Surface Pro 9 Liberty Special Edition, Xbox Transparency Report, Task Manager Improvements Windows 11 
Beta channel: Microsoft starts testing Task Manager improvements 
Photos app integration with iCloud is now available 
Windows App SDK 1.2 is here Microsoft 
Independent report faults Microsoft on employee discrimination and harassment, it will do better Microsoft 365  
The Office mobile app is losing two sharing features as it transitions to Microsoft 365 
Games are coming to Microsoft Teams for some reason 
NVIDIA partners with Microsoft on massive cloud AI computer 
When it comes to Microsoft 365, there is the past (Office) and then this other stuff 
Flashback: maybe let's look at that Google One VPN for Windows thing one last time Hardware 
Microsoft announces a Surface Pro 9 Liberty Special Edition that, no, is not USA! USA! USA! 
Qualcomm announces its next flagship smartphone chipset. Assume a PC chipset announcement is imminent Xbox 
Spencer: Seriously, Call of Duty is staying on PlayStation 
Xbox releases its first-ever transparency report, will do so regularly going forward 
Xbox Game Pass in the second half of November 
A new Xbox Series S bundle adds digital perks 
Microsoft Flight Simulator 40th Anniversary Edition adds helicopters, gliders, and more oh my 
Xbox November Update is here 
A few more thoughts about the CliffyB book 
IT'S HERE! CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE II SEASON 01!!! Tips & Picks 
Tip of the week: Twitter is dead, long live Mastodon 
App pick of the week: Descript 
App pick of the week #2: DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection for Android 
Hosts: Leo Laporte and Paul Thurrott 
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WW 803: D++ - Surface Pro 9 Liberty Special Edition, Xbox Transparency Report, Task Manager Improvements

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.

Records live every Wednesday at 2:00pm Eastern / 11:00am Pacific / 18:00 UTC.

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Leo, Paul, and Richard steer towards the performance race as they speculate about how Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite/Plus PCs will compare to Apple Silicon MacBooks. What makes a laptop truly user-friendly? System reliability, UI consistency, battery life? Plus, the recent Fallout TV series, the practicality of using winget for browser installations, and how the ARM chipset switch is revving up the PC market. 
ARMed & ready 
Qualcomm announces the Snapdragon X Plus and confirms Paul's report that the Snapdragon X Elite will have three SKUs (product editions) 
All four SKUs outperform Apple M3, Intel Core Ultra 7/9, AMD Ryzen 9 7940/8945HS on most benchmarks 
Why? PC makers asked Qualcomm for familiar choices 
Previously, an X Plus-based Surface Pro 10 and an X Elite-based ThinkPad T40s leaked. Paul can now confirm from a source that Surface Laptop 6 (13 and 15-inch) and Surface Pro will all be on X (something} 
Vivaldi is bringing its browser to Windows on Arm too 
Windows 11 
The April 2024 Week D preview update is here: Recommended apps and frequently used apps in Start, Widgets icon updates, Lock screen widgets improvements 
Canary: Moves off 24H2 train to build 26200, no more switch to Dev, minor changes to the Widgets board and Taskbar (no new build for Dev) 
Beta: New Widgets design with navigation bar, new account manager in Start, Gmail in Share, MSA recovery advertisement, and new Game Pass recommendation card in Settings 
Microsoft Store app downloads from the web get simpler, more sophisticated 
After yet another Quest 2 Headset price cut, and mounting problems for Apple's Vision Pro, Meta opens up Horizon OS, Microsoft is sort-of on board 
Microsoft 365/Dev 
Office LTSC 2024 commercial is now available in preview 
Classic Teams rides off into the sunset on July 1 
Dropbox offers deeper Microsoft 365 integration 
GitHub sees success in 2FA push 
AI 
The European Commission will not formally investigate Microsoft/OpenAI partnership 
Microsoft released a new SLM 
Microsoft gives a sneak peek of VASA-1, a crazy and scary "talking faces" AI tool 
Google copies Microsoft again, announces massive AI reorg - that has Pixel fans worried 
Adobe's generative AI image capabilities are predictably fantastic 
Xbox 
Get an Xbox Mastercard in the US, if you're a tool 
Microsoft announces IGN x ID@Xbox digital showcase - indie games 
Tips & Picks 
Tip of the week: Have you heard the one joke about the one time you need to use Edge? 
App pick of the week: Tiny11 Builder 
RunAs Radio this week: PowerShell 7.4 with Sydney Smith 
Brown liquor pick of the week: GlenKinchie 12 
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell 
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly 
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WW 878: If You Build It, You Are Dumb - Snapdragon X Series SKUs, Phi-3-mini, Fallout

