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Description
Windows Weekly is about more than Windows. Veteran Microsoft insiders Paul Thurrott and Richard Campbell join Leo for a deep dive into the most valuable company in the world. From consumer to enterprise, AI to Xbox, Windows Weekly is the only Microsoft podcast you'll ever need.
Records live every Wednesday at 2:00pm Eastern / 11:00am Pacific / 18:00 UTC.
Records live every Wednesday at 2:00pm Eastern / 11:00am Pacific / 18:00 UTC.
221 Episodes
Reverse
Leo, Paul, and Richard steer towards the performance race as they speculate about how Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite/Plus PCs will compare to Apple Silicon MacBooks. What makes a laptop truly user-friendly? System reliability, UI consistency, battery life? Plus, the recent Fallout TV series, the practicality of using winget for browser installations, and how the ARM chipset switch is revving up the PC market.
ARMed & ready
Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon X Plus and confirms Paul's report that the Snapdragon X Elite will have three SKUs (product editions)
All four SKUs outperform Apple M3, Intel Core Ultra 7/9, AMD Ryzen 9 7940/8945HS on most benchmarks
Why? PC makers asked Qualcomm for familiar choices
Previously, an X Plus-based Surface Pro 10 and an X Elite-based ThinkPad T40s leaked. Paul can now confirm from a source that Surface Laptop 6 (13 and 15-inch) and Surface Pro will all be on X (something}
Vivaldi is bringing its browser to Windows on Arm too
Windows 11
The April 2024 Week D preview update is here: Recommended apps and frequently used apps in Start, Widgets icon updates, Lock screen widgets improvements
Canary: Moves off 24H2 train to build 26200, no more switch to Dev, minor changes to the Widgets board and Taskbar (no new build for Dev)
Beta: New Widgets design with navigation bar, new account manager in Start, Gmail in Share, MSA recovery advertisement, and new Game Pass recommendation card in Settings
Microsoft Store app downloads from the web get simpler, more sophisticated
After yet another Quest 2 Headset price cut, and mounting problems for Apple's Vision Pro, Meta opens up Horizon OS, Microsoft is sort-of on board
Microsoft 365/Dev
Office LTSC 2024 commercial is now available in preview
Classic Teams rides off into the sunset on July 1
Dropbox offers deeper Microsoft 365 integration
GitHub sees success in 2FA push
AI
The European Commission will not formally investigate Microsoft/OpenAI partnership
Microsoft released a new SLM
Microsoft gives a sneak peek of VASA-1, a crazy and scary "talking faces" AI tool
Google copies Microsoft again, announces massive AI reorg - that has Pixel fans worried
Adobe's generative AI image capabilities are predictably fantastic
Xbox
Get an Xbox Mastercard in the US, if you're a tool
Microsoft announces IGN x ID@Xbox digital showcase - indie games
Tips & Picks
Tip of the week: Have you heard the one joke about the one time you need to use Edge?
App pick of the week: Tiny11 Builder
RunAs Radio this week: PowerShell 7.4 with Sydney Smith
Brown liquor pick of the week: GlenKinchie 12
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
Sponsors:
kolide.com/ww
GO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT - code TWIT30
Backlash against tech criticism, Ralf Groene retires, Hardcore Software
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/877
Sponsors:
GO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT - code TWIT30
kolide.com/ww
Melissa.com/twit
On this episode, Paul shares his thoughts on the Snapdragon X Elite chip with Leo and Richard. Windows 11 24H2, AI, NPUs, and SoCs from Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm are all on the way this year. But a schedule is finally starting to emerge. And it looks like we'll soon have answers to the questions about how or why AI will matter on PCs.
Windows, AI, and the future
Windows 11 version 24H2 - staggered release schedule as discussed last week
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite-based PCs in May/June - nothing but good news to date, but Paul went hands-on last week. It's the real deal.
Intel's first-gen Core Ultra chipsets are lackluster, but now we have big promises for Arrow Lake in late 2024
Microsoft Build 2024 is in mid-May, and now we have a session list with some nice clues. For example, Introducing the Next Generation of Windows on Arm
Microsoft is expected to unveil 24H2 and new X Elite-based Surface PCs at Build
Computex and other milestones, and then back-to-school and holiday selling periods
Windows 11
Moment 5 arrives in stable with yesterday's Patch Tuesday (which is now called the General Availability channel, by the way). Of course, we still don't have all the features. In particular, waiting on Android phone as a webcam.
IDC says PC market grew by 1.5 percent in Q1 and acts like it's the turnaround of the century
Microsoft is manually blocking certain registry keys related to default browsers now: Apple-like non-EU belligerence or pragmatic protection of user choice? Why can't it be both?
