Windows Weekly (Video HI)

While Microsoft pushes Copilot+ PCs, NVIDIA storms into the Windows ecosystem with AI-focused Spark machines and game-changing specs, igniting new rivalries with Apple and upending expectations for what local hardware can do. Plus, Atari revives 39 Activision classics for a price that will make retro fans blink, while the Sonos saga continues as it pivots to an open AI platform that might finally win back old loyalties. Finally, Paul's Markdown book will be released sometime in the next week. Windows The mystery of 26H2 is now less mysterious Last week: Week D came and went without a preview release, triggering speculation Microsoft issues Windows 11 version 26H2 to Release Preview, a first This means a September or October release to stable. Just guessing, but Preview Update in September, general Update in October is most likely Version numbers don't matter much anymore. There are no unique 26H2 features, just a few unique 26H2 presets - These include Point-in-time restore and Memory Integrity Protection being on by default Two 26H1 pre-release builds with little to speak of IFA 2026 is underway in Berlin Acer is first out of the gates with dozens of new PCs, including one based on the NVIDIA RTX Spark EU General Court confirms that Microsoft Edge is not a gatekeeper Visual Studio Code now has a full Markdown Editor experience Brave now offers free email aliases, and will have a premium option soon Firefox for iOS now has integrated ad blocking NVIDIA - $96.2 billion in revenues, up 106 percent YOY Dell - record $47 billion in revenues, but it's all from server/infrastructure HP - $15.7 billion in revenues, up 12.5 percent - $11.8 billion from PCs, vs. $15 billion for all Dell client products AI/dev Sony and Warner sue Anthropic for stealing their music Gemini Notebook gets first Expert Intelligence upgrade with integrated e-book support Sonos announces Sonos 27 OS with major AI functionality Microsoft moves WinUI development fully to GitHub ahead of open-sourcing it XBOX and gaming Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, more coming to Game Pass Every Activision title for the Atari 2600 is being reissued in cartridge form, but it's going to cost you Tips and picks Tip of the week: Markdown: A Field Guide for Writers App pick of the week: ImageGlass 10 RunAs Radio this week: Reimagining Intranets with Susan Hanley Brown liquor pick of the week: Macaloney's Cath-Nah-Aven Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit threatlocker.com/twit helixsleep.com/windows

Microsoft tries to prove Windows on ARM is ready for prime time, but behind the PR push, unresolved questions about compatibility, branding, and a tepid market threaten to derail the company's ambitions. Also, PowerToys 0.101 is here with Windows Hopper and multiple improvements! Plus, Parallels Desktop 27 for Mac launches. Windows If a Week D falls in the woods and no one installs it, did a Week D really happen? Theory: This is the big one, with the three big changes Microsoft promised this year. Basically, this is Windows 11 version 26H2 Three new builds across Beta, Experimental, and Experimental (26H1) with a modernized AutoPlay experience and a new "Open apps maximized" accessibility feature Microsoft reminds business customers that Windows on Arm is terrific ahead of Nvidia RTX Spark launch Totally coincidental that this happened on the same day that Apple announced a new Mac Mini with M6 and M5 Pro and Mac Studio with M5 Ultra and M5 Max Microsoft 365 OneDrive for Mac gets native sync engine Proton Mail gets automatic and customizable category filtering AI/dev Bill Gates issues a strong warning on the dangers of AI. And you're not going to believe what number two is WSJ report echoes the complaints that Paul has been making for years. Again Adobe Firefly gets production-quality music, speech, and sound effect generation capabilities Apple Music will start labeling AI-generated music .NET Conf 2026 on track for November with .NET 11 XBOX and gaming XBOX testing long-awaited disc to digital entitlements The ASUS ROG XBOX Ally X20 is available now for $1299, or in a $2499 bundle Rumor: Microsoft prepping an Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition console for November Update: it's real. The XBOX 25th anniversary collection arrives November 13 Microsoft announces (third party) Designed for XBOX 25th Anniversary Collection of hardware peripherals IKEA has designed some XBOX-influenced furniture and it is amazing Rockstar Games weighs in on leaks as GTA VI reveal arrives (tomorrow) Commodore announces Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection for PC, consoles NVIDIA brings GeForce Now to Firefox Tips and picks Tip of the week: Expose yourself to other points of view App pick of the week: PowerToys RunAs Radio this week: Security Features of PowerShell 7 with Mike O'Neill Brown liquor pick of the week: SpiceBox Spiced Whisky Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT

For years, the checkbox to get a PC out of the Insider Program when that Windows version shipped in stable did absolutely nothing. That's no longer the case. Windows A new context menu for File Explorer heads out to Insiders along with five new preview builds There are lots of other like UX changes happening with little communication. Will Microsoft really touch (and update) all the ancient UIs in Windows 11? New Release Preview builds point at next Week D and Patch Tuesday updates: New Taskbar, New Start, new Windows Search, many minor changes throughout Hardware Now we know more about Snapdragon C ahead of IFA, where we may see the first laptops Google is holding a PixelBook reviewers event in mid-September You know that Commodore is back, but now the Amiga is back too! Lenovo surges on AI spending, but it's now engaged in financial shenanigans too. More like Spotify than Big Tech, but still bad AI Big Tech spending on AI is finally getting more scrutiny from financial/business publications It's happening: Microsoft "pulls a Teams" and will consolidate its Copilot (consumer) and Microsoft 365 Copilot (business apps) into a single app, evolve it in a "super app" OpenAI's new strategy: Get 'em while they're young Mozilla provides a progress report on Smart Window for Firefox, details new AI search partnership Alexa+ is now free on all FireTV devices in the U.S., no Prime required XBOX Resonance: A Plague Tale and more are heading to Game Pass during the second half of August XBOX August Update is here with more Achievements details, Game Hubs now support Xbox 360 titles, Game Pass subscribers can now stream a game while it installs in the background XBOX Insiders can now test Home Improvements, local save game management, and profile badges Apple makes major App Store concessions in the EU. But Epic Games says it is not enough. The new Call of Duty has a public beta on Friday, and there will be a single-player episode for the first time Tips and picks Tip of the week: Yes, Virginia, you can exit the Insider Program now App pick of the week: Brave RunAs Radio this week: Automatic Attack Disruption with Liz Tesch Brown liquor pick of the week: Red Bank Premium Blended Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: scribe.how/windows

Microsoft's AI investments reveal a bizarre financial loop where billions pour into infrastructure, yet profits remain elusive. The hosts break down why the industry's most hyped tech might just be a high-stakes game of circular accounting. Plus, a developer has resurrected Microsoft Word for Windows 1.1a to run natively on Windows 11! Lastly, Stardock's latest utility replaces Alt + Tab for $7.99. Windows 25H2: new touchpad gestures, Windows Hello ESS improvements, Widgets improvements, Windows Search improvements, more 26H1: Windows Update calendar-based pausing, Picture Password EOL, Point in time restore, multi-camera support, user folder customization in Setup, etc. Over 420 bug fixes, but that's over 200 less than last month Follow-up on Microsoft's AI spending. It's much worse than we knew - And also much worse than we know now Yes, Microsoft Edge is going all-in on Manifest V3 Proton Drive - Now with a CLI and business features, and it's coming soon to Linux A developer ported Word for Windows 1.1 to x64 AI Gemini now has one billion users. But how many pay? - Plus the new Pixel phones are one step sideways, one step back OpenAI brings ChatGPT to Linux (!) Xbox and gaming A new Xbox Elite Series 3 controller leak shows it will have a mini display Microsoft tests new console features with Xbox Insiders Id Software brings a new episode to Quake to mark 30th anniversary! Minecraft is coming to Switch 2 Here comes GTA VI A Valve partner was hacked, Steam Machine customers warned Nintendo revenues decline 9.5 percent to ¥518 billion Tips and picks Tip of the week: View Git status directly in File Explorer App pick of the week: AltTabby RunAs Radio this week: The Content Management System Landscape with Matt Garrepy Brown liquor pick of the week: Sideshow Lincoln Straight Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: helixsleep.com/windows cirasync.com/Windows cachefly.com/twit

Behind the headlines about skyrocketing revenues and AI investments, the actual costs and future risks for Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are shrouded in strategic accounting moves. Plus, Paul finished rewriting and adding new chapters to the Windows 11 Field Guide - mostly just clean-up now, and then whatever new monthly features. Lastly, The Document Foundation issues a friendly reminder about the Office 2021 EOL and how that never happens with their software Microsoft earnings Microsoft earnings up 18 percent to $90 billion Analysis: Microsoft finds a new way to not account for AI costs Windows Pavan Davuluri says he's "energized" about what's happening to Windows in 2026. OK. But what's really happened so far? When will the biggest changes land? And when, if ever, will you address the real enshittification in Windows 11? Windows Insider Program: Five new builds - New Taskbar comes to Beta channel This leads to questions of timing, and here, WIP is not all that transparent still Another antitrust win: Apple to allow Copy and Paste between Windows and iPhone AMD revenues up 50 percent to $11.5 billion, but it's all AI datacenter Amazon: up 20 percent to $200 billion Apple: up 16 percent to $109 billion AI Satya Nadella mentions AI super app again, not clear why anyone cares about this Proton Lumo can do data visualization now Xbox and gaming Asha Sharma details the priorities for XBOX in the next year and number 5 will shock you XBOX console prices going up in the EU and UK Thanks, Caption Obvious: Yes, Backward Compatibility on PC will support Xbox 360 games too XBOX plans new FanFest tour dates - there's SO much to celebrate! Gears of War: E-Day leads the charge for new Game Pass titles in August XBOX Insiders is testing new console features XBOX app comes to Hisense and VIDDA TVs EA goes private for $55 billion in cash, but also some debt Sony has sold 95.3 million PS5s Sony responds to concerns about no more discs (with "pffffftttt") Tips and picks Tip of the week: It's done! App pick of the week: LibreOffice RunAs Radio this week: Ransomware Readiness with Heather Renze Brown liquor pick of the week: Frey Ranch Straight Bourbon Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: cirasync.com/Windows threatlocker.com/twit

There's been so much drama over what options Microsoft will allow for the Copilot key. But you don't have to wait for a future Windows update; you can remap any key with Microsoft's own Keyboard Manager PowerToy. More people should take advantage of this. Also, Paul just finished his major 2026 rewrite of the Windows 11 Field Guide! Every single chapter was rewritten or consolidated, with several new chapters added. Lastly, the OG Halo remake is a great reminder of how good this series was in the beginning. And it looks and plays terrific. Windows Week D updates arrive on time this month Windows Hello ESS support for external fingerprint readers, many small improvements Experimental (Future Platforms) finally gets an update, but it's just the features we saw elsewhere first Several in-box app updates for July, nothing major Microsoft convinces LG to drop the McAfee ads, but HP's Bing ads are A-OK Chris tested Windows 11 with 8GB of RAM and the experience is not great Paul has a Wildcat-based laptop waiting for him in PA Microsoft is testing a "Do nothing" option for the Copilot key Your Windows 11 PC now has a OneDrive Photos app for some reason Opera One gets vertical tabs, deeper Google Lens integration Earnings Google/Alphabet - net income of $28 billion on $120 billion in revenues, but negative cash flow for the first time in the company's history Intel - net loss of $11 million, no Foundry customers leaves Wall Street swooning for some reason AI Microsoft begins shifting to its own MAI models, but the forward progress is minimal NVIDIA, Microsoft, more team up for AI empire, er, Alliance Anthropic launches Claude Opus 5 Xbox and gaming Halo: Campaign Evolved is here XBOX went down for the count for most of the day on Monday. But disc-based games still worked XBOX begins testing ad-supported Cloud Gaming Ubisoft game purchases on Xbox now carry over to PC for free Luna comes to Prime Video app Tips and picks Tip of the week: Remap keys with PowerToys Keyboard Manager App pick of the week: Halo Campaign Evolved Chris's pick of the week: His new newsletter! Hosts: Leo Laporte and Paul Thurrott Guest: Chris Hoffman Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: joindeleteme.com/twit-biz cirasync.com/Windows canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT

As the tech world catches its breath from AI whiplash and retro gaming returns to the PC, Microsoft quietly kills underused tools and tries to double down on what actually works. This episode blends the excitement of tech and entertainment (like Xbox classics landing on Windows 11) with a poignant look back at the life and legacy of legendary columnist John C. Dvorak. Windows Five new Insider builds released on Monday; the new Start menu comes to the Beta channel Experimental (26H1) a day later with no interesting new features The Whiteboard app is apparently being retired AI Microsoft expands partnership with Mistral to improve EU AI infrastructure Copilot for consumers is losing Podcasts and Deep research features soon U.S. judge approves Anthropic $1.5 billion settlement with authors it stole from 1Password partners with Anthropic to make AI access to password-protected websites secure Google renames NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook Google's next big AI models are delayed, but we got Gemini 3.6 Flash, Flash-Lite, and 3.5 Flash Cyber to tide us over XBOX and gaming Microsoft brings XBOX Backward Compatibility to PC!! Here comes Halo: Campaign Evolved, along with more Game Pass titles for the end of July Bethesda announces Fallout 3 and New Vegas remasters, and Fallout 5 is entering pre-production Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 in Early Access on August 21, Open Beta on August 27 XBOX July update adds support for longer gamertags, new library customization options, and more XBOX teams with Meta to bring Game Pass Starter Edition to Meta Horizon+ subscribers Valve says the component crisis dogging Steam Machine pricing will only get worse Tips and picks Tip of the week: Windows Package Manager for bulk app installs App (game) of the week: Doom: The Dark Ages RunAs Radio this week: Security Begins at Procurement with Jessie Schofer Brown liquor pick of the week: Loup River Nebraska Straight Bourbon Whiskey Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: arcticwolf.com/trends zscaler.com/security cirasync.com/Windows

Microsoft's July 2026 Patch Tuesday just shattered records with hundreds of bug fixes, and AI is the force behind the surge. Are we witnessing the beginning of a safer Windows, or is this flood of vulnerabilities the new normal? Plus, Tony Redmond's epic book has a new name (was Office 365 for IT Pros) and is now a bundle of four books. Windows Patch Tuesday is here! Point in Time Restore, quieter Widgets, Windows Update improvements, Screen tint, and more The biggest Patch Tuesday in history, by far: a record 570 fixes for security flaws, and a huge 3X increase from the then-record flaws fixed last month. (Some say the number is 622. Math is hard.) And this is on top of 468 Microsoft Edge/Chromium flaws that were fixed by Google this month too. Yikes. Microsoft discusses how it's improving Windows security with AI Windows Insider Program: Improved Windows Search is next on the docket, heading out to Experimental this week. Question: When do these things hit stable? Microsoft releases Snapdragon X2 versions of its Surface for Business Pro and Laptop models AI Apple sues OpenAI for stealing trade secrets Surprised there was no talk of "thermonuclear war" OpenAI's response is hilarious, and it is already prepping its first hardware device OpenAI just announced the rumored super app, which is a combination of ChatGPT, Work, Codex, and an in-app web browser, which replaces the standalone Atlas web browser. Also, GPT-5.6. In keeping with recent history, Anthropic announced its in-app web browser for Claude less than 24 hours later Reminder that Microsoft acknowledged that it, too, is working on an AI super app at Build Apple releases public betas of its OS 27 releases and, shocker, Siri is really good Now Spotify has an AI chatbot so I can tell it how much I hate Spotify Xbox and gaming Obsidian is working on a new Fallout game, duh. A quiet time after last week's terribleness Tips and picks Tip of the week: Microsoft 365 for IT Pros (2027 edition) is here! App pick of the week: MusicBee RunAs Radio this week: Finding Security Vulnerabilities using AI with Sami Laiho Brown liquor pick of the week: Sanctuary Single Malt Whisky Reserve Edition Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT helixsleep.com/windows

Microsoft's latest round of layoffs and game studio shakeups reveal deep cracks in the XBOX business, as years of unprofitability and missed expectations force the company into tough decisions. Are industry icons like Game Pass and big-name studios on borrowed time? Also, Paul's made major progress on the Windows 11 Field Guide updates! Plus, a desktop and mobile web browser that now blocks YouTube ads by default. Layoffs Microsoft announces 4800 layoffs, 3200 at XBOX Analysis: What Sharma said and didn't say. Many interesting details revealed here. Many questions unanswered Great outcomes for four studios, id Software reportedly laid off half its staff Interesting alternative analysis: The Game Pass thesis, XBOX can't do everything Windows Four new builds yesterday, one major new feature: Cloud restore Microsoft Edge is adding support for Google account sign-ins Opera One adds clipboard attack prevention Google and Samsung have announced new hardware launches, both with new foldables on the way - Apple's first foldable expected in January AI Microsoft is reportedly transitioning to its in-house MAI models where possible Latest Corey Doctorow book takes on the future of AI and is surprisingly middle-of-the-road. Unlike his last book, he explains how he handles this and has some ideas for doing so yourself XBOX and gaming Gears of War Reloaded, more head to Game Pass The oldest rumor in XBOX history is back, with Microsoft working (again, or as always) on a disc-to-digital program in the wake of the Sony PS5+ physical media announcement Nintendo to end OG Switch sales, make Switch 2 changes in the EU You can play Half-Life 2 in a web browser now Tips and picks Tip of the week: All Mint Mobile Plans Are Now Just $15 Per Month App pick of the week: DuckDuckGo browser RunAs Radio this week: Implementing Azure Policies with Barbara Forbes Brown liquor pick of the week: Shenk's Homestead Sour Mash Whiskey Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT threatlocker.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

Windows 10's Extended Security Update program quietly gets extended for another year for consumers. Microsoft reportedly kills Surface Go products & is now selling 8 GB Surface Pro & Laptop models. And Xbox Series X & S prices are going to go up again. Windows Microsoft quietly extends the Windows 10 Extended Security Update program one year to October 2027 for consumers Windows Insider Windows Update is transitioning to the new Windows Insider experience by default Plus, five new builds across Beta, Experimental, Beta (26H1), Experimental (26H1), and Experimental (Future Platforms) — new Taskbar size setting is the much-needed new feature Hardware Apple raises prices on Macs, iPads, and more, easing pressure on PC makers Microsoft quietly begins selling 8 GB Surface Pro/Laptop models Microsoft reportedly kills Surface Go products right when we need them the most The ASUS Zenbook A16 is nearly perfect, but it's unclear what you get with an X2 Elite Extreme chip AI HP partners with OpenAI for its agentic makeover Anthropic seizes on the "good enough" AI movement with Sonnet 5 Proton Lumo 2.0 is here Gemini personalized image creator is available for free in the US Notion blames agentic AI for it killing Notion Mail Xbox and Gaming The 2026 Doom and Gloom Watch Xbox Series X|S prices to go up again, by $150, on August 1 - and the 2 TB X is going away Undead Labs and Arkane Lyon possible victims of pending closures Latest rumor: Microsoft to layoff 2.5 percent of workforce next week - that's 5,500 people, less than expected, but that's because of the earlier voluntary buyouts, which apparently met internal expectations Minecraft Bedrock edition gets closed captions Sony will stop selling PS physical media in 2028 Tips and Picks Tip of the week: Help or get out of the way People who just complain aren't solving problems, they're just making noise and distracting us from the real problems. App Pick of the Week: Snapdragon Control Panel If you have a Windows 11 on Arm PC on Snapdragon X or X2, you need this app to make games run as well as possible. Plus - Settings > System > Display > Graphics for Auto SR and other settings and whatever is in each game RunAs Radio this week: AI-Accelerated Supply Chain Attacks with Mackenzie Duncan Brown liquor pick of the week: Rupert's Exceptional Canadian Whisky Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: blackhat.com/us-26 and use code TWIT zscaler.com/security cohesity.com/Resilience

Windows 12 is stalled and the real reasons go far beyond software. The conversation unpacks how soaring hardware prices, AI chaos, and market confusion have Microsoft in a holding pattern. Also, Paul finally took a sledgehammer to the subscription services he pays for, and more is on the way. Plus, one of Paul's favorite Markdown editors supports authorship on Windows now and an integrated Search/Outline view on Mac, iPad, and iPad.Windows Week D is here with a preview of July's Patch Tuesday Point-in-time restore is now generally available in Windows 11, sort of Quieter widgets, which is nice! Plus, Screen tint, Windows Update improvements, more Tied to this, sort of, something wonderful is happening to the Windows 11 Field Guide Five new builds, plus some 26H2 news (and still no news about what 26H1 becomes, see below...) Mostly minor fit-and-finish improvements So... what about Windows 12? The history is interesting, and Copilot+ PC was what Paul originally thought Windows 12 would be. But now we're talking agentic capabilities that will handle local/cloud/hybrid orchestration per last week's discussion, and maybe that will be it. We knew that Surface Laptop and Surface Pro would come in 8 GB configurations. But they're available now with just 256 GB of storage and the prices are $950 and $850 and up, respectively. Plus all the usual Surface limitations, like one color choice. (16 GB is $1150 and $1050, respectively, so $300 more.) Once again, it's time to just get a Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x for $850. It has 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage and is awesome. Tim Cook just admitted that Apple will raise hardware prices because of the component crisis. If this is hitting Apple hard, the rest of the industry is screwed. AI Cory Doctorow's new book is out and let's just say his new neologism isn't as catchy as enshittification Reverse centaur (groan) Surprisingly centrist view on the pros and cons of AI Highlights the Microsoft financial shenanigans I point out every quarter: Microsoft "invests" $10 billion of "tokens" in OpenAI, but there's no volume discount and Microsoft books the transaction as $10 billion in AI revenues as OpenAI simply uses its infrastructure. It gave $10 billion to OpenAI so that it could spend $10 billion on Azure. Google Home Speaker is the Gemini speaker and it's now shipping to first customers as Google discontinues Nest Audio and Nest Mini speakers. Can we trust this company with hardware? And why are there no Apple or Google home theater setups? Adobe brings its creative agent to Firefly and the biggest apps in Creative Cloud XBOX & gaming No movement yet on the massive changes we expect in XBOX soon Microsoft has "dozens" of gaming IP-based movies and TV shows in the works XBOX Insiders can now test updates to Gamertags, Game Hub, and Wish List Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 are being ported to modern PS consoles. Sadly, not remakes or remasters. GTA VI will cost $79.99 and up - Arrives in November, can preorder on June 25 Steam Machine to cost $1049 and up, and that's with no controller Tips & picks Tip of the week: How to save $100 a month App pick of the week: iA Writer RunAs Radio this week: Securing Developers with Tanya Janca Brown liquor pick of the week: Glen Breton Rare 10 These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/989 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsor: webroot.com/twit