Backlash against tech criticism, Ralf Groene retires, Hardcore Software 
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell 
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WW 877: The Tiger in the Grass - Backlash against tech criticism, Ralf Groene retires, Hardcore Software

On this episode, Paul shares his thoughts on the Snapdragon X Elite chip with Leo and Richard. Windows 11 24H2, AI, NPUs, and SoCs from Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm are all on the way this year. But a schedule is finally starting to emerge. And it looks like we'll soon have answers to the questions about how or why AI will matter on PCs. 
Windows, AI, and the future 
Windows 11 version 24H2 - staggered release schedule as discussed last week 
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite-based PCs in May/June - nothing but good news to date, but Paul went hands-on last week. It's the real deal. 
Intel's first-gen Core Ultra chipsets are lackluster, but now we have big promises for Arrow Lake in late 2024 
Microsoft Build 2024 is in mid-May, and now we have a session list with some nice clues. For example, Introducing the Next Generation of Windows on Arm 
Microsoft is expected to unveil 24H2 and new X Elite-based Surface PCs at Build 
Computex and other milestones, and then back-to-school and holiday selling periods 
Windows 11 
Moment 5 arrives in stable with yesterday's Patch Tuesday (which is now called the General Availability channel, by the way). Of course, we still don't have all the features. In particular, waiting on Android phone as a webcam. 
IDC says PC market grew by 1.5 percent in Q1 and acts like it's the turnaround of the century 
Microsoft is manually blocking certain registry keys related to default browsers now: Apple-like non-EU belligerence or pragmatic protection of user choice? Why can't it be both?  
Beta channel (last week) - Copilot actions improvements 
New Store app update improvements performance dramatically 
The Windows 11 de-ensh*ttification experiments continue 
Does Windows 11 Enterprise solve the problem? No. So it's time to move on 
Hardware 
TSMC gets some of that sweet, sweet CHIPS Act money to expand its US operations 
AI 
Three AIs comparison 
Blockbuster report claims OpenAI/Microsoft, Google, and Meta stole content at scale to train AI 
Microsoft opens a new AI hub in London 
Google mulls charging for generative AI in Search 
Spotify lets user create AI playlists using text prompts now 
Brave brings Leo to iOS, so it's on all supported platforms now. And it added Leo to Brave Talk Premium too 
Google rebrands Studio Bot to Gemini in Android Studio, still in preview. This is their GitHub Copilot 
Xbox 
Microsoft rolls out April updates for Xbox consoles, Xbox app on PC 
Xbox reorgs, Kareem Choudhry leaves Microsoft 
A rumored game preservation team is too obvious not to be true 
Tips and Picks 
Tip of the week: Microsoft Store hosts its annual Spring Sale 
App picks of the week: Standard Notes & Beeper 
RunAs Radio this week: Securing AI with Sarah Young 
Brown liquor pick of the week: Dalwhinnie 15 
  
Hosts: Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, and Richard Campbell 
Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/windows-weekly 
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WW 876: Solder On - Snapdragon X Elite impressions, KB5036893 update, CHIPS & Science Act