Beta channel (last week) - Copilot actions improvements
New Store app update improvements performance dramatically
The Windows 11 de-ensh*ttification experiments continue
Does Windows 11 Enterprise solve the problem? No. So it's time to move on
Hardware
TSMC gets some of that sweet, sweet CHIPS Act money to expand its US operations
AI
Three AIs comparison
Blockbuster report claims OpenAI/Microsoft, Google, and Meta stole content at scale to train AI
Microsoft opens a new AI hub in London
Google mulls charging for generative AI in Search
Spotify lets user create AI playlists using text prompts now
Brave brings Leo to iOS, so it's on all supported platforms now. And it added Leo to Brave Talk Premium too
Google rebrands Studio Bot to Gemini in Android Studio, still in preview. This is their GitHub Copilot
Xbox
Microsoft rolls out April updates for Xbox consoles, Xbox app on PC
Xbox reorgs, Kareem Choudhry leaves Microsoft
A rumored game preservation team is too obvious not to be true
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Microsoft Store hosts its annual Spring Sale
App picks of the week: Standard Notes & Beeper
RunAs Radio this week: Securing AI with Sarah Young
Brown liquor pick of the week: Dalwhinnie 15
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
Sponsor:
cachefly.com/twit
Windows 11 version 24H2 is coming and you're not going to believe what happens next... and then again 6 months later
Microsoft reveals Windows 10 Extended Security Updates pricing
Paul reinstalled Windows 10 after three years on Windows 11. There's some good and some bad
Multiple sources have revealed a staggered release schedule for Windows 11 version 24H2
Insider Builds
Canary/Dev - Widgets improvements head out to more people
Canary/Dev (today) - New build today with minor changes, bug fixes (24H2 RTM-ish?). Canary/Dev switch is ending soon
Microsoft is moving Photos app to Windows App SDK (from UWP, presumably). Paul has theories
Microsoft will move the Widgets button in Windows 11 if you put the Start button on the left
Dropbox comes to the Microsoft Store in Windows 11. It only took 12 years
AI
Copilot for Microsoft 365 is getting many new features by the end of April
Copilot for Microsoft 365 picks up priority ChatGPT-4 Turbo and no more conversation limits
You can use ChatGPT without an account now, asterisk, asterisk
Amazon concludes its $4 billion investment in Anthropic
Opera is bringing local LLMs to Opera One web browser
Google: Just kidding, non-Pro Pixel 8 will get Gemini Nano too, and you can suck on the performance issues
Is Intel circling the drain?
Antitrust
The EU is predictably investigating Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon—for not complying with the DMA.
Notably absent from that list? Microsoft. Which is unique among Big Tech in that it is being reasonable with DMA compliance and antitrust in general
Microsoft debundles Teams from Office. Too little too late?
Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 Basic picks up some new features
A random Microsoft engineer found a backdoor lurking in a Linux utility and might have saved the world
LinkedIn isn't just getting games, it's getting TikTok-style videos too
.NET 7 EOL is coming. Is the .NET support schedule too aggressive?
Xbox
A MASSIVE LIST OF ACTIVISION GAMES ARE COMING TO GAME PASS! Just kidding, you're getting Shadow of the Tomb Raider, jerks
Xbox is getting an AI-powered support agent. Huh. Kind of like a personal assistant then. If only they had a name for this thing
Phil Spencer says he's open to rival games stores on Xbox
Take-Two is buying (most of) Gearbox for $460 million. A Grand Theft Auto and Duke Nukem cross-over is inevitable
Rumored white Xbox Series X emerges. White and discless? YOU'RE white and discless!
Tips & Picks
Tip of the week: You can still access legacy File Explorers in Windows 11
App pick of the week: Two for two
RunAs Radio this week: Microsoft Copilot for Security with George Coldham
Brown liquor pick of the week: Clonakilty Irish Whiskey
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
Sponsor:
canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT
On Windows Weekly, Moment 5 has arrived as a Preview Update, Windows 10 gets a preview update, and Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 10 & Surface Laptop 6 for Business at a digital event. Designer and Copilot are coming to the Microsoft 365 mobile app. Would Microsoft develop a Windows-based gaming handheld device? And Canva acquires Affinity.
Windows
Moment 5 arrives as a Preview Update right on schedule - it's Week D, etc.
Microsoft previously described this schedule in its DMA compliance documentation, and noted that it would be fully deployed in stable by the end of April.
Quick raise of hands: Did you think this was already available? You're not alone. But ... you know. Microsoft.
Oh, and there's a preview update for Windows 10 too. Because come on Microsoft.
Don't worry, that lock screen nonsense in Windows 10 is coming to Windows 11 too.
Qualcomm claims that most Windows games will "just work" on its X Elite processor. How?
Chromium accepts Microsoft commit that will improve Chrome/Chromium text rendering on Windows.
Google Chrome comes to Windows on Arm, instantly legitimatizing the platform.
Surface
Microsoft announces Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6.
For businesses, only - Intel Core Ultra-based.
Consumer versions based on X Elite to follow in May, according to reliable rumors.
It's first "AI PCs," supposedly. But now we know why they are using that terminology, and it's stupid. (Related, Intel has its own definitions for what makes a PC an AI PC.)
This was billed as an AI event, "the new era of work," but there was NO news for Windows or Copilot. None.
Why is that? One word: Momentum.
AI
In the wake of Microsoft AI reorg (a NeXT-style takeover), a key Microsoft exec says no and steps aside, will likely leave the company
Microsoft Teams is gaining new AI capabilities because, duh, of course it is
Designer and Copilot are coming to the Microsoft 365 mobile app - Two more checkmarks for that grid of Copilot capabilities
Our developer show schedule is complete: Apple to host WWDC 2024 in June, following Google I/O and Build in May
Samsung spreads Galaxy A1 to more devices starting tomorrow in the US
Xbox
It's finally happening: Diablo IV will be the first Activision Blizzard game on Xbox Game Pass when it goes live tomorrow.
Phil Spencer says Windows is wrong for gaming handhelds, thinks an Xbox would be better.
Xbox is testing mouse and keyboard support for Cloud Gaming.
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Arc browser just became more viable on Windows.
App pick of the week: Affinity Photo 2
Also: Proton Pass now supports (portable) passkeys. And it's free.
RunAs Radio this week: GitHub for SysAdmins with April Edwards.
Brown liquor pick of the week: Stauning Kaos Danish Whisky.
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
Sponsors:
zscaler.com/zerotrustAI
kolide.com/ww
GO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT
On this episode, Paul, Richard, and Mikah talk AI developments, Windows 10 (yes, 10), Azure egress, and even VR gaming! Is the new Microsoft AI organization an "acquisition" in disguise? How did NVIDIA's recent GTC keynote go? Plus, why it makes sense for Apple to partner with Google for Gemini on iPhone.
AI Reorg
Microsoft has created a new Microsoft AI "organization" that reports directly to Satya Nadella
Led by former Inflection co-founders and staffed in part by several ex-Inflection employees
Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott, who orchestrated Microsoft's OpenAI partnership, will continue forward in his other role as executive vice president of AI and will remain responsible for Microsoft's overall AI strategy
Mikhail Parakhin and the entire team responsible for Copilot, Bing, and Edge, plus Misha Bilenko and the GenAI team, will move into Microsoft AI.
Rajesh Jha will continue as executive vice president of Experiences & Devices and will "partner closely with Mustafa and team" on Copilot for Microsoft 365.
What does this mean for Windows? (Paul's guess: Not much. Windows is still presumably under Jha)
Windows
Windows 10 (Yes, 10, not 11) is getting new Sports, Traffic, and Finance cards on the lock screen for some reason
No new Insider builds since last week! WHAAAAAT?
Microsoft 365
No AI for you! Microsoft announces perpetual Office 2024 and Office 2024 LTSC for late 2024
AI for you! Microsoft 365 web apps now support Copilot Pro users
Better AI for you! Free Copilot gets ChatGPT-4 Turbo (previously a paid feature)
Microsoft follows Google and AWS, ends Azure egress fees - the other European Big Tech battleground
AI
Apple is almost certainly going to (try to) partner with Google on AI for iPhone
How the F is Microsoft not part of this?
Google I/O is set for May 14, Apple WWDC will be in June, both to focus on AI (duh)
Microsoft to host "AI and Surface event" right before Build 2024 in May
Nvidia is determined to not just ride the AI wave, but win it
In the wake of a subtle rebranding, Google is bringing generative AI to Fitbit
Amazon is bringing generative AI for product pages to sellers
Xbox
New games across Game Pass for the second half of March - including, for the first time, an Activision Blizzard title, Diablo IV
Microsoft is killing the Microsoft Rewards app on Xbox... though there is a Rewards tab on your Profile page.
LinkedIn is experimenting with games because everything has to suck now
Sony halts PSVR2 production because no one wants to pay $550 for VR on PS5
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Steam Sale goes through tomorrow (March 21)
App picks of the week: Stardock ObjectDock 3, Proton Mail native app, Firefox 124
RunAs Radio this week: From SysAdmin to Platform Engineer with Steve Buchanan
Brown liquor pick of the week: Bull Run Oregon Single Malt Whiskey
Hosts: Paul Thurrott, Richard Campbell, and Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
Sponsors:
zscaler.com/zerotrustAI
Melissa.com/twit
Can we have a Windows experience tailored for enterprise efficiency? Paul, Richard, and Mikah unpack the freshest updates from Windows 11's March 2024 Patch Tuesday, dissect Microsoft's transparency behind Midnight Blizzard's November attack, and speculate on Microsoft's much-anticipated Surface/AI event. Plus, Paul offers insights from his time with Copilot Pro's custom GPT builder.
Windows 11
Patch Tuesday new features: Phone Link settings is renamed to Mobile devices, USB 80 Gbps support, more - Windows 10 users get some love (hate?) too
Microsoft confirms that Moment 5 will be delivered in the March preview update, fully deployed in late April
Microsoft details how it is changing Windows in the EU - and now we all want to move to the EU
Beta (last week): New Copilot actions experiment
Dev and Canary: Unified Teams experience, Copilot updates to more people, Power Automate via Copilot in Windows, Live Captions quick settings tile, progress bars in Taskbar icons, File Explorer file copy improvements, etc
Beta (today): Most frequently used apps now appear in Recommended
Microsoft
Microsoft continues to dribble out details about that Russia-sponsored hack and the news is predictably getting worse each time
We have an event! March 21st will focus on Copilot, Windows, and Surface
AI
Microsoft brings Custom GPT Builder to Copilot Pro subscribers
Here comes Copilot for Security. April 1 rollout is perfect
Teams app developers get AI capabilities via a free Microsoft toolkit
Opera Feature Drops to bring new AI features early to Opera One
EU moves to the AI Act
Microsoft 365
Microsoft finally spells out its commercial deployment schedule/plans for the new Outlook. Let the complaining continue
Skype is updated with new Channels features, prompting questions about Skype still being alive
Parallels Desktop for Mac is updated with Clipboard and game improvements for Windows VMs
Xbox
Some Activision QA works vote to unionize
More Microsoft Studio titles come to Boosteroid, that service you only heard of because of the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard
Tips & Picks
Tip of the week: Time zone math
App pick of the week: Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story is now available! Plus, Joplin (a Notion alternative)
RunAs Radio this week: Understanding Large Language Models with Jodie Burchell
Brown liquor pick of the week: Bushmills 21
Hosts: Paul Thurrott, Richard Campbell, and Mikah Sargent
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
Sponsor:
cachefly.com/twit
This week, Paul, Richard, and Leo unpack the twice-delayed unveiling of Moment 5 for Windows 11 and the long list of small features it brings to users, alongside whispers of new Surface devices on the horizon. Plus, they dissect the implications of Elon Musk's critical eye on OpenAI and the captivating prospect of upscaling classic adventure games via DirectSR.
