Windows Weekly (Audio)

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Windows Weekly (Audio) episodes

October 29, 2025WW 956: Blowing the Dust Off Skype - Azure's Front Door Leaves Customers Locked Out
Welp, Azure crashed on Microsoft's earnings day, the cloud's weakest link exposed just as AI investments hit mind-boggling numbers. And 2.5 years into the AI era, things are still moving quickly, and there are extreme opinions on both ends of the spectrum. But Paul finally found a source for a good way to evaluate AI and figure out where it works and where it does not. It came from an unexpected place.
Windows 11
Week D arrives with a massive Preview Update for 24H2 and 25H2 - including the new Start menu, finally

Copy & Search, Voice typing improvements, Proactive Memory Diagnostics, more in Dev and Beta

Copilot Vision in Copilot app updated with text input and output across all Insider channels

Intel earnings are great unless you understand how numbers work
Microsoft 365
Australia regulator sues Microsoft over misleading Microsoft 365 consumer pricing

Copilot is being integrated into the People, Files, and Calendar companion apps for Microsoft 365 commercial

On the day Microsoft will report earnings, Microsoft 365 and Azure went down. Hilarious!
AI
OpenAI completes its transition to a for-profit owned by a non-profit

Microsoft's stake is 27 percent. A lot has changed in the Microsoft/OpenAI partnership agreement

WSJ finally calls out Microsoft for its lack of financial reporting transparency. Paul's been complaining about that for over a decade - Big Tech has became a shell game. These companies are managing money they don't even have and actual products and services and "real" value be damned

Big Copilot feature dump for consumers with a human touch: Mico, Copilot Groups, memory improvements, connectors, Proactive Actions in preview, Copilot for Health, Copilot in Edge improvements, and Copilot in Windows updates from last week

Microsoft 365 Copilot is getting App Builder and Workflow agents

GitHub Copilot to support third-party AI agents

Grammarly rebrands as Superhuman
Xbox and gaming
Credible report claims Microsoft requires Xbox/Microsoft Gaming to deliver 30 percent profit margin

That is impossible and this is clearly coming from Amy Hood and has led to the ensh*ttification of Xbox as a platform

As Microsoft launches first gaming handhelds, all anyone wants to talk about is the next-generation Xbox console. It started with Sarah Bond last week - "very premium" console with "curated" experience

Phil Spencer discusses it this week, who implied Windows at the heart of console

The rumor mill churns up - Will be Windows, as we've said, will drop multiplayer paywall that debuted in 2002

Now Satya Nadella is commenting on the next console, confirms publisher focus for this business

Halo: Campaign Evolved is coming in 2026, new features, new Unreal Engine graphics, new PS5 compatibility

Also, The Outer Worlds 2 is now available. Yes, on PS5 too

Amazon relaunches Luna, and the new Amazon layoffs point to a new focus on casual gaming
Tips and picks
Tip of the week: Understand where AI works and where AI is just a marketing term used to hype something that doesn't work

App pick of the week: Tiny11 Builder

RunAs Radio this week: AI for DBAs with Grant Fritchey

Brown liquor pick of the week: Redbreast Dream Casks

These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/956

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
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2 hr 48 min
October 22, 2025WW 955: Chewy Indifference - Windows 11's AI-Native Agentic Future
Microsoft is promising a bold AI-infused future for Windows 11, as the company aims to turn the OS into an AI-powered "agentic" hub. Amid all the Copilot hype, the hosts ask the tough questions: Are these AI features solving real problems, or is Big Tech just chasing a revenue gold rush? Tune in for sharp takes on AI skepticism, notable buzzwords, and the practical impact of Microsoft's ambitious new direction.
Windows 11... Windows.ai??
Microsoft announces several new Copilot and AI features in Windows while redefining the term "AI PC" out from under Intel

New features: Hey Copilot wake phrase (and goodbye), Copilot Vision is GA, new features coming soon include Copilot replacing Search in the Taskbar, Copilot Actions for local files, Manus AI agent and Filmora integration with File Explorer AI Actions, Zoom integration with Click to Do

This is about Windows transforming into an "AI native" agentic OS

Which ties into Paul's AI is the End of Apps editorial, where apps became programmable so that they can be controlled by AI - You can see baby steps in Windows 11 in-box apps now

Microsoft explains how it will secure agents in Windows because Recall what happened last time

Microsoft releases so-called emergency update for Windows 11 after the October Patch Tuesday updates killed USB mouse and keyboard supports in the Windows Recovery Environment (WRE).

Windows Insider Program: Mobile devices settings improvements, File Explorer improvements, Drag Tray improvements, and other changes head to Dev (25H2) and Beta (24H2) channels

New Start menu, battery icons, Copilot Vision integration in Taskbar, File Explorer improvements, Voice access improvements, and Click to Do improvements (Copilot+ PC only) head to Release Preview, indicating they will be a Week D preview and then Patch Tuesday release in November

Restyle rolling out in Paint across most Insider channels

Open AI finally launches long-expected web browser, but only on the Mac because FU, Microsoft

Facebook Messenger for Windows is retiring, will chase rabbits on a farm upstate
Microsoft
What does Microsoft's annual report say about its relationship with consumers?

Three core consumer businesses: Windows, Microsoft 365 Consumer, Xbox/gaming

Xbox/gaming smallest (500m) but also the most engaged - and also the most discussed in the report

Not clear what % of users/revenues is consumer based, but it's not a small number (guessing its at least one-third of each)
AI
Copilot for Education is coming in December, $18 per student per month

Anthropic Claude is coming for Copilot in Microsoft 365 commercial

Copilot has AI competition on Samsung smart TVs now

Opera Neon is getting an AI research agent
Xbox and gaming
Xbox president says next console will be "very premium". You know, like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are now available for purchase

New wave of games coming to Game Pass across PC, console, and cloud, including Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, The Outer Worlds 2, and more

Following console price hikes, Xbox Development Kit gets a 33 percent price increase thanks to insane U.S. tariffs
Tips & Picks
Tip of the week: Laptops are upgradeable again and life is good

App pick of the week: A grab bag of apps for Windows users

RunAs Radio this

These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/955

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell
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2 hr 26 min
October 15, 2025WW 954: We're Just Getting Started - Windows 10's Last Day of Support (But Not Really)
Forget the doomsday headlines about Windows 10's end of life. Paul, Richard, and Leo break down why most users can relax, what Microsoft really has planned, and why the supposed landfill crisis around old PCs is mostly exaggeration. Also, Microsoft said OneDrive's new app was coming next year, but your file system says otherwise.
Windows 11
October Patch Tuesday arrives, 1st for 25H2

Copilot+ PCs: Click to Do improvements, AI agent in Settings, File Explorer improvements

24H2/25H2: Desktop improvements, File Explorer improvements, Keyboard shortcuts for en and em dashes, Administrator Protection (off by default), Passkey improvements, Game Bar improvements

Windows 10 (didn't) reach EOL and the world didn't end

Zorin OS and ChromeOS Flex seize the moment

Windows Insider: Copilot on Windows gets Connectors, Document creation and export. Copilot on Windows gets Settings support. Dev and Beta get AI agent in Settings improvements (Copilot+ PC), Setting search improvements (ditto), Drag Tray, Click to Do improvements, Dark mode improvements

Dashlane partners with Yubico to make security keys primary vault access

Lenovo ThinkCentre neo 50q QC is a Snapdragon X-based SFF PC

HP OmniBook 5 16-inch shows why even the cheapest Snapdragon X chip is a winner

Hope springs eternal: Intel Panther Lake is the efficiency of Lunar Lake plus the performance of Arrow Lake. Hopefully, it's not the reliability of either

IDC: PC sales jumped 9.4 percent in Q3, just not where you live
AI
AI is the end of apps

Microsoft reveals its first image generation model

Opera Neon adds Nano Banana (image gen) and Sora (video gen) capabilities
Xbox and gaming
Target and Walmart will keep selling Xbox consoles unlike those losers at Costco

A veteran of Halo Studios leaves, warns everyone

Sorry, but there will be a sequel to the Minecraft movie

Game Pass member? Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is free to play for one more day

Sony and AMD trickle out some PS6 news in a bizarre way - oh, and we're just getting started
Tips and picks
Tip of the week: Yes, Virginia, you can still sign in to Windows 11 25H2 with a local account

App pick of the week: The new OneDrive app

RunAs Radio this week: The End of NTML with Steve Syfuhs

Brown liquor pick of the week: Holladay Soft Red Wheat 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.

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2 hr 41 min
October 08, 2025WW 953: The Casting of Frank Stallone - Is Xbox Still a Good Deal for Gamers?
The Windows 25H2 update is shrouded in mystery, but does it actually bring anything new to the table... or just more headaches for upgraders? Paul has been updating the Field Guide for 25H2, which will be an all-new addition. This is a chance to re-evaluate workarounds on unsupported hardware. This one still works: You can easily upgrade any Windows 10 or 11 PC, supported or not, using the 25H2 ISO and the D:\setup.exe /product server command line.
Windows 11
25H2 is out. Or is it? (New segment: This week in no one has 25H2 yet)

New Dev and Beta builds enforce MSA at first sign-in

This is the right choice for everybody, and enthusiasts can still use a local account sign-in

After a leak, Microsoft announces new OneDrive client with Copilot integration and agents are on the way (of course they are), with new mobile clients etc.

Mozilla Firefox finally supports profiles, PWAs

Also, Brave has over 100 million users now
AI
OpenAI inks a major deal with AMD too

ChatGPT is now a platform with support for third-party apps

Perplexity Comet now free to all with usage limits
Xbox and gaming
Hand-wringing over Xbox reaches all-time high with Game Pass Ultimate price hike

How bad is it and what can Xbox do to reassure fans?

Microsoft: Just kidding on Game Pass Ultimate price hike, but only in certain countries

Microsoft: No, we have not cancelled the next-gen Xbox console

Hands-on with the Legion Go 2! Windows can work as a mobile gaming platform. Just not right now

New Game Pass titles across PC, console, and cloud for early October a bit later than usual

Free, ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming tier is on the way

Total victory for Epic Games in Epic v. Google, Google must open up Play Store this month
Tips & picks
Tip of the week: Upgrade to Windows 11 on unsupported hardware

App pick of the week: Opera Neon

RunAs Radio this week: Managing for Failure with Amy Norris

Brown liquor pick of the week: Weller 12

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.

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2 hr 35 min
October 01, 2025WW 952: You Can See the Edges of the Bubble - Windows 11, version 25H2 Is Weirdly Identical
Windows 11 version 25H2 is here, but blink and you might miss the difference from last year! Also, Microsoft just hiked Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $30/month and is leaving gamers everywhere weighing their subscriptionsâ€”and their loyalty.
25H2 is here?!
Microsoft announced that 25H2 is GA! But where is it?

And what is it? Microsoft has a list of "new" features
More Windows 11
Microsoft delivers the 24H2 Week D update in Week E

No, it's not the preview version of 25H2 for some reason

But it is a massive update. And it is essentially 25H2

Pavan Davuluri was promoted to president and his first change was to bring Windows engineering back in-house and out of Azure

Dev and Beta: Minor changes to File Explorer, Quick settings, Get Started

Photos app is getting AI-based categories

Windows 10 Extended Security Updates to be free-free in the EU
Snapdragon X2
It's real and it's really better than almost anything out there. The bad news: Not until next year

Hardware prototypes point the way for device makers

Arm is the epiphany we need for everything to just work

Also, apparently Qualcomm still makes phone chips

Qualcomm declares "total litigation victory" against Arm Holdings. More like Harm Holdings, ammmi right?
AI
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella steps aside to focus on engineering

Microsoft enters a new era for Copilot/AI

"More Copilot" is the new "more cowbell"

Microsoft 365 Premium is the AI-powered subscription you were looking for, Copilot Pro is out

This maps neatly to the three app structure model and to Paul's "I will not pay for AI" thing

Tied to this, Microsoft also announced inside app vibe working updates across Office apps

Is this also tied to low uptick on paid AI? Report claims just 8 million seats for Microsoft 365 Copilot

Stevie Bathiche came to Hawaii to talk about the importance of NPUs and on-device AI

"Directive AI, 80 TOPS NPUs enable concurrent AI, AI agents are the "outside app" structure, Orchestration is evolving

Copilot users can talk to a cartoon now
Xbox and gaming
Major revamp to Xbox Game Pass with some good and some bad

Xbox Cloud Gaming is out of beta after what feels like 17 years, now on all Game Pass tiers

Game Pass Ultimate gets big price hike but also some improvements

Game Pass Premium replaces Standard

Game Pass Essential replaces Core

Amazon Luna got a big update too

You can preorder a ROG Xbox Ally Gaming handheld now

And Microsoft announces how it will handle compatibility

Costco drops Xbox consoles

Flight Simulator 2024 is coming to P5 in 2025

EA goes private for $55 billion
Tips and picks
Tip of the week: Videogames are getting expensive

App pick of the week: Proton Mail

RunAs Radio this week: HaveIBeenPwned with Troy Hunt

Brown liquor pick of the week: Compass Box Vellichor

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.

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2 hr 45 min
September 24, 2025WW 951: The ODBC of AI - Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme Promises Blazing Speeds!
Paul Thurrott reports live from Maui with exciting details on Qualcomm's next-gen Snapdragon X2 Elite chip and how it could shake up the PC world, while behind the scenes, Microsoft quietly drifts further from OpenAI just as an NVIDIA mega-deal makes headlines. Is Windows about to get its biggest reboot in years, and can ARM finally topple Intel?
Windows
25H2 is imminent: The real ISOs and eKBs are here!

Paul's Arm-based trip to Mexico and Arm-based Apple-tastic experience at Snapdragon Summit

And yet. It's Week D. And we didn't get any preview updates (for 24H2)

Windows AI Labs is a thing

If you're migrating from Windows 10 get a Windows 11 on Arm PC, Microsoft suggests

New AI features coming to Notepad, Paint, and Snipping Tool

New Dev and Beta (and Canary) builds: Click to Do translation, Share with Copilot, Accounts management improvements
AI
The Microsoft/OpenAI rift widens yet again

NVIDIA invests $100 billion in OpenAI, days after "investing" $5 billion in Intel

Intel will keep making its own GPUs because who gives a crap

Microsoft is bringing Anthropic Claude to Microsoft 365 Copilot - "Model choice"

Microsoft reportedly trying to pay publishers for content used by AI

Microsoft Teams is getting more agents

Google Chrome is getting a major AI update
Snapdragon Summit 2025
6G, AI as the new UI, glasses as the next wave, Android PCs out of nowhere

X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme (with up to 18 cores for ultra-premium PCs)

3rd Gen Oryon CPU (X2 was 1st gen, last year's phone chip was G2)

75 percent faster CPU perf than competition at ISO power

First Arm chip to hit 5+ GHz

New Adreno GPU architecture with 2.3x perf per watt and power efficiency over previous gen

Hexagon NPU with 80 TOPS for "concurrent AI experiences" on Copilot+ PCs

Supports latest 5G SD X75 modem, Wi-Fi 7, BT 5.4

75 percent faster CPU perf than competition at ISO power

Bad news: First half of 2026 availability

Not in the press release: The secret of why X2 Elite Extreme is so fast
Xbox
Microsoft raises Xbox console prices for the second time in 2025

Here comes the Gaming Copilot on Windows 11

Google is copying it on Android and bringing Android and native games to Windows now
Tips and Picks
Tip of the week: Think of 1 story for everyone you care about

App pick of the week: Notion 3.0

RunAs Radio this week: Managing Vendor Incidents with Mandi Walls

Brown liquor pick of the week: High Coast Whisky Quercus IV Mongolica

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.

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2 hr 55 min
September 17, 2025WW 950: Coding Makes Me Cry - Will Microsoft Listen to Consumer Reports' Plea?
With Windows 10's end-of-life looming, Paul and Leo dissect the real risks, questionable hardware requirements, and whether dumping old PCs in landfills is an acceptable trade-off for modern security. Plus, why is Apple finally buying up touchscreen displays for MacBooks after years of resistance, and what could that mean for the future of both Mac and Windows hardware?
Windows
Consumer Reports asks Microsoft to continue Windows 10 support

Reminder: Windows 11 25H2 ISOs are available... x64 only, in Insider Preview. Arm version is from Dev channel and is a VHDX

Dev (25H2) and Beta (24H2) - Copilot prompt in Click to Do, Prompt recommendations in Start, controller navigation for gaming handhelds, SCOOBE, agents in the Store, more

Release Preview (24H2 AND 25H2) - Click to Do table detection, action tags, and Summarize improvements; agent in Settings improvements, Hardware indicator improvements, more

Quick Machine Recovery is a solid addition to your recovery toolbox

Microsoft releases Windows 365 Cloud Apps in Preview

A MacBook with a touch screen? Oh the irony
Microsoft 365
Microsoft finally settles Teams antitrust case with EU and you're not going to believe what happens next

Microsoft 365 desktop apps (i.e. "Office") gets Copilot chat even for free - Web grounded? That's ungrounded, right?

