Windows Weekly (Video)

Microsoft earnings are later today. A few predictions. Google's are in, and they are surprisingly good.
Cloud outlook: cloudy

• Microsoft outlines more steps it's taking to try to keep its cloud services up and running
• But constraint issues are still happening and no real details are available on how it's increasing capacity
• Related: Samsung's memory business is going gangbusters because of cloud providers like Amazon and Microsoft
• But ... will it last? And won't consumer demand for "stuff" overtake this again at some point?
• GitHub has back-to-back outages

Windows 10

• Windows 10 version 1909 now on 1/3rd of Windows 10 PCs
• OneDrive differential sync is finally rolled out to all users
• Intel unlocks graphics drivers

Microsoft 365

• Microsoft posts that Microsoft 365 consumer briefing -- and I checked, they communicated Teams consumer features properly
• Microsoft details new M365 features released/announced in April
• Interesting tidbit: You can open two Word or PPT documents now on iPad
• GSuite users can now directly manage Windows 10 devices
• Google Meet now free. Take that, Skype and Teams! Hm.
• Zoom chooses Oracle to expand its cloud infrastructure (over Azure, AWS, GWC).
• Microsoft patches GIF vulnerability in Teams
• Speaking of Teams, Planner in Teams is being rebranded as Tasks starting in May

Xbox

• Games with Gold for May is announced

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Turn your Microsoft Rewards into Mixer subscriptions. Mixer now lets you redeem your Microsoft Rewards points for channel subscriptions so you can use your Rewards to directly support your favorite streamer.
• App pick of the week: Stardock Curtains. Thanks to Windows 10's support for Dark Mode, it's now possible to skin this thing in an elegant way.
• Enterprise pick of the week: Windows Server containers now GA on Azure Kubernetes Service. Move over Linux. Windows Server container support is now available in AKS after a year in preview.
• Codename pick of the week: Santos. Microsoft has been dabbling with the idea of holoportation (telepresence) for a while. It may be getting more serious. Walking Cat found links to a couple of apps: Mirage and Santos, that could be related to this work. Mirage allows users to add a virtual monitor and Santos is some kind of teleconferencing client.
• Beer pick of the week: All Cats are Grey in the Dark. A "white" stout! It's a thing. There's a very good example of the style from Fat Orange Cat Brewing. Clocks in at a modest 7.2%. Tastes of coffee, vanilla, and a little chocolate. Definitely sweet and syrupy. It's worth trying: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/45814/332966/

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Mary Jo Foley, and Paul Thurrott

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

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

Check out Mary Jo's blog at AllAboutMicrosoft.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsor:

Microsoft 365 for consumers is here

• Microsoft has made the shift from Office 365 Personal/Home to Microsoft 365 Personal/Family
• What's changed? (Just the brand)
• What about all those new features that Microsoft promised?
• What about Teams? There's a lot of confusion about this one.

Mo' Microsoft 365

• Microsoft integrates Yammer into Teams. Is this the beginning of the end of Yammer?
• Skype gets custom background images

Surface

• It looks like a virtual launch for Surface Go 2 and Surface Book 3. And probably a new Dock and those Earbuds we all forgot about. Latest rumor: A bigger screen for Surface Go 2.

Windows 10

• Microsoft finally moves Windows 10 version 2004 into Release Preview. No tea leaves are needed: This is the beginning of the end. Or the end of the beginning.
• New Fast and Slow ring builds today too

Xbox

• New Xbox dashboard launches quietly, with no announcement
• Microsoft trademark application reveals the new X Series logo

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: You don't necessarily have to pay for Microsoft 365. Here's what you get for free.
• App pick of the week: New web browsers. Vivaldi gets serious about tracking and ads. Opera adds Instagram integration
• Plus: Curtains for Windows 10 brings back the XP look and feel, more
• Plus: Fornite is finally in the Google Play Store
• Enterprise pick of the week: Microsoft Research podcast. One of the best podcast series at Microsoft these days is the Microsoft Research podcast. The breadth of the topics covered is fantastic. They also offer some excellent explanations of existing cutting-edge tech. (And they have full transcripts online, too.) Check it out: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/category/podcast/
• Codename pick of the week: Project Moca. Remember that Outlook Spaces feature that the Walking Cat unearthed a while back. Turns out, it's still under development and now goes by the "Project Moca" codename. (Thanks to one of our fans from Portland, Oregon, for the codename tipoff.)
• Beer pick of the week: Other Half All Together IPA. Other Half Brewing in Brooklyn has open-sourced a beer recipe, hoping other brewers will make versions of their own. This solid New England IPA called All Together, is meant as a benefit project for the hospitality industry workers who've been affected by COVID-19. All the proceeds are going to the Restaurant Workers Community Foundation. Keep an eye out for your local breweries' All Together releases.