"Moment 5"
Moment 5 is here. Sort of. In preview. Well, some features
This was supposed to happen before last week's Windows Weekly, but the announcement was delayed twice
Windows 11
Microsoft quietly reveals that it is killing the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), triggering two reactions: "Who cares?" and "Why?"
Beta: Controversial new mouse hover experience for Copilot
Dell had double-digit revenue declines in Q4, all of 2024
HP revenues fell 4.8 percent in Q1
Surface
Rumor: Microsoft to launch Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 soon, with both Intel Core Ultra and Snapdragon X Elite variants
AI
Microsoft engineer continues to raise disturbing issues with Copilot
Microsoft Edge picks up two new AI features: Video highlights and screenshot integration
Copilot is coming to OneDrive (commercial) and Microsoft 365 mobile app
Microsoft announces Copilot for Finance
Microsoft files motion to dismiss parts of the NYT's copyright suite, compares AI to a Betamax machine. Maybe not the smartest comparison
Elon Musk sues OpenAI because something something
ChatGPT picks up a Read Aloud feature. Is there anything AI can't do??
Anthropic announces a three-tier Claude 3 family of LLMs with the usual claims
Apple releases the M3-based MacBook Air. Or should we call it the MacBook AIr?
Brave brings Leo AI to Android app
Xbox
Microsoft comes clean on DirectSR, will say more soon
Xbox Partner Preview event today - Final Fantasy XIV, STALKER Original Trilogy, more announced
MLB The Show 24, more come to Xbox Game Pass in March
Linux exceeds 4 percent usage share for the first time. Is this the "SteamDeck" effect?
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Twitter user? Disable this new feature immediately
App picks of the week: LibreOffice, Vivaldi, Anytype
RunAs Radio this week: Upgrading TLS with Scott Helme
Brown liquor pick of the week: Hornitos Black Barrel
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
Sponsor:
kolide.com/ww
The newest version of Windows 11 is entering a new rollout phase. Some new exciting hardware from Lenovo emerged from this year's Mobile World Congress. And Paul has been using Copilot Pro for some time and is quite happy with it so far!
Windows
Windows 11 version 23H2 enters a new rollout phase - the "you're getting it whether you want it or not" phase.
Canary: Wi-Fi 7 support, 16 new actions for Windows (+13 there already), separates from Dev channel again.
Photos app to get generative erase functionality.
Hardware
Snapdragon X Elite destroys Intel Core Ultra in AI performance tests. Is this finally the year of Windows on Arm?
Intel rolls out vPro versions of Core Ultra for businesses.
Lenovo imagines transparent displays, ships actual ThinkPads.
HP brings NPUs to its consumer PCs.
Samsung Galaxy Book4 series is now available in the U.S. with unique Copilot features.
Microsoft lays out its 2024 event calendar, and Ignite is in Chicago in November!
AI
Microsoft (quietly) adds four GPTs to Microsoft Copilot.
Microsoft partners with Mistral AI, and gets immediate regulatory notice
GitHub Copilot Enterprise is now available with organizational GPTs
Google pauses Gemini image creation after, um, some issues
Help Me Write is now in Google Chrome
Brave Leo now supports PDFs and Google Drive
Xbox
Xbox will attend GDR, and will discuss DirectSR
Microsoft starts testing Game Hubs in Xbox app for PC
Lots of Age of Empire releases this year
GeForce Now Free is adding pre-roll advertising
Tips and picks
Tip of the week: Turn off Microsoft Start in Widgets.
Widget is finally closer to what most people will want.
App pick of the week: Microsoft Copilot Pro
Podcast pick of the week: Copilot Governance with Martina Grom
Brown liquor pick of the week: Ian Macleod's Isle of Skye Range
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
Sponsor:
GO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT
Microsoft's big Xbox strategy event was exactly what Paul expected it was going to be. Hopefully, this calmed some nerves.
Xbox strategy reveal
It was going to be about Activision Blizzard originally (nailed it)
All first-party games will be in Game Pass on day one (as is the case now)
Game Pass will only be on Xbox (whatever "Xbox" means as it's on PC too)
The strategy is unchanged: Meet gamers where they are
But the best experience is on Xbox (this is like going from "Windows only" to "Windows first" to "Windows best")
Portability across hardware platforms is a key part of the strategy - Backward Compatibility, etc.
A future generation of Xbox console hardware will offer "the largest technical leap you have ever seen in a hardware generation."
Oh, and four games are coming to "other consoles."
Windows 11
Microsoft is quietly adding off-ramps to the Insider Program after killing the Magic window with their screwed-up release schedule
Canary and Dev - 24H2, same builds. New navigation pane in Widgets - new accessibility setting for low-vision users - that same tired weather experience on the lock screen that is already in stable and seriously kill me now I can't stand this company anymore. Oh, and there are ISOs.
Beta - New prompts for that "manage mobile devices" features, updates to Snipping Tool and Notepad (also in RP)
Release Preview - We're testing Moment 5 now, so this is a huge update
Microsoft fixed a bug that let Edge siphon browser data from other browsers
Stardock brings pre-release support for Arm versions of Start11, Fences, and Groupy to new Object Desktop Insider program
Google has an answer for those out of support Windows 10 PCs
Build 2024
Microsoft confirms that Build 2024 is May 21-23 in Seattle. No word on press invites
Microsoft 365
Microsoft will finally unify the Teams clients on Windows and Mac
Microsoft is killing Publisher in 2 years and even though no one uses it, people are freaking out
AI
Microsoft to use Intel Foundry for at least one in-house custom AI chip
Now OpenAI is worth over $80 billion, is world's third-biggest unicorn
OpenAI announces Sora and... HOLY #$%^
Gemini (formerly Duet AI) comes to all Workspace customers
Google brings Gemini down to size with Gemma for free, local use
Adobe Acrobat is getting an AI assistant
Xbox
Game streaming is (probably) coming to all the Xbox games you own
More (non-AB) games are coming to Game Pass in February
Microsoft goes after Apple's non-compliance DMA compliance in the EU
Epic announces a game store for iOS in Europe, will launch this year
Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story will release on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch on March 13
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Androids by Chet Haase
App picks of the week: Dashlane, Firefox 123, Bonjourr
Cocktail of the week: Sumi - This is a "clasicos Baltra" from the most famous bar in Mexico City. Tanqueray Ten Gin, Violet liqueur, Jasmine syrup, Yuzu, Egg white. Serve in a coupe glass, and garnish with dried flowers.
Hosts: Leo Laporte and Paul Thurrott
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
Sponsors:
Miro.com/podcast
Melissa.com/twit
On this spicy episode of Windows Weekly, Paul, Leo, and Richard try to pronounce "Sudo," watch an expensive Copilot ad, marvel at big Arm revenues, discuss the latest in internet browser news, and debate the FTC's motivations as they go after Microsoft once again!
Windows 11
Big changes in Insider, with Canary and Dev moving to the same 24H2 builds
Windows 11 is going to get its AI moment this year
With the announcement of 24H2, does that mean nothing big mid-year as rumors suggested?
Patch Tuesday arrives. Copilot moves to the right of the system tray after 10 seconds of testing
Brave ships its browser on Arm in stable
Windows will likely get an AI game upscaling feature
AI/Antitrust
Report: Azure is allegedly 2/3rds the size of AWS by revenue, thanks to AI
Microsoft Bing and Edge avoid the EU DMA
Google Gemini officially replaces Bard
Grammarly lays off 230 to focus on AI
Mozilla scales back dramatically, will focus on AI in Firefox
Arc Sync comes to Arc on Mac only
Cloud/server/dev
Google One surpasses 100 million users. New AI tier is coming to take on Copilot Pro
Arm revenues are in. Look at those margins!
Notion acquires Skiff. Ladies and gentlemen, the Notion Office is coming
.NET 9 Preview 1 arrives. Are annual updates too much?
Xbox
Xbox says it will come clean on its strategy
The FTC claims that Xbox layoffs violate the terms of its Activision Blizzard acquisition promises
Microsoft tells the court that the FTC is wrong on multiple levels
There's a new Xbox system update
Sony doesn't meet its quarterly PS5 sales target, will miss its annual target, and the PS5 is falling off a cliff
Disney invests $1.5 billion in Epic Games. "F U, Apple!"
Flight Simulator jumps the Minecraft Shark
Tips and Picks
Tip of the Week: Microsoft PC Manager - Avoid at all costs
App Picks of the Week: DuckDuckGo browser, Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Devices for Windows
RunAs Radio this week: Maximizing Metadata with Emily Manicini
Brown liquor pick of the week: Starward Pedro Ximenez Cask
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
Sponsor:
kolide.com/ww
One year of Copilot, Arc's Act II, Mozilla Monitor Plus
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/867
Sponsor:
cachefly.com/twit
Microsoft announced Tuesday that it earned a net income of $21.9 billion on revenues of $62 billion in the quarter ending December 31, 2023. Those figures are up 33 percent and 18 percent, respectively, year-over-year (YOY)
Intelligent Cloud: Azure, AI
Microsoft's biggest business unit delivered $25.9 billion in revenue, up 20 percent YOY and driven primarily by its Azure cloud platform
Azure revenues were up 30 percent in the quarter, 6 points of which Microsoft attributed to "AI services"
Productivity and Business Processes: Microsoft 365
$19.2 billion in revenues, with growth of 13 percent YOY
Office Commercial revenues were up 15 percent
More Personal Computing: Xbox, Windows
Revenues of $16.9 billion, up 19 percent YOY
Gaming revenues surged 49 percent (44 points from Activision Blizzard)
Xbox hardware revenues inched up by 3 percent
Windows revenues from PC makers grew 11 percent in the quarter
Windows
Canary: Voice Clarity comes to more PCs, and Microsoft previews new/old Windows Setup first-run experience
Dev: Minor bug fixes only
Beta: Snap Layout suggestions, new settings in Widgets, and you can now revert to stable (!!)
