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CES may be a consumer show, but this week it sent shockwaves through enterprise IT. In this episode of IT SPARC Cast – News Bytes, John Barger and Lou Schmidt break down why nearly every major chip vendor chose CES to unveil next-generation CPUs, what Lenovo’s new agentic AI strategy means for IT teams, and why Microsoft embedding Copilot deep into Windows could fundamentally change how operating systems work.
From Intel’s attempt at a comeback, to AMD and Qualcomm’s positioning against NVIDIA, to growing concerns about trust, security, and AI agents living inside your OS, this episode separates meaningful signals from CES noise—and explains why power efficiency, autonomy, and control are becoming the real battlegrounds.
⸻
⏱️ Show Notes
00:00 – Intro
John and Lou frame CES as the unexpected epicenter of enterprise IT announcements, explaining why CPUs, AI, and robotics dominated the show—and why IT teams should care.
⸻
📰 News Bytes
00:54 – New CPUs Announced
CES saw major CPU launches from Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and NVIDIA—signaling a shift toward mainstream AI hardware announcements. Intel launched Panther Lake, AMD expanded Ryzen AI, Qualcomm pushed Snapdragon X2 for AI agents, and NVIDIA moved Rubin into full production.
⸻
09:45 – Lenovo’s New AI Agent
Lenovo unveiled Qira, an agentic AI designed to work across PCs, phones, wearables, and enterprise systems alongside Microsoft Copilot. The move highlights a growing push toward cross-device AI coordination—and raises questions about Apple’s closed ecosystem.
⸻
12:40 – Microsoft Integrates Copilot Deep into Windows
Microsoft is embedding AI agent launchers directly into Windows, allowing third-party applications to register system-wide AI agents. While this may keep operating systems relevant, it introduces serious trust and security concerns around deep OS-level access.
https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/12/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26220-7522-dev-beta-channels/
⸻
🔁 Wrap Up
19:03 – Mail Bag
Listener feedback sparks a discussion on cloud outages, cost structures, and whether on-prem alternatives are becoming viable again for certain businesses.
22:15 – Wrap Up
John and Lou emphasize that resilience in the cloud is still possible—but only if organizations are willing to pay for it—and invite listeners to share what CES announcements stood out to them.
IT SPARC Cast
@ITSPARCCast on X
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sparc-sales/ on LinkedIn
John Barger
@john_Video on X
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarger/
Lou Schmidt
@loudoggeek on X
https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-schmidt-b102446/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
By John BargerCES may be a consumer show, but this week it sent shockwaves through enterprise IT. In this episode of IT SPARC Cast – News Bytes, John Barger and Lou Schmidt break down why nearly every major chip vendor chose CES to unveil next-generation CPUs, what Lenovo’s new agentic AI strategy means for IT teams, and why Microsoft embedding Copilot deep into Windows could fundamentally change how operating systems work.
From Intel’s attempt at a comeback, to AMD and Qualcomm’s positioning against NVIDIA, to growing concerns about trust, security, and AI agents living inside your OS, this episode separates meaningful signals from CES noise—and explains why power efficiency, autonomy, and control are becoming the real battlegrounds.
⸻
⏱️ Show Notes
00:00 – Intro
John and Lou frame CES as the unexpected epicenter of enterprise IT announcements, explaining why CPUs, AI, and robotics dominated the show—and why IT teams should care.
⸻
📰 News Bytes
00:54 – New CPUs Announced
CES saw major CPU launches from Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and NVIDIA—signaling a shift toward mainstream AI hardware announcements. Intel launched Panther Lake, AMD expanded Ryzen AI, Qualcomm pushed Snapdragon X2 for AI agents, and NVIDIA moved Rubin into full production.
⸻
09:45 – Lenovo’s New AI Agent
Lenovo unveiled Qira, an agentic AI designed to work across PCs, phones, wearables, and enterprise systems alongside Microsoft Copilot. The move highlights a growing push toward cross-device AI coordination—and raises questions about Apple’s closed ecosystem.
⸻
12:40 – Microsoft Integrates Copilot Deep into Windows
Microsoft is embedding AI agent launchers directly into Windows, allowing third-party applications to register system-wide AI agents. While this may keep operating systems relevant, it introduces serious trust and security concerns around deep OS-level access.
https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/12/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26220-7522-dev-beta-channels/
⸻
🔁 Wrap Up
19:03 – Mail Bag
Listener feedback sparks a discussion on cloud outages, cost structures, and whether on-prem alternatives are becoming viable again for certain businesses.
22:15 – Wrap Up
John and Lou emphasize that resilience in the cloud is still possible—but only if organizations are willing to pay for it—and invite listeners to share what CES announcements stood out to them.
IT SPARC Cast
@ITSPARCCast on X
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sparc-sales/ on LinkedIn
John Barger
@john_Video on X
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarger/
Lou Schmidt
@loudoggeek on X
https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-schmidt-b102446/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.