With major leadership shakeups and rumors of studio closures, the future of XBOX inside Microsoft suddenly looks uncertain. Is this the beginning of a Game Pass overhaul, or could XBOX face an outright split from the company? Plus, PowerToys 0.100 (yes, point one hundred) arrives with so many improvements. And the Windows Insider program is leaving even seasoned users scratching their heads over Microsoft's so-called "simplification." Windows Windows Insider Program: Microsoft releases a record 7 builds to the allegedly simpler Insider Program You can't tell the players without a program Experimental: Less disruptive Windows Update, Windows Search improvements Beta 26H1: Screen tint Beta 25H2: Screen tint, quieter Widgets, Magnifier zoom controls Release Preview 25H2: Screen tint, quieter Widgets, Magnifier zoom controls, Bluetooth connectivity improvements All (?) get Voice access and Voice typing improvements, and new right-click Touchpad settings Good God, Microsoft Hardware Microsoft announces Snapdragon X2-based Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Laptop 13 and the prices are eye-watering Samsung announces Snapdragon X2-based Galaxy Book6 Edge and, yes, the prices are eye-watering The component crisis is a disaster but limitations are driving innovation, as they always have Google releases Android 17 alongside a new Pixel Drop, setting the stage for Googlebooks Software Microsoft Edge to follow Chrome to a two-week development schedule because we all love updating our web browsers Mozilla releases Firefox 152 and a new roadmap for the browser AI FINALLY AN AI-FREE WEEK XBOX and gaming Fear & loathing at XBOX! The Microsoft fiscal year ends in two weeks, and big changes are coming XBOX leadership set to reveal "hard truths" that will absolutely include layoffs and studio and game closures Microsoft is looking at all options for XBOX, including a spin-off XBOX Studios CEO and chief of staff announce their departures ahead of expected layoffs XBOX reportedly closing Ninja Theory, makers of the Hellblade games Compulsion Games is likely on the chopping block too XBOX is coming to Gamescon this year Xbox June Update arrives with new boot animation, more while Microsoft continues testing minor UX changes in the Insider Program COD: Vanguard, EA Sports FC 26 and more coming to Game Pass in the second half of June Rockstar Games is giving free GTA V upgrades to Xbox One and PS4 players Tips and picks Tip of the week: Don't doomscroll, learnscroll instead App pick of the week: PowerToys 0.100 RunAs Radio this week: 47 Day Certificates with Todd Gardner Brown liquor pick of the week: Thornæs Kagerup Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: trustedtech.team/windowsweekly365

If you think code is safe from automation, think again. This week's discussion tackles why the rise of vibe coding and AI-powered tools could upend long-held beliefs about software development, with even seasoned pros rethinking their roles. Also, a new C++ documentary is worth watching! Windows After a weekend of Build session viewing, two big takeaways! Vibe coding native Windows apps and a new reactive dev model for WinUI will help to make modern app dev easier for everyone A new theory emerges: The real reason Microsoft is fixing Windows 11 is that it needs this foundation for a future of hybrid AI agents. And hybrid means more than just local + cloud. Patch Tuesday is here! As promised, Microsoft fixed a record number of security issues thanks to AI 24H2/25H2: Shared audio, more NPU in Task Manager, multi-app camera support, user folder name choice in OOBE, more 26H1: Xbox Mode, Drop tray, etc. Windows Insider Program: New 26H1 Beta channel added for some reason Dell now sells a Windows Hello ESS-compatible wired mouse AI WWDC 2026: Apple announced vibe-coding advances for normal users (Safari extensions) and developers (Xcode). Paul used Xcode and Claude Code to create a full-featured Markdown editor app in about 12-15 minutes. Google drops the price of AI Plus plan to $4.99 per month, raises storage to 400 GB and announces new NotebookLM capabilities Proton Drive is coming to Linux, has a new SDK, and now has a new CLI too. We're going to need a CLI section in the show notes. XBOX and gaming Microsoft Games Showcase: It needed to be a big day for Xbox and it was Microsoft showed off Halo: Campaign Evolved, Gears of War E-Day, Fable, and a lot more Some games will be console-exclusive in the future, starting with the new Gears Microsoft will sell a limited edition Xbox Series X25 later this year Xbox leadership is exploring new business models for the next console - Game Pass lost "millions" of subscribers after last year's price hikes Xbox Insider update adds a new way to discover mutual friends, more Valve says the Steam Machine and Steam Frame will ship this summer Tips and picks Tip of the week: Windows 11 Field Guide is being updated to 2026 edition App pick of the week: Brave Origin RunAs Radio this week: How Machine Learning Fails with Megan Robertson Brown liquor pick of the week: Thy Bøg Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: helixsleep.com/windows zscaler.com/security trustedtech.team/windowsweekly365

Build 2026 is underway in San Francisco this week, and it started with a big, overly-long keynote as always. And Computex is this week, too. There's a lot going on, and some of it is fascinating. Plus, WWDC is next week because you cannot relax. Also, Microsoft GA's WinApp CLI, announces the Windows Platform Skills plug-in for native app creation, and you're not going to believe what Paul did next. OK, you will believe itBuild + Computex = OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD NVIDIA finally announces Arm-based N1X as the RTX Spark RTX Spark is an Arm-based portable workstation chip for Windows 11 Microsoft announces Surface Laptop Ultra - It and other RTX Spark-based PCs will appear in late 2026 Some of this leaked earlier, including a lower-end N1 chipset Microsoft continues to optimize and evolve Windows 11 for developers Windows Developer Configuration, Windows Developer Skills + WinApp CLI, Terminal, more Linux, and more on-device ("unmetered") AI - Tied to this, Copilot+ PC features are coming to more PCs, with CPU/GPU support - this, plus the RTX Spark stuff hints at answers to some obvious questions but there's nothing concrete from Microsoft Microsoft Edge is getting three new on-AI features Scout is a personal work agent powered by OpenClaw GitHub Copilot app arrives on desktop for your agentic coding and management needs Microsoft AI announces seven new foundation models Stevie Bathiche is back, baby! And he's talking about those AI app structures and how they've led to Project Solara Windows Microsoft discusses the progress it's made on Windows 11 pain points You can now test the new Start menu in Experimental - Paul did so along with the new Taskbar Qualcomm announces low-cost Snapdragon C for $300+ PCs to take on MacBook Neo And Acer is the first to announce a Snapdragon C laptop New Surface Pro with Snapdragon X2 leaks for June release (!) Dell XPS 13 is coming soon with Intel Wildcat (also to take on MacBook Neo) Dell revenues are through the roof, but not because of PCs HP revenues are up, and it is because of PCs AI and dev Anthropic gets a new valuation exceeding OpenAI and then it files for an IPO OpenAI adjusts GPT5.5-Instant for less sucking-up and releases computer use in Codex on Windows Flutter takes the lead on Flutter desktop development XBOX and gaming Asha Sharma says you can't please everyone and then immediately jumps the shark trying to please everyone XBOX delays Fable reboot because of GTA VI New titles coming to Game Pass in early June across platforms XBOX starts early testing of new console features ASUS announces ROG Xbox Ally X20 with OLED display and XReal R1 glasses Intel announces Arc G-series for gaming handhelds Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 is next and it's the COD we've been begging for Tips and picks Tip of the week: Now you can vibe code a native Windows app from the CLI App pick of the week: iA Writer RunAs Radio this week: Data API Builder and SQL MVP with Jerry Nixon Brown liquor pick of the week: Old Malt Casking of Longmorn 20 These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/986 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT threatlocker.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

Paul has been testing various Linux distributions and other Windows alternatives for months as part of a Switcher series. The zen of Linux can mostly apply to Windows, too: Install and manage software with package managers, and embrace the command line, especially. And if you're going to use a local account, at least be smart about it. Also, Vivaldi 8.0 looks awesome and appears to deliver what Firefox is promising with its Nova UI. Plus, Discord has a native app for Windows 11 on Arm now. Windows Week D arrives with a surprise: 24H2/26H1 are aligned and getting the same new features Shared audio with BT LE, multi-app camera support, many improvements - but the big deal may be the performance and reliability improvements across the board This is the next Patch Tuesday, today Friday builds - new accessibility features in Experimental and Beta, more Microsoft CMO Yusuf Mehdi to leave company after an astonishing 35-year run - started in Windows, but with IE, Bing & MSN, Interactive Entertainment (Xbox), Windows and Devices, and then a SLT position before the end. Incredible run. Paul has three milestones and one throughline to share. Lenovo revenues surge 27 percent to $21.6 billion NVIDIA revenues really surged 85 percent to $81.6 billion AI/dev Google adds Google Drive sync to NotebookLM, and moves preferred sources into AI Mode and AI Overviews Saying no to AI: DuckDuckGo usage surges in the wake of Google I/O's AI tsunami OpenAI releases ChatGPT plugin for PowerPoint .NET MAUI to get Material You support for Android in .NET 10 Follow-up on last week's vibe coding adventures: Paul talked about this last week, but a lot has happened since then. The Android app creation capability in Google AI Studio is live. A few thoughts on vibe coding with Android Studio, Claude Code, and more Xbox and gaming XBOX—and, yes, it's XBOX now—has an official merchandise store to go alongside all its other official merchandise stores The Steam Deck is back in stock! Also, it's 40 percent more expensive Tips & picks Tip of the week: Understanding the zen of Linux can help a Windows user too App pick of the week: A grab-bag of apps for Windows RunAs Radio this week: Team Productivity using Loop with Karinne Bessette Brown liquor pick of the week: John Sleeman & Sons Rye Whisky Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: trustedtech.team/windowsweekly365 webroot.com/twit

Windows Insider Program Release Preview channel updates (including 26H1 for the first time? - A preview of the June Patch Tuesday updates - Shared audio, NPU usage in Task Manager, multi-app camera support, Magnifier improvements. Taskbar updates come to Insiders! Also in Canary, weʼre throwing them a bone this time. Enshittification remedies all around Microsoft just held a WinHEC for the first time since 2018 and thereʼs a new Windows Driver Initiative! Microsoft will soon let us remap Copilot key to Right Ctrl, which is what it was in the first place. A Linux privacy nut YouTuber confuses privacy and security and doesnʼt understand Windows 11 so... ... Paul wrote a complete guide to the local account de-Microsoft experience in Windows 11 Microsoft Edge will stop loading all passwords into clear text on startup like a big boy browser. Hardware Paul came home to an ASUS Zenbook A16 and ohmygodohmygodohmygod Surface Microsoft finally revs Surface Laptop and Surface Pro for Business, with Intel chips and VERY high prices. Snapdragon X2 variants in late 2026 because of supply issues wa-waa-waaaaa. AI MDASH is Microsoftʼs answer to Anthropic Mythos, in-house only. Elon Musk and Sam Altman are both terrible but a jury decided against Muskʼs frivolous lawsuit. OpenAI and Apple might head to court over Siri promises OpenAI Codex is on mobile via the ChatGPT app Google unleashes an AI tsunami at Google IO this week. A few relevant takeaways: Overview of the major announcements Google advances Android as a developer platform Chrome is turning into a proactive assistant Google AI subscriptions are an incredible value Related: The Gemini Intelligence feature for Googlebooks and more has steep hardware requirements - 12 GB of RAM, flagship SoC So Pixel 10 series/Galaxy S26 series and newer only etc. Just a reminder that Microsoft makes a Linux distribution ... for Azure specifically More dev WWDC schedule is up for June 8 opening day Build 2026 kicks off June 2 in SFO After another boring .NET 11 preview release, we finally get our first look at a major change: MAUI is switching from the Mono runtime to the CoreCLR runtime. And we should pause for a moment to remember S "Soma" Somasegar, who sadly passed away this week. Xbox and Gaming Next Xbox Elite controller leaks and it is glorious Related: An Xbox Cloud-Connected controller leaks too and it is less than glorious. Forza Horizon 6 is here, and itʼs on Game Pass on Day One. Be sure to read Laurentʼs detailed review. Haters gonna keep hating: Fans want Xbox exclusives because their heads are still in the sand. Sony is allegedly returning to this model for single player experiences Related: Sony raises prices on PS Plus Fortnite comes back to the Apple App Store worldwide *excluding Australia for some reason. Tips and Picks Tip of the week: Google AI Studio. Vibe-code your next app with this incredible free tool. Related: A look at Markdown editors. App pick of the week: DeskScapes 2026 Stardock DeskScapes 2026 is normally $9.99 but it will cost just $6.99 during the launch period. Also: Firefox 151 is a big update on desktop and mobile, the latter gets the AI kill switch RunAs Radio this week: UEFI Secure Boot with Richard Hicks Brown liquor pick of the week: Daftmill Winter Batch Release These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/984 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit trustedtech.team/windowsweekly365 zscaler.com/security

It's not just Recall: Security vulnerabilities that require you to sign into an account on your PC are not necessarily vulnerabilities. Also, Windows 11 gets its first big feature updates in this week's Patch Tuesday releases. Snapseed 4.0 comes to Android/iOS, and Claude FM is great for relaxing or getting coding/work done. Plus, the Helium browser has emerged as a favorite with 2 notable caveats: No online settings sync and no mobile client. Windows 25H2/24H2: Xbox Mode, Agents on the Taskbar, more 26H1: Smart App Control improvements, other things we saw previously (26H1 is like the stable version of Canary, it seems) Microsoft used a new Mythos-like model called MDASH to find vulnerabilities this month, so expect the numbers of fixed bugs to jump in coming months A low-latency profile for Windows will let it optimize for app/UI launch performance just like mobile platforms already do New builds across most channels with two major changes: Touchpad improvements in Experimental and free upgrade path to Pro for education users in Experimental Beta. A new threat emerges Google announces Googlebook, an Android-based laptop platform with Google Intelligence Some morning-after thoughts, including Microsoft promising AI and that Copilot will be the new Start, while Google delivers AI and is remaking the laptop as an intelligent device AI Microsoft Edge gets big AI and productivity updates on desktop and mobile An Anthropic engineer argues that AI should use HTML for output, not Markdown. He's right. About that 4 GB Gemini Nano model that Chrome secretly downloads OpenAI brings Codex to Google Chrome Security A Bitlocker concern emerges Microsoft Edge loads all saved passwords into plain text when it launches, Microsoft says this is as intended Mozilla patched 423 vulnerabilities in Firefox during April, most courtesy of Anthropic Mythos 465 million Amazon customers have enrolled in passkeys Xbox & gaming Xbox Insider Program: New build for console with previously announced new boot animation, tiered Gamerscore badges, new filters in Game Library Forza Horizon 6 leaks on Steam, those who play it early will be banned until the sun swallows the earth Discord Nitro now has an Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition perk Mojang will host a special MINECRAFT LIVE event on May 30 Sony sold just 1.5 million PS5s in most recent quarter, its lowest number yet Nintendo sold just 2.49 million Switch 2s in quarter, lowers annual estimates Supreme Court gives Apple the

Microsoft's earnings report went out last week, and the company spent a lot on AI in the quarter. Microsoft updates its customers on what it's done to address Windows 11 problems. And Xbox kills Copilot plans for the console. Microsoft Earnings Microsoft announced that it earned a net income of $31.8 billion on revenues of $82.9 billion in the previous quarter. Windows: 1.6 billion monthly active devices, a focus on quality after years of enshittification - but revenues from PC makers were down 2 percent YOY. Microsoft Edge "has taken share for 20 consecutive quarters," which isn't supported by the evidence. Bing "monthly active users reached one billion for the first time," raising questions about how Microsoft defines the term "user." Xbox: "The team is recommitting to our core fans and players, and shaping the future of play," new records for monthly active Xbox users and game streaming hours. AI: Capex spending in the quarter was $32 billion, down from previous quarter as previously described, but up 49 percent YOY. More earnings Apple, Google/Alphabet, and Amazon. AMD - Up because of AI datacenter. Qualcomm - Plus, Intel just hired away a key Qualcomm exec. Windows Microsoft shares an update about what it's done to address Windows 11 pain points so far. Marcus Ash is one of the good guys. Some of this is happening in Insider, some is rolling out to retail. Windows Insider Program and Windows Update improvements we discussed last week - two primary channels in WIP now. Simplifying AI experiences - fewer Copilot icons (Notepad, etc.). File Explorer improvements - performance, fewer hangs, better polish and consistency. Widgets - Feed will be off by default, fewer interruptions, no hover activate. System performance - Smaller memory footprint, more aggressive RAM restoration, and more. Soon: Taskbar updates, Start updates, and more to share at Build in June. Week D update arrives with a peek at May's Patch Tuesday. Major: Xbox Mode, AI agents on the Taskbar are the first two big features of 2026. Minor: Also adds File Explorer improvements, new haptic feedback effects, touch keyboard improvements, and more. Shocking new report that Microsoft Edge is incredibly insecure should surprise no one. AI Microsoft Agent 365 Platform is out of preview, supports local AI agents and Copilot Cowork Agent arrives on mobile with plugin support. Microsoft launches a Legal AI Agent in Word. Apple's plan to open up to multiple third-party AIs is a good one. Canonical's plan to add AI to Ubuntu is also good, but you're never going to believe what happened next. Xbox and Gaming Asha Sharma reorgs Xbox, kills Copilot on the console. Forza Horizon 6, more coming to Game Pass in May. Xbox April Update is out with updates for all platforms. Next Call of Duty will not ship on Xbox One, PS4. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is coming to the Mac for some reason. And finally, with the Supreme Court refusing to block the implementation of the ruling in Epic v. Apple, Microsoft's Xbox game store for mobile is one step closer to happening. Tips and picks Tip of the week: Embrace inconvenience. App pick of the week: Windows Defender. RunAs Radio this week: Securing Active Directory with Spencer Alessi. Brown liquor pick of the week: Stalk & Barrel Whisky. These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/982 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit threatlocker.com/twit joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT helixsleep.com/windows cachefly.com/twit

This episode dives into early MS-DOS/PC-DOS source code, Snapdragon X2 gaming, and the "We are Xbox" messaging. Plus, Paul details 2 big changes in the Windows Insider Program. The latest PowerToys adds 2 useful new utilities and many improvements. And a TWiT listener asked about buying Windows 11 on Arm to virtualize it on a Mac. You're not going to believe what happened next. Windows Microsoft announces big changes to Windows Update Microsoft announces Windows Insider Program changes, with Experimental channel Hands-on with both predictably shows some nice improvements Hands-on with Snapdragon X2 gaming - more wins, but still some losses Microsoft open sources some of the earliest MS-DOS source code and related materials Intel loses $3.7 billion and Wall Street could not be happier. WTF is happening - Paul has a theory and its called collusion AI Microsoft and OpenAI revise partnership again and wait for it... OpenAI immediately signs on with AWS Microsoft 365 Copilot subscribers get Word, Excel, and PowerPoint agentic AI features Copilot in Outlook can manage your inbox and calendar, but seriously stop using Outloook GitHub Copilot's switch to usage-based billing starts June 1 OpenAI is reportedly working on a phone because of course it is Adobe Firefly AI Assistant is now available in preview And then Anthropic goes deeper into the creator market Xbox and gaming Microsoft Gaming is being (re)rebranded to Xbox! New Xbox leadership can't stop explaining its plans and it's glorious Microsoft still plans a mobile game store, waiting on Apple to stop being so f'ing terrible Valve's Steam Controller will cost $99 and launches next week Tips and picks Tip of the week: Windows licenses, $, and you App pick of the week: PowerToys 0.99 RunAs Radio this week: M365 Copilot vs Claude Cowork with Sharon Weaver Brown liquor pick of the week: Reifel Rye Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: webroot.com/twit zscaler.com/security

AI is democratizing the making of things, from bespoke/custom apps to websites, designs of all kinds, and everything else you might imagine. It's a new world, and it's time to create. Plus, Helium is a new Chromium-based web browser that's completely open source, lightweight, secure, and private. There's a native version for Windows 11 on Arm, too. Also, Firefox 150 arrives with over 270 security fixes! Windows 11 Reports of a Recall security vulnerability are, once again, bogus, Microsoft says New builds on all channels, still on the old system Xbox Mode is now available in all channels Release Preview shows us the May Patch Tuesday updates: Xbox Mode, File Explorer improvements, Haptic improvements, Drop Tray renaming, Agents on the Taskbar Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x - Snapdragon X2 Elite, 14-inch display impressions Lenovo IdeaPad 5x - Snapdragon X2 Plus, 15.3-inch display impressions Microsoft 365, Surface, more OneDrive now supports Markdown natively New Surface PCs with Intel chips coming soon Microsoft is making changes to its Rewards program AI GitHub Copilot moves to token-based billing in a sign of the true cost of AI Claude Design democratizes visual design on the heels of Claude Opus 4.7 OpenAI Codex moves into productivity OpenAI releases ChatGPT Images 2.0 Chrome AI Mode gets a big update Mozilla announces Thunderbolt, sovereign AI for businesses Google brings vibe coding to Android apps with Android CLI Xbox and gaming Microsoft drops Xbox Game Pass prices (!), but also drops Call of Duty from Day One Plus, Xbox teases a Game Pass Discord perk More Game Pass titles for April: Kiln, Vampire Crawlers, more Xbox April Update is here with that Quick Resume feature we all want There's an ID@Xbox event on April 23 to highlight indie games Xbox is selling Forza Horizon 6 limited edition controller and headsets Starfield is coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 A Call of Duty movie will finally arrive in 2028 Try out the Modern Warfare remake on Game Pass, it's a reminder of COD's gritty past PS5 Digital is down to its $399 launch price temporarily Tips and picks Tip of the week: Just make it App pick of the week: Helium RunAs Radio this week: The Life and Death of Microsoft Deployment Toolkit with Michael Niehaus Brown liquor pick of the week: Ned Australian Whisky Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: webroot.com/twit threatlocker.com/twit

With Microsoft finally doing right by Windows 11 and the Windows Insider Program, it's time to start testing and provide some feedback. And then we'll see if we can really trust these people. Also, Stardock's Connection Explorer 1.0 is here! And if you want one of macOS's dumbest features on Windows 11, you can get it now. Windows Yesterday was Patch Tuesday - Another month in paradise 26H1 - Eh, 24H2/25H2 - Narrator, File Explorer, display, Pen settings, WRE, Remote Desktop improvements Microsoft reveals how it will simplify the Windows Insider Program Two top-level channels, but really three A way to enable all features in new builds, finally, and easy channel switching. But there are complexities, of course New builds for Canary, Beta, and Dev - Two for Canary, but nothing new, Beta and Dev get Storage, networking, Windows Security, and Feedback Hub improvements The first Snapdragon X2-based PC is out, and Paul has that waiting in PA, and two more PCs are coming to Mexico PC sales were somehow up 2.5 percent in Q1, but the rest of 2026 will be a bloodbath Also, smartphone sales are doing even worse NVIDIA reportedly wants to buy Dell or HP ahead of a big PC chipset push. Interesting Surface/Microsoft 365 Microsoft is forced to hike Surface prices dramatically Microsoft reportedly kills Surface Hub Microsoft College Offer: 12 months of Microsoft 365 Premium, 12 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and a custom Xbox controller when students in the U.S. purchase a PC AI/Dev Microsoft AI releases a faster and more efficient image model Amazon CEO tries to explain the AI spending Google app for Windows rolls out worldwide, but the Mac gets a Gemini app Claude for Microsoft Word arrives in Beta Claude for Desktop gets a major redesign for multiple AI agents Microsoft's reported plans to charge for AI agents .NET 11 Preview 3 arrives right on schedule, but there's nothing to see here Build session catalog is up - joking, but the new Windows native app strategy should just be vibe coding Google I/O registration is open, and you are never going to believe what the main topics will be - number five will shock you Xbox & gaming New Xbox CEO says Game Pass is too expensive, also that the sky is blue Xbox will show off the next Metro game soon Starfield for PS5 is getting a fix Amazon Luna is stripping down to the basics e.g. "pulling a Stadia" Tips & picks Tip of the week: It's time to get involved App pick of the week: Stardock Connection Explorer RunAs Radio this week: Internal Corporate Communications in 2026 with Emily Mancini Brown liquor pick of the week: ScapeGrace Vanguard Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: cyberhoot.com/windows threatlocker.com/twit

Julia Liuson is leaving Microsoft. Liuson joined Microsoft in 1992, the same year as CEO Satya Nadella (she worked on Access at first). She helped build the first version of Visual Studio and was the first female corporate vice president at Microsoft. Liuson has been president of Microsoft's Developer Division since 2021. Also, curious about life on the other side of the fence? Paul has a tip for finding games that are optimized for Linux. Plus, Chrome joins the 21st century with vertical tabs and a real reading view. Just be sure to install those anti-tracking extensions. Windows Microsoft promises more native apps for Windows 11, but... which apps? New apps? Replacements for existing apps? Thanks for making us revisit the web app vs. native app thing yet again, Microsoft Windows 11 version 25H2 is now being pushed to all compatible PCs Compatibility milestone, not a big deal because 24H2/25H2 features are identical, same underlying codebase - but some will complain that Microsoft is "forcing" 25H2 on them Secure Boot certificate notifications are now available so you can see where your PC is at Another month, another emergency Windows Update patch New Dev/Beta builds add Xbox Mode, new haptic effects, etc., plus a new Canary build with features we've seen before Microsoft is taking the Insider Program on the road Component shortages trigger another Raspberry Pi price hike, but also a promise for the future The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition processor will be available from leading retailers starting Apr. 22 with a retail price of $899 AI Microsoft's terms of service for Copilot say it's for entertainment purposes only. Yes, really. Microsoft AI releases new foundational models for transcription, voice, and images Word on iPhone gets Copilot co-create capabilities - used to be AI Mode, you need a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription Anthropic has hired away a key AI executive from Microsoft, and what he has to say about the opportunity is interesting Anthropic brings Computer Use to Windows Google: Seriously, we are not training AI with your Gmail Google AI Pro plans now offer 5 TB of cloud storage, yikes Xbox & gaming Xbox is refreshing the look of achievements on the console Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, more coming to Game Pass this month Was this the best COD ever? In search of greatness Also: Forza Horizon 6 launches May 19 and will be available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC and Xbox Cloud as an Xbox Play Anywhere title, and playable day one with Xbox Game Pass Xbox will hold FanFest events around the world Tips & picks Tip of the week: So you want to try gaming on Linux App pick of the week: Google Chrome RunAs Radio this week: Securing AI Agents with Niall Merrigan Brown liquor pick of the week: Corowa Peated Single Barrel 521 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: zscaler.com/security helixsleep.com/windows cachefly.com/twit

Microsoft's AI ambitions overflowed into GitHub, sparking backlash when ads appeared in pull requests and raising new concerns about where your code is really going. GitHub is going to automatically use your data to train AI, so Paul tells how to opt-out if you don't want that. Plus, there's a new Microsoft 365 alternative in town, and this one is from a little tech company you can trust Windows Week D updates go live last Thursday - Smart App Control, many other minor changes And here we go again: Microsoft issues emergency patch for March Week D optional update Microsoft says it will replace web-based in-box apps and experiences with native apps ... somehow Four builds across three channels - Canary with opt-in gets a huge Windows Console upgrade, Dev/Beta get Administrator Protection (again), more AMD has a new flagship gaming processor AI/Dev Microsoft Research AI has a new Critique feature that uses ChatGPT and Claude together in an unholy Frankenstein's monster of orchestration A week of Siri AI rumors/leaks - This is Apple's version of Microsoft trying to buy TikTok Google makes it easier to switch to Gemini - This is like Mac vs. PC, but for AI Mozilla's approach to AI in Firefox is both right and correct The plan to the save the open web from Big Tech The future of Firefox includes a Smart Window mode that works like Private window but for AI SwiftUI SDK for Android is now available Xbox and gaming New Xbox chief seeks to reset Xbox brand image - reminder, that's not the same as changing anything Xbox announces 14 Day One Game Pass titles coming soon Xbox Games Showcase 2026 and Gears of War E-Day Direct are coming in June Sony to raise PS5 prices soon Nintendo to raise prices for physical Switch 2 games soon Tips & picks Tip of the week: Opt-out of training AI on GitHub App pick of the week: Proton Workspace with Meet RunAs Radio this week: My Home Lab Brown liquor pick of the week: Jeptha Creed Six Year Old Wheated Bourbon Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: threatlocker.com/twit joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT

In 2015, Satya Nadella said that he wanted users to love Windows. But Microsoft has only enshittified Windows more aggressively since then. Paul wrote a book. And now Microsoft says it's changed, baby, and it's serious this time. Here's what was said ... and what was not said.A Timeline Early signs of positive change: Rust in the Windows kernel, numerous new security features in Windows 11 - "two sides" of Windows, the engineering side and the "let's push AI at all costs/UX" side - more recently, Baseline Security Mode and User Transparency and Consent announcement Last September, Pavan Davuluri took over Windows and reorganized the business immediately, bringing Server/Core back in-house In December, Paul saw the first signs of positive changes in OneDrive, while not perfect, a major step back from the enshittification there. It took a few months to understand exactly what changed. In January, there are over one billion Windows 11 users. Davuluri first mentions a push for quality in 2026 - "pain points" In February, Nadella announced leadership changes that included people directly in charge of security and engineering quality Now, Microsoft has announced that it will address (some of) the complaints about Windows 11, and this includes performance and reliability improvements across the board Microsoft said it will Let you move the Taskbar to other screen edges, finally Improve File Explorer performance Make changes to how users to skip Windows Updates (vaguely) Make improvements to Widgets (but what about the quality problem?) Remove unnecessary Copilot entry points Make the Windows Insider Program more transparent More relevant recommendations in Start - ?? Reduce resource usage across the board, give more resources to what you're doing (good for gaming, especially) Reduce interaction latency - WInUI3 Reduce search latency throughout - also context menus and navigation (which is WinUI3, I guess) Make improvements to Windows Subsystem for Linux OS, drive, and in-box app reliability improvements Windows Hello improvements - Wonders if this is tied to the complaint about speed here What Microsoft didn't discuss Of the several items in the Windows 11 Enshittification Checklist, only one was addressed by Davuluri's post, Windows Update chaos, and then only partially. Not mentioned: Forced telemetry, bundled crapware, forced Microsoft account sign-ins, forced Microsoft Edge usage and configuration harassment, hardware requirements (less relevant today), OneDrive behaviors (partially addressed already). Recall is rare in that it's opt-in, but most of the AI and unwanted features are opt-out or worse Controlled Feature Releases are not controlled, but they do suck Microsoft has monthly Security Updates that include new features. Security and Feature updates should be separate and have different pausing rules Microsoft is not removing Copilot from Windows, nor is it doing less AI; it is just removing Copilot icons from most places and trying to be more thoughtful about how it deploys AI in Windows 11 The Windows Insider Program makes 0 sense right now, and this was only partially addressed; it's not clear what's changing yet Davuluri says that WinUI3 UIs are the solution to many performance problems, but just using an old Mor These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/976 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

There's an ongoing narrative that Windows is worse than ever today and people are leaving in droves. Paul does not see that, and will simply point to Windows 8 and remind folks that it can be (and was) worse. Also, PowerToys 0.98 adds a major new feature to Command Palette, big changes to Keyboard Manager and CursorWrap, and about 100 other updates. This is a big one. Plus, Mozilla Firefox is staging a comeback and may be worth another look. Windows Rajesh Jha is retiring and Microsoft is reorging its Experiences + Devices team Release Preview: A peek at next week's Week D update (and April's Patch Tuesday) shows we're getting improvements to Narrator, Settings, Smart App Control, Pen settings, Display, File Explorer, and the Windows Recovery Environment (WRE). The trend continues! New Canary, Dev, and Beta builds - Nothing new in Canary. Dev/Beta: Drag Tray is being renamed to Drop Tray, you can change the user folder name during Setup, Restore points are getting a modern update finally Intel goes nuts with new "Arrow Lake refresh" processors; these are not Copilot+ PC capable and it's unclear what the Panther Lake comparison looks like IDC now expects 11.3 percent decline in PC market in 2026, 7.6 percent decline for tablets AI Microsoft may sue OpenAI for contract breach - the best Microsoft divorce since IBM Major reorg in Microsoft's AI businesses Former Snap exec in charge of consolidated Copilot offerings across consumer and commercial Mustafa Suleyman to focus on Microsoft's foundational models There has been a lot of retiring and a lot of outside hires for top-level executive positions in Microsoft over the past year or more. Curious. Rumors vs. reality in Microsoft scaling back AI ambitions in Windows Rumor: Microsoft is backtracking on some Copilot features Reality: Microsoft is not backtracking on its AI ambitions, it's just going to try to do a better job with branding and positioning Microsoft launches Copilot Health in the U.S. Google Personal Intelligence ships in the U.S. OpenAI releases GPT-5.4 mini and nano models GPT-5 mini is available as a reasoning model on Duck.ai Xbox and gaming Rumor vs. reality in Xbox strategy Rumor: Microsoft removed "This is an Xbox" messaging from website so it must be focusing on consoles again Reality: Literally nothing has changed Xbox Insiders is testing per-game Quick Resume toggle Also more groups on Home, custom colors, profile badges in guide Big half month for Game Pass, with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, more coming Starfield is coming to PS5 on April 7 NVIDIA launches DLSS 5, changes existing games, people are freaking out Tips and picks Tip of the week: The grass is always greener App pick of the week: PowerToys 0.98 RunAs Radio this week: Sustainable AI with Darshna Shah Brown liquor pick of the week: Teeling Small Batch Whiskey Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit zscaler.com/security

From bug-busting AI that's transforming Firefox to personal coding breakthroughs, the team breaks down how practical applications are cutting through skepticism and reshaping developer workflows. Plus, hear why lighter Patch Tuesdays are refreshing from time to time! Windows 11 Patch Tuesday's familiar list of updates: Network speed test, Camera tilt and pan controls, sysmon, RSAT improvements, Quick Machine Recovery improvements, WEBP support for desktop wallpaper, Emoji 16.0, etc. It's been a light year so far for Patch Tuesday features - that's a good thing New builds for Canary, Dev, and Beta late last week. Canary is nothing, Dev/Beta get Administrator Protection, Drag Tray refinements, File Explorer improvements, and fixes Android 16 QPR3 brings Desktop Mode to Android devices - and a hands-on with Pixel phones and tablets shows the way forward for Android-based laptops later this year Intel has new gaming processors for creators and gamers and they look excellent and are inexpensive AI and dev Copilot Cowork is literally Claude Cowork in Microsoft 365 - "Wave 3" for Microsoft 365 Copilot begins with a lot of agentic features, in private preview at first Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive get big Gemini updates for consumers and Workspace customers Mozilla partners with Anthropic to use AI to find bugs, and it's paying off nicely Visual Studio Code moves to a weekly update schedule The .NET 11 Preview 2 is here Xbox and gaming Microsoft starts talking up next Xbox console! It's called Project Helix and, yes, it will run Windows games New Xbox Mode is on the way Project Helix dev kits to game makers in 2027 Satya Nadella explains why he/Microsoft are "long" on gaming Gaming is a core identity for Microsoft alongside platforms, developers, and knowledge workers Tips and picks Tip of the week: Nostalgia with a purpose App pick of the week: Stardock Clairvoyance RunAs Radio this week: SQL Server in 2026 with Bob Ward Brown liquor pick of the week: Canadian Centennial Rye Whisky Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: helixsleep.com/windows cachefly.com/twit

Can Microsoft's push for cloud PCs and AI-powered agents redefine where and how we work? If you keep to the defaults, Windows 11 is secure. Copilot+ PC is even more secure. But you can take additional steps to secure it either way, and you should. Plus, Paul's been trying to play different types of games, and Resident Evil Requiem is better (in his opinion) than Silent Hill f and Silent Hill 2 remake... if you want a horror game. Also, there's a cheaper new Audible plan thanks to Spotify! Windows 11 Shenanigans? If you use a third-party AI client in Edge Canary... you will not be amused. Bitwarden (TWiT sponsor) is (possibly the 1st?) third-party password manager to support passkey sign-ins on Windows 11 New Canary, Dev, and Beta builds last Friday- Canary is more of the same, Dev/Beta get shared audio improvements, narrator improvements, new IT policies ASUS and Dell will soon sell Windows 365 Cloud PCs Google is moving Chrome to a two-week dev schedule. Should we assume Microsoft will follow suit with Edge? Dell is up 39 percent, but because of AI servers not PCs NVIDIA revenues up 73 percent to $68.1 billion AI/dev OpenAI closes $110 billion funding round as the AI circle jerk continues Microsoft brings Copilot Tasks to consumer Copilot Google introduces AppFunctions for Android, it's way to make mobile apps work like MCP (be semantic), similar to what Microsoft is doing in Windows Windows App Development CLI updated to 0.02 with Store CLI integration and .NET project support Build 2026 is in San Francisco, as expected, but in June - overlap with WWDC? Xbox and gaming Here come the first Game Pass titles of March Microsoft highlights some indie games to consider Xbox ROG Ally gets AI-based game recaps Legion Go Fold is the star of the new PCs at MWC Sony might be backtracking on its PC games plans Developing: Epic/Google settlement was approved Tips & picks App pick of the week: Resident Evil Requiem Tip of the week: Secure your Windows 11 PC RunAs Radio this week: Hiring in 2026 with Suzi Edwards-Alexander Brown liquor pick of the week: St. Augustine Florida Straight Bourbon Hosts: Paul Thurrott, Richard Campbell, and Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsor: threatlocker.com/twit

Just last week, we asked about Phil Spencer and why he's been so quiet lately. Now we know why! Also, OneDrive for the Mac is finally going to look like it belongs on the Mac. And Google Chrome finally picks up a split view like the rest of the planet, plus a few other new features. PHIL SPENCER OUT AT XBOX Phil Spencer has retired from Microsoft and his heir-apparent, Sarah Bond, left Microsoft as well Report details the Xbox reorg Ex-Xbox executive issues an old guy shouting at sky assessment New Microsoft Gaming CEO discusses "return to Xbox" Hot-take: This person seems unqualified to run Xbox/MS Gaming, but let's give her a chance Alternative hot-take: She is literally here to wind down this business, which makes no sense... unless there's a spin-off Windows WSJ report sheds some light, and adds a lot of confusion, to Nvidia's Windows PC plans Week D arrived on time this month Preview of March Patch Tuesday updates Network speed test, pan and tilt in Camera settings, sysmon, RSAT improvements, Quick Machine Recovery improvements, WEBP background image support, Emoji 16.0 And you thought the Canary channel was weird already -New builds for Canary, Dev, and Beta. Canary gets features we already saw elsewhere, Dev and Beta get context menu, settings, and Taskbar improvements Paul has published (an incomplete version of) De-Enshittify Windows 11 De-enshittifying Copilot and AI is doable but not yet automated What about the alternatives? Next step: Security and Apps chapters HP revenues up 6.9 percent to $14.4 billion but RAM warning is more dire than expected Apple to add multitouch to MacBook Pro lineup in late 2026. Oh the irony AI Xbox February update brings 1440p streaming to Xbox consoles, updates for Xbox ROG Ally, more Xbox app is delivering post-game recaps on Windows 11 for Insiders EA had the most game downloads on PC and console in 2025, thanks to having the three most popular AAA games of the year (BF6, EA Sports FC 25, and EA Sports FC 26). Microsoft was number two, followed by Take-Two, Ubisoft, and Sony. Fortnite is somehow still the biggest game overall on console, and Counter-Strike 2 (!!!!) is the biggest on PC. 20 million Fortnite players on PS, 15 million on Xbox Tips and picks Tip of the week: OneDrive for the Mac App pick of the week: Google Chrome RunAs Radio this week: SaaS on Multiple Clouds with Steve Buchanan Brown liquor pick of the week: Sons of Vancouver Wheated Rye Whisky Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: bitwarden.com/twit zscaler.com/security

Microsoft might finally give power users what they've been demanding: the ability to move the Windows 11 taskbar wherever they want. Plus, 3 major new chapters in Paul's next book, and a strange pick that solves his big issue with Windows Spotlight. Windows 11 Potentially good news for the 13 people who want to move the Taskbar to a different screen side Beta (but not Dev) with one new "feature" Release Preview for 24H2/25H2 with emoji 16.0, QMR improvements, network speed test, pan and tilt controls for compatible cameras, widgets improvements, more Lenovo revenues up 18% to $22.2 billion AI/Dev Google announces 30-second audio generation Google sets a date for I/O 2026, but where in the Carmen Diego is Build 2026? Android 17 Beta is here with an even shorter runway With '26.3 out, Apple releases '26.4 Beta 1s Xbox and gaming Phil Spencer is always in the spotlight, but he's been on the down-low for months Some hints for the future coming GDC 2026 Kingdom Come Deliverance II, Witcher 3, more coming to Xbox Game Pass Avowed comes to the PlayStation 5 along with the Anniversary Update Microsoft is retiring user-created Xbox social clubs NVIDIA GeForce Now comes to Amazon Fire TV 4K Sticks Tips & picks Tip of the week: Major progress on De-Enshittify Windows 11, the book App pick of the week: Bing Wallpaper RunAs Radio this week: Hacking using AI with Erica Burgess Brown liquor pick of the week: Lot 40 100% Pot Still Rye Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

After years of ignoring and maligning Windows, Microsoft has finally woken up and is making some happy noises. Last week, we discussed how Microsoft plans to improve the quality of Windows and that there are already many signs of that work in various security features and new OneDrive Folder Backup changes - plus those two new direct reports to Nadella. Then, Microsoft announced its Windows Baseline Security Mode and User Transparency and Consent initiatives with questions about the timing. And now, Microsoft just explained Windows 11 version 26H1, and it's not like 24H2 at all despite being tied to Snapdragon X2 silicon.Something happened ... and that something is tied to 26H1 26H1: Only for Snapdragon X2, a "scoped release," based on a "different core" from 24H2 and 25H2 You cannot upgrade 24H2 or 25H2 to 26H1 You cannot upgrade 26H1 to 26H2 (!) - instead, those on 26H1 "will have a path to update in a future Windows release." - Is that future Windows release Windows 12? Probably 24H2, 25H2, and 26H1 will all have the same user-facing features, this has been the case with all support Windows (11) versions for 2+ years (Remember, this is not what happened with 24H2. Shipped early on Snapdragon X1, but was made available to all Windows 11 PCs later that year) So why is this happening now? Fortune 500/corporate customer pushback on AI is one guess This is GOOD news, however it all unfolds More Windows 11 Yesterday was Patch Tuesday, so get to work. Updates this month include: Agent in Settings (Copilot+ PCs only) improvements. Settings improvements, cross-device Resume improvements, Windows MIDI Services improvements, Narrator improvements, Smart App Control improvements, Windows Hello New ESS improvements, and File Explorer improvements Somewhat related to the quality/security push noted above, Microsoft is rolling out new Secure Boot certificates this year for older (pre-2024/25) PCs Microsoft announces a Store CLI that does (almost) nothing new compared to winget New Dev and Beta builds with minor changes: Emoji 16.0, camera improvements, various fixes More earnings Amazon hits $213.4 billion in revenues, will spend $200 billion CAPEX/AI infrastructure this fiscal year, more than Google ($175/$185 billion) or Microsoft (estimated $150+ billion) Qualcomm $12.25 billion in revenues, up 5 percent Alphabet/Google - Up 18 percent (!) to $113.8 billion - 750 million MAUs on Gemini, 74 percent of revenues come from advertising Spotify - somehow has over 750 million MAUs now AI and dev OpenAI and Anthropic release dueling agentic AI coding models that do more than agentic AI coding within minutes of each other Ads appear in ChatGPT Free and Go as threatened Duck.ai adds private, anonymous real-time AI voice chat NET 11 Preview 1 arrives, but there's nothing major here Xbox & games Microsoft announces the 2025 Xbox Excellence Awards Celebrate 35 years of Id Software - Castle Wolfenstein 3D was a wake-up call for PC gaming, but DOOM was a miracle, and Quake was a real WTF moment Sony sold 8 million PlayStation 5s (down 16 percent YOY) in the holiday quarter, 92 million (!) overall Valve predictably delays the vaporware Steam Machine Epic Games is having a winter sale - for example, Silent Hill 2, GTA V Enhanced are 50 percentR These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/970 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: threatlocker.com/twit helixsleep.com/windows trustedtech.team/windowsweekly365 cachefly.com/twit

Microsoft is burning through billions on AI, but Wall Street is finally demanding to see where the payoff is. The earnings announcement triggered a $357 billion valuation wipe-out, the largest in Microsoft's history and the second-largest in history overall (Nvidia managed to lose $593 billion in value in the wake of DeepSeek in early 2025).Windows Windows 11 has over one billion users - and, surprise, it got their faster than Windows 10 without any of the shenanigans Microsoft to address the quality issues in Windows 11 in 2026 There is already evidence that Microsoft is trying to make Windows 11 suck less: Recent OneDrive changes that address a key ensh*ttification, and let's not forget all those security advances What did Microsoft really promise? Not much Microsoft has new EVPs for Security and Quality Microsoft belatedly delivered the January Week D update last Thursday, a preview of this month's Patch Tuesday Dev and Beta builds both deliver Mark Russinovich's sysmon tool Microsoft earnings deep dive Microsoft reported a net income of $38.5 billion on revenues of $81.3 billion in the quarter ending December 31. Those figures represent gains of 60 percent and 17 percent, respectively, year-over-year Earnings analysis: All eyes are on AI and no one is happy Microsoft spent $37.5 billion on AI infrastructure (capex) in the quarter, up 66 percent YOY, and it's on track to spend $150+ billion in the fiscal year Every single question was about this and how it will ever recoup the costs There are now 15 million paid Microsoft 365 Copilot seats out of 450+ million Microsoft 365 seats OpenAI is Microsoft's biggest Azure customer, but it's unclear if there is any real money there because of accounting tricks Windows, Edge, and Bing all "gained share," PC maker revenues were up just 1 percent, the Windows 10 upgrade cycle was mostly a bust (it's likely that most of it was tied to RAM pricing fears, too) Xbox fell off a cliff with content and services revenues down 5 percent in a holiday quarter somehow and Xbox hardware revenue declined an astonishing 32 percent YOY Standalone Office 2025 suite was a surprise hit, Hood is curious if that continues Microsoft 365 "cost of business" up 10 percent YOY because of AI costs AMD revenues up 34 percent to $10.3 billion Apple delivers record revenues of $143.8 billion; iPhone made more revenues by itself than all of Microsoft AI Microsoft is going to basically make an app store for content makers who wish to be paid for use by AI Anthropic advertises that Claude will be advertising-free, unlike ChatGPT The next Firefox will include the promised AI kill switch and Vivaldi "extends the middle fingerˮ to AI Xbox and games AMD reveals next Xbox console in 2027 We're getting a solid collection of Xbox Game Pass titles for the beginning of February Battlefield 6 was the best-selling shooter of 2025 and EA made $1.9 billion in Q4 Epic Games has big plans for its PC launcher/store Nintendo has now sold 17 million Switch 2s as OG Switch hits 155 million units Tips and picks Tip of the week: Make OneDrive Folder Backup work for you App pick of the week: Bitwarden (TWiT sponsor) RunAs Radio this week: Getting Started using Purview with Erica Toelle Brown liquor pick of the week: Glendronach Ode to These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/969 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsor: zscaler.com/security

