Windows Weekly (Audio)

By TWiT

Windows Weekly is about more than Windows. Veteran Microsoft insiders Paul Thurrott and Richard Campbell join Leo for a deep dive into the most valuable company in the world. From consumer to enterpri... more

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The podcast currently has 320 episodes available.

Windows Weekly (Audio) episodes:

May 06, 2026WW 982: Don't Lick the Manta Rays - Breaking Down Microsoft's Earnings
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:
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2h 47min
April 29, 2026WW 981: Semi-Sophisticated - Microsoft Releases Source Code For 86-DOS 1.00
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!

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2h 44min
April 22, 2026WW 980: Running Outta Tolkiens - Hands-On With 2 Snapdragon X2 Laptops!
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
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2h 44min
April 15, 2026WW 979: The Nespresso of the PC World - Simplifying the Windows Insider Program
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
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2h 36min
April 08, 2026WW 978: Pre-Peated - "Copilot Is for Entertainment Purposes Only"
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:
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...more
2h 20min
April 01, 2026WW 977: Moonshine University - The Push for Building 100% Native Windows Apps
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:
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...more
2h 16min
March 25, 2026WW 976: Full Thurrottle - Microsoft's Plan To Save Windows in 2026
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
...more
2h 17min
March 18, 2026WW 975: A Bubble of Knowledge - Microsoft Reorgs, OpenAI Drama, & Xbox's Next Move
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:
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zscaler.com/security
...more
2h 18min
March 11, 2026WW 974: DIY Crocs - Project Helix Details From GDC 2026
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
...more
2h 47min
March 04, 2026WW 973: Bob's Rumor Store - ASUS & Dell Unveil Windows 365 Cloud PC Devices
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
...more
1h 53min

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