Windows Weekly (Audio)

By TWiTNews Technology Tech News

Windows Weekly (Audio) episodes

July 05, 2023WW 836: SharePoint Under Every Desk - EU's Big Tech gatekeepers, AI-powered shopping tools, Windows Copilot Preview
EU's Big Tech gatekeepers, AI-powered shopping tools, Windows Copilot Preview
The EU officially identified the first Big Tech "gatekeepers" that will be held to a higher regulatory standard, and Microsoft made the list.

Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook (Meta)

Plus, TikTok owner ByteDance (?) and Samsung

Booking.com says it was notified it will be on the next list for some reason too

What is the standard? What are the penalties for non-compliance?

Microsoft to face EU antitrust investigation after discussions break down.
Windows
Microsoft JUST makes its self-imposed June deadline, releases first public preview of Windows Copilot to (some) Windows Insiders.

Windows Copilot hands-on

Windows 365 Frontline exits preview
AI
Microsoft adds new AI-powered shopping tools to Bing and Edge. I'm sure they won't just recommend Microsoft products.

Google changes its privacy policy, admits it will scrape the Internet to train its models
Hardware
Hybrids bridge the gap between the new and the old, and they're all around us. In personal tech, the laptop was an early hybrid, but today's hybrids—like folding smartphones—are getting interesting and are inarguably the future of the premium, and then the mainstream, smartphone market. So much for "right tool for the job."
Xbox
Nadella claims he wants videogame exclusives to go away. This explains why Microsoft has purchased so man game studios, and why its wants Activision Blizzard. Somehow.

What would a "mobile-native" version of Game Pass look like? And how could Microsoft get past the mobile gatekeepers?

Microsoft announces its July Xbox Games with Gold titles

Microsoft also announced its first Game Pass titles for July
Tips & Picks
Tip of the week #1: Enable Windows Copilot (Preview)

Tip of the week #2: Get Office 365 for IT Pros 2024 Edition for $10 off

App pick of the week #1: Stella

App pick of the week #2: Firefox 115

RunAs this week: Power Platform Proliferation with Luise Freese

Brown Liquor this week: Dewars 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.
Sponsors:
kolide.com/ww
GO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT
2 hr 26 min
June 28, 2023WW 835: Sifting Mud for Nymphs - FTC/Microsoft court hearings, Pixel Fold, consumer Cloud PCs
Microsoft/FTC hearings reveal numerous details about the Xbox business
The FTC's economist could not explain how the acquisition would actually harm competition

The FTC bungled its questioning of Phil Spencer so badly that he had to explain how mergers work to the agency.

Microsoft decided to pursue AB after it learned that Sony was paying publishers to skip Xbox and that it was trying to make Starfield exclusive to PlayStation

A Bethesda executive asked Phil Spencer why AB was so different, noting that some Bethesda titles became Xbox exclusives

Phil Spencer says that Microsoft "expects" Xbox to be profitable, but he never said that it ever was. Its continual third-place finishes in the console market is what kicked off Microsoft's game studio buying spree: Sony was outspending it on exclusives

Phil Spencer also admitted to what I think is Xbox's biggest failure, it's lack of an "organic" strategy for mobile.

Spencer: there is no native Minecraft on PS5 because Sony. (Related: if Microsoft buys AB, Sony will not give AB advanced access to PS6)

Xbox Cloud Gaming was promoted as a way to get Xbox in front of 3 billion more eyeballs, but it's been used as a way for Xbox console users to test new games before they buy them.

Sony's PlayStation boss came off badly during the hearings.

Microsoft considered "spending Sony out of business." If this deal fails, it should do just that

AB demanded a better revenue share and threatened to pull COD off Xbox otherwise. They had no choice, so AB gets an 80/20 revenue split instead of the usual 70/30. Blackmail!

Microsoft considered buying over 100 separate companies to gain a foothold in mobile gaming (and overall). Key among them are Zynga, Bungie, Sega, CD Projekt Red, and Gearbox
Windows 11
Deja vu: Microsoft issues Windows 11 version 22H2 Moment 3 as a preview update

A quick update on that new switch in Windows Update

Welcome to the nanny state: Windows 11 just can't stop telling us how to do things

Microsoft wants to bring Cloud PC to consumers for some reason

DuckDuckGo's web browser is here for Windows in beta. It's as safe and private as Brave, but it is still lacking too many core features for daily use
Microsoft and AI
ChatGPT adds Bing integration in iOS

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talks about his AI conversion
Xbox
Meta launches a VR Quest+ subscription service

Google is bringing games to YouTube
Tips & Picks
Tip of the week: Xbox Series X/S storage hits lowest prices ever

App pick of the week: Stardock Deskscapes 11

RunAs Radio this week: Patching in 2023 with Sami Laiho

Brown liquor pick of the week: Green Spot:

Regular - 40% - $50

Leoville Barton - 46% - Bordeaux - $100

Chateau Montelana - 46% - Zinfandel - $100

Quails Gate - 46% - Pinot Noir - $100 CAD

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:
lookout.com
GO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT
2 hr 40 min
June 21, 2023WW 834: The Soothing Sounds of Trains - Moment 3 nonsense, Mail/Calendar app replacement, Opera One
Microsoft squares off against the FTC
On Thursday, Microsoft will face off against the FTC in its bid to acquire Activision Blizzard. But the FTC has proven that it does not understand its role as an enforcer of US antitrust laws. The FTC should lose this case, paving the way for an immediate acquisition. The CMA can go F itself.

NZ may be stepping in soon too
More Moment 3 confusion
This week, Microsoft issued Moment 3 to the Windows 11 Insider Program Release Preview Program

This is odd because Microsoft released Moment 3 to stable last week

We need to talk about Chat in Windows 11

New Beta channel builds with changes to notifications and Wi-Fi Hotspot

Intel unveils branding changes for its processors - there's no "i" in "Core"
New (new) Outlook confusion
Microsoft announces that it will replace Mail and Calendar in Windows 11 with the new Outlook in late 2024. Smart!

The world freaks out for some reason

Microsoft quickly recants, will "re-evaluate" this decision
AI & Cloud
Google files complaint to FTC about Microsoft's cloud contracts

Microsoft: June outages were cyberattacks

Opera says it has released the first-ever "AI-native" web browser

Xbox

Incoming price hike for Xbox Series X, Xbox Game Pass

Microsoft stops making Xbox One games

Halo Infinite Season 4 is here

More games are heading to Xbox Game pass in the second half of June

Microsoft will host an ID@Xbox Showcase on July 11
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Try the new Outlook now

App pick of the week: Amiga Forever 10

RunAs Radio this week: Windows Update for Business with Aria Carley

Brown liquor pick of the week: Mortlach 12

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
Miro.com/podcast
CDW.com/LenovoClient
1 hr 55 min
June 14, 2023WW 833: Where Games Go To Die - Microsoft & Activision Blizzard, Windows 11 22H2, OpenAI, Xbox Updates
Microsoft & Activision Blizzard, Windows 11 22H2, OpenAI, Xbox Updates

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell

For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/833
Sponsors:
Brooklinen.com Use Code WINDOWS
cs.co/twit
cachefly.com
2 hr 41 min
June 07, 2023WW 832: Saturated by Fake Girlfriends - Cortana's Windows death, 3 months with no Xbox, thoughts on WWDC23
Cortana's Windows death, 3 months with no Xbox, thoughts on WWDC23
Developer Story
As the developer conference season winds down with WWDC, a look at how Apple, Google, and Microsoft are both similar to and different from each other

Hololens flashbacks anyone?
Windows
She's dead, Jim: Microsoft kills Cortana in Windows 10, 11 - this is all about marketing

Teams for Windows (consumer) gets new features that no one will notice either

Windows Insider Preview: Microsoft Paint gets Dark mode support (FINALLY) and more in Canary and Dev

Canary: New build brings SMB signing requirement (Enterprise ed only), camera app troubleshooting (plus new build today)

Dev (new): redesigned Home view for File Explorer, modernized address bar and search box, Dynamic Lighting settings

Dev: File Explorer tabs and gallery view improvements, Add Phone Photos button for setting up OneDrive camera roll

Beta: WPA3 support in Phone Link, fixes

Microsoft Edge arrives with Workspaces (but not the new UI)

Brave finally gets vertical tabs

One week after HP, Dell posts 20 percent revenue fall
Xbox
Well, Paul finally did it: 3 months without Xbox

WD Xbox Series X|S expansion cards start at just $80

Minecraft comes to chromebooks

Microsoft was fined $20 million by the FTC for collecting kids' data (Amazon was fined $25 million)

Report explains why Redfall failed. (It sucks)

Apple brings Windows games to macOS using Wine-based toolkit

Amazon kills Luna app on Windows and Mac, focuses on web. Are we facing a Stadia moment now?

Tips & Picks

Tip of the week: Passkeys come to Google Workspace accounts too

Tip of the week #2: Get the updated Windows 11 22H2 ISO

RunAs Radio this week: Microsoft Sentinel with Sarah Young

Brown liquor pick of the week: Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 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.
Sponsors:
AWS Insiders - WW
meraki.cisco.com/twit
Melissa.com/twit
2 hr 20 min
May 31, 2023WW 831: Skied Both & Drunk in the Middle - Build 2023 analysis, Dev Drive, Margrethe Vestager's speech
One more look back at Build
Microsoft talked a lot about what's coming to Windows, was vague on the timing. Speaking of vague, Microsoft gave the impression that there were "1 billion" Windows 11 users. There are not.

