Windows Weekly (Audio)

Ten years ago yesterday, Microsoft released Windows 10, fixing the issues with Windows 8.x and giving Windows 7 users a solid upgrade. One historical curiosity: It was the first Windows release without a major launch event. In other news, Microsoft publishes a Nadella email to the troops about the layoffs, but he never really addresses the layoffs. Windows 10 turns 10 * The Bad: Its legacy is mixed, as this is when the enshittification of Windows began, really * Windows as a Service * Ads, crapware, and telemetry — plus some made-up privacy issues * Terry Myerson gaff about one billion users * Universal apps/One Windows was a bust, with Windows Phone and HoloLens failures * Windows 10's launch was a missed opportunity to make the Store matter * The Good: Windows Subsystem for Linux was huge * WinGet was also huge, but is underappreciated and underutilized to this day * It did reverse the mistakes of Windows 8, and in time it got more stable as Microsoft figured out WaaS (and then went on to abuse it) * Oh, and the Windows 10 Field Guide is free to celebrate the anniversary Windows 11 * Microsoft is using Rust for Surface drivers, and it wants all Windows drivers to switch to Rust too * The Link to Windows app is getting a nice upgrade on Android * Dev (25H2) and Beta (24H2): Settings agent for x86, SCOOBE changes, Click to Do improvements, Windows Search improvements * Canary: Just a couple of bug fixes (Actually, two builds, one today also with no features) * Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, and Media Encoder are Now Native on Windows 11 on Arm in beta * Opera files antitrust case against Microsoft in Brazil for Windows 11/Edge behaviors * Another app blocking Recall in a slow-drop of negative Recall-related AI privacy news for Microsoft. * Rant: More importantly, Recall is boring and not useful given the hype around it. * Intel earnings are flat, but more layoffs are on the way * Lenovo rollable laptop in action! (ThinkBook Plus Gen 6) * Lenovo makes a lot of weird laptops now (like the dual-screen Yoga Book 9i Paul reviewed last year) — apparently they didn't get the message after Microsoft cancelled the Surface Neo and Windows 10X. * Does the average modern Windows laptop really need a touchscreen? Is this a relic of the Windows 8 era? AI & Microsoft 365 * Perplexity Comet is real and it shows the way forward for AI web browsers * Coincidentally, Microsoft suddenly launches Copilot mode for Microsoft Edge. (But I've played with Copilot Mode, and it's no Comet or Dia.) * Copilot is getting real-time expressions. It's the return of Clippy! * Microsoft's long-term Copilot plans are a lot wilder than you might expect * Google earned $96.4 billion in one quarter. This shows that it has not been impacted by other AIs yet Xbox & gaming * Xbox is coming to Gamerscom in Germany in August, and it's bringing the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds * The July Xbox Update is here and it's all about the PC * Paul reviewed the Lenovo Legion Go S, and the Windows experience was so bad. Also, PC OEMs are having trouble competing with the Steam Deck's pricing on gaming handhelds. Tips & picks * Tips of the week: Chris and Paul are partnering on his new newsletter * App pick of the week: Perplexity Pro * Beer pick of the week: Alesong Rhino Suit These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/943 [https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/943] Hosts: Leo Laporte [https://twit.tv/people/leo-laporte] and Paul Thurrott [https://twit.tv/people/paul-thurrott] Guest: Chris Hoffman [https://chrisbhoffman.com/] Sponsor: * cachefly.com/twit [https://cachefly.com/twit]

Microsoft finally kills Movies & TV show service in the Microsoft Store. This was the final vestigial minder of Zune that remained. There was Groove Video and Xbox Video, too. Microsoft previously killed eBook (2019) and music (2017) sales. At this point, you would have to be insane to buy content from Microsoft, sorry... but you can get to some of your content on other services via Movies Anywhere - and use the Movies & TV app for now in Windows, which is no longer bundled. Windows 11 * It's Week D and you can't tell your Copilot+ PC features from your Windows 11 features without a scorecard * A peek at next month's Patch Tuesday - Also, preview updates for 23H2, Windows 10 * Copilot+ PCs only: Settings agent, Click to Do improvements, Photo relight in Photos app, Sticker generator and Object select in Paint * Everyone: Copilot Vision (U.S. only) in Copilot, Edge Game Assist, Quick Machine Recovery * Microsoft explains how PC transfer feature will work in Windows Backup later this year * Describe image action for Click to Do (for AMD/Intel), image descriptions in Narrator (AMD/Intel), performance log improvements (!), Click to Do search bar test, Lock screen improvements, privacy improvements head to Dev and Beta channels * Bug fixes in Canary, back to the usual waste of time * Brave will automatically block Recall * WhatsApp is going PWA, killing UWP app * Focusrite finally releases drivers for Windows 11 on Arm/Snapdragon X, removing the final major compatibility issue on that platform * Linux (sort of) crosses the 5 percent usage milestone Surface/Copilot+ PC * Copilot+ PC is a failure as a brand because Microsoft focused on negligible on-device AI features * It should have pushed reliability, performance, efficiency and battery life * All Copilot+ PC features should come to at least those with GPUs, but really all customers * Microsoft failed at AI, and failed with consumers, and so now it's going to tell us what consumers want from AI - a comedy * Microsoft announces Surface Laptop for Business with 5G but the real "with" is Intel Inside * Intel layoffs are even worse than expected and more are coming * Microsoft has a problem and it starts with "C" and ends with "opilot" * Microsoft SharePoint has a notably bad security flaw * DuckDuckGo adds some neat customization features to Duck.ai and DuckDuckGo lets you hide all AI from search Xbox and gaming * The Xbox platform unification continues: Xbox now testing cross-device play history - Not just console games on console, PC games on PC * Just kidding! The Outer Worlds will cost $69.99, not $79.99 Tips & Picks * Tip of the week: You hate Big Tech, but who can you trust? * App pick of the week: Proton Lumo * RunAs Radio this week: Copilot Studio with April Dunnam * Brown liquor pick of the week: Benromach 10 Hosts: Leo Laporte [https://twit.tv/people/leo-laporte], Paul Thurrott [https://twit.tv/people/paul-thurrott], and Richard Campbell [https://twit.tv/people/richard-campbell] Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly [https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly] Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com [https://www.thurrott.com/] The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin [https://twitter.com/carlfranklin]. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit [https://twit.tv/clubtwit] Sponsors: * threatlocker.com/twit [http://threatlocker.com/twit] * 1password.com/windowsweekly [http://1password.com/windowsweekly]