Microsoft 365
Teams goes down for the count
AI
Microsoft adds deepfake guardrails to Designer AI. So, this wasn't there before now?
FTC is investigating Microsoft/OpenAI and other Big Tech AI partnerships
Xbox
Microsoft can finally bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to the iPhone (and Fortnite is coming back to the iPhone in the EU)
1900 layoffs at Activision Blizzard, Zenimax, and Xbox
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Upgrade to passkeys
App pick of the week: Insync
RunAs Radio this week: Software Licensing with Mary Jo Foley
Brown liquor pick of the week: Dailuaine 16
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
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In this episode of Windows Weekly, Leo, Paul, and Richard cover Microsoft's recent hack, new Windows Insider updates, Copilot Pro's image creativity, various browsers, education's compatibility with generative AI, Halo Infinite's slowdown, Notion's calendar service, and Japanese whisky.
Microsoft was hacked
A Russia-backed hacker group infiltrated a legacy system and gained access to executive emails
This is triggering an escalation in Microsoft's security makeover either way
Windows 11
Beta channel: USB 80 Gbps/USB4 v2 support, bug fixes
Dev channel: Teams (commercial) meeting integration in Start, new mobile device management interface
New Surface event rumored for March. Possibly two waves of Pro and Laptop releases
Microsoft Bing and Edge are obviously not dominant platforms, and will not be subject to EU DMA
Microsoft Mesh is here for all your legless meeting needs
AI
Microsoft hits $3 trillion market cap on the strength of its AI moves
Paul used Copilot Pro and you're never going to believe what happened next
Microsoft is bringing more AI to education. And so is Google
Would you pay for an AI-infused Alexa?
Web browsers, oh my
Chrome is updated with new AI features
Firefox version 122 is out
Brave will simplify fingerprint protection. What is fingerprint protection?
Opera will pay a brand ambassador $10,000 to spend a month on a deserted Icelandic island
Xbox
Microsoft reveals several new games for 2024, key among them an Indiana Jones title
343 slows down Halo Infinite updates dramatically. Is this just about Halo or a hint at a looming new trend?
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Is it even possible to prevent online tracking?
App pick of the week: Arc browser
RunAs Radio this week: AI for IT with Gil Pekelman
Brown liquor pick of the week: Hibiki Harmony
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
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Outlook, privacy, and the terribleness of Big Tech
New Outlook Decried as a "Surveillance Tool for Targeted Advertising
One perspective: How terrible are other companies like Google and Meta?
But also, how terrible are Windows 11, Teams, Microsoft Edge, etc?
Supreme Court refuses to hear Epic v. Apple appeals
So, Epic wins on one important count, being able to communicate to their own customers
But Apple is still being terrible because it can be. Will the EU finally take care of this?
Google unlinking its services in the EU, Apple removing pulse ox from Watch in the US, Google comes clean on Incognito, and Microsoft Cloud lets EU customers keep data locally, it just keeps coming
Copilot all the things
Richard correctly predicted that 2024 would be the year that Microsoft stopped talking about AI and started implementing AI. But who could have predicted THIS in the first two weeks (!) of the year?
Copilot Pro for consumers, Copilot for Microsoft 365 for all commercial customers with no baseline, Copilot on mobile, Copilot in Microsoft 365 mobile, Copilot GPT Builder on the way
But there's a real vulnerability for Microsoft and its AI aims here - Too soon, too little may be a mistake
Microsoft and Vodafone, sitting in a tree
Plus: No Copilot AI (SLM) on the Galaxy S24 family? Interesting. Is Google trying to undermine that partnership and bring Samsung back into the fold?
Windows 11
PC sales for 2023: Good news, bad news. OK, it's just bad news
They're doing it again: After almost literally no testing, Microsoft launches new Weather experience on the lock screen and makes it the default
Store app install notifications are in stable now too
Dev: USB 80 Gbps support, auto-start Copilot on 27-inch+ displays, Windows Share (as below) improvements, fixes
Beta: More Windows Share improvements (WhatsApp, Gmail, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn URL sharing), Weather experience on Lock, Microsoft Store with instant arcade games and app install notifications
Release Preview: New KB update gives us our second near-final peek at Moment 5, with more "Ink Everywhere," eye control system support, 7-ZIP support improvements, other fixes
Microsoft will reportedly bring back the Windows Insider Program's Beta Channel for Windows 10 because they were just kidding about that whole "no new features" thing
Dev Home comes to Windows 10
Xbox
January's Game Pass titles, still no Activision Blizzard
Xbox fixes Baldur's Gate save bug
Ubisoft mixes up its Ubisoft+ subscriptions
Tips & Picks
Tip of the week: Maybe this is the year of NextDNS
App pick of the week: Brave
RunAs Radio this week: Copilots for Power Platform with April Dunnam
Brown liquor pick of the week: Writer's Tears
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
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The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
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It's CES, so let's observe a moment of silence for all the stupid #*$% our colleagues are covering right now! But there is some wheat in the chaff, of course
Intel announces 14th Gen Core desktop and mobile chips. But wasn't Meteor Lake was mobile only?