Paul can confirm that Panos Panay was purposefully sidelined.

Dev Drive: excellent. Dev Home: Eh. Windows Copilot, Winget config: maybe

A theory about 23H2 = Moment 4
Windows 11
New Insider Preview builds.

Canary: Microsoft Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies on Windows on ARM.

Dev: Dev Drive, Windows Backup, never combine in Taskbar.

Beta: Minor changes.

Don't forget that Moment 3 arrives next week.

Hackers fully crack Windows XP activation.

HP revenues fall 22 percent as PC market doldrums continue.

Intel CEO discusses "serious leadership issues" at Intel and the rocky turnaround.
Surface
Surface Pro X camera just stops working, so Microsoft issues a temporary fix.
Xbox
Margrethe Vestager discusses the UK CMA and Activision Blizzard.

New Games for Gold titles - Adios is available now, and on Windows too (a first?).

New Game Pass titles.

Xbox app gets May update.

Google Play Games for PC Beta comes to Europe, New Zealand.
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Get started on what's next for Windows 11

App pick of the week: Greenshot, ImageGlass, VLC

RunAs Radio this week: Azure Sticker Shock with Aidan Finn

Brown liquor pick of the week: Crown Royal Northern Rye Harvest

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:
GO.ACILEARNING.COM/TWIT
CDW.com/LenovoClient
2 hr 47 min
May 24, 2023WW 830: Windows Is My Copilot - Build 2023 key(note) takeaways, Neeva shuts down, Leo updates to Moment 3
Build 2023 key(note) takeaways, Neeva shutting down, Leo updates to Moment 3
Microsoft Build 2023
Microsoft's keynotes are a combination of marketing and developer talk and that stands in sharp contrast to how Google and Apple handle their developer shows. It's good and bad, but Microsoft's keynotes must be mostly boring and/or pointless to mainstream users.

Microsoft announces Windows Co-pilot, with yet another Taskbar button and a new sidebar

Dev Home is a dashboard for developers with ReFS and winget configuration

Qualcomm makes its case for local and hybrid AI

AI is coming to the Microsoft Store

Microsoft also talked up Moment 3

Microsoft Edge gets a major UI revamp, a business experience, and more

Avatars are coming to Teams this week

Microsoft 365 Co-pilot is getting plug-in support

Bing becomes the default search engine for ChatGPT

Microsoft's tsunami of AI for customers and developers

ChatGPT comes to the iPhone

Neeva shuts down its paid search service to focus on AI

Chris Cap is unfairly raked over the coals for his comments to employees about getting raises
Xbox
China is the "37th country" to OK Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard

Microsoft snags a legal victory in ridiculous "gamers' lawsuit"

Microsoft brings its first PC games to NVIDIA GeForce Now

Sony sold 600,000 PSVR2 headsets in 6 weeks somehow
Tips & Picks
Tip of the week: Grateful Geek

App pick of the week: Microsoft Edge Beta

RunAs Radio this week: Incident Response Readiness with Paula Januszkiewicz

Brown liquor pick of the week: Woodinville Straight Rye

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:
lookout.com
Miro.com/podcast
1 hr 47 min
May 17, 2023WW 829: You Can't Spell Blair Witch Without AI - Moment 3 features, EC targets Azure, Forgetful Browsing
Windows 11: We're having another moment!
After hitting Release Preview last week, Moment 3 will arrive in preview form next week (Week D) or the following week and then head to stable on June 13 (Patch Tuesday).

Now we have a better understanding of Microsoft's update schedule for Windows 11

Feature Updates - one per year in H2, deployed logically using best-known configurations first

Moments - once per quarter

Controlled Feature Releases (CFRs) - almost every month, deployed randomly

App updates - can happen anytime based on readiness\

Continuous innovation isn't just for Windows. In fact, we can assume that mobile was the inspiration for this. Windows feels pressure from mobile. Does mobile feel pressure from web?

When Moment 3 arrives, can people in Release Preview automatically exit Insider Preview?

Phone Link support for iPhone goes to stable

Windows 10 version 21H2 exits support next month, leaving 22H2 as the last version standing for non-managed businesses
Bing/AI/cloud
Bing chatbot gets contextual chat, a few changes on mobile

EU begins an antitrust investigation of Azure

Google barely mentioned Android 14 and didn't mention Google Assistant at IO keynote. This is by design: Like Microsoft marketing the cloud before it was ready for 10 years, Google is marketing AI

Dev

First Rust code shows up in the Windows kernel (in Insider)

Visual Studio is getting its first visual refresh in over 10 years

Build 2023 is next week! Any sessions stand out? (You can save sessions you want to see to your virtual backpack)

Xbox

EU regulators approve Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard

UK CMA acts like a bunch of crybabies

Microsoft announces more Game Pass titles for May

Here comes another Windows-based gaming handheld
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: There is a new Windows 11 ISO coming

App pick of the week: Brave

RunAs Radio this week: Dealing with Vulnerable Exchange Servers with Gareth Gudger

Brown liquor pick of the week: Goodridge & Williams Northern Grain 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:
cachefly.com
2 hr 5 min
May 10, 2023WW 828: By Mennen - Patch Tuesday, Bing Chatbot, Redfall
Windows 11
Patch Tuesday: Windows 11 gets that one new feature that Microsoft was awfully quiet about.