Microsoft just made a major change to the Windows 11 install media, and you're not going to believe what happens next! Plus, the AI spelling and grammar checking app/service that Paul relies on. And yes, he does pay for it. Windows 11 * Copilot Vision gets full Desktop support, Voice integration across all Insider channels * Click to Do gets a "Describe image" action, Administrator protection, App permission dialog changes in Dev (25H2) and Beta (24H2) * Canary finally gets the features everyone else has had for a while now * Also, Microsoft quietly killed the simplified date/time in the Windows 11 Taskbar because no one liked it * PC sales grew 5 percent in Q2 but there is a BIG caveat * Semi-related: Google is "combining" ChromeOS and Android * ChromeOS will build on Android going forward, smart * Even less related: HMD quietly pulls Nokia out of the U.S. market, the dream is over Microsoft 365, AI * Microsoft layoffs directly attributed to AI * Microsoft scuttled OpenAI's acquisition of Windsurf and all hell broke loose * Google snapped up key execs and engineers and licensed Windsurf for $2.4 billion * All's well that ends well: Cognition acquires Windsurf * Microsoft keeps changing the terms of the deal: Microsoft 365 apps will be updated on Windows 10 only through August 2026 * Microsoft 365 Copilot is finally getting a Memory * OpenAI is going to war with Microsoft and the world * It's working on a web browser * It's also working on an office productivity suite of sorts * Google NotebookLM gets curated featured notebooks. This is emerging as one of the more useful AI tools Xbox and Gaming * Xbox app for Windows 11 gets "Stream your own game" functionality * Grounded 2, more coming to Game Pass in second half of July * Cyberpunk 2077 is coming to the Mac for some reason Tips & Picks * Tip of the week: Save big on PCs, go refurbished * App pick of the week: LanguageTool for Desktop * RunAs Radio this week: Fabric in 2025 with Arun Ulag * Brown liquor pick of the week: Slane Triple Casked Blend Hosts: Leo Laporte [https://twit.tv/people/leo-laporte], Paul Thurrott [https://twit.tv/people/paul-thurrott], and Richard Campbell [https://twit.tv/people/richard-campbell] Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly [https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly] Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com [https://www.thurrott.com/] The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin [https://twitter.com/carlfranklin]. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit [https://twit.tv/clubtwit] Sponsors: * helixsleep.com/twit [http://helixsleep.com/twit] * bitwarden.com/twit [http://bitwarden.com/twit] * uscloud.com [http://uscloud.com]