Microsoft 365 commercial pulls in previously separate sales, service, and financial services

Outlook Lite is heading off to a farm to chase rabbits

No more Office file editing in Microsoft 365 Copilot app for iPhone and iPad
AI
OpenAI and Microsoft hint at another major restructuring of their partnership

Auto AI model selection comes to Visual Studio Code. Your orchestration is showing

Visual Studio 2026 on .NET Rocks and the recent news about configuring GitHub Copilot in VS 20xx.
Hardware
October is going to be a big month for new hardware

Apple rumored for October

Google Home on October 1 with Gemini

Amazon devices (September 30, close enough)

Where are the next-gen PC chips?
Xbox & games
Third-party store integration comes to Xbox app on Windows

Microsoft kicks off another big half month for Xbox Game Pass

Epic Games can't stop beating Google in court
Tips & Picks
Tip of the week: Improve Windows 11 security

App pick of the week: Google app for Windows

Hosts: Leo Laporte and Paul Thurrott

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.

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2 hr 30 min
September 10, 2025WW 949: How Do I Get Back to Windows 7? - Microsoft's Patch Tuesday Update Packs Big Windows 11 Changes
Windows 11 just dropped one of its biggest updates yet, but new features and relentless AI integrations are making right-click menus bigger—and more confusing—than ever. Is Windows getting better, or just busier?

Windows 11

• Patch Tuesday arrives with several new features for all Windows 11 users

• A few new features added for Copilot+ PCs

• This may be the last cumulative update before 25H2

Windows Insider

• New Canary build includes features we've seen before

• Copilot+ PCs bring Windows Studio Effects to secondary cameras in Dev and Beta channels

Hardware

• 40-year Intel veteran now leads PC chips business

• Paul's continued criticism of Lunar Lake problems

• Lenovo's three IFA concept devices should become shipping products

Apps

• Atlassian acquires The Browser Company, potentially threatening the Dia browser

Microsoft

• Microsoft mandates employees return to office three days per week

• Microsoft accused of "gross cybersecurity negligence"

Dev

• Microsoft open sources 6502 BASIC

• First Visual Studio 2026 preview now available

• Individual developers can register for Microsoft Store for free

Mobile

• Google ships Android 16 QPR1 with Material 3 Expressive on Pixel devices plus September Pixel Drop

• Apple announces iPhone 17 lineup, iPhone Air, AirPods Pro 3, and new Apple Watches

• Comparison of OS updating styles between Apple, Google, and Microsoft and their impact on hardware upgrades

AI

• Microsoft to pay almost $20 billion for third-party AI infrastructure

• Microsoft may turn to Anthropic for Office apps

• Anthropic settles with book authors, then judge rejects the settlement (Apple faces similar lawsuit)

• Google details all Gemini tier offerings

• Firefox will use Apple Intelligence on iPhones with iOS 26

Xbox and Games

• Lenovo Legion Go 2 coming in October with new Xbox Ally OS in early 2026

• Xbox to announce games at Tokyo Game Show on September 25

• Xbox Cloud Gaming coming to select cars

• PlayStation 6 will be modular

Tips and Picks

• Something to read: iWar by Tim Higgins

• Something to watch: New Dave Plumber interview on YouTube

• Something to get for free: Microsoft 365 free for US students for one year

• Something to plan for: Proton offers emergency access on accounts

• RunAs Radio this week: Training for AI with Stephanie Donahue

• Brown liquor pick of the week: Boplaas 8 Single Grain 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.

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2 hr 40 min
September 03, 2025WW 948: Netflix Tears - Windows 11, version 25H2 heads to Release Preview!
Paul Thurrott is in Berlin this week for IFA 2025! With AI models multiplying across devices and Microsoft plotting a post-OpenAI future, Paul and Richard debate whether Copilot and local AI finally hint at what's next for your PC. Paul also reacts to the surprising Google antitrust ruling, questioning whether judges are truly willing to rein in Big Tech or just maintain the status quo. Has the battle for online competition already been lost?
Windows 11
Four new builds issued in the Insider Program at the same time (rare)

Dev and Beta: New Microsoft 365 text actions in Click to Do, Braille Viewer, more Share changes

Canary: Nothing to see here, move along

The Mobile Plans app you never used in Windows 11 is going away

Windows Backup for Organizations is here

Dolby Vision 2 is on the way

Dell hits record revenues, but not because of PCs - PC revenues $12.5 billion, up 1 percent

HP revenues up 3.1 percent and it is because of PCs - PC revenues $9.9 billion, up 6 percent

Reminder that Lenovo is curiously dominant in this market - PC revenues $13.5 billion, up 18 percent
Antitrust
Google unexpectedly given a pass on egregious antitrust violations

"We don't do these things because they are hard"
Ensh*ttification
Amazon begins restricting the ability to share Prime free shipping within a household

This, from the company that makes you pay to remove ads from a video service you're already paying for

YouTube is changing what it means to be in household
This week from the misinformation files
Microsoft denied that it had anything to do with SSD fails

Google denies that it warned 2.8 billion Gmail users about anything

If it happened online, it must be real
AI
Microsoft AI releases its first-ever in-house models and one is quite mysterious

Copilot is coming to make your smart TVs dumber

Anthropic will now train Claude on user data unless you opt out

NVIDIA is still doing pretty well financially

The Pixel 10 series phones are all about AI

Camera Coach

It's fascinating to reexamine the initial Pixel launch for its forward-leaning looks at AI, computational photography, and more
Xbox and games
Xbox August Update brings a few interesting new features

Activision inks deal to make a Call of Duty movie

Hollow Knight: Silksong and more are coming to Game Pass in first half of September
Tips & picks
Tip of the week

App pick of the week: Vivaldi

RunAs Radio this week: Episode 1000!

Brown liquor pick of the week: Canadian Club 1858 Original

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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2 hr 58 min
August 27, 2025WW 947: Hallucinated Clown Shoes - Microsoft v. protesters, round 3. Or 4. Or something
Protesters take over Microsoft's Building 34, objecting to the company's technology being allegedly used by Israel. Is it more than simply cybersecurity usage, and how is Microsoft handling employee activism? In other news, Gemini suddenly vaults to the front of AI image editing capability, and the OG Gears of War has been remastered at least twice (but now it's cross-platform).
Windows 11
Resume from your (Android) phone in testing in Dev and Beta channels

Copilot app gets semantic search and new home page across all Insider channels

25H2 feature focus: Administrator Protection probably works but it's more disruptive than even UAC was

Windows 11 gets a nice Bluetooth quality update

Parallels Desktop 26 for Mac is out, but it's a minor update for individuals
Microsoft 365
Microsoft to fix one of the biggest issues with Word

Reminder: OneNote for Windows 10 hits EOL in October
AI
Apple's AI floundering continues as it considers a Perplexity or Mistral acquisition

And tests a Gemini AI model for Siri in-house

Perplexity offers a $5 per month Comet Plus subscription that pays content makers

Anthropic sort of brings Claude extension to Chrome

NotebookLM audio and video overviews are now available in over 80 languages

And AI Mode is now available in Search in over 180 countries

Norton's AI web browser gets off to a rough start

Proton Lumo gets a big update

Rant: The real problem with the Windows 2030 talk, and why everyone (on both sides) is wrong about AI
Dev
Microsoft lets Visual Studio devs tune-down GitHub Copilot, finally

Microsoft makes some progress with improving Windows App SDK, supposedly
Xbox and gaming
Xbox Cloud Gaming expands to Xbox Game Pass Core Standard, adds PC games for the first time

Steam and other stores come to Xbox app on PC

Activision says it will reverse some of the stupidity it introduced in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Nintendo invented the 30 percent fee that's still common today in digital app/game stores, but when it did so, the fee actually made sense... and it still does today, but only for the videogame industry
Tips & Picks
Tip of the week: Edit images with Gemini

Tip of the week: Subscribe to Chris's new newsletter, The Windows ReadMe

App pick of the week: Gears of War

App pick of the week: NVIDIA Broadcast app

Hosts: Leo Laporte and Paul Thurrott

Guest: Chris Hoffman

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.

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2 hr 49 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.

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