New builds last week across Canary, Dev, and Beta - Nothing in Canary, lots in Dev, two changes to Beta.

Beta channel: Photos app gets new slideshow and spot fixing tool.

Beta channel: No features for consumers, one feature for IT pros, a Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) fix.

Widgets might be coming to the desktop because it's 2009 again.

Related: Qualcomm revenues cough up a lung too.

Microsoft 365
Bing chatbot is available to all, Edge is about to get a makeover.

Microsoft 365 Copilot launches in early access.

Microsoft is partnering with AMD on Project Athena, no it isn't.

Microsoft starts throttling traffic from legacy Exchange servers.

Xbox
Report: EU will approve Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard soon - it worked for the UK!

Phil Spencer does what Phil Spencer does and speaks plainly about AB and Redfall troubles.

Redfall proves that Xbox Game Pass makes sense.

The Xbox May update brings Discord integration.

Halo Infinite May update adds Super Fiesta Mode because seriously WTF.

Xbox storage expansion cards finally get a price reduction.

Nintendo Switch sales are officially on the decline, but 125m sold so far.

Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Know your screenshot keyboard shortcuts. And then get a real screenshot program. I recommend Greenshot.

Stardock Groupy 2 is now in beta, adds tabs to almost any app, groups them on the taskbar, $6.99 on sale.

Firefox 113 fixes a million-year-old bug!

RunAs Radio this week: Azure Virtual Desktop Accelerator with Jen Sheerin.

Brown liquor pick of the week: Bus Whisky.

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:
CDW.com/LenovoClient
kolide.com/ww
AWS Insiders - WW
1 hr 59 min
May 03, 2023WW 827: It Makes Me Fight - Windows 11 LTSC, PC peripheral consolidation, CFRs
Windows 11 LTSC, PC peripheral consolidation, CFRs
WE GOT ROADMAPS
Microsoft updated the Windows roadmap. And there are two takeaways

Windows 11 LTSC will finally arrive in the second half of 2024

Windows 10 version 22H2 is the final version of Windows 10, and it will be supported with only security updates until October 14, 2025
Windows 11
Last week, we talked about Week D monthly preview updates. This week, we need to talk about Controlled Feature Rollouts (CFRs). This is what happened with that Search "pill" late last year, not that Microsoft ever announced that, and it's all about testing new features first in stable. Is the Insider Program in trouble?

Microsoft is adding Rust to the Windows kernel

Insider Program: Microsoft is testing new Widget board improvements

Web usage statistics show us how Edge has failed where Safari has succeeded

Oops! A stupid new feature in Edge is causing Microsoft to report all your web browsing to Bing

Intel revenues are circling the drain, but it promises a brighter future. And AMD fell hard too, with the same guidance
Microsoft 365
One domain to rule them all and in the darkness bind them

Microsoft Loop Preview now supports personal accounts

Microsoft Designer arrives in open preview, offers DALL-E-powered AI graphics designs

Links in Teams and (the new) Outlook will soon open in Edge no matter which browser you chose

Microsoft is overhauling OneDrive for work and school on the web. You know, eventually

Microsoft brings payments to SMBs in Teams with PayPal, Stripe, and... GoDaddy?
Surface
Is Surface Duo dead? Was it ever not dead?

Microsoft consolidates all of its keyboards and other PC peripherals under the Surface brand
Xbox
Microsoft signs yet another 10-year Xbox deal, this time with an EU cloud streaming company

Microsoft "fixes" the Xbox Dashboard. Again

Here are the (two) Games with Gold titles for May

Redfall and other titles are heading to Xbox Game Pass in May

Xbox launches a Game Pass friend referral program

Sony has now sold 38.5 PlayStation 5 consoles
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Afraid of command lines? Use WingetUI

App pick of the week: Brave Search

RunAs this week: Large Language Models and Windows with Paul Thurrott

Brown liquor pick of the week: Redbreast 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.
Sponsor:
Melissa.com/twit
2 hr 45 min

About Windows Weekly (Audio)

From the publisher's feed

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 enterprise, AI to Xbox, Windows Weekly is the only Microsoft podcast you'll ever need.

You can join Club TWiT for $10 per month and get ad-free audio and video feeds for all our shows plus everything else the club offers...or get just this podcast ad-free for $5 per month.