Windows Weekly (Video‪)‬ TWiT Tech Podcasts: Video

It's a BIG news episode this week, as Leo Laporte and Paul Thurrott discuss the sudden departure of Panos Panay from Microsoft to Amazon. Did he jump or get pushed out of the company? Leo and Paul also dive into a massive leaked memo about Microsoft's Xbox roadmap and plans over the next 10 years. Other topics include Microsoft's upcoming event focused on AI integration across products like Windows, Office 365, and Surface, as well as online account consolidation and Google's Takeout service.

We're down a Panay

After his curiously off-kilter performance at Build 2023 this past May, Microsoft reveals that it is parting ways with Panos Panay. Are these things related?
He's landing at Amazon devices, which makes sense given David Limp is retiring
Multiple Microsoft executives and employees have reached out privately about this
Comparisons to Terry Myerson's exit
Blockbuster Xbox leak

Major Xbox leak reveals Xbox Series X|S mid-season upgrades, next-gen console, new controller, and more
This is one of the top three Microsoft leaks that's happened in Paul's nearly 30 years of covering this company
An analysis of just one of the documents in this leak reveals an incredible amount of strategy information for the next 10 years
And one about the reaction to the PS5 reveal
Microsoft's upcoming AI event

Expectations for this event, the kick-off for Microsoft's full-on client AI push
Sub-analysis: This could be Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott's "Ray Ozzie moment." There's a profile of this mostly unknown in the WSJ
Intel announces NPU-powered Core Ultra CPUs - off schedule? Related to the MSFT event?
Bing Chat gains two new mobile integrations
Paint keeps getting AI features. Remember when Paint was the laughing stock of Windows 11 apps?
Windows

No new builds (of substance, there was an RP build).
Windows Photos, Snipping Tool, and Phone Link are all getting new features in Insider. Is Microsoft finally taking its in-box apps seriously (again)?
Google extends the support lifecycle for ChromeOS, solving the single biggest criticism of this platform. This is problematic for Microsoft
Microsoft 365

EU will reject Microsoft's offer to unbundle Teams from Microsoft 365
Surface

Surface Laptop Studio 2 and Laptop Go 3 leak. They will likely be announced at the special event
Xbox

Microsoft announces more Xbox Game Pass titles for September
Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls VI will be an Xbox exclusive.
Tips and picks

Tip of the week: Consolidate and organize your online accounts
App pick of the week: Google Takeout
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

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

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

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsors:
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Miro.com/podcast

The latest updates to Windows 11, including the removal of legacy troubleshooting tools. Paul, Richard, and Mikah also discuss Windows 365 integration with Android phones, the new iPhone models, and Qualcomm supplying 5G modems to Apple. Plus, the full Game Pass Core library, the announcement of the Xbox Mastercard, an update on .NET 8 nearing its release, and opinions on Unity's new Runtime Fee for game installations.

Windows 11

New Insider Preview builds
Patch Tuesday arrives and the latest Windows 11 update is a non-event
Microsoft Paint is getting a background removal tool
Microsoft is removing the legacy troubleshooters from Windows 11 and killing third-party printer drivers
Mobile

Microsoft announces Enhanced Windows 365 App Experience for Android. Yes, that's the name. Yes, it's a cloud-based version of Samsung Dex
Qualcomm extends wireless partnership with Apple for three more years
Intel announces Thunderbolt 5 branding, surprising no one
Microsoft 365, Antitrust, & AI

PowerPoint co-creator Dennis Austin passes away
Apple's new iPhones have USB-C ports to meet the needs of a new EU law
United States vs. Google kicks off
Day 1: Yes, Google pays Apple $10 billion per year to be the default search on iPhone
Adobe's Firefly generative AI is now generally available
Dev

.NET 8 hits release candidate
Unity might have just jumped the shark
Xbox

Microsoft reveals the full Xbox Game Pass Core library. This new offering replaces Xbox Live Gold. A moment of silence, please
Apple envy? Microsoft announces an Xbox credit card for some reason
Minecraft Live is coming back, but it's not in-person
Tips and Picks

Tip of the week: Google rolls out privacy sandbox. Seriously, use a different browser
App pick of the week: WizTree
RunAs Radio this week: Doing More with Less with Sonia Cuff
Brown liquor pick of the week: Chivas Regal
Hosts: Paul Thurrott, Richard Campbell, and Mikah Sargent

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

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

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsors:
Melissa.com/twit
cachefly.com

Leo, Paul, and Richard discuss issues with the reliability of File Explorer (is XAML the root cause?), Microsoft's decision to retire WordPad, antitrust lawsuits and investigations into Big Tech companies, Microsoft's upcoming Surface(?) event, automatic OneDrive uploads for Xbox captures, the launch of Bethesda's Starfield, digital decluttering tools, and more!

Windows

Canary: some changes to the Dynamic refresh rate feature, no more Power & Battery page in Settings, etc
Dev: Bug fixes
Beta: File Explorer fixes (INTERESTING, given last week's rant)
A moment of silence, please: WordPad will be retired
The secret life of WordPad via its source code release and it being an example for developers (over time) of MFC, open Word document format support, the ribbon, and more
The future is open plain text: embrace Markdown
Notepad and Snipping Tool are getting new features
Microsoft is changing how it counts your OneDrive storage usage
Events

We forgot the Amazon devices event, which is September 20
Microsoft will host a OneDrive/AI event on October 3
Ignite registration just opened up - November 14-17 in Seattle
Antitrust

Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and others are all gatekeepers, EU says
Bing: Hold my beer
Zoom would like the FTC to unbundle Teams/M365 in the US
Google is heading into an antitrust trial against the DOJ next week.
Microsoft's approach to antitrust has changed a bit
Margrethe Vestager is stepping aside to bid on a new job
Google has tentatively settled a US Play Store class action antitrust lawsuit brought by over 30 states; the settlement is subject to the court's approval, according to a legal filing
FTC to file antitrust lawsuit against Amazon after firm made no concessions, may seek to break up the company
Xbox

Microsoft to add auto OneDrive upload to Xbox game clips
Xbox September Update is here with Discord game streaming
New Game Pass titles for early September - Starfield among them
Your Xbox Series S has arrived, Mr. Vader
Lenovo has a Steam Deck competitor
Tips & Picks

Tip/app pick of the week: Digital decluttering
RunAs Radio this week: Breach Reporting with Troy Hunt
Brown liquor pick of the week: Old Perth 23
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.

Windows 11 bugs drive Paul crazy, Microsoft AI event coming, no Xbox mid-cycle refresh

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/844

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This week on Windows Weekly, Leo, Paul, and Richard dive deep into Microsoft's prolonged acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview builds, the launch of Edge for Business, and the Mixed Reality collaboration between Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Magic Leap.

CMA: F&$% you, common sense!

Despite appearing to step back from the wrong decision it made about Activision Blizzard, the CMA has instead rejected the deal again... because cloud gaming
So Microsoft has offered to give Ubisoft (non-exclusive) rights to cloud streaming all AB games (except in the EU)
Now the EU is wondering how/if this impacts its own agreement with Microsoft - a close reading of the Microsoft and Ubisoft announcements provides some clues that all is well

Windows 11

It's Week D, so we just got the preview versions of next month's Patch Tuesday CU
And it's August, so Microsoft has probably finalized 23H2 and could ship it in preview form in September's Week D
Perhaps not coincidentally, Microsoft has scheduled an in-person Surface/Windows event in NYC for the following week
Insider: we got new Dev and Beta builds last week
Dev: rich thumbnail previews in Start, new Cast flyout, never-combine Taskbar mode
Beta (23H2): native support for RAR and other archive formats, never-combined Taskbar mode, rich thumbnail previews in Start, Snipping Tool update with links to Paint and Clipchamp, new app defaults behavior (that one is in the preview update above)
Edge for Business is now available
Microsoft sets Windows Mixed Reality Toolkit free because AI is the new AR
AI + Dev

As predicted, the addition of AI-based Bing Chat has not helped Bing usage share in the slightest: "Bing AI is cute, but not a game changer". Microsoft is not happy.
AI-generated Microsoft travel guide recommended a food bank in Canada to those with "empty stomachs"
Brave is bringing a safe and private AI assistant to Brave because of course it is
Quick hands-on with Project IDX. Yep, it's Visual Studio Code on the web
Xbox

The end of an era: Xbox 360 store to shut down in one year
Age of Empires IV is now available on Xbox and Xbox Game Pass
PC Game Pass has arrived on NVIDIA GeForce Now
Sony's PlayStation Portal Remote Player is launching later this tear at $199.99
The nostalgia keeps coming: Atari announces the 2600+ console
Tips & Picks

Tip of the week: Enjoy my video archive on YouTube
App pick of the week: Parallels Desktop 19
RunAs Radio this week: Microsoft Fabric with Andrew Snodgrass
Brown liquor pick of the week: Oban 14
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:
lookout.com

This fun episode of Windows Weekly features Paul and Richard answering questions from listeners in the Club TWiT Discord! Plus, they chat about minor Windows Insider updates, strategies for saving money on streaming services, new gaming releases like the enhanced Quake II, and more.

Windows

New Canary build JUST released - Nothing major; the wait for 12 continues
Dev Home Preview 0.4 JUST released - accessibility and other improvements
Windows 365 Switch comes to the Windows Insider Dev and Beta channels
Here comes Edge for Business
Microsoft 365

Microsoft is releasing a new default theme for Office
Mobile + AI

Google Photos gets a new AI-powered Memories view
Opera brings Aria AI to its iOS browser
Google brings more features to its generative AI search service
Amazon adds more AI-generated review summaries on mobile
Google to add Audio Magic Eraser feature with Pixel 8 series
Apple to finally pay its victims for Batterygate
Xbox

Overview of Microsoft's new system to suspend toxic players on Xbox via strikes
Now Netflix is testing a cloud gaming solution
Tips & Picks

Tip of the week: Dealing with subscription fatigue
App pick of the week: Quake II Remaster
RunAs Radio this week: PowerShellGet in 2023 with Sydney Smith
Brown liquor pick of the week: EH Taylor Small Batch


Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

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

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

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsor:
cachefly.com