PC makers announce a lot of Meteor Lake PCs: Acer, Acer again, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, more, plus the MSI Claw mobile gaming handheld and the first ASUS NUC!
Paul's been using an HP Spectre x360 14 for the past month, what's the AI stuff really like?
It's not just Intel: NVIDIA goes nuts on AI and AMD has new AI-powered CPUs
Google announces improvements across the Android ecosystem - Quick Share
Amazon adopts Matter Casting - and now we have too many of these things - what about Microsoft?
Thread will finally fix networking and thus Matter
Windows 11
Microsoft announces a Copilot new key for Windows keyboards - settle down, everyone
Beta channel (last Thursday): Bug fixes - after the Dev/Canary updates of last Wednesday
Quick Windows 11 Field Guide update - 160 pages of new 23H2 content in two months, now 1058 pages long, so download the latest version
Microsoft is reportedly looking to add AI writing assistance to Notepad. For some reason
Microsoft 365
Awesome! Microsoft PC hardware to be sold now by Incase
Almost four years later, it looks like Microsoft will finally make Teams (free) an actual Teams client
Apple tries to stamp down the CES hype, announces Apple Vision Pro launch date
AI
OpenAI responds to the NYT and... yikes. Did AI write this? It admits that ChatGPT does what the NYT claimed
Has met with "dozens" of news orgs but can only cite four actual partnerships, and licensing costs are confidential
Emphatically cites the fair use argument, which is an open discussion and not clear-cut
Offers an opt-out for news publishers, but only since August, so after it used all the NYT content
Says the NYT is not telling the full story. Right, it's telling its side of the story. Just like OpenAI
Interesting details about negotiations between the two
Seeks constructive partnership in a final olive leaf
EU is investigating the Microsoft/OpenAI partnership, following U.S. FTC and UK CMA
Pennsylvania adopts OpenAI's ChatGPT Enterprise
OpenAI launches GPT Store for ChatGPT Plus, Team and Enterprise users
Now we know which Microsoft executive is sort of on the OpenAI board
Duolingo lays off staff because AI is so good
Xbox
Microsoft could be bringing Xbox exclusives to PlayStation
Microsoft is bringing back the Xbox Developer_Direct event on January 18
Minecraft Legends, RIP
Big changes to GeForce Now: New Xbox titles, day passes, more
Layoffs at Twitch
After its failed coup of the userbase, Unity lays off 25 percent of its workforce
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: We need to talk about password managers
App pick of the week: Alternative web browsers
RunAs Radio this week: Hardening Active Directory with Jerry Devore
Brown liquor pick of the week: Bearface Triple Oak
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
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Microsoft finally kills Windows Mixed Reality
Just in time for Christmas, Microsoft revealed that its long-dead WMR platform is now officially dead
Windows 11
Moment 5 is allegedly coming in February
Microsoft quietly reissues Windows 11 version 23H2 installation media
Microsoft kills install from web capabilities in Windows App Installer (MSIX)
Dev (today): Richer weather experience on Lock, more Voice access improvements
Canary (today): Same Voice access changes, no more WordPad or People in a clean install, Steps Recorder deprecated, new Energy Saver icon in the system tray, Nearby Sharing can name your PC
Surface
New Surface Pro 6 and Laptop 6 are expected in Spring 2024 with Intel and Qualcomm chipsets.
Microsoft's first "real" AI PCs. FU, Surface Laptop Studio 2 buyers!
Microsoft 365
Something to consider for 2024: Have Microsoft's core platforms gotten too complex? And when/if this will drive away customers?
Standalone Copilot app launches on Android ... and then, days later, on iPhone and iPad - And it offers a ChatGPT4 mode, interestingly
AI
New York Times sues Microsoft, OpenAI for massive copyright infringement
GitHub Copilot Chat is now GA. Requires $10/month GitHub Copilot sub, but it may be the single best example of how AI can improve our lives so far
Xbox
New Xbox Game Pass titles for early January: Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Resident Evil 2 remake, more
Does something smell better around here? Bobby Kotick has left the building
PlayStation: Just kidding, you can keep your stupid Discovery shows
Meta Quest 2 gets a permanent price cut
Steam no longer supports Windows 7 or 8.1
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Properly secure your Microsoft account
App pick of the week: MSEdgeRedirect
Bonus pick: MediaSorter
RunAs Radio this week: Doing More with Less in 2024 with Erin Chapple
Brown liquor pick of the week: Elijah Craig Small Batch
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
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The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
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Looking back at Windows Weekly's best moments from 2023
Welcoming Richard aboard, and setting the table for an AI-filled year
"I have been a good Bing" and other chatbot awkwardness
Leo's Parallels 18 for Mac demonstration
UK CMA blocks the Activision Blizzard deal, and it makes no sense
Build 2023 was a great showing for Steven Pathiche, but a strange showing for Panos Panay
Microsoft beats the Federal Trade Commission in court, inching a step closer to their acquisition
Discord chat with Sean, a sign language interpreter and CODA!
Panos Pany leaves Microsoft, but did he jump or get pushed?
Giant Xbox leak reveals new console refreshes, a controller, and a roadmap for the future
Impressions from the AI September event, including the sweeping Copilot rebrand.
Activision Blizzard is finally acquired after much struggle
A token Thurrant about OneDrive and its near-endless push to back up Paul's folders
A classic beer pick from the one and only Mary Jo Foley!
Host: Leo Laporte
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
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The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
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On the last episode of 2023, Richard Campbell, Paul Thurrott, and Leo Laporte are joined by a lovely guest to look back (and look ahead) on Microsoft's progress and accomplishments. Between a Teams milestone, Meteor Lake chipset's release, AI music creation in Copilot, Bobby Kotick's upcoming exit, and Microsoft's Countdown Sale, there's plenty of news left to digest at the end of this eventful year! Happy holidays, dozers!
Windows 11/Microsoft 365
Microsoft will FINALLY fix the dumbest File Explorer bug of all - no, not that File Explorer bug
Microsoft is suddenly deprecating tons of Windows features
Windows Insider: Windows 11 Beta build 22635.2915 is the last Insider build of 2023. Nothing major: Voice access supports multiple displays, Windows 365 Boot and Windows 365 Switch from last week's Dev build, Notepad update with Notepad an "Edit with Notepad" item in the File Explorer context menu, and a character count display
Microsoft Teams now has 320 million users, 2,000 apps in the Teams store, and over 145,000 custom line-of-business (LOB) apps built by enterprises
AI
Microsoft partners with Suno to bring music creation to Copilot - OH AND THERE ARE PLUG-INS THERE NOW TOO
A few insider notes about this generation of Intel chips
Intel's Core Ultra chipset is coming to Chromebooks too
Look back/Look Ahead
What's left to say Copilots? There are lots (at least announced) and even more are coming
Is 2024 going to be the year of the AI PC? Or is this just another fad/bubble
"Windows 12" or whatever the vNext is called: Huzzah!
Ready or not, the new Outlook for Windows and new Teams are coming
How will Activision Blizzard impact Xbox?
Antitrust
Activision Blizzard settles 2021 class action lawsuit that triggered the acquisition by Microsoft
Bobby Kotick on the outs Dec 29
In wake of antitrust loss, Google also settles Play Store suit, will pay $700 million to victims
Adobe bails on Figma. Just kidding!
Xbox
Leak shows that Sony is very worried about Xbox now
Sony has sold 50 million PS5s, has outsold Xbox 3-to-1 in 2023
Google extends Stadia controller conversion timeline
Tips and picks
Tip of the week: Microsoft's Countdown sale brings big discounts to Xbox, Surface, more
App pick of the week: MediaSorter
RunAs Radio this week: Azure Arc Guest Configuration with Jodi Boone
Enterprise pick of the week: Directions on Microsoft's got some (free) resources worth checking out
Brown liquor pick of the week: The Spirit of Scotland 46 & Monkey Shoulder
Beer pick of the week: Back Home Beer Yalda Queen
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Guest: Mary Jo Foley
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
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Grab your favorite whisky and join Paul, Richard, and Leo as they meander through a delightfully geeky/tipsy conversation spanning Windows updates, AI advancements, Big Tech antitrust issues, and more!
Windows 11
The final Patch Tuesday of 2023 arrives
Copilot now opens on the display where you click its Taskbar icon (or it will, thanks to CFR)
Copilot now appears in Alt + Tab (but not in Task view/WINKEY + Tab), oddly (Same deal)
Account notifications in Start and Settings (disable this nonsense in Settings > Privacy & security > General)
For Windows 10 users, Copilot is now available to everyone in preview with the Patch Tuesday update (CFR, need to manually download it). No Windows integration settings yet. A few other changes on Windows 10 too
Canary/Dev (Thursday): Copilot undocked mode, Widgets changes, Windows 365 Boot and Switch changes, Windows Share improvements (WhatsApp integration, curious), character count in Notepad (how cute)
Beta channel (Friday): Windows Share and Windows Store improvements
Dev channel (today): Transitioning Windows Speech Recognition (WSR) to voice access because WSR is being deprecated
Also Canary: New Windows Protected Print Mode
Clipchamp quietly added four new features recently, and you're never going to believe what happens next
AMD unveils Ryzen 8040 series mobile CPUs with a new NPU on select models
Intel's Meteor Lake is coming in hot
Antitrust
UK CMA and US FTC are both investigating Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI
After failing to reach a settlement, Google loses Epic antitrust trial
Why it has so far done much better against Google than it has against Apple?
Apple to be punished for App Store business practices in the EU
Apple likely to open up NFC chipset in iPhone in response to EU concerns
AI
Microsoft reaches agreement with AFL/CIO on AI
Google Releases Gemini Pro to enterprises and developers
Google releases Gemini-powered NotebookLM in the U.S. Keep on steroids, basically
Xbox
An ad-supported Xbox Game Pass offering is likely on the way
Xbox Cloud Gaming is now on Meta Quest 2, Quest 3, and Quest Pro
Balder's Gate 3 lands on Xbox Series X|S
Microsoft reveals two new games at The Game Awards
E3, which has been dead for years, is now officially dead
The next Digital Eclipse interactive documentary looks about as amazing as the first
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Get your Xbox Year in Review
App pick of the week: Fences 5
RunAs Radio this week: SysAdmin Gifts with Joey Snow & Rick Claus
Brown liquor pick of the week: Balvenie Double Wood 12
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly
Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit
Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com
The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.
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