Windows Weekly (Audio‪)‬ Windows Weekly

Microsoft is promising to put security first, again. Three features have been added to Windows 11 Canary build 26212. Microsoft shuts down some game developer studios under its Xbox Games Studios, including a popular one that published Hi-Fi RUSH. And Playstation recinds PSN account requirement for Helldivers 2 on PC.

Microsoft & Security

Microsoft promises to put security first. Again.
Microsoft adds passkey support to Microsoft accounts.
Windows 11

Windows 11 Canary build 26212 adds three features from the beta channel.
Microsoft starts controlled feature rollouts (CFRs) on Windows Insider dev channel.
Microsoft acknowledges VPN connection issues on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
More improvements to Tiny11 Builder.
Arc for Windows shipped last week.
Armed and Ready

Apple announces M4 along with new iPad Pros.
Qualcomm earnings flat, but big promises for current quarter.
AI

Better prompt writing is coming to Microsoft 365 Copilot.
OpenAI is allegedly testing its replacement for Google Search.
Microsoft allegedly testing LLM that challenges OpenAI.
Xbox

Microsoft shuts down more Xbox studios, triggering a new round of angst.
Starfield is getting the 60 FPS support it should have had at launch on Xbox Series X.
Nintendo has now sold over 141 million Switch consoles, promises Switch 2.
Just kidding on the PSN account requirement for PC Helldivers 2.
Tips and picks

Tip of the week: Build Blogger Bash
App pick of the week: DesktopGPT
Plus: Proton Pass gets much-needed account protection features.
RunAs Radio this week: Identity Governance with Jef Kazimer.
Brown liquor pick of the week: Shelter Point Cask Strength Single Malt.
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

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The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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FY24 Q3 Earnings, AI Explorer, Github Copilot Workspace

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/879

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Leo, Paul, and Richard steer towards the performance race as they speculate about how Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite/Plus PCs will compare to Apple Silicon MacBooks. What makes a laptop truly user-friendly? System reliability, UI consistency, battery life? Plus, the recent Fallout TV series, the practicality of using winget for browser installations, and how the ARM chipset switch is revving up the PC market.

ARMed & ready

Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon X Plus and confirms Paul's report that the Snapdragon X Elite will have three SKUs (product editions)
All four SKUs outperform Apple M3, Intel Core Ultra 7/9, AMD Ryzen 9 7940/8945HS on most benchmarks
Why? PC makers asked Qualcomm for familiar choices
Previously, an X Plus-based Surface Pro 10 and an X Elite-based ThinkPad T40s leaked. Paul can now confirm from a source that Surface Laptop 6 (13 and 15-inch) and Surface Pro will all be on X (something}
Vivaldi is bringing its browser to Windows on Arm too
Windows 11

The April 2024 Week D preview update is here: Recommended apps and frequently used apps in Start, Widgets icon updates, Lock screen widgets improvements
Canary: Moves off 24H2 train to build 26200, no more switch to Dev, minor changes to the Widgets board and Taskbar (no new build for Dev)
Beta: New Widgets design with navigation bar, new account manager in Start, Gmail in Share, MSA recovery advertisement, and new Game Pass recommendation card in Settings
Microsoft Store app downloads from the web get simpler, more sophisticated
After yet another Quest 2 Headset price cut, and mounting problems for Apple's Vision Pro, Meta opens up Horizon OS, Microsoft is sort-of on board
Microsoft 365/Dev

Office LTSC 2024 commercial is now available in preview
Classic Teams rides off into the sunset on July 1
Dropbox offers deeper Microsoft 365 integration
GitHub sees success in 2FA push
AI

The European Commission will not formally investigate Microsoft/OpenAI partnership
Microsoft released a new SLM
Microsoft gives a sneak peek of VASA-1, a crazy and scary "talking faces" AI tool
Google copies Microsoft again, announces massive AI reorg - that has Pixel fans worried
Adobe's generative AI image capabilities are predictably fantastic
Xbox

Get an Xbox Mastercard in the US, if you're a tool
Microsoft announces IGN x ID@Xbox digital showcase - indie games
Tips & Picks

Tip of the week: Have you heard the one joke about the one time you need to use Edge?
App pick of the week: Tiny11 Builder
RunAs Radio this week: PowerShell 7.4 with Sydney Smith
Brown liquor pick of the week: GlenKinchie 12
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

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Backlash against tech criticism, Ralf Groene retires, Hardcore Software

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/877

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On this episode, Paul shares his thoughts on the Snapdragon X Elite chip with Leo and Richard. Windows 11 24H2, AI, NPUs, and SoCs from Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm are all on the way this year. But a schedule is finally starting to emerge. And it looks like we'll soon have answers to the questions about how or why AI will matter on PCs.

Windows, AI, and the future

Windows 11 version 24H2 - staggered release schedule as discussed last week
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite-based PCs in May/June - nothing but good news to date, but Paul went hands-on last week. It's the real deal.
Intel's first-gen Core Ultra chipsets are lackluster, but now we have big promises for Arrow Lake in late 2024
Microsoft Build 2024 is in mid-May, and now we have a session list with some nice clues. For example, Introducing the Next Generation of Windows on Arm
Microsoft is expected to unveil 24H2 and new X Elite-based Surface PCs at Build
Computex and other milestones, and then back-to-school and holiday selling periods
Windows 11

Moment 5 arrives in stable with yesterday's Patch Tuesday (which is now called the General Availability channel, by the way). Of course, we still don't have all the features. In particular, waiting on Android phone as a webcam.
IDC says PC market grew by 1.5 percent in Q1 and acts like it's the turnaround of the century
Microsoft is manually blocking certain registry keys related to default browsers now: Apple-like non-EU belligerence or pragmatic protection of user choice? Why can't it be both?
Beta channel (last week) - Copilot actions improvements
New Store app update improvements performance dramatically
The Windows 11 de-ensh*ttification experiments continue
Does Windows 11 Enterprise solve the problem? No. So it's time to move on
Hardware

TSMC gets some of that sweet, sweet CHIPS Act money to expand its US operations
AI

Three AIs comparison
Blockbuster report claims OpenAI/Microsoft, Google, and Meta stole content at scale to train AI
Microsoft opens a new AI hub in London
Google mulls charging for generative AI in Search
Spotify lets user create AI playlists using text prompts now
Brave brings Leo to iOS, so it's on all supported platforms now. And it added Leo to Brave Talk Premium too
Google rebrands Studio Bot to Gemini in Android Studio, still in preview. This is their GitHub Copilot
Xbox

Microsoft rolls out April updates for Xbox consoles, Xbox app on PC
Xbox reorgs, Kareem Choudhry leaves Microsoft
A rumored game preservation team is too obvious not to be true
Tips and Picks

Tip of the week: Microsoft Store hosts its annual Spring Sale
App picks of the week: Standard Notes & Beeper
RunAs Radio this week: Securing AI with Sarah Young
Brown liquor pick of the week: Dalwhinnie 15


Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsor:
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Windows 11 version 24H2 is coming and you're not going to believe what happens next... and then again 6 months later

Microsoft reveals Windows 10 Extended Security Updates pricing
Paul reinstalled Windows 10 after three years on Windows 11. There's some good and some bad
Multiple sources have revealed a staggered release schedule for Windows 11 version 24H2
Insider Builds

Canary/Dev - Widgets improvements head out to more people
Canary/Dev (today) - New build today with minor changes, bug fixes (24H2 RTM-ish?). Canary/Dev switch is ending soon
Microsoft is moving Photos app to Windows App SDK (from UWP, presumably). Paul has theories
Microsoft will move the Widgets button in Windows 11 if you put the Start button on the left
Dropbox comes to the Microsoft Store in Windows 11. It only took 12 years
AI

Copilot for Microsoft 365 is getting many new features by the end of April
Copilot for Microsoft 365 picks up priority ChatGPT-4 Turbo and no more conversation limits
You can use ChatGPT without an account now, asterisk, asterisk
Amazon concludes its $4 billion investment in Anthropic
Opera is bringing local LLMs to Opera One web browser
Google: Just kidding, non-Pro Pixel 8 will get Gemini Nano too, and you can suck on the performance issues
Is Intel circling the drain?
Antitrust

The EU is predictably investigating Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon—for not complying with the DMA.
Notably absent from that list? Microsoft. Which is unique among Big Tech in that it is being reasonable with DMA compliance and antitrust in general
Microsoft debundles Teams from Office. Too little too late?
Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 Basic picks up some new features
A random Microsoft engineer found a backdoor lurking in a Linux utility and might have saved the world
LinkedIn isn't just getting games, it's getting TikTok-style videos too
.NET 7 EOL is coming. Is the .NET support schedule too aggressive?
Xbox

A MASSIVE LIST OF ACTIVISION GAMES ARE COMING TO GAME PASS! Just kidding, you're getting Shadow of the Tomb Raider, jerks
Xbox is getting an AI-powered support agent. Huh. Kind of like a personal assistant then. If only they had a name for this thing
Phil Spencer says he's open to rival games stores on Xbox
Take-Two is buying (most of) Gearbox for $460 million. A Grand Theft Auto and Duke Nukem cross-over is inevitable
Rumored white Xbox Series X emerges. White and discless? YOU'RE white and discless!
Tips & Picks

Tip of the week: You can still access legacy File Explorers in Windows 11
App pick of the week: Two for two
RunAs Radio this week: Microsoft Copilot for Security with George Coldham
Brown liquor pick of the week: Clonakilty Irish Whiskey
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsor:
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