available from the taskbar. Open it from the Wi‑Fi or Cellular Quick Settings, or by right-clicking the network icon in the system tray."

Continuing that line of thought, the blog proceeds with: "the speed test opens in the default browser and measures Ethernet, Wi‑Fi, and Cellular connections. This feature helps check network performance and troubleshoot issues." Normally, modern-day Windows users rely on third-party apps or relevant websites for this type of diagnostic data. An official and handy integrated alternative will be welcomed by network speed demons. Last Friday (February 13), the phantomofearth social media account shared an early insight, days ahead of the official introductory blog entry's publication. The self-described "Windows Insider and older Windows beta" tester noted that the snazzy tool sends privileged previewers to (Microsoft's preferred default) "Bing to do the speed test."