Microsoft's Patch Tuesday blunder triggers emergency fixes, surprise layoffs ripple through Amazon, and the crew debates whether rapid AI advances spell the end of traditional apps. Also, password managers do a lot more than manage passwords, so there's one thing everyone needs to get right. Windows 11 Dev splits from Beta, tests what will surely be 26H1 - After last week's show, Microsoft did issue that same Beta build in the Dev channel for some reason Dev and Beta get same fixes in different builds, but no new features 24H2 and 25H2 Release Preview update(s) are a peek at the next Patch Tuesday, lots of changes January Patch Tuesday update was so terrible it required two emergency fixes, the second of which went out late Sunday Earnings/industry Intel falls flat in Q4, full year 2025 despite U.S. "investment" Amazon lays off 16,000 employees Microsoft, Apple, earnings this week, Alphabet, Amazon are next week AI Microsoft announces Maia 200 AI datacenter processor Like Baldric in Black Adder, Apple has a cunning plan for an AI Siri With AI costs soaring, cheaper new AI plans appear somehow OpenAI was last week with big expansion of ChatGPT Go Google does the same this week with AI Plus plan OpenAI, Anthropic (this week), others are adding "apps" to their chatbots Microsoft is exposing app features as AI Actions in Windows 11 Paul opined that this semantic/programmatic capability was the end of apps But we can now essentially vibe-code our own custom apps - this is vaguely reminiscent of the home computer/DIY era, but without the technical knowledge requirements The age of native apps is over, at least on desktop. Will mobile fall next? Dev Microsoft introduces the Windows App Development (winapp) CLI. For some reason Xbox and gaming Microsoft refreshes the Xbox Cloud Gaming web experience — bigger changes coming? Fable is coming to Xbox, PC, PS5 in late 2026 Tips and picks Tip of the week: Choose a single password manager, make your life easier App pick of the week: Proton Pass RunAs Radio this week: Business Process Automation in 2026 with Ian Cooper Brown liquor pick of the week: Tullibardine 18 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: trustedtech.team/windowsweeklyCSS joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT bitwarden.com/twit

This week, the hosts go deep on out-of-band updates, unwanted "innovations," and the uneasy cost of tech's latest gold rush. Plus, securing a Microsoft account is not as hard as some think, and neither are passkeys once you get past the jargon. And for developers, AI Dev Gallery offers a fascinating glimpse at what you can do for free with AI used against a CPU, GPU, or NPU. Windows 11 Microsoft issues an emergency fix for a borked Windows Update. Right. A fix for a fix. Hell freezes over, if only slightly: Microsoft quietly made some positive changes to forced OneDrive Folder Backup. Donʼt worry, itʼs still forced (and appears to be opt-in, but isnʼt). But you can back out more elegantly. So itʼs opt-out, not opt-in, but a step forward. Plus, a new behavior Windows 11 on Arm PCs can now download games from the Xbox app (previously only through the Insider program) Over 85 percent of Xbox games on PC work in WOA now Prism emulator now supports AVX and AVX2 and Epic Anti-Cheat, and there is a new Windows Performance Fit feature offering guidance on which titles should play well. Beta: New 25H2 build with account dialog modernization, Click to Do and desktop background improvements. Not for Dev, suggesting itʼs about to move to 26H1 Notepad and Paint get more features yet again. Notably, these updates are for Dev and Canary only, suggesting these might be 26Hx features (then again, versions don't matter, right?) AI Just say no: To AI, to Copilot, and to Satya Nadella Our national nightmare is over: You can now (easily) hide Copilot in Microsoft Edge ChatGPT Go is now available worldwide, ads are on the way because of course Wikipedia partners with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, more on AI Xbox & gaming January Xbox Update brings Game Sync Indicator, more Solid second half of January for Xbox Game Pass Microsoft will likely introduce a free, ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming tier because of course Tips & picks Tip of the week: Secure your Microsoft account App pick of the week: AI Dev Gallery RunAs Radio this week: Ideation to Implementation with Amber Vandenburg Liquor pick of the week: Estancia Raicilla Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Satya Nadella gave up much of his CEO duties in 2025. Are we on the cusp of a new CEO? And does some money manager/political duo like Amy Hood and Brad Smith actually make more sense in this role than an engineer-type for the modern Microsoft? Microsoft is trying to win our hearts and minds on AI After spending three years trying to jam AI down our collective throats, Microsoft has only met resistance. Now, the real marketing begins Governments and regulators: Microsoft will build out its AI infrastructure by actually paying for it and respecting the communities in which this happens Customers: Satya Nadella is blogging, and he wants us to stop complaining about AI. He's the wrong messenger Windows 11 First Patch Tuesday of 2026 brings security and bug fixes but no new features First update of 2026 brings Copilot-powered image descriptions in Narrator, new IT policies for Copilot, other changes to Dev & Beta Dev is about to switch to 26H1 IDC says that PC sales rose 8.1 percent in 2025, warns again about 2026 The good & bad of Paul's Panther Lake laptop Dell doesn't sell any PCs to consumers so it obviously has opinions about why consumers don't buy PCs for AI Microsoft will soon retire its Lens mobile app AI Apple predictably partners with Google to bring Gemini to Siri Samsung correctly points out we're all using AI already so there's no reason to complain about it We can't trust AI, so Microsoft is letting Copilot go shopping with our credit cards We can't trust AI, so OpenAI is giving ChatGPT access to our private health data Gmail is getting more AI because email is the low-hanging fruit of data collection Xbox and gaming Developer Direct returns on January 22 with Fable and Forza 6 gameplay Microsoft to bring Avowed to PS5 in February Tips and picks Tip of the week: Kick off 2026 with a security checkup App pick of the week: Microsoft Local Foundry RunAs Radio this week: Azure in 2026 with Jeremy Winter Brown liquor pick of the week: Don Julio 70 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: zscaler.com/security helixsleep.com/windows

PC makers are shaking up CES with wild designs and next-gen chips, but the real story is Microsoft's bold software moves, AI's hardware hunger, and a candid debate over whether any tech company still puts users first. Come for the Windows updates, stay for the whisky warnings and robot bathroom assistants. CES 2026 is here with the 4K hummingbird feeder of your dreams New PCs and more from HP consumers/commercial, HP gamers, Lenovo, others The first official Copilot+ PC desktops Snapdragon X2 Plus joins X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme Intel Panther Lake has meaningful CPU and graphics performance gains, but predictable reliability issues AMD Ryzen AI 400 series is a minor bump Windows Paul was the first to report that Microsoft is refactoring it all with Rust A Microsoft distinguished engineer wrote about his desire to refactor all C/C++ code in the company with Rust by 2030 Some mistook this to mean "rewriting Windows with Rust,ˮ so he had to issue a clarification. But I never wrote that. Heads-up: That will happen, but this is really about Azure first and the core underlying code in Microsoftʼs most important platforms Microsoft released hardware-accelerated BitLocker in late 2025 and never told anyone. It requires the latest PC CPUs Copilot app update that adds text editing actions to Copilot Vision across channels Dev and Beta got first previews of AI agents on the Taskbar, starting with the Researcher agent, plus underlying Agent Launchers experience IDC says the global memory shortage (thanks, AI!) could screw up PC and smartphone growth this year AI ChatGPT now has an app store, but it has a ways to go Mozilla Firefox will have a "killswitchˮ for AI Our national nightmare will soon be over, LG will let users remove Copilot app from their smart TVs Xbox and gaming First Xbox Game Pass releases of 2026 include Resident Evil Village and Star Wars Outlaws Xbox Cloud Gaming is coming to Hisense smart TVs and to the latest Fire TV smart TVs GOG goes independent, will continue DRM-free push "Have a blastˮ and other FPS throwbacks from the 1990s Valve quietly killed the LCD Steam Deck model Tips and picks Tip of the week: Itʼs time to give Little AI a look App pick of the week: Bonjourr RunAs Radio this week: What AI can do for SysAdmins in 2026 with Cecilia Wiren Brown liquor pick of the week: The Singleton of Dufftown 12 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: threatlocker.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

This isn't your usual Windows Weekly. Pour a glass and settle in as Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell ditch the headlines for whisky-soaked tech stories, behind-the-scenes Microsoft confessions, and the unexpected joys (and disasters) of vintage hardware. These are the tales you only hear when the mics are (almost) off. Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit

We were inundated with new Windows features in 2025, but which ones actually moved the needle? Fortnite isn't just back on iPhone and Android, it's available on Windows 11 on Arm, and it works great! Plus, 2 big mobile wins for Epic Games and some thoughts on the "right" way to roll out AI features.Windows 11 Best Windows 11 updates of 2025, in no particular order... Dark mode improvements to File Explorer Widgets major overhaul with separate widgets and Discovery feed Xbox Full Screen experience - especially good on handhelds, of course, but also any PC you use for gaming with a controller Click to Do (Copilot+ PC only) External fingerprint reader support for Windows Hello ESS -External/USB webcams supported by Windows Studio Effects (Copilot+ PC only) Quick Machine Recovery is the tip of a wave of new foundational features like Admin Protection, Smart App Control (updates), and more that go beyond surface-level look and feel Redesigned Start menu isn't perfect but it's a nice improvement Copilot Vision, though this type of thing may make more sense on phones AI features in Paint, Photos, Notepad, and Snipping Tool Natural language interactions like the agent in Settings, file search, and more (mostly Copilot+ PC only, but you can do this in Copilot as well) Bluetooth LE support for improved audio quality in game chat, voice calls Gaming on Windows 11 on Arm and Snapdragon X: Major steps forward, but the same issue as always Looking ahead to 2026: 26H1, Agentic features that work, potential Windows 12, and AI PCs AI An extensive new interview with Mustafa Suleyman confirms why this guy is special and how confusing it is that Copilot is so disrespected Microsoft Copilot is auto-installing on LG smart TVs and there's no way to remove it GPT-5.2 is OpenAI's answer to Gemini 3 ChatGPT Images is OpenAI's answer to Nano Banana Pro Disney invests $1 billion OpenAI, sues Google Opera Neon is now generally available for $20 per month AI is moving quick as we all know but the bigger issue may be the incessant marketing about features like agents that don't even work now Microsoft is getting pushback on forced Copilot usage, price hikes Google is expanding its use of "experiments" outside of mainstream products with things like NotebookLM, Mixboard, CC, and much more. Maybe this is the better approach: Test separately and then integrate it into existing products Oddly enough, Microsoft does have a Windows AI Lab for this kind of experimentation Many small models vs. one big LLM in the cloud Mobile Fortnite is back in the Google Play Store in the U.S. as Google plays nice Apple loses its contempt appeal, the end of "junk fees" (Apple Tax) is in sight Xbox and gaming Xbox December Update has one big update for the mobile app and one big update for Xbox Wireless Headphones There's a new Xbox Developer Direct coming in January Half-Life 3 may really be happening, but it will be a Steam Machine launch title so it could be a while Tips & picks Tip of the year: De-enshittify Windows 11 App pick of the year: Fortnite RunAs Radio this week: Zero Trust in 2026 with Michele Bustamante Brown liquor pick of the week: Lark Symphony No. 1 These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/963 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: auraframes.com/ink framer.com/design promo code WW outsystems.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

December 2025's Patch Tuesday brought major shifts, but the real action is in Microsoft's pricing, privacy battles, and the arms race to control AI-enabled browsers. Plus, Paul recommends Tiny11 Builder for a clean install, or Win11Debloat for an existing install. Then, Rufus to create installation media without the forced Microsoft account (MSA) sign-in or hardware requirement checks. Use MSEdgeDirect to use the default web browser for stories from Widgets, web-based search results, etc. And ExplorerPatcher can fix the performance and reliability issues in File Explorer. It's the final Patch Tuesday of 2025 Major dark mode updates (with a fix for the "flashbang" problem) AI Agent in Settings, Click to Do, Windows Studio Effects, and Search improvements for Copilot+ PCs Many other improvements: FSE, Share, Settings, Widgets, more More Windows 11 New 25H2 preview build on Beta/Dev adds MCP public preview, Quick Machine Recovery auto-enabled, Unified Update Orchestration Platform, Windows MIDI services Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365 is getting a lot more expensive in mid-2026. You didn't think all those free AI updates were free, did you? AI Paul has been talking about "programmatic" apps and services because he wasn't sure of a term for this type of interaction. But there is a term for this: Semantic. As in semantic web. And there you go Microsoft one of 1,000 companies partnering on Agentic AI Foundation because you're getting agents whether they work or not Gartner says NO to AI web browsers The New York Times is suing Perplexity for all the obvious reasons After a big win in the legal battle with OpenAI Opera for Android gets a big AI update Google Workspace Studio brings code-free agent creation to business users - automation is a solid AI use case Xbox Xbox Series X|S notably absent during Black Friday sales Call of Duty won't repeat the mistakes of the past anymore since it didn't work out twice now MS Flight Simulator 2024 is now available on PS5 Red Dead Redemption comes to mobile for the first time, free with a Netflix account Tips & Picks Tip and app(s) of the week: De-enshittify Windows 11 RunAs Radio this week: Incident Management and the Crowdstrike Event with Liam Westley Brown liquor pick of the week: Old Farm Pennsylvania Straight Rye Whiskey Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: 1password.com/windowsweekly auraframes.com/ink helixsleep.com/windows ventionteams.com/twit

Can the AI boom survive its own hype? This episode takes on the future of OpenAI, tech's subscription fatigue, and why "Made with AI" labels might be the new scarlet letter. Plus, Microsoft's ugly sweaters are back for some reason. Windows 11 Week D comes a week late and in the wrong month, but it's a big one, and a preview of what to expect next week in Patch Tuesday More pervasive dark mode Copilot+ PC exclusives: Improvements to Click to Do, Windows Search, Windows Studio Effects, Agent in Settings Expansion of FSE availability Improvements across Settings, Share, File Explorer, Desktop Spotlight, more Aluminium OS is the name of the ChromeOS/Android Frankenstein that will take on Windows Android 16 QPR2 is here with about 1,000 new features and maybe a saner approach to OS updating than what we see on Windows AI AI slop is no enshittification: Human error is still a much bigger issue Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is right: The "Made with AI" label is silly and needs to go OpenAI declares a "code red" after Google finally figured out AI Opera quietly does an about-face on AI in its browsers Opera Neon gets one-minute deep research, Gemini 3, and Nano Banana Xbox and gaming Mortal Kombat 1, more coming to Game Pass in first half of December Valve is quietly bringing SteamOS, Windows games to Arm Tips & picks Tip of the week: Time to cull Tip of the week #2: Time to look back RunAs Radio this week: The M365 Copilot Data Readiness Checklist with Nikki Chapple Brown liquor pick of the week: Stumbras Starka Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. 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 Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit helixsleep.com/windows bitwarden.com/twit framer.com/design promo code WW

Pavan Davuluri only spoke at one Ignite 2025 session, and it did not deserve the hate he got. But what did he really say? Copilot is a front-end for apps and cloud AI services, agents are background processes. Apps in Windows need to become programmatic so AI and agents can control them. You are in control. You being IT and the user. These experiences are off by default, opt-in, and optional. This is the end of whatever BS argument anyone has about this stuff. Copilot Voice because AI is better when you babble and is often more natural than typing Key concept: Apps, CLIs, etc. expect exact commands, AI is all about intent, just do what I want, not exactly what I say. This is why, yes, people WILL want to talk to their PCs (and other devices) UIs for these new features will look/feel natural in Windows Search box in Taskbar is getting updated to orchestrate between local/web search and Copilot capabilities, including agents Agents will appear as app icons in Taskbar when fired, can be check in on, can post notifications for you to attend to Integration of M365 Copilot capabilities with Windows - Better together story, with things like Writing Assistance for every text box Accessibility updates thanks to AI - Fluid Dictation, which is what makes Copilot Voice make so much sense All the security, privacy, and IT management the audience expects Windows Insider Program Dev and Beta builds include Full Screen Experience on all PCs, new Notepad app, more Hardware - Earnings Lenovo PC business up 12 percent to $15.1 billion, 25.6 percent unit share HP up 4 percent to $14.6 billion, but job cuts for AI are coming Dell PC business up 3 percent to $1.41 billion AI and Stuff Microsoft releases local Fara-7B agentic model for computer use ChatGPT's new coding model is optimized for Windows Dear God, you must see Nano Banana Pro to understand Google's lead Google is bringing AirDrop to Android, starting with Pixel. This is what happens when regulators "force design changes on OS makers." Xbox and Gaming Xbox Cloud Gaming usage is up 45 percent YOY. Sure. What's 45 percent of 3 people? Xbox Cloud Gaming is adding per-game resolution settings, to 1440p for Game Pass Ultimate customers ROG Xbox Ally is getting default game profiles, in preview for 40 titles now Microsoft open sources the source code for Zork, Zork II, and Zork III New Chromebook buyers get one year of Nvidia GeForce NOW with Fast Pass Tips and Picks Tip of the week: Finding experts is more important than ever We live in the age of stupid. Find the smart and never let go Also, Xbox is having a good Black Friday sale Also: Perplexity Comet on Android RunAs Radio this week: Christmas Gifts for SysAdmins with Joey Snow and Rick Claus https://runasradio.com/Shows/Show/1012 Brown liquor pick of the week: Sidetrack Stone Whisky https://www.huskdistillers.com/shop/sidetrack-stone-whisky These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/960 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Sponsors: outsystems.com/twit cachefly.com/twit

Ahead of Microsoft Ignite 2025, Windows boss Pavan Davuluri tweeted an innocuous post about nothing, and all hell broke loose. We are broken as a community and it's time to cull the herd. Ignite 2025 Fun aside: Google could have announced Gemini 3 at any time, but they chose the opening day of Ignite. Who's dancing now? No Satya and suddenly the keynote is watchable again Microsoft brings Anthropic models to Foundry along with Nvidia architecture MCP comes to Windows 11 in public preview for developers New Microsoft 365 Copilot agents for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Agent 365 is the obvious name of an AI agent management service Windows 11 is getting agents on the Taskbar because it isn't annoying enough already Windows 11 Two new Release Preview builds, a new Canary build, and the first release of Copilot Actions The RP builds are a preview of Patch Tuesday in December, it's bigger than expected Dev/Beta build with experimental AI agent capabilities, more AI OpenAI released ChatGPT 5.1 and it's like no one noticed Mozilla announces AI window for Firefox, with immediate backlash Xbox and gaming Qualcomm JUST announced a new control panel for Snapdragon X gaming Hands-on with the Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) for Windows 11 FSE Transforms a gaming handheld PC into a device-like experience Frame rates see a dramatic jump in FSE Call of Duty, which was surprising Fortnite is coming to the Xbox app in Windows, adding Xbox Play Anywhere support Xbox announces a new set of titles coming to Game Pass across platforms Xbox Partner Preview event is set for November 20 As predicted, Steam Machine is the "Xbox Microsoft wanted to make." Yes, it's a good idea now that someone else is doing it Tips and picks Tip of the week: Tiny11 Builder, again Hardware pick of the week: Lenovo Legion Go 2 RunAs Radio this week: Azure SRE Agents with Deepthi Chelupati Brown liquor pick of the week: Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve 2007 Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. 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 Sponsors: ventionteams.com/twit helixsleep.com/windows framer.com/design promo code WW

Windows 11 just got its most noticeable Start menu revamp in a while, but is it a productivity boost or just more Microsoft meddling? The team digs into Patch Tuesday's big surprises and whether generative tools are transformative essentials or just a passing fad. Windows 11 Patch Tuesday was yesterday, your new Start menu is right where Microsoft left it Copilot+ PCs: Improvements to Click to Do, File Explorer, Voice access, and Windows Search All PCs, eventually: Taskbar improvements, Administrator Protection (off by default), Quality updates Heading into Ignite next week, Microsoft cites recent security wins in Windows 11 and Surface First 26H1 build comes to Canary to prove that there will be nothing new in it, ever Qualcomm takes a one-time $5.7 billion hit thanks to Big Stupid Bill but still nails it in quarterly earnings Microsoft WSJ continues its Microsoft financial accountability criticisms Also reports that internal documents state OpenAI expects to lose $74 billion in 2028, the year Anthropic will break even If Paul starts a business and it loses money for three years in a row, it becomes a hobby. So WTF is OpenAI exactly? AI Microsoft AI creates a Superintelligence team as a sort-of alternative to AGI Microsoft launched .NET 10 at .NET Conf on Tuesday - Plus, Visual Studio 2026 with a new monthly release schedule and Insider versions going forward Double-digit performance improvements again, somehow Uno announced Uno Platform Studio 2.0 with a fun surprise for Paul: They upgraded the original WPF version of .NETpad into a cross platform app in 3 minutes! There will be a demo on Thursday .NETpad is transitioning to WinUIpad with the Windows App SDK rewrite. It is going poorly because Windows App SDK is terrible, cannot be open sourced quickly enough Xbox Steam announces a new videogame console, the Steam Machine! Backbone Pro Xbox Edition is now available Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition is here with with Xbox Play Anywhere support, Creations Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming, so Halo: Infinite becomes a lot more finite Call of Duty Black Ops 6 player on PC? Hope you enjoyed that 180 GB "update" you had to install before playing a year-old game (also got a 6.7 GB update Wednesday. For the love of God) GTA VI has been delayed yet again as it edges into Duke Nukem Forever territory Sony has now sold over 84 million PS5 consoles, meaning it has outsold every Xbox generation ever made Sony is selling a 27-inch gaming display in the U.S. and Japan Tips & picks Tip of the week: Solving the problem over identifying the problem App pick of the week: Tiny11 Builder RunAs Radio this week: Azure Resiliency with Chris Ayers Brown liquor pick of the week: Kyoto Whisky Kuro-Obi Black Belt Blended Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell Download or subscribe to Windows Weekly at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin. 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 Sponsors: bitwarden.com/twit outsystems.com/twit auraframes.com/ink zapier.com/windows