It's been a big year for Windows 11 updates. This month is at least semi-manageable! Also, a few more bits from the layoffs. Plus, Amiga Forever 11 and C64 11 Forever help you live in the past! Patch Tuesday * Copilot+ PC only: Ask Copilot action for Click to Do * 24H2 only: Show smaller Taskbar icons. Screen curtain feature in Narrator. Settings home page for commercial customer * 23H2 and 24H2: Windows Share shows preview when sharing web content. Beginning of PC migration feature in Windows Backup. More changes for EU users to meet DMA requirements, mostly Edge related * Windows 10: EU/DMA updates as above More Windows 11 * WE DID IT! Windows 11 is now in use on more PCs than Windows 10. It's time for Windows 12! * No new Insider features but some bug fixes in Canary * Microsoft Edge keeps getting more responsive Microsoft 365 and AI * Teams gets threading in Channels about three years later than needed * Google brought its Veo 3 video generation model to all AI Pro subscribers last week, and now it's bringing that and two other big AI features to Pixel * Perplexity just launched its AI web browser Xbox and gaming * No, Phil Spencer is not retiring * Romero Games forced to cancel Xbox shooter, lay off 100 employees * Warcraft Rumble Mobile won't get any more updates * Xbox angst in the wake of last week's layoffs is mostly undeserved * Xbox fans keep finding new ways to complain - Most of the game/studio closures we know about were well-deserved. If anything, Microsoft let these things continue for too long with no viable deliverables * But what is Xbox? Looking at the platform and what Microsoft has done under Phil Spencer paints a very different picture than all the moaning we see on social media * Game Pass was key to getting Satya Nadella to keep Xbox going, but after the Activision acquisition, the day and date promise was unworkable. After the changes and price hikes, it's possible that Game Pass has peaked. * Microsoft uploaded an out of date version of Call of Duty: WWII to the Store and hilarity ensues * Sony to publish a game for Xbox for the first time * Epic Games quietly settled with Samsung ahead of today's Unpacked event - but not with Google Tips and picks * Tip of the week: Office 365 for IT Pros 2026 Edition is now available * App pick of the week: Microsoft Edge * RunAs Radio this week: Building Real Software using PowerApps with Luise Freese * Brown liquor pick of the week: Bolster Road Maple Rye Whiskey Hosts: Leo Laporte [https://twit.tv/people/leo-laporte], Paul Thurrott [https://twit.tv/people/paul-thurrott], and Richard Campbell [https://twit.tv/people/richard-campbell] Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly [https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly] Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com [https://www.thurrott.com/] The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin [https://twitter.com/carlfranklin]. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit [https://twit.tv/clubtwit] Sponsors: * 1password.com/windowsweekly [http://1password.com/windowsweekly] * threatlocker.com/twit [http://threatlocker.com/twit]

Microsoft's latest round of layoffs hits Xbox Gaming hard as the company cuts approximately 9,000 jobs despite record profits. This week, Paul Thurrott and Richard Campbell discuss the impact of these layoffs, Windows 11's new version naming, Microsoft Copilot coming to Mac, and dive deep into passkey security. LAYOFFS As expected, Microsoft began a massive round of layoffs across Xbox/Microsoft Gaming on Wednesday. * The fiscal year started on Tuesday. * These were originally going to happen a week or two earlier. * 9,000 employees impacted across Microsoft - about 4 percent of workforce, Xbox/MSGaming was NOT hit hardest, Microsoft now says (on top of 6,000 in May). * 10 percent of King being laid off. * Carefully worded email from Phil Spencer requires some parsing. It's Finally Official: 25H2 Is Next! Microsoft finally admits that the Dev channel is testing Windows 11 version 25H2, which will arrive, as expected, around October * This news came as part of another set of commingled Dev and Beta channel builds. * 25H2 will be delivered as an enablement package, so it's a minor release technically. * Dev and Beta are linked because 25H2 and 24H2 are linked: Each will get the same features, as started with 22H2/23H2 in late 2023. Windows 11 Last week was Week D, but we didn't get preview updates per usual before WW * That finally happened last Thursday - new preview updates for 24H2 and 23H2/22H2 * 24H2: Click to Do improvements, start of PC migration in Windows Backup, small icons in Taskbar, more. * Windows Insider Preview: Those Dev/Beta builds noted above have the first implementation of third-party passkey. Microsoft Edge 138 is a pretty big update, with AI-enhanced history search and Copilot integration into the search box and new tab page. AI * Microsoft 365 Copilot is available on the Mac. * Apple may cave and adopt Anthropic Claude and/or OpenAI ChatGPT for Apple Intelligence. * After Coda's acquisition and $1 billion in funding, Grammarly acquires Superhuman to build an "AI-native" productivity suite that will take on Big Tech (Microsoft, Google) and Little Tech (Notion, Proton) alike. Xbox and Gaming * Xbox 360 dashboard is getting its first update in years. * Halo Studios teases an October tease of the next Halo from the studio. * New Game Pass titles for the first half of July - plus, COD: WWII turns up in Game Pass for the first time. * Cursor sort of comes to the web and mobile - like Adobe Firefly on mobile, but for devs when "the mood strikes". Tips and Picks * Tip/App picks of the week: Cure Mac envy. * The Mac is about to get even prettier. But Windows 11 can rise to this challenge. * The PC matters: Paul recommends Surface Laptop 7 as a MacBook Air alternative. * Software? It's all free. * Full screen apps: Hide the Taskbar and touchpad gestures - also, use DS Clock if you need to see the time. * Transparent system menu? You can make the Taskbar transparent too. * Want Spotlight? No problem, we have Command Palette (an updated, more extensible PowerToys Run) in PowerToys. * Bonus app pick: Inoreader for RSS feeds (and read later if you want). * RunAs Radio This Week: More Azure Innovations with Mark Russinovich * Brown Liquor Pick of the Week: Alberta Distillers 23 Year Old Rare Batch No. 1 These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/939 [https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/939] Hosts: Leo Laporte [https://twit.tv/people/leo-laporte], Paul Thurrott [https://twit.tv/people/paul-thurrott], and Richard Campbell [https://twit.tv/people/richard-campbell] Sponsor: * uscloud.com [http://uscloud.com]