Windows 11 version 24H2 is coming and you're not going to believe what happens next... and then again 6 months later 
Microsoft reveals Windows 10 Extended Security Updates pricing 
Paul reinstalled Windows 10 after three years on Windows 11. There's some good and some bad 
Multiple sources have revealed a staggered release schedule for Windows 11 version 24H2 
Insider Builds 
Canary/Dev - Widgets improvements head out to more people 
Canary/Dev (today) - New build today with minor changes, bug fixes (24H2 RTM-ish?). Canary/Dev switch is ending soon 
Microsoft is moving Photos app to Windows App SDK (from UWP, presumably). Paul has theories 
Microsoft will move the Widgets button in Windows 11 if you put the Start button on the left 
Dropbox comes to the Microsoft Store in Windows 11. It only took 12 years 
AI 
Copilot for Microsoft 365 is getting many new features by the end of April 
Copilot for Microsoft 365 picks up priority ChatGPT-4 Turbo and no more conversation limits 
You can use ChatGPT without an account now, asterisk, asterisk 
Amazon concludes its $4 billion investment in Anthropic 
Opera is bringing local LLMs to Opera One web browser 
Google: Just kidding, non-Pro Pixel 8 will get Gemini Nano too, and you can suck on the performance issues 
Is Intel circling the drain? 
Antitrust 
The EU is predictably investigating Apple, Google, Meta, and Amazon—for not complying with the DMA. 
Notably absent from that list? Microsoft. Which is unique among Big Tech in that it is being reasonable with DMA compliance and antitrust in general 
Microsoft debundles Teams from Office. Too little too late? 
Microsoft 365 
Microsoft 365 Basic picks up some new features 
A random Microsoft engineer found a backdoor lurking in a Linux utility and might have saved the world 
LinkedIn isn't just getting games, it's getting TikTok-style videos too 
.NET 7 EOL is coming. Is the .NET support schedule too aggressive? 
Xbox 
A MASSIVE LIST OF ACTIVISION GAMES ARE COMING TO GAME PASS! Just kidding, you're getting Shadow of the Tomb Raider, jerks 
Xbox is getting an AI-powered support agent. Huh. Kind of like a personal assistant then. If only they had a name for this thing 
Phil Spencer says he's open to rival games stores on Xbox 
Take-Two is buying (most of) Gearbox for $460 million. A Grand Theft Auto and Duke Nukem cross-over is inevitable  
Rumored white Xbox Series X emerges. White and discless? YOU'RE white and discless! 
Tips & Picks 
Tip of the week: You can still access legacy File Explorers in Windows 11 
App pick of the week: Two for two 
RunAs Radio this week: Microsoft Copilot for Security with George Coldham 
Brown liquor pick of the week: Clonakilty Irish 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 
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WW 875: A Lot of Neil Diamond - Grounding Copilot, Intel Foundry's losses, Andres Freund's heroic save

On Windows Weekly, Moment 5 has arrived as a Preview Update, Windows 10 gets a preview update, and Microsoft announces the Surface Pro 10 & Surface Laptop 6 for Business at a digital event. Designer and Copilot are coming to the Microsoft 365 mobile app. Would Microsoft develop a Windows-based gaming handheld device? And Canva acquires Affinity. 
Windows 
Moment 5 arrives as a Preview Update right on schedule - it's Week D, etc. 
Microsoft previously described this schedule in its DMA compliance documentation, and noted that it would be fully deployed in stable by the end of April. 
Quick raise of hands: Did you think this was already available? You're not alone. But ... you know. Microsoft.  
Oh, and there's a preview update for Windows 10 too. Because come on Microsoft. 
Don't worry, that lock screen nonsense in Windows 10 is coming to Windows 11 too. 
Qualcomm claims that most Windows games will "just work" on its X Elite processor. How? 
Chromium accepts Microsoft commit that will improve Chrome/Chromium text rendering on Windows. 
Google Chrome comes to Windows on Arm, instantly legitimatizing the platform. 
Surface 
Microsoft announces Surface Pro 10, Surface Laptop 6. 
For businesses, only - Intel Core Ultra-based. 
Consumer versions based on X Elite to follow in May, according to reliable rumors. 
It's first "AI PCs," supposedly. But now we know why they are using that terminology, and it's stupid. (Related, Intel has its own definitions for what makes a PC an AI PC.) 
This was billed as an AI event, "the new era of work," but there was NO news for Windows or Copilot. None. 
Why is that? One word: Momentum.  
AI 
In the wake of Microsoft AI reorg (a NeXT-style takeover), a key Microsoft exec says no and steps aside, will likely leave the company  
Microsoft Teams is gaining new AI capabilities because, duh, of course it is 
Designer and Copilot are coming to the Microsoft 365 mobile app - Two more checkmarks for that grid of Copilot capabilities 
Our developer show schedule is complete: Apple to host WWDC 2024 in June, following Google I/O and Build in May 
Samsung spreads Galaxy A1 to more devices starting tomorrow in the US 
Xbox 
It's finally happening: Diablo IV will be the first Activision Blizzard game on Xbox Game Pass when it goes live tomorrow. 
Phil Spencer says Windows is wrong for gaming handhelds, thinks an Xbox would be better. 
Xbox is testing mouse and keyboard support for Cloud Gaming. 
Tips and Picks 
Tip of the week: Arc browser just became more viable on Windows.  
App pick of the week: Affinity Photo 2 
Also: Proton Pass now supports (portable) passkeys. And it's free. 
RunAs Radio this week: GitHub for SysAdmins with April Edwards. 
Brown liquor pick of the week: Stauning Kaos Danish 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.
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WW 803: D++ - Surface Pro 9 Liberty Special Edition, Xbox Transparency Report, Task Manager Improvements

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