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Mary Jo Foley, and Paul Thurrott

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

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

Check out Mary Jo's blog at AllAboutMicrosoft.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsors:

Neo, Duo, Windows 10X Delayed

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Mary Jo Foley, and Paul Thurrott

For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/668

Sponsor:

Edge is #2!!!, MS Cancels all Live Events Until July, 2021

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Mary Jo Foley, and Paul Thurrott

For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/667

Sponsor:

Microsoft Virtualizes Ignite, Cloud vs Covid-19

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Mary Jo Foley, and Paul Thurrott

For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/666

Sponsor:

Windows 10 on Pause, xCloud, Doom 64

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Mary Jo Foley, and Paul Thurrott

For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/665

Sponsors:

Build Canceled, Xbox Series X Event

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Mary Jo Foley, and Paul Thurrott

For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/664

Sponsors:

Windows 10X

• Microsoft updates Windows 10X emulator for dual-screen devices
• What's new and what's improved?
• Related: Does Windows 10X solve the Chromebook problem? MJF: Not really until 10X comes to cheap(er) clamshell laptops

Windows 10

• First Windows Insider build in two weeks brings talk of change, but not much actual change
• Still no GA info on Windows 10 2004 COVID-19 Weekly
• After pushing employees to work from home, now there are two Microsoft employees that have been diagnosed
• Related: Microsoft and Google will both host virtual events to make up for canceled physical events
• Big Microsoft GDC announcement next week live on Windows Weekly at 11:40am PDT - We have Richard Campbell here as a guest, with some interesting info about how COVID-19 has impacted work travel
• Plus: The history of .NET

Security, security security

• New 'wormable' SMB vulnerability disclosed (accidentally) as part of Patch Tuesday. No info on when Microsoft plans to patch it
• Meanwhile, in the good news department: Microsoft's coordinated takedown of Necurs, one of the largest known spam and malware botnets

Xbox

• Ori and the Will of the Wisps launches ...
• ... and Microsoft lowers the price of Xbox One X to $399

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Check out Windows 10X. You no longer need to have a Fast ring Windows Insider build to use the emulator. But there is one important requirement.
• App pick of the week: Call of Duty: Warzone. Call of Duty: Warzone is here! And it's free!
• Enterprise pick of the week: Cosmos DB gets a free tier! Microsoft adds a free tier (free as in forever) for its Cosmos DB NoSQL cloud database.
• Enterprise pick No. 2: About that major Azure US East outage. Is it still a cloud outage if almost no one complains publicly? Where is the outrage, cloud citizens?
• Beer pick of the week: O'Fallon Brewery Barrels Salted Pretzel. This amber was brewed with toasted malt and Himalayan salt giving you a toasted pretzel flavor. We got to have a sample of this during our beer tasting at WWT in Saint Louis. It was really tasty and really did taste like a pretzel. Only 5% ABV, too, so you can have more than one with your tofudog. https://untappd.com/b/o-fallon-brewery-barrels-salted-pretzel/2977506

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Mary Jo Foley, and Paul Thurrott

Guest: Richard Campbell

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

Check out Paul's blog at thurrott.com

Check out Mary Jo's blog at AllAboutMicrosoft.com

The Windows Weekly theme music is courtesy of Carl Franklin.

Sponsor:

Coronavirus Cancellations, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Hosts: Mikah Sargent, Mary Jo Foley, and Paul Thurrott

For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/662

Sponsor:

Surface Duo Peek, Azure Sphere

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Mary Jo Foley, and Paul Thurrott

For full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly/episodes/661

Sponsors: