Windows Weekly (Video)

Happy Halloween, TWiT-or-treaters!

• 1.5 billion Windows PCs. Still.
• Today's the last day of October. Still no October update
• Microsoft's GitHub acquisition is done. What's next?
• Microsoft Q1 FY19 recap
• Microsoft on Mobile
• Happy birthday, (Windows) Azure
• Tip of the week: Games with Gold is awesome this month
• App pick of the week: Skype for Web (Preview)
• Enterprise pick of the week: Olympia v2
• Codename pick of the week: Vanadium and Vibranium
• Beer pick of the week: Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

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

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:

• With the new Pixel 3s and iPhone XR/XSes out there, what are our new and updated recommendations these days for Windows users who are looking for new phones?
• Related: Google says it will fix photo‐loss bug in the new Pixels, but what about the other issues?
• Let's talk a bit about where MS is now and where it's going by bringing Android and iPhone devices into the Windows ecosystem.
• More data‐deletion problems have emerged in 1809. October is winding down and the October Update STILL isn't available.
• Related: MS didn't RTM Windows Server 2019, which has been pulled and is not available.
• Related: Last week, new 19H1 build allowing users to remove more preinstalled apps debuts.
• Related: 19H1 will allegedly overcome the performance issues from Spectre fixes.
• Paul finally got a Surface Laptop 2. More of the same, but now with better performance and it's black.
• New HP Spectre 360 and Elitebook x360.
• Samsung said close to launching a foldable laptop display ‐ Because?
• Microsoft FY19Q1 earnings are today (right after WW)
• Things to watch for: Commercial cloud number will be higher than normal because some LinkedIn revenues are now included.
• Related: What Microsoft exec compensation says about Redmond's priorities.

Tips and Picks

• Tip of the week: Xbox is having a "Shocktober" sale: Friday the 13th ($6), Alien Isolation: The Collection ($12), Prey ($15), and many other games are up to 70 percent off!
• Also: Microsoft just added four horror titles to Xbox Game Pass too!
• App pick of the week: Half‐Life 2 Orange Box, Portal, and Left 4 Dead 1 & 2 are now all on Xbox 360 Backward Compatibility and enhanced for Xbox One X.
• Enterprise pick of the week: How to get the MS Tech Community blogs into.
• Enterprise pick No. 2: The on‐prem version of the Office 2019 servers are available this week.
• Beer pick of the week: Springdale (Jack's Abby) Brigadeiro

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:

• Sadly, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen passed away this week, How did he impact Microsoft culture, he had a huge impact on Seattle (and the broader world), however
• Windows 10 version 1809, Take 2: Just kidding, this time it's almost ready! Plus: Windows 10 Now Lets You Uninstall More of the Pre-Installed Apps
  • Related: No, the PC industry is not staging a comeback, sorry
• Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2 are now available. Kind of a non-event. Plus: China gets a "Blush" Surface Laptop 2 Related: A new HoloLens was spotted in OUTER SPACE! No, it wasn't.
• Google v. EU: Google does something different, again: They will comply but still appeal. They've learned from the Microsoft, Intel, and Apple experiences of the past.
  • Plus: Another way Google is following Microsoft: It is deemphasizing Android brand
• Post-PC: Is the post-PC era finally happening? And ... do we have Adobe to thank/blame? Full Photoshop coming to iPad Full-featured video editor on Windows, Mac, iOS, and (soon) Android
• Xbox: Keyboard and mouse support comes to Insiders, will ship in Xbox System Update 1811 - This comes after the October 2018 Update, which adds other features Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is out, is amazing
• Tip of the week: Buy an Xbox One, get a free... Amazon Echo Dot?!
• App pick of the week: Google Chrome 70
• Enterprise pick of the week: What's next for Cortana?
• Beer pick of the week: Galway Brewing Sans Juice
• Beer pick of the week: Urban Brewing Lemon Verbena + Sage Saison

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:

Breaksclusive: The Windows 10 1809 rollout is officially a disaster.

• After rushing Win 10 1809 to the finish line (without a Release Preview), MS starts rolling it out on October 2. Users start reporting their files, photos and other data being deleted.
• On October 5, Microsoft pulls 1809 (and Win Server 2019). Some users installed it successfully; some didn't.
• On October 9, Microsoft releases a refreshed Redstone 5 test build to Insiders in Slow, Preview rings with the data loss fix.
• On October 9, Microsoft also releases a Cumulative Update for 1809 to those who successfully installed it, which also has the data loss fix.
• Microsoft published a post-mortem claiming a tiny number were affected, but they're adding a "severity indicator" to Feedback.
• What do we propose the Windows team do now to fix WaaS? Let home users defer updates? Refocus on fundamentals? Slow the update pace? All of the above?

In Other News

• Expanding on last week's discussion, can Google + Microsoft finally happen with Terry Myerson gone?
• Project xCloud game streaming testing to begin in 2019
• Microsoft is hiring former Qualcomm engineers to its quantum-computing team
• Microsoft joins OIN and offers 60K of its patents to other members royalty-free. Important note: Microsoft has 90K patents. This deal doesn't include Windows code, for example.
• Related: Microsoft joins LOT Network and makes its patents available to members to fight trolls.
• Intel releases first 9th-generation Core processors. This time they're focusing on where the money is.
• Google has its own hardware event. And this time they're adding design to AI + software + hardware.

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: History in an Hour
• App pick of the week: Sticky notes for mobile ... sort of
• Enterprise pick of the week: Microsoft Learn: Self-paced free training for a variety of MS products
• Buzzword pick of the week: "Partner"
• Beer pick of the week: Threes Instant Gratification

Announcements

• Next week: Paul and MJF will be keynoting the Microwarehouse Cloud Camp in Dublin. We will be doing Windows Weekly live from Dublin, too, at our same bat time and schedule. So 2 p.m ET next week, tune in and we'll be speaking Gaelic. (We'll be doing a meetup too after the show. Details to come!)

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:

• Microsoft refreshes the Surface Laptop, Surface Pro, and Surface Studio
• Microsoft takes on Bose/Beats with Surface Headphones
• HP launches the Spectre Folio, an unholy melding of leather and metal.
• Surface All Access - what is it? How much is it?
• Microsoft launches Windows 10 version 1809 for "seekers" with a broad release happening next week, on Patch Tuesday
• Windows 10 will soon provide Android screen and app mirroring
• Microsoft To-Do is coming to Outlook.com
• Skype Classic will finally die in November
• Microsoft open-sources early MS-DOS versions, again

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: MAGIC WINDOW
• App pick of the week: Forza Horizon 4
• Enterprise pick of the week: Croton, Forks, Jameson
• Codename pick of the week: Croton (Surface Pro 6), Forks (Surface Laptop 2) and Jameson (Surface Headphones)
• Beer pick of the week: Lagunitas 12th of Never

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:

We're in the podcast studio at Microsoft Ignite. Here's the biggest news from the show!

• Microsoft Search - Arguably the biggest news from the show and the first concrete example of how Microsoft can add features across Windows, Office, and web thanks to Microsoft 365.
• Microsoft is rolling out Surface Hub 2 in stages. We went hands-on: here's what we saw.
• Windows Virtual Desktop - A redo of Azure Remote App, but also a new way for commercial customers to utilize their existing licenses and extend Windows 7 support for free.
• Office 2019 begins rolling out to commercial customers first
• Related: Microsoft clarifies Office 2019 (perpetual) vs. Office 365
• Office Ideas is AI coolness
• Microsoft Teams is the fastest-growing business app in Microsoft's history
• Microsoft is further integrating LinkedIn and Office
• OneDrive for Mac is picking up Files on Demand.
• Cortana Enterprise Skills Kit - What is this? And what does it say about the future of Cortana?
• Azure Digital Twins, Azure Sphere general availability, and Windows IoT Central services

It's not all about Ignite

• Microsoft is bringing Skype to Alexa.
• Related: What does THIS say about Cortana?
• Sticky Notes 3 is coming to Windows 10 1803+
• Google's Chrome faux pas says a lot about trust, plus how this is important to Microsoft's customers
• Two video game bits - Telltale Games is shutting down and PSNow adds game downloading

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's Managed Desktop: is it a new tier of Microsoft 365 or a SECRET PLAN TO CHARGE US EVERY MONTH??
• Windows 10 version 1803 might be done - and don't be confused by those known issues
• Related: Microsoft tests a terrible new ad --- and then pulls it after complaints
• Related: Nothing dramatic in the list of deprecated and removed features
• We know there's a Surface event next month. Now we know a bit more about the coming products.
• Dynamics 365: Now with more AI and Mixed Reality
• Rejoice, you NoSQLites: Microsoft is bringing Cosmos DB to Azure Stack and Azure Sphere

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Consolidating email
• App pick of the week: Microsoft Studio games on Steam and PC disc
• Plus: Forza Horizon 4 can be preordered, is coming soon - Don't forget this deal, valid through the end of the month
• Enterprise pick of the week: Microsoft's post-mortem on its September 4 cloud outage
• Codename pick of the week: Modern Workplace as a Service
• Beer pick of the week: Cigar City Maduro Brown

EVENTS

• Windows Weekly will be broadcast live at Ignite. If you're there and free from 2-4 pm on Tuesday next week, come and join our live audience. (Sorry, this is open to attendees only.)
• Right after that, anyone can come to our meetup. It's at Copper Canyon Grill in Orlando. 4:30 to 6:30 pm. No RSVP needed.
• October 17: Microwarehouse Cloud Camp. Paul and MJF will be keynoting this one-day event in Dublin. There's going to be a live Windows Weekly taping, plus a meetup too. So if you're in the vicinity, come and check it out.

Hosts: Mary Jo Foley, Paul Thurrott, and Megan Morrone

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's 'Fall Event' on October 2: What to expect. This event is all about Microsoft's 'Modern Life Services' stuff, plus a Surface headset also is rumored, and there will be some refreshed Surfaces.
• Microsoft revamps its Windows as a Service strategy. Again. The good news for IT pros: You potentially can apply Windows 10 feature updates every other year. The bad news: The twice-yearly feature update pace will continue. And Home users remain testing guinea pigs.
• Meanwhile, in Windows 7 land... Microsoft is going to provide (again) a way to keep getting Windows 7 security updates. For a big fee.
• New Redstone 5 build actually has a new feature, sort of - actually, I'm confused about this feature.
• SMS/MMS integration comes to Your Phone. Related: Skype is getting SMS Connect too.
• Chromebooks will soon connect natively to Windows PCs on a home network
• Alexa support is coming to the Xbox One

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Xbox One S with two controllers bundle
• App pick of the week: Microsoft To-Do
• Enterprise pick of the week: Azure DevOps
• Codename pick of the week: Kusto
• Beer pick of the week: Boulevard Brewing Tank 7

Events

• Windows Weekly will be live at Ignite on Tuesday, Sept. 25 from 2-4 pm ET. We'll have room for an audience – anyone at the show can come and join in. After that, 4:30 to 6:30 pm, WW meetup. We may switch our venue, so watch for tweets.

Hosts: Megan Morrone, 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:

• The Windows 10 October 2018 Update is coming ... in October. Goodbye, "Redstone 5." Hello 19H1
• Windows 10 on ARM: Lenovo just announced the first Snapdragon 850-based PC.
• Office 365 Home and Personal subscriptions just got better
• Microsoft is giving Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the Web the simplified ribbon UI
• Will there ever be just one Outlook? No. In fact, MS holds up Windows 10 Mail as its North Star (go figure)
• Skype: Microsoft backsteps from controversial 2017 design
• Surface Plus (for consumers) is no more. The consumer Surface financing program, largely for students, was quietly dropped last Friday.
• Xbox Adaptive Controller is now available

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: Surface Pro bundle for $360 off!
• App pick of the week: Firefox 62
• Enterprise pick of the week: A bad start to the week for Azure, Office 365 users
• Small biz pick of the week: Adios, Microsoft Listings and Connections
• Beer pick of the week: Founders Brewing Double Trouble

Hosts: Megan Morrone, 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:

• Xbox All Access is real goes live in the US. What is this thing? It's a subscription-based financing option that points to the future.
• Intel announces "new" 8th-generation Core chips. But only the Wi-Fi is new.
• IFA: PC makers announce new PCs. It's like CES 2.
• Windows 10 Build 17746 puts Your Phone in Release Preview, but no new features.
• Sticky Notes 3 is official, available to Skip Ahead Insiders
• Wish List is coming to the Microsoft Store
• Related: Microsoft is warning users on Windows 10 version 1607 to upgrade
• Related: Why did the HP CEO undermine the entire PC industry?
• Related: The bizarre story of the new zero-day Windows vulnerability
• Microsoft announces OneDrive for Business features, calls it OneDrive and confuses everyone. Again.
• Microsoft Teams picks up "feature parity" with Skype for Business. Just kidding.
• Excel, PowerPoint, and OneDrive all have over 500 million downloads on the Play Store. So does Word.
• Microsoft is reorganizing the Games library screen on Xbox One, again
• Microsoft announces a white Elite controller - but it's the old design, wtf - WHERE IS THE NEW VERSION??? (MJF: "Settle down, Game Boy!")

Tips and picks

• Tip of the week: You can use your Xbox One controller on Android now
• App pick of the week: Get the Pixel launcher(ish) on almost any Android handset
• Bonus pick: Modern Warfare 2 is on Xbox One Backward Compatibility.
• Enterprise pick of the week: The end of hybrid Intune support is coming
• Codename pick of the week: TDBN (Tidbin)
• Beer pick of the week: Jack's Abby